Between: Crown prince Muhammad bin Naif and one of the relatives of the victims of Qatif. Watching al Arabiya news I couldn’t help observing the body language exchanged between one of the relatives of the victims of Qatif suicide attack and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif at Qatif Eastern Saudi Arabia.
The relative was blunt in his comment by accusing the Saudi government of being an accomplice to the terrorists if it does not take action in response to the attack.
The relative started by addressing the crown prince saying; prince…prince…without using the royal highness which is very rude in Saudi Arabia when addressing any member of the royal family, then the relative reluctantly and hesitantly used your royal highness.
The prince was surprised by the bluntness of the relative but he overcame his embarrassment and hid his displeasure by giving the relative the excuse for his provocative attitude saying that the crown prince understood the cause of the relative’s anger though the prince couldn’t hide his body language which showed how offended he felt, the crown prince eyeballs opened wide and starred at the relative in an offensive look accompanied by a diplomatic threat saying that the government is the body in charge of tackling this issue and any citizen who would attempt to do so individually will be held accountable…
If we are to dissect the attitude of the relative we would conclude that he was a Shiite and most probably like the majority of Shiites he indirectly blames the Sunni government of Saudi Arabia for the death of his relative. Such feeling is becoming common amongst Shiite communities in the majority rules Sunni Arab world due to the Shitte Iranian backed propaganda which been inciting hatred to Sunnis for the last three decades, this body language projects a reality most Arab rulers have over looked and ignored for many years. Iran did indeed succeed in promoting hate among Arab Muslim Sects by polarizing Muslim communities all over the Middle East.
The reaction of the Crown Prince is very understandable though there is one body language gesture the Crown Prince need to avoid next time he faces similar situation that is the Crown prince must avoid looking directly at the relative in this situation and instead look at the camera or address the public.
What is the difference between looking at the relative or at the camera or addressing the public is very simple, it is expressing neutrality and not taking the intimidating tone of the relative personally by doing so his massage would be positively perceived amongst the public he intends to address.
Good luck to the Crown Prince in his anti-terrorism campaign.
Adam El Masri
