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The Future of “Islamic Democracy” in the Middle East- Islamists and Democracy: Friends or Foes?
By Radwan A. Masmoudi
Introduction:
With few exceptions, most of the
Arab countries are ruled by
corrupt and secular elite that
is benefiting from the
status-quo. They are afraid of
what democracy might bring, so
they are doing everything in
their power to scare the U.S.
and the West of the so-called
“Islamic threat”. The secular
elite are becoming increasingly
marginalized, isolated,
authoritarian, and corrupt.
They are neither genuine
secularists nor democrats, but
they raise such flags in order
to solicit support from the
West. Being elitist, they have
no grassroots or popular
support, and they discourage
popular participation in the
political system because they do
not trust the people to keep
them in power. These regimes
are not interested in real
democracy or democratization,
therefore, external pressure
(from the US, European Union the
UN, and the international
community) is absolutely
necessary. Real democratization
requires pressure from inside
and out. Pressure from within
right now is coming mostly from
the Islamic movements that have
the popular support needed to
push for reforms in their
respective countries, but
pressure from the outside is
also very important to prevent
violent reactions,
radicalization, and give hope to
millions of people who want real
change, a decent representative
government, and accountability.
This means that the US must
learn to accept and support
democracy even if moderate
Islamic (or Islamist) movements,
and not secularists, receive the
majority of votes.
In reality, change is
inevitable, but the only
question is what kind of
change: Will it be slow,
peaceful, and progressively move
us towards real democracy, or
will it be violent,
revolutionary, and lead us
towards another form of
dictatorship. To guard against
more violence, anarchy, and the
possibility of a theocratic
state, we need a working
coalition of moderate Islamists
and secularists who trust each
other and work together for the
public interest. They need to
develop a consensus on what
democracy means, how it can work
within the context of their
Muslim societies, and how to
encourage progressive, modern,
and moderate interpretations of
Islam.
Secularity was developed in
Europe as a reaction to the
Church’s control of governments
during the Middle Ages. The
Muslim world has never been
ruled by a religious
institution, with the exception
of modern-day Iran where the
clerics took control after the
Iranian people turned against
the Shah’s oppressive
government; thus complete
separation between religion and
state is undesirable and
unnecessary in the Muslim world.
In the middle 19th
and early 20th
century, when democracy was
being developed and implemented
in Europe, there was fear that
the church (especially the
Catholic Church) would be an
obstacle to democracy, but the
“Christian democratic” movement
grew and defended the idea that
democracy was compatible with
religion. In the Muslim world,
we are seeing the birth of
“Muslim Democrats” who are
advancing similar ideas.
Identifying “Islamist” and
Islamic Movements
What does “Islamist” mean and
what do Islamic movements stand
for? While it is true that
there are extremist and radical
fringe groups, the overwhelming
majorities of those who call
themselves “Islamists” reject
violence and theocracy, and want
a democratic form of government
which respects Islamic values
and ideals without imposing them
on individuals or on society.
Among the most moderate Islamic
movements today are the Justice
and Development Parties in
Turkey and Morocco, and great
examples of the most prominent
moderate Muslim leaders are
Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia and
Abdulwaheed in Indonesia. The
Gallup Poll recently conducted
in 10 Muslim-majority countries
showed that the overwhelming
majority of Muslims (over 90% in
Egypt and Pakistan) want a
democratic government, but also
want Shariah (Islamic
law) to be either the main or
the only source of legislation
in their countries; they want
neither a theocracy nor a
secular democracy. The majority
of Muslims want “religious
leaders” to be advisors to the
lawmakers, but not to be
lawmakers or rulers themselves.
For the past 40 to 50 years,
various United States
administrations have supported
secular dictators in the Arab
and Muslim world, and that has
resulted in very dysfunctional
political systems, in which both
corruption and oppression are
prevalent. As a result, the idea
of secularism has been
completely discredited in
popular eyes as it is now
associated with dishonesty and
tyranny. Hence the choice is
between either a “secular
tyranny” (i.e. the
status quo in the Arab and
Muslim world) or an “Islamic
democracy”.
The real question therefore is:
“Should Islamic parties be
allowed to participate in the
political process and contest
elections?” The answer is yes,
absolutely, because excluding
them will lead to an increase in
their appeal and popularity, and
will completely discredit the
democratic system, the
elections, and the political
process. It will also convince
younger people, who are fed up
with the current injustices
happening in their countries,
that peaceful and democratic
change is not possible and they
will in turn join more radical,
violent, and extremist groups to
create the changes they want to
see happen. History has shown
that when and where Islamic
parties have been allowed to
participate in the political
process, they have tended to
become more moderate, pragmatic,
and have moved away from
simplistic or what may be
considered hard-line rhetoric.
Democracy is indeed possible and
desirable in the Arab world,
even with a religious and
Islamic flavor. We must come to
accept and understand that it
will indeed take time for people
to discern the proper
relationship between religion
and politics, and between
religious scholars and elected
political leaders. We must
trust that in the end, people
are not incompetent, and that
they do not want to continue to
live under any form of tyranny,
whether secular or religious.
The Challenges of Democracy
and Democratization in the
Muslim World:
It is
increasingly tough to be a
democrat or an advocate of
democracy in the Muslim world
today. The war in Iraq and the
ongoing conflicts in Lebanon and
Palestine have given democracy a
highly undesirable name, and a
majority of Arabs and Muslims
now believe that the “War on
Terror” is actually a War on
Islam. Thus, anything coming
from the West is regarded with
great suspicion and mistrust.
Regardless, there is no other
option besides working as hard
as we can to bring democracy to
their governments and hope to
the Arab and Muslim people. This
is why I consider that what
Daniel Pipes, and others like
him, recommend (to consider all
Islamists as enemies) is not
only wrong, but will lead to
disastrous results. It will
swell the ranks of the Islamists
and even of the extremists, and
it will turn the entire Muslim
world against us. Talk about
"self-fulfilling prophecies!"
The issue of
democratization is complicated
by two misconceptions that
people have about democracy, and
about secularism. Many people
judge democracy by what they see
on TV – promiscuity,
pornography, homosexuality,
destruction of family values and
marriage as an institution,
drugs, crime, greed, etc; in
short, the image they have is
not pretty. The concern is that
democracy will destroy the
culture, religion, values, and
traditions they have held for
centuries. Secularism is even
more problematic, because it is
linked in the minds of most
Arabs and Muslims with hostility
towards religion, atheism, and
oppression.
There is
currently a serious crisis in
the Muslim world, one which has
manifested in many ways: from
rising levels of poverty and
unemployment, to lack of
education, to growing
corruption, violence, and wars.
Terrorism is of course the most
violent form of this rage and
anger, which finds its roots in
the terrible conditions that
millions of people, especially
young people, find themselves in
today. Most of all, this crisis
is the result of bad governance,
poor strategic thinking and
planning, and lack of freedoms,
dignity, and respect for all
inalienable human rights. First
and foremost, it is the twin
curse of corruption and
oppression, which is at the core
of all these problems. As
global citizens, Muslims and
non-Muslims alike who are
concerned about the future of
the Muslim world in this
increasingly interconnected
‘global village,’ it is
imperative that we develop and
implement a strategy for
resolving this crisis. Of
course, there is no short-term
quick fix to all these problems,
but the most important and
urgent ingredient in this
strategy must be good and
participatory governance.
The
political crisis and deadlock in
the Muslim world needs and
deserves our immediate
attention, even though it will
of course take time to be fully
addressed and corrected. Rather
than respond in a knee-jerk
“band-aid” approach to the
crisis, we need to think
strategically and understand the
root causes of this crisis.
Real change and significant
reforms are absolutely necessary
and needed, but governments are
resisting it (for fear of the
unknown or of losing
their privileges) and opposition
political movements are weak,
divided, lack maturity, and are
grossly under experienced.
The Experience of CSID:
It goes
without saying that democracy
and good governance cannot and
should not be imposed or
imported, but they certainly can
be supported. Reformers in the
Arab and Muslim world have been
working and pushing for real
democracy and reforms for
decades, but in the past have
received very little support or
encouragement from the outside
world. It is time for this to
change and it is our duty and
obligation to provide them with
as much support and
encouragement as needed. Our
support begins by providing the
intellectual and philosophical
support for the simple and basic
truth that Islam and democracy
are perfectly compatible.
Without doing so, democracy will
never become accepted by the
masses in the Muslim world
because the
government-controlled media will
continue to portray democracy as
un-Islamic or even as being part
of a Western conspiracy in the
Muslim world. There is nothing
that could be further from the
truth, and the Center for the
Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID)
is in the best position to
demonstrate this. Secondly, we
need to convince the US and
European governments and
policymakers that they must stop
their support for oppressive and
authoritarian rulers in the Arab
and Muslim world. Even though
these dictators claim that they
are providing stability for the
region, the reality is that they
are creating the perfect
conditions for despair and
hopelessness which will only
lead to further violence,
extremism, and turmoil.
Thirdly, we need to engage and
support moderate Muslims and
Islamists who are trying to be
both true to their religion
while adopting and accepting
democracy, modernity, and
development. Building strong
coalitions between moderate
Islamists (i.e. those who reject
violence and accept democracy)
with secularists is the only way
to challenge the status quo and
provide a real democratic
alternative to the untenable and
discredited rulers and regimes.
As citizens of America and
Europe, we must realize that we
are directly responsible for
what our governments do, and
that their ongoing support for
oppressive regimes in the Arab
and Muslim world is one of the
main causes for the current
crisis in the Muslim world.
Since 1999,
CSID has developed and
implemented a strategy for
achieving these objectives, by:
1.
Organizing conferences
and seminars to bring democrats
together (both moderate
Islamists, secularists, and
others)
2.
Educating the masses
about democracy, how it works,
and its compatibility with Islam
3.
Establishing a Network of
Democrats in the Arab World (NDAW)
and providing them with training
and support
4.
Lobbying the US govt. and
policymakers to stop supporting
dictators, and to engage with
and support democrats.
To my
knowledge, CSID is the only
organization in the world that
has organized conferences on
Islam and Democracy in Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Sudan, Nigeria,
and Tunisia, in addition to over
20 other countries. There is
not a single other organization
(American or otherwise) that has
done so or is even capable of
doing so. The reason we have
been able to organize such
activities simply has to do with
the huge credibility and
connections that CSID has
established throughout the
Muslim world during the past 8
years. Our credibility and
strong network of friends and
colleagues (among Arab and
Muslim reformers) is simply
unmatched. This growing network
– which again includes both
secularists and moderate
Islamists - is also capable of
pushing for significant dialogue
and reforms in their respective
countries.
As a result,
we are making a difference.
Over 1,000 people (political and
religious leaders) have attended
our workshops and conferences,
and over 2,000 people in
Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and
Jordan have been trained through
our “Islam & Democracy – Toward
Effective Citizenship” training
workshops. The demand for both,
however, is much greater, and
our objective is to train
between 5,000 and 10,000 people
per country, per year, for the
next 10 years. For the first
time in history, secular leaders
and moderate Islamist leaders
are starting to work together in
many countries, learning to
build trust and strong
coalitions for positive and
meaningful reforms. The Network
of Democrats in the Arab World
is growing, and has provided
training on leadership skills,
communication skills,
consensus-building, and conflict
resolution skills to hundreds of
members and NGO leaders. US and
European governments are
beginning to realize that it is
against their interests (not to
mention their values) to promote
oppressive regimes in the
Arab/Muslim world and are
beginning to put real pressure
on these regimes to reform and
democratize. Our long term goal
is that both the US and European
governments, with the help of
the international community as a
whole, will work with and
support governments that are
serious about democracy and are
achieving real progress toward
it, while isolating any
government that rejects
democracy and continues to
oppress its people while paying
false lip service to any real
reforms. Finally, CSID has just
opened two regional offices –
one in Morocco and one in Jordan
– to help support the network
and all of our activities,
conferences, and training
workshops in the Arab world.
Islamism and Democracy:
One of the
most disappointing developments
occurred after the Dec. 2005
elections in Egypt and January
2006 elections in Palestine when
the US seems to have lost its
appetite for democracy in the
Middle East for fear that the
Islamists were going to win the
elections. For over 20 years,
the regimes have been using the
“Islamist menace” as
justification for the lack of
accountability, freedoms, and
democracy. It is shameful for
the West, and truly catastrophic
for the region, to continue to
support the current regimes
under the belief that they
provide stability and the
promise of reforms and
development. The real lesson of
the last 40-50 years in the Arab
world – and much of the Islamic
world - is that neither long
term development nor stability
are possible without real
democracy, transparency, and
accountability. It is time for
the US and Europe to support
voices for genuine reforms,
freedoms, and democracy in the
region. Democracy in the Arab
world and in the foreseeable
future will have a more or less
“Islamic flavor”, but this is
normal, natural, and in the long
run, a healthy development which
will ultimately lead to the
modernization and
reinterpretation of Islamic
principles for the 21st
century.
One of the
main challenges for democracy in
the Arab and Muslim world is the
massive support for Islamic
movements and/or political
Islam, and the weakness of
liberal, secular groups and
parties. The concern that some
people and policymakers have,
especially those who are
interested in prolonging the
status quo, is whether the
Islamist movements will respect
democracy and abide by its
rules, if and when they come to
power.
In fact, it
is important to remember that
the support that Islamist
parties enjoy today did not
exist a mere 20 or 30 years ago,
and is clearly the result of the
despair and hopelessness to
which these failed states have
led their populations. Out of
despair, people, and especially
young people, are turning to
Islam as their last hope to
unite, mobilize, and fix the
ills of their societies. In
addition, there are many
positive and encouraging signs
that Islamic parties and
movements are now convinced of
the necessity of political
participation, democratization
and reforms as the only way to
resolve the myriad of problems
and challenges that their
societies face (not least of
which is over 30% unemployment
rate, over 60% illiteracy rate,
while over 50% of the population
is under the age of 20). There
are also indications that when
Islamic parties come to power or
parliament through the ballot
box, they become more practical
and pragmatic, and much less
ideological and intransigent.
Politics, after all, is the art
of compromise, and Islamists
must learn this art if they want
to succeed in politics.
Certainly the experience of the
Justice and Development party,
which is now ruling in Turkey,
is a good model for other
Islamist parties to follow.
There are
three truths that can prevent
and protect against the danger
of the monopolization Islam by
Islamic movements and turning
their countries into
theocracies:
First, There
is no clergy (at least in Sunni
Islam) and therefore no one
individual or group can claim to
be divine representatives on
earth. Second, we need multiple
Islamic parties in each country,
so that none of them can claim
to solely represent or speak on
behalf of Islam. These Islamic
movements represent various
interpretations (conservative or
otherwise) of Islam and
competition among themselves
would only provide for healthy
debate and interaction. Finally,
secular forces and groups need
to develop a better
understanding for the importance
of religion in their countries,
and must understand that being
portrayed as anti-Islam or
anti-religion will severely hurt
their prospects to gain
sufficient political
representation. They must
develop a new paradigm that
makes it clear that it is
possible to be secular and
religious at the same time.
Islamist
parties have evolved so
tremendously within the past
15-20 years that we can no
longer continue to judge their
intentions. There are
ambiguities in the platform of
every group, Islamist or
otherwise, and there is no
longer a guarantee that secular
parties will be democratic.in
matters of politics. In
democracy, the only safeguard is
to build strong institutions and
educate the public about their
rights and their duties as
active citizens; constitutional
guarantees are worthless without
an educated and mobilized
citizenry. We also need to
establish clear mechanisms to
guard against abuses. Normative
consensus on issues such as
definitions of democracy, and
rules of the game, final
guarantor (king – military –
international community), and
the idea of pacts need also to
be articulated.
The
participation of Islamist
parties in the political process
is essential for strengthening
political reforms and
democratization in their
countries – it is impossible for
democracy to prosper while 30%
to 40% of the population is
excluded from the political
arena. The agendas of Islamic
parties now focus on economic
development, fighting
corruption, reducing illiteracy,
and an independent judiciary,
and not the implementation of
Shari’ah punishments. Most
Islamist parties now do not call
for the implementation of
Shari’ah punishments as they did
15-20 years ago. Their main
priority is good governance,
transparency, fighting
corruption, poverty, illiteracy,
among many other progressive
ideas.
Recent
developments in Iran, Sudan, and
Afghanistan have been both
negative and destructive, and we
now find ourselves searching for
different and more positive
democratic models in the Arab
and Muslim world. Turkey,
Indonesia, and Malaysia are now
becoming the models for both
Islamists and secularists.
Modern Islamists today look at
Turkey as a model, much more
than they look at Iran, which
has unfortunately become a
theocracy and has limited the
freedoms and the choices of its
citizens. Turkey, on the other
hand, is a model of a very
progressive and democratic
Muslim state, where the state
itself is secular but the
society is deeply religious.
The state is not and should not
be in the business of imposing
religion or forcing people to
practice any particular
religion; imposing religion is,
in Islam, not only strongly
discouraged, but also looked
down upon as it generally turns
people against religion instead
of bringing them closer.
Political parties become popular
when they reflect the values and
principles of the majority of
the people – and religion and
religious standards represent a
big part of those values.
Islamic parties should not be
excluded from the political
system, so as to allow them to
participate actively and
peacefully in the
democratization process of their
societies and countries.
This process will take time –
several years and perhaps even
decades – but it is the only way
to bring real tangible peace,
stability, and development to
the Muslim world.
Ijithad and the
Reinterpretation of Islam:
The effort
to reinterpret Islam and
modernize Islamic thought is not
a new phenomenon. It started at
the end of the 19th
century and beginning of the 20th
century with famous reformers,
such as Jamaluddin Al-Afghani,
Mohammed Abduh, al-Kawakibi, and
many other
prominent
religious scholars. It was
delayed or slowed down by the
struggle for independence for
about 50 years, and then by
oppressive and corrupt regimes
for another 50 years.
However, now it is back on track
and is moving at a much quicker
pace, and is on the agenda
everywhere, in the United
States, in Europe, and in every
Muslim country. I believe
that American and European
Muslims are called upon to lead
in this effort as we enjoy the
freedom, the means, and the
opportunity to create the
atmosphere necessary to harbor
democratization.
The
relationship between religion
and the state needs further
investigation and
clarification. Religious
beliefs and practices should not
be controlled by the state as
this damages both the state and
its religion. In CSID
conferences, we make it a point
to always bring both secularists
and Islamists together, and
encourage them to develop joint
objectives and strategies. They
all agree, for example, that
they want a democracy governed
by Islamic values, but where
individual rights are protected,
and equal rights and duties are
accorded to all citizens,
irrespective of their ethnic,
religious background, or
gender. ‘Equal rights for all
citizens’ is an essential
component of real democracy, and
of justice, which is a basic
tenent in Islam.
There are
many questions that need to be
studied and clarified today, and
they require Muslim leaders and
scholars to come up with new
answers and interpretations of
Islamic texts. However,
Ijtihad cannot succeed
or happen under dictatorships
that stifle dissent and forbid
free debates and discussions.
This is another reason why
democracy is and should be a
priority for the Muslim world
because without it, there can
be no real or meaningful
Ijtihad, and
consequently Muslims will
continue to live in ignorant and
backwards countries.
Conclusions:
Violence and terrorism
cannot prosper or exist in
democratic societies or
countries. The calls for
freedom and democracy are not
new in the Arab and Muslim
world. Arab and Muslims
have struggled for freedom and
democracy for decades (e.g.
there were close to 200,000
political prisoners in the Arab
world in 2000, according to
Amnesty International).
For decades, the US and the West
have turned their back to
democrats and reformers in the
Arab and Muslim world, and have
supported the authoritarian and
oppressive regimes in place.
Democracy is
coming to the Arab and Muslim
world, whether we know it or
not, and with or without our
support. These regimes and
governments are too weak, too
discredited, and too corrupt to
last too much longer. The only
question, then, is whether we as
Americans and as free people of
the world will support the
aspirations for freedom,
democracy, and dignity in the
Arab and Muslim world, or
whether we will go back to
supporting Arab dictators and
“doing business as usual” with
corrupt and unpopular regimes.
I believe that it is in the long
term interest and benefit of the
United States to support the
Arab and Muslim people’s
aspirations to freedom and
democracy so that we can build
future relations based on
respect, dignity, and mutual
understanding.
We are
making rapid progress in the
democratization of the Arab and
Muslim world. This does not
mean that we will have full
democracy tomorrow or the next
year, but I am very optimistic
that we will see real and
successful democracies in the
Arab and Muslim world within the
next 10 years if we pull our
resources together as an
international community. In any
case, we have no choice but to
do our best to make sure
democratization does come about
because the alternative is
simply unacceptable and cannot
continue.
Main
Conclusions:
·
Democracy is the
only solution to (and only way
out from) the current crisis in
the Muslim World, and
particularly in the Arab world.
·
Democracy is
perfectly compatible with Islam.
·
Democracy cannot
and should not exclude the
moderate Islamic movements (i.e.
those that reject violence).
·
The role of the US
and the West is critical for the
success of democracy.
Recommendations:
·
We need to engage
moderate Islamist movements and
leaders in peaceful political
dialogue and processes.
·
We need to build
strong coalitions between
secular groups and moderate
Islamist groups,
·
We need to put
real and sustained pressure on
current corrupt and
authoritarian rulers and regimes
to implement serious and
much-needed reforms. |
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