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Political Islam, secular elite and democracy in the Middle East (1)
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By A. KADİR YILDIRIM*




What is a bigger threat to democratization in the Middle East, reigning secular-elite parties and regimes or popular Islamic parties?

Discourse against Islamic parties in the region appears to be the norm, usually in favor of authoritarian but secular regimes. However, the support for Islamic parties -- portrayed as relentless opponents of modernity, modern lifestyles and a democratic political environment -- comes, to the dismay of secularists, from the public at large in the countries of the region. In the limited electoral platforms offered to peoples of these countries, with almost no exception Islamic parties fared much better than their secular counterparts in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. In this formulation, a major dilemma emerges for proponents of democracy in the region: Should democratic ideals be upheld despite the potential "scary" scenario for secular, modern and Western ideals? Ideally, an answer to this question should address two broad issues: First, how should democratization efforts proceed when the cultural and religious values of a society stand in sharp distinction from those observed in the Western hemisphere?

In a slight reformulation, can we talk about democracy with a religious undertone, or is a secular formulation a sine qua non for democracy? Second, in cases where the people choose non-secular options, is the use of nondemocratic means justifiable to reach a democratic end? In what follows, I will try to briefly discuss these two broad issues which will, hopefully, lead to the clarification of some elements of the debate.

Secular elite and democracy

In order to analyze the status quo correctly, we need to delineate the actors and their interests. Secular elite in most Middle Eastern countries terrify both the domestic secular minority and the international community with fear that "radical" Islamic opposition groups are ready to take over the government to lead in a repressive, conservative direction. The most clear-cut example of this phenomenon is Hosni Mubarak's framing of the Islamist opposition. The argument runs that if the governing secular elite were to grant complete political freedom, Islamists, that is the Muslim Brotherhood, are likely to take over through free elections only to see the rights and freedom of both the secularists and the remainder of the society taken away from them in an oppressive and anti-liberal wave of Islamization of the society and politics. The "alternative" suggested by Mubarak, and others in similar positions, is limiting democratic rights and liberties until the "Islamic" threat abates -- and only then will democratization will be available at full speed.

Is this a convincing argument? One way to evaluate this claim is to look at history to find examples of such "takeovers" by Islamists. Usually Iran, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Sudan come to mind as examples of Islamist capture. Though it may be true that groups claiming to be Islamists took over the control of the government and began imposing their religious understanding on others in all these cases, one must remember that none of these groups came to power through peaceful means. A coup d'état or revolution was an important element on their way to power. Hence, it seems reasonable to argue that non-peaceful means were always part of the equation for such Islamist takeovers. In the case of contemporary Islamist parties, a clear commitment to peaceful means has been the most important characteristic of such groups, even in the face of state repression and unfair treatment, a feat similar to secular political parties in the system. In this case, we do not have a historical precedent for the use of repressive or violent measures from which to draw with respect to Islamist parties' prospective behavior in a democratic environment. In other words, history does not show Islamists as more undemocratic than other secular opposition political parties.

Alternatively, one could try to infer the potential winners and losers of a prospective political liberalization process through a counterfactual exercise. This exercise would help in evaluating the legitimacy of the "Islamist" threat. Islamist parties, as mentioned before, present themselves as the most important opposition force in the illiberal and semi-liberal political systems of the Middle East; so a democratic opening clears the way for a change in the political power. Under the current circumstances, secular groups hold social, economic and political power to the exclusion of Isla vmic groups and others. Let us imagine for a moment that Islamic groups assume political power in these countries in a peaceful manner. What would be the implications for the secular elite? First, having lost their political power, they stand to lose their grip on the economy, marked by the absence of competitive practice and the pervasiveness of favoritism. Thus, in a system characterized by proximity, or even equivalence, of political and economic power centers, defense of the "political" has serious repercussions on the "economic." Besides, the upper hand in social power would transfer to Islamists as a result of the change in political power. When the secular elite anticipate a serious threat to its sources of power, the rational course of action is to counter the right to exist of Islamist parties. Under such circumstances, it appears that secular regimes would hold on to the power until the Islamist wave fades out to secure a democratic end. In order to evaluate the merit of the secularist argument, a second question needs to be addressed: Is it, in fact, possible to expect a democracy with an Islamic undertone distinct from the one we observe in the West?

Religion and democracy in the Middle East

I believe this question carries significant potential to resolve major issues surrounding the credibility of Islamist parties. More importantly, a general consensus exists among the people of the region, both Islamists and non-Islamists, with respect to the need for a "different" brand of democracy emphasizing the Islamic and cultural sensitivities of the local population rather than exclusively focusing on those of the West. Such an approach may even require partial disentangling of the secularism-democracy duo. This reserved stance on democracy is a legacy of the colonial past; any direct adoption of a Western idea or institution carries negative connotations leading to extra caution in order to avoid foreign intervention in disguise.

Islam is by far the most important element of life in the region. In sharp contrast to the rest of the world, the religion seems to reinforce its presence in the lives of the people despite growing modernization. Modernization theory informs us of the secularizing impact of higher levels of education, urbanization and mass media; the theory fails to provide a valid explanation of the current situation in the region, where people have adopted a more religious lifestyle over the years since the 1970s. Though the trend seems contrary to expectations based on modernization theory, it is important to emphasize the fact that the trend in the region is a fairly conscious "return" to the religion. Instead of the emulative and traditional nature of the faith in the pre-modernization era, the people of the region are seeking religion at different junctions in their lives with a more cognizant understanding of it. An extension of this religiosity shows itself as the demand for respect for religious rules and conduct in the political sphere; an overwhelming majority of people in the Middle East see Islamic legal codification in this light. A conservative social culture surrounds the public space. The Quran is recited either from tape or live in supermarkets, on the streets and in department stores; more than 90 percent of the women wear the Islamic veil; public consumption of alcohol is limited; Friday, the religious holiday, is also the official holiday. Despite such a conservative milieu, unobserving Muslims or non-Muslims are free to believe and act upon their beliefs as they wish. Music of all kinds, unveiled women and restaurants serving alcohol are common.


togayszaman
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*A. Kadir Yıldırım is a Ph.D. candidate at Ohio State University's department of political science in Columbus, Ohio.



07 January 2009

January 7, 2009 | 8:40 AM Comments  0 comments

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