Mideast Islamists aim for moderation not extremism

Upon hearing Kauder’s remark, Mozart and Beethoven would play Turkish marches in their graves; Goethe would recite his poem in praise of the Prophet Muhammad; and the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas would remind us about how he modelled his scholasticism on the philosophical method of Averroes, a Muslim philosopher and great commentator on Aristotle. Kauder has political ambitions but a very short memory about the role of Islam in the formation of modern Western civilisation since the Dark Ages. 

Kauder’s statement also reveals Christian conservatives’ inability to grapple with Islam as a post-Christian religion, which is no different from Muslims Salafists’ denial of the authenticity of other religions. This reminds me of the Prophet Muhammad’s saying, “Your leaders will be like you.” 

The Western dilemma over the presence of Muslims and other groups in their midst will not go away unless they accept the concept of multicultural citizenship; otherwise their talk of democracy, human rights and pluralism will be merely speechifying. 

This is one type of response to the presence of Islam. On the other hand, the contemporary Middle East is witnessing the struggle between democratic forces and old authoritarian elites for freedom and justice. The latter are in no mood for reform, negotiation or change. Islamists have won in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco and are a significant political force in Jordan, Kuwait, Libya and Syria, along with secular parties. 

While the Islamists and secular parties compete, they have also formed alliances based on solidarity borne out of their similar experiences of imprisonment, torture and exile at the hand of the autocrats. They have now joined the effort to oust the military from power in Egypt.

The power struggle between the forces for democracy and the militaries in the Middle East is not a new political phenomenon. Modern history has witnessed similar struggles in many parts of the world, where militaries either hold power on their own or in alliance with autocrats, as both need each others’ support to remain in power. 

Thus, Bashar Assad of Syria will remain in power in spite of the uprising and international sanctions; or Syria may end up in the current Egyptian scenario where the military is engaging in different strategies to hold on to power and protect itself from persecution – which the May 23-24 presidential election may bring about.  

The recent disqualification of three powerful presidential candidates illustrates the ongoing power struggle in Egypt. The presidential election will likely result in the election of a weak president who will not be a threat to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the military administration. Probable winners may be either former Muslim Brotherhood candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, now turned liberal, who has the support of the revolutionary youth, or the young socialist human rights lawyer Khaled Ali Omar, who has the support of the workring class.

Presently, Egypt is facing an impasse over the Constituent Assembly, which has been suspended by the administration because it did not include representatives of all political ideologies. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of SCAF, has remarked that the presidential election will not take place unless the new constitution defining the powers of the president is in place. The new Constituent Assembly may now be made up of members elected from outside, or of representatives from all parties elected to the parliament.

The challenge for the new Egyptian parliament is to build a new system of governance after the revolution – a modern system that is free, fair, just and committed to political pluralism. It must also respect Egyptians’ sentiment for Islam and Arabism by working with different sections of society for national unity.  

In a recent public forum the moderate Egyptian Islamists declared that they are committed to the removal of the culture of oppression and to replace it with the culture of democracy and freedom, which will respect human dignity and accept differences. They also offered a new interpretation of the meaning of sharia; for them it does not refer to the medieval rulings of Islamic jurisprudence, but to the Maqasid al-Sharia – the objectives of Islamic law, which are not in contradiction to modern values that protect life, property, democracy, freedom, the rule of law, and human rights. 

In this context, moderate Egyptian Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood have stressed ijtihad – reformation of Islamic law – by distinguishing between sharia as a source of values, and jurisprudential rulings that have to adapt to the times. They point out that application of sharia in Islam has not always been perfect; it has either succeeded or failed at different times, thus it is subject to reform.

The members of the Muslim Brotherhood are not Qutbists – i.e. those who adhere to a violence-based interpretation of Islam. Rather, they include lawyers, economists, analysts and seasoned politicians. The Qutbists who favoured an extremist approach had already abandoned the Muslim Brotherhood in the Sadat era. 

The Muslim Brotherhood – related Freedom and Justice Party wants to move Egypt from being a country run as a military industry complex to letting people manage their lives as they want. The recent victories by Islamic parties in the Middle East is not a strange phenomena since Arab Muslim countries  are naturally religious communities that already  include secular groups. The Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt and Ennahdah in Tunisia are committed to non-violence, equality before the law and freedom from torture.

 In the face of the impasse in the Constituent Assembly, the main task for all Egyptians is to work towards framing a consensual constitution and putting Egypt on the democratic track. The Islamist Freedom and Justice Party and the Nour Party have already burned their fingers once in doing this.

 

Dr Imtiyaz Yusuf is professor of Islamics and religion at the Graduate School of Philosophy and Religion, Assumption University, Bangkok.