Social Movements and Civil Society in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Sunday, March 5, 2017
The Rise (and Fall?) of Political Islamism
The past week, your readings focused on Islamist movements in the region. In our current 'post-Arab Revolts' environment, why do you think Islamists in particular have yielded such successes at the ballot box, in both Tunisia and Egypt?
Islamist movements have been successful within the MENA region because of the connection they can make with the communities. The cultural discourse that the movements open up play to what the people know and the culture that they are comfortable with. Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood are able to establish themselves in the communities and gain support by helping the society and being honest with the people. The Islamist movements establish a separation between themselves and the regime, which appeals to the people who have been oppressed and ignored by the current government. The separation allows the people to place more trust in the movements than they can in the regime which is one of the failures of the authoritarian regimes because they cannot fulfill the social contracts with the citizens. There have been examples of successful Islamist movements, like the Hezbollah in Lebanon, who have obtained land in the country and who have maintained control by creating a network of NGOs that act faster than the regime could. Actions like this, create a legitimacy of the Islamist group that helps them to gain support of the people. The Hezbollah also use mass media in order to facilitate a discussion and even promote gender equality within the state. Instead of blocking the people out, they allow them to become involved and speak up about different topics. Countries like Tunisia and Egypt have had very unsuccessful authoritarian regimes and now they turn toward the Islamic movements with hope because their message is something that is socially comfortable and even empowering. Reclaiming their heritage is a powerful push towards a group that shares their values and hope for the future.
An easy conclusion for this question would be that much of Egypt and Tunisia practice Islam, and thus fore they voted for those who would bring their faith into the government. However, this is not the case. As we learned in class, lots of people in Egypt voted for Islamists because they would be honest and were not influenced by the previous regime. The Egyptian people were looking to have a change in their government, rather than just put in a new regime who would do the same things as the old. This is the sort of mentality we saw in the United States’ most recent election, citizens were fed up with the system and wanted change, thus supporting a candidate who isn’t necessarily fit for office because he was going to run things differently than how the government had previously been being run. Similarly, Islamist groups in Egypt exploited those who were fed up, and unemployed. From what I understand about Tunisia after their revolution there were fair elections, which both Islam and secular powers were elected. However, the Islamists were calling for the return of Sharia Law, and discussed things like justice, honesty, faith and employment in their speeches. Similar to Egypt, these are the kinds of topics which will grab the attention of those who are angry about the previous regimes methods.
While comparing the United States to Egypt, how would you recommend we prevent the so called "new" regime from turning back towards the very political tropes they were elected to do away with? Though many within Egypt supported Islamist candidates that promised a movement away from authoritarianism, el-Sisi was elected (whether fairly remains to be seen) into office and failed to live up to his constituents expectations. In the same vein, individuals on both sides of the political spectrum (including Christian conservatives) have found fault with President Trump for not fulfilling campaign promises. Hard line supporters chastize him for being too lax in his policies and not "draining the swamp", while liberals argue that his executive orders take away the civil liberties of their constituencies.
Islam is seen as a uniting force across many of the MENA regions. This is especially true in Egypt, where the Muslim brotherhood is seen as one of the more stable and helpful political organizations in the country. Perhaps anothe reason is that more often than not, people find comfort in their religious identity and choose to not only associate themselves with the values of the religion, but also the political motivations. For the most part, Islam was not a persecuted religion in the middle east, it was a symbol of power, as many of the leaders are part of the religous faith. People will vote for leaders that they percieve to have the same values as them, thus they vote for people who uphold the values of Islam. We can see the same thing being done in the US. People will vote for christian politicians because they believe they will uphold "christian values". This is also a way to protect identity in a region that, in the past, has looked down upon other expressions of identity like free speech.
Although I completely agree with your point that citizens in the MENA region vote for Islamist parties because they believe they are more trustworthy and will uphold values the citizens themselves hold, I think people vote less for Islamists because of their religious values and more for what they represent socially and politically. Islamist parties, like the Muslim Brother, of course appeal to Muslims themselves, but they also appeal to less religious citizens because they are so different than their oppressive, secular predecessors. Many citizens have jumped on the Muslim bandwagon post-Arab Revolts because they are so desperate for a change from the secular dictators they just got overthrew. The Islamist parties, like the Muslim Brotherhood, were not affiliated with the corruption and oppression that plagued the previous regimes and that's what makes them appeal so much to citizens in the post-Arab Revolts environment.
Amidst regime changes in the MENA region, Islamist movements have achieved success, especially in Tunisia and Egypt. Islamism's success in the region can be attributed to ideas that Islamists are considered to be more trustworthy, Islamism aligns with the culture of the region, and Islamist movements are a refreshing change in status quo. Islamists are sometimes considered to be more trustworthy--especially during the Egyptian election--because of both their history of credible decisions and the fact that they are seen in a better light thanks to their relative isolation from previous regimes. Islam is the dominant religion in the region, so social and political movements based on the tenets of Islam are comforting to citizens and reinforce cultural identity. Islamist movements also represent a refreshing change from the status quo, so because of the extreme unpopularity of past and present secular regimes, voters are often more inclined to support Islamists. This concept is personified in Egypt and Tunisia, two places where there was relatively high revolutionary and Islamist success. Another reason for Islamists' success in the countries is the systemic integration of Islam in the state and as an entity with political autonomy. Due to this, many generations of politicians were trained in a way that allowed them to mix religion and politics, thus giving them experience to lead their respective countries in non-secular and Islamist ways. Because of Islam's presence in the region, Islamist movements are able to unify and inspire many people by creating a sense of community built upon the values of the religion. As history has allowed us to see and based on our knowledge of successful social movements, in many cases, a unified and inspired civil society can go a long way in reforming a country and freeing the oppressed from their oppressors. Islam will always be a political and social factor in the MENA region, but despite its success in some countries, its future success in the region remains to be seen.
I think there are a lot of reasons, both currently and historically, why Islamists have yielded such successes at the ballot box, in both Tunisia and Egypt. Despite the assumption that modernization leads to secularization, this has not necessarily proven to be true in the MENA region. Over the past few decades, Islamic movements have challenged secular regimes despite governments’ attempts to marginalize religion. Contrary to popular belief (and okay, what I presumed to be true before reading about this), it wasn’t just Muslims supporting Islamist regimes and parties. Many people who voted for Muslim parties in the ‘post-Arab Revolts’ elections did not do so based on their religious affiliation but rather they did so in attempt to place a new kind of ruling party in power. Muslim political regimes and parties were not affiliated with the previous corrupt regimes, so people felt they were more trustworthy and accountable. Because of the previous oppressive, secular ruling powers, many people, not only in Egypt and Tunisia, but throughout the MENA region and beyond have turned back to religion. A lot of this going back to religion can be traced back to the colonization and oppression of the MENA states and Islamism by Western powers. After the falls of the secular dictators Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Ben Ali in Tunisia, many Muslims reclaimed their Islamic heritage in an attempt to create a positive sense of identity and values. However, many argue that Muslims are not returning to Islamism in order to regain senses of community and identity, but rather they are supporting Islamic movements and parties in order to further themselves from the oppressive, secular regimes they finally were able to escape from. The citizens of Egypt and Tunisia yearned for a sense of authority, legitimacy, and stability from their governments and Islamists were able to provide them that. As discussed in the Menoret piece, many students in the 1970s, in this case in Saudi Arabia, had attempted to create a resurgence of Islamic values in resistance to the government and ultimately failed. However, in our current ‘post-Arab Revolts’ environment, these students, who are now contributing members of society, can finally have their ideas and voices be heard, which is exactly what is happening. Although Islamic organizations, parties, and regimes can certainly wreak havoc and have negative consequences in the regions and states in which they gain power (hello, ISIS!), the main reason why they have gained such traction in the political spectrum is because of the desperation and hope of the citizens in the region for better, less oppressive governments. The people of these states, particularly Egypt and Tunisia, have been oppressed for so long by their secular governments that, of course, they are in support of any political party that has helped them in the past and promises to provide for them the better future that they want and deserve.
Islamist parties within both Egypt and Tunisia have received support from their constituencies due to the relatively large amounts of stability they provide. In the case of Egypt, both the pre-revolution Mubarak and the post-revolution el-Sisi regimes have done little to improve the daily lives of Egyptians themselves. The civil service, which employs a large majority of citizens, still remains over utilized; thus resources, benefits, and salaries are spread too thin. However, parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood actively provide food and healthcare for little to no cost, thereby co-opting the votes of individuals who realize that they have created a more stable system than the government itself. The Muslim Brotherhood has also been one of the staunchest supporters of election reform in order to prevent autocratic individuals from maintaining power once being elected into office. Furthermore, Islamists in Tunisia gained renewed support as the country decided whether to continue to implement sharia law or secularize with the drafting of their new constitution. Due to the fact that sharia law had been in place since Tunisia's independence from France, Islamist groups viewed secularism as inherently anti-Islamic and thus anti-Tunisian, garnering support in an attempt to maintain what little stability they still had.
Arab uprises have been successful because of the support they receive from Islamic groups. Islamists in Tunisian gained support by standing with the activists who wanted a new constitution. They were the voice of the people. Subsequently, in Egypt a huge aspect of the religious support they received from their uprise was from the Muslim Brotherhood, who supported the governmental shift to democracy. The Muslim Brotherhood stood with the people, and made it clear that they agreed with the cause. I think both of these Islamic groups had such a positive outcome in Tunisia and in Egypt because they worked with the people and made sure citizens rights came first before their organizations.
Islamist movements have been successful within the MENA region because of the connection they can make with the communities. The cultural discourse that the movements open up play to what the people know and the culture that they are comfortable with. Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood are able to establish themselves in the communities and gain support by helping the society and being honest with the people. The Islamist movements establish a separation between themselves and the regime, which appeals to the people who have been oppressed and ignored by the current government. The separation allows the people to place more trust in the movements than they can in the regime which is one of the failures of the authoritarian regimes because they cannot fulfill the social contracts with the citizens.
ReplyDeleteThere have been examples of successful Islamist movements, like the Hezbollah in Lebanon, who have obtained land in the country and who have maintained control by creating a network of NGOs that act faster than the regime could. Actions like this, create a legitimacy of the Islamist group that helps them to gain support of the people. The Hezbollah also use mass media in order to facilitate a discussion and even promote gender equality within the state. Instead of blocking the people out, they allow them to become involved and speak up about different topics.
Countries like Tunisia and Egypt have had very unsuccessful authoritarian regimes and now they turn toward the Islamic movements with hope because their message is something that is socially comfortable and even empowering. Reclaiming their heritage is a powerful push towards a group that shares their values and hope for the future.
An easy conclusion for this question would be that much of Egypt and Tunisia practice Islam, and thus fore they voted for those who would bring their faith into the government. However, this is not the case. As we learned in class, lots of people in Egypt voted for Islamists because they would be honest and were not influenced by the previous regime. The Egyptian people were looking to have a change in their government, rather than just put in a new regime who would do the same things as the old. This is the sort of mentality we saw in the United States’ most recent election, citizens were fed up with the system and wanted change, thus supporting a candidate who isn’t necessarily fit for office because he was going to run things differently than how the government had previously been being run. Similarly, Islamist groups in Egypt exploited those who were fed up, and unemployed.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand about Tunisia after their revolution there were fair elections, which both Islam and secular powers were elected. However, the Islamists were calling for the return of Sharia Law, and discussed things like justice, honesty, faith and employment in their speeches. Similar to Egypt, these are the kinds of topics which will grab the attention of those who are angry about the previous regimes methods.
While comparing the United States to Egypt, how would you recommend we prevent the so called "new" regime from turning back towards the very political tropes they were elected to do away with? Though many within Egypt supported Islamist candidates that promised a movement away from authoritarianism, el-Sisi was elected (whether fairly remains to be seen) into office and failed to live up to his constituents expectations. In the same vein, individuals on both sides of the political spectrum (including Christian conservatives) have found fault with President Trump for not fulfilling campaign promises. Hard line supporters chastize him for being too lax in his policies and not "draining the swamp", while liberals argue that his executive orders take away the civil liberties of their constituencies.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIslam is seen as a uniting force across many of the MENA regions. This is especially true in Egypt, where the Muslim brotherhood is seen as one of the more stable and helpful political organizations in the country. Perhaps anothe reason is that more often than not, people find comfort in their religious identity and choose to not only associate themselves with the values of the religion, but also the political motivations. For the most part, Islam was not a persecuted religion in the middle east, it was a symbol of power, as many of the leaders are part of the religous faith. People will vote for leaders that they percieve to have the same values as them, thus they vote for people who uphold the values of Islam. We can see the same thing being done in the US. People will vote for christian politicians because they believe they will uphold "christian values". This is also a way to protect identity in a region that, in the past, has looked down upon other expressions of identity like free speech.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I completely agree with your point that citizens in the MENA region vote for Islamist parties because they believe they are more trustworthy and will uphold values the citizens themselves hold, I think people vote less for Islamists because of their religious values and more for what they represent socially and politically. Islamist parties, like the Muslim Brother, of course appeal to Muslims themselves, but they also appeal to less religious citizens because they are so different than their oppressive, secular predecessors. Many citizens have jumped on the Muslim bandwagon post-Arab Revolts because they are so desperate for a change from the secular dictators they just got overthrew. The Islamist parties, like the Muslim Brotherhood, were not affiliated with the corruption and oppression that plagued the previous regimes and that's what makes them appeal so much to citizens in the post-Arab Revolts environment.
DeleteAmidst regime changes in the MENA region, Islamist movements have achieved success, especially in Tunisia and Egypt. Islamism's success in the region can be attributed to ideas that Islamists are considered to be more trustworthy, Islamism aligns with the culture of the region, and Islamist movements are a refreshing change in status quo. Islamists are sometimes considered to be more trustworthy--especially during the Egyptian election--because of both their history of credible decisions and the fact that they are seen in a better light thanks to their relative isolation from previous regimes. Islam is the dominant religion in the region, so social and political movements based on the tenets of Islam are comforting to citizens and reinforce cultural identity. Islamist movements also represent a refreshing change from the status quo, so because of the extreme unpopularity of past and present secular regimes, voters are often more inclined to support Islamists. This concept is personified in Egypt and Tunisia, two places where there was relatively high revolutionary and Islamist success. Another reason for Islamists' success in the countries is the systemic integration of Islam in the state and as an entity with political autonomy. Due to this, many generations of politicians were trained in a way that allowed them to mix religion and politics, thus giving them experience to lead their respective countries in non-secular and Islamist ways.
ReplyDeleteBecause of Islam's presence in the region, Islamist movements are able to unify and inspire many people by creating a sense of community built upon the values of the religion. As history has allowed us to see and based on our knowledge of successful social movements, in many cases, a unified and inspired civil society can go a long way in reforming a country and freeing the oppressed from their oppressors. Islam will always be a political and social factor in the MENA region, but despite its success in some countries, its future success in the region remains to be seen.
I think there are a lot of reasons, both currently and historically, why Islamists have yielded such successes at the ballot box, in both Tunisia and Egypt. Despite the assumption that modernization leads to secularization, this has not necessarily proven to be true in the MENA region. Over the past few decades, Islamic movements have challenged secular regimes despite governments’ attempts to marginalize religion. Contrary to popular belief (and okay, what I presumed to be true before reading about this), it wasn’t just Muslims supporting Islamist regimes and parties. Many people who voted for Muslim parties in the ‘post-Arab Revolts’ elections did not do so based on their religious affiliation but rather they did so in attempt to place a new kind of ruling party in power. Muslim political regimes and parties were not affiliated with the previous corrupt regimes, so people felt they were more trustworthy and accountable. Because of the previous oppressive, secular ruling powers, many people, not only in Egypt and Tunisia, but throughout the MENA region and beyond have turned back to religion. A lot of this going back to religion can be traced back to the colonization and oppression of the MENA states and Islamism by Western powers. After the falls of the secular dictators Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Ben Ali in Tunisia, many Muslims reclaimed their Islamic heritage in an attempt to create a positive sense of identity and values. However, many argue that Muslims are not returning to Islamism in order to regain senses of community and identity, but rather they are supporting Islamic movements and parties in order to further themselves from the oppressive, secular regimes they finally were able to escape from. The citizens of Egypt and Tunisia yearned for a sense of authority, legitimacy, and stability from their governments and Islamists were able to provide them that. As discussed in the Menoret piece, many students in the 1970s, in this case in Saudi Arabia, had attempted to create a resurgence of Islamic values in resistance to the government and ultimately failed. However, in our current ‘post-Arab Revolts’ environment, these students, who are now contributing members of society, can finally have their ideas and voices be heard, which is exactly what is happening. Although Islamic organizations, parties, and regimes can certainly wreak havoc and have negative consequences in the regions and states in which they gain power (hello, ISIS!), the main reason why they have gained such traction in the political spectrum is because of the desperation and hope of the citizens in the region for better, less oppressive governments. The people of these states, particularly Egypt and Tunisia, have been oppressed for so long by their secular governments that, of course, they are in support of any political party that has helped them in the past and promises to provide for them the better future that they want and deserve.
ReplyDeleteIslamist parties within both Egypt and Tunisia have received support from their constituencies due to the relatively large amounts of stability they provide.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of Egypt, both the pre-revolution Mubarak and the post-revolution el-Sisi regimes have done little to improve the daily lives of Egyptians themselves. The civil service, which employs a large majority of citizens, still remains over utilized; thus resources, benefits, and salaries are spread too thin. However, parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood actively provide food and healthcare for little to no cost, thereby co-opting the votes of individuals who realize that they have created a more stable system than the government itself. The Muslim Brotherhood has also been one of the staunchest supporters of election reform in order to prevent autocratic individuals from maintaining power once being elected into office.
Furthermore, Islamists in Tunisia gained renewed support as the country decided whether to continue to implement sharia law or secularize with the drafting of their new constitution. Due to the fact that sharia law had been in place since Tunisia's independence from France, Islamist groups viewed secularism as inherently anti-Islamic and thus anti-Tunisian, garnering support in an attempt to maintain what little stability they still had.
Arab uprises have been successful because of the support they receive from Islamic groups. Islamists in Tunisian gained support by standing with the activists who wanted a new constitution. They were the voice of the people. Subsequently, in Egypt a huge aspect of the religious support they received from their uprise was from the Muslim Brotherhood, who supported the governmental shift to democracy. The Muslim Brotherhood stood with the people, and made it clear that they agreed with the cause. I think both of these Islamic groups had such a positive outcome in Tunisia and in Egypt because they worked with the people and made sure citizens rights came first before their organizations.
ReplyDelete