Friday, May 5, 2017
Re: The Rise (and Fall?) of Political Islam
In Egypt, Islam has yielded success in the ballot box because Egyptians wanted a change from the current military regime. Since, after the fall of Mubarak, the government has not met the people's demands, the people are turning to groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, who have fought for representation in the government for decades and are very close to the culture of many Egyptians. In Tunisia, where the institution of democracy has been relatively successful since the fall of Ben Ali, the Islamist party there, Ennahda, is becoming more and more secular. Its commitment to democracy has helped it to maintain popularity among the people (Aljazeera).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This makes me wonder whether the role of Islam (or religion for the matter) is being overstated and whether at the end of the day, people are concerned with feeding their families and getting job. I'm still not really sure. On the one hand, these concerns are legitimate and relatable all over the world. On the other, the role of religion in MENA should not be underestimated. At the end of the day, the majority of these countries are Muslim and faith is important in these societies. We see it in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and so on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aylar, I think the rise of Political Islam was because of the services they provided and not necessarily based on the religious factor. I am sure religion was a factor for some but not all.
ReplyDelete