| If we don’t want to retrace the path laid by the Mubarak regime, religious groups must be allowed a voice in the political arena |
| By Réhab El-Bakry |
| When Egyptians took to the streets on January 25, their main message was about rights and freedoms. It was a largely secular movement that eventually expanded to include people from all walks of life, and those who took to the streets were less concerned with one another’s ideologies and more concerned with their primary goal: ousting Hosni Mubarak from power. After 18 long days and nights, the demonstrators eventually forced the collapse of the system as a whole. In its wake, a new political openness has been ushered in, bringing religious movements to the forefront of the political arena. This reality is causing great discomfort to many; it’s as if religious movements never existed before. But the fact is, they have. Some of these movements have always been on the periphery of the political system, while others have remained in the background for years with little, if any, information available about them. The emergence of the latter on the political scene after February 11 has tapped into the fears of the public. For much of the last three decades, religious movements have been demonized by the Mubarak government both domestically and internationally. Preventing their ascent to power was the excuse the former regime used to justify its eternal hold on power and its efforts to ensure the passing of the presidency from father to son, ignoring all principles of the republic that Egypt supposedly is. It was also this threat of religious movements that encouraged the international community to turn a blind eye to human rights violations by the Mubarak regime. With the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 etched in the mind of the international community, it was not only political Islam that represented a threat to the stability of the region — Islam itself became the enemy. The international community might not have encouraged dictators in the region to torture or kill their own people, but the silence of the supposed defenders of rights and freedoms spoke volumes. And we Egyptians were just as guilty. As individuals raised to love our country, many of us were fully aware of what the regime did to those suspected of having ties with Islamist movements. Average Egyptians became part of the conspiracy by simply ignoring what we saw before our eyes on a daily basis. After 30 years of being told that Islamists were the devil incarnate, we began to believe it. In fact, the mere use of the word Islamist, which literally translates as someone who strictly abides by the teachings of Islam, has wrongly become more of a synonym for terrorist. It’s no surprise that the murder of Khaled Saeed touched the hearts of so many Egyptians, pushing them over the edge. His photos portrayed a young and energetic youth who could’ve been anyone; that image juxtaposed with the autopsy photo of his mangled face was hard for many to ignore. However, if Saeed had a beard; if his mother or sister had worn the niqab; if he had been a member of an Islamist movement, we would’ve all looked the other way and continued to live at the mercy of Mubarak and his heir apparent. Among the religion-based movements that managed to carve a space for themselves on the periphery of the political scene during the Mubarak years is the Muslim Brotherhood. By functioning within the limitations of the political scene, this “restricted” group, as they were often referred to in the media, managed to participate in parliamentary elections either through alliances with other secular political parties or as independent candidates. Muslim Brotherhood members were subjected to their fair share of detentions and harassment at the hands of the government but still remained active, albeit at the very margins of power. In contrast, the Salafi movement has remained out of the spotlight for much of the past 20 years. Although we have no accurate data as to how many Egyptians consider themselves Salafists, anecdotal information suggests that they exist in substantial numbers. This group has seldom taken part in politics, but now, in light of the freedom ushered in by the Egyptian revolution, they are eager to participate. It is still unclear exactly to what extent they will participate in politics, but the Salafists’ newfound voice is making many nervous, particularly those who advocate a secular or civil government. We must learn to overcome our fear of politically active Islamists if Egypt is to shed the authoritarianism that has gripped its political scene for much of its modern history. In a truly inclusive democracy, all parties and groups must have the tolerance to listen to one another. Because we are all experimenting with democracy for the first time, we must be willing to share the microphone with those who may or may not reflect our own political views. Otherwise, the system we’re creating will be built on unstable foundations that will eventually give way to a serious crisis. Almost every analyst will tell you that excluding a group from political participation almost always leads to its radicalization. And Egypt has its own examples to prove it. Marginalization of Islamist movements from the legitimate political system during the 1980s and 1990s led to the rise of several radical Islamist movements that cost us many lives. As a strong believer in rights and freedoms, it’s somewhat odd for me to be advocating sharing the microphone with groups that may or may not try to restrict my freedoms. But because of my inherent belief in those same values, it is my duty to call for the rights of all Egyptians to participate in our new system. Creating a new government that is simply a reflection of the previous one is pointless. In my mind, we need to create a system where everyone feels they are represented and have an actual stake in the system. To me, that is the spirit of the January 25 Revolution. |
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