Renowned Iraqi/British liberal writer Dr. Abdul Khaliq Hussein is an Iraqi-born surgeon who currently resides in the United Kingdom. He is considered one of the foremost liberal thinkers and writers in the Arab world.
In a recent article, posted July 31, 2011 on his website[1] Dr. Hussein analyzes the cultural, religious, political, and social factors that could impede the transformation from despotism to democracy in the Arab countries. He underlines in particular depth the dangers posed by political Islam under the banner of "Islam Is the Solution" – a slogan that resonates with large segments of the population which endure poverty, unemployment, high illiteracy, and ignorance.
Despite the serious impediments to the transformation to democracy, liberalism, and human rights, Dr. Hussein remains optimistic that in a globalized world no country can remain isolated for long, and that change is inevitable.
The following are excerpts from the article:
As in Eastern Europe, Democracy will Succeed Only After Struggle and Sacrifice
"The uprisings and popular revolutions that have swept through Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and most recently Syria are similar to a large extent to the events in Eastern (socialist) Europe. They had one thing in common—getting rid of despotic and petrified regimes and establishing democratic systems that respect diversity, the right to disagree, peaceful performance by government and human rights. The nations of Eastern Europe have succeeded in their struggle and they now enjoy democratic systems not much different from those that prevailed in Western Europe for hundreds of years. The time has come for the Arab people to play the same role, and it is bound to succeed because evolution is the rule of life.
"But democracy is not without a price. Democracy was born after long labor pains and cesarean surgeries. Democracy is not born whole but it is rather an accumulated entity, starting with basic rights and growing with time and with popular struggles.
"People's demand for democracy and liberty comes after they have fulfilled their basic needs. It would appear that the Arab people have come close to this stage not only because they achieved the minimum in terms of basic needs but because of the growth of the political and social awareness among the new generation thanks to the informatics revolution and the development of the tools of communications. There is also the growing interaction between nations as a result of mass immigration and tourism, the internet and the satellite televisions that have turned the world into a small global village and have tied the economic and cultural interests of nations into a globalized system. All these factors have expedited the development of awareness among the youth, given that 70% of the population in the Arab world is below the age of 31. Most of them are educated and they all suffer from similar problems such as unemployment and despotic regimes but they aspire for a better life."
The Various Impediments to Democracy in the Arab World
"There are many impediments to the transition to democracy in the Arab world. Below are some highlights:
"A System of Inherited Traditional Values
"The predominant Arab-Islamic culture has deep roots in societies noted for their aversion to democracy, liberalism, individual rights and female rights. This phenomenon did not emerge from a vacuum but it is the product of events that go deep into nomadism in the desert of the Arabian Peninsula. British historian Arnold Toynbee described nomadism as a "frozen culture" resistant to development and change. It is reflected in the absolute authority of the father (patriarchism) and his dominance in the lives of his family, including killing them if he so wishes. These cultural values are transmitted to tribal chiefs and ultimately to the heads of state as they exercise despotic rule over their people. The Arab state is a magnified picture of a tribe and as authority is bequeathed in the tribe it is also bequeathed through the transfer of authority from the head of state to his son.
"It is worth noting that despotism in the in the Arab-Muslim countries is consecrated through clerics who go along with the despotic rulers in search of quiet and livelihood. The clerics have invented many sayings that they attributed to Prophet Mohammad about obeying the ruler even if he were a thorough despot. One of the alleged sayings attributed to the Prophet is "Hear and Obey-meaning the ruler—even if he skinned you and took away your property." They are known throughout history for issuing fatwas [religious edicts] to justify decisions made by rulers even the decisions were made in violation of religion. These clerics continue to exercise spiritual authority of directing the Arab-Islamic society according to their whims or in compliance with the wishes of the despotic ruler. Most of their fatwas negate democracy and they are particularly against women, fine arts, freedom of expression, freedom of individuals and the right to differ.
"Despite these impediments, the Arab nations are not isolated of what it is happening in the world. The contemporary Arab culture is an amalgamation of nomadism and modern civilization, even if they are in unequal proportions. The recent uprisings have proven that the Arab nations have reached a stage in which civilization is overriding nomadism without disposing of nomadism entirely.
"Political Islam
"This is perhaps the most dangerous impediment to the rise of democracy in the Arab world. The rise of the tide of political Islam represented by the Muslim Brotherhood and their offshoots in the Arab countries under different nomenclatures such as Hamas in Gaza and Algeria, al-Nahdha [Awakening] in Tunisia and tahrir (Liberation) in other countries, has served as a major impediment to democracy. It is worth noting that the religious doctrine of the Muslim Brotherhood is derived from the strict Wahhabi doctrine that believes in the cancelations of others and the practice of jihad [Holy War] for the Sake of Allah and against those who disagree or oppose the achievement of the ultimate objective of creating the Islamic Caliphate and the implementation of the principle of 'Government by Allah.'
"The Islamic political parties have grown concomitantly with the growth of the oil wealth in the Gulf countries that have committed billions of dollars in favor of political Islam and the spread of the extremist Wahhabi doctrine in the Arab world and the world at large. Benefitting from the rapid development in the technology of communications the Islamic parties were able to spread religious extremism among the Muslim youth by taking advantage of their difficult living conditions which the despotic regimes have failed to solve. They have raised the banner "Islam is the Solution". The great number of workers from poor Arab countries who sought employment in the rich oil countries that espouse strict Wahhabism returned home carrying with them religious extremism including the hijab (veil) and niqab [covering a female body from head to toe.]
"The despotic Arab regimes have established unwritten alliance with the religious institutions by, on the one hand, discriminating against secular opposition political parties and against the liberal and democratic segments of the society and, on the other hand, opening the gates for political Islam to use the mosques, religious schools and the media and even the streets and public squares to spread their teachings of religious extremism.
"The danger of the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly in Egypt, rests in its being an old organization of 80 years. It is one of the most political parties in terms of experience, funding, organization and its familiarity with the society and its problems. It knows how to play on the sensitive religious chord to arouse the public feelings for its own political ends. The brotherhood speaks with two tongues. At the beginning of the January 25 revolution [in Egypt] they took a neutral position and did not participate in it until they were certain of its success. By then they have taken part in it with extreme caution but did not raise the banner of 'Islam is the Solution, the Prophet is our Leader and the Koran is our Constitution.' They have simply rode the wave for demanding a change in the regime and spoke extensively about democracy, human rights and modernism. Later on, they invited the Islamist preacher Sheikh Yusuf al-
Qaradhawi from Qatar to conduct public prayers in Tahrir Square in Cairo, as an attempt to kidnap the revolution from its legitimate owners-- the Egyptian youth who lost more than 800 martyrs and thousands of wounded.
"We believe that the majority of Arab voters, having witnessed the violence wrought by al-Qa'ida terrorist organization, have changed their position with regard to the Islamic parties. As a result, the recent elections in Jordan, Kuwait and Algeria the number of Islamist representatives in their respective parliament has declined to a level that denies them a parliamentary weight. The same thing happened in Pakistan's recent legislative elections in which the Islamists were able to garner but 11% of the vote.
"Religious and Sectarian Conflicts and Strife
"The religious conflicts threaten democracy in the Arab countries. They are like timed bombs. In Egypt, for example, there is the strife between the Muslim Salafists and the Christian Copts, resulting most resulting in the clashes in the famous "Ambaba" Quarters in Cairo which led the Egypt minister of justice abdul Aziz al-Jundi to declare that "the Egyptian nation was in danger." After the January 25 revolution the Salafists have become more active by imposing by force their control over some mosques.
"Absence of Organizations of Civil Society
"Organizations of civil society play an important role in supporting democracy as they play an intermediary role between the government and the people. Together with the media and the opposition parties these organizations monitor the government performance and call it to task for its errors. The problem is that the despotic regimes either they ban the organizations of civil society or they bring them under complete control of the ruling parties. As a result, they lose their importance and become a spying network on the people.
"Spread of Illiteracy and Ignorance
"Illiteracy is high in the Arab world accounting for 40% among males and 60% among females. This is an impediment for democracy. Democracy does not only mean free elections but it also means freedom of thinking, organizing and demonstrating and the right to dissent.. It is easy for the enemies of democracy to take advantage of widespread illiteracy and ignorance among wide segments of the society by misguiding them about the nature of democracy and the people he stand behind it.
"Discrimination Against Women
"Women represent 50% of the society but they are discriminated against and their rights are squandered in the Arab countries. By patterns of thought, customs and inherited obsolete traditions a woman is placed at a lower level than a man. Others link the inferior status of women to religion and Islamic Shari'a. As a result, 50% of the people are paralyzed and prevented from participating in the building of their nations. It is an impediment to democracy and societal progress from political, cultural, economic, social and educational perspective. A standard of civilization is measured by the status of women and their involvement in various aspects of society.
"The Crisis of Opposition Parties
"Most of the opposition parties represent the other face of the coin of the despotic regimes in the Arab countries. These parties support democracy while they are in opposition but no sooner they reach power than they disavow democracy and continue with despotism. Most of these parties are the property of "the founding leader" and his family, and this attribute does not exclude the Communist parties in the Arab countries. For example, when the leader of the Syrian Communist Party khaled Bikdash passed away the leadership passed on to his wife Wissal Farha the same way that the leadership of the Syrian Ba'th Party passed on to Bashar al-Assad after the passing away of his father, Hafidh al-Assad. The bequeathing of the party or state leadership is an extension of the custom of bequeathing the leadership of the tribe in paternalistic society.
"Struggles Between the Forces of Revolution and its Fragmentation
"Most of those who recently triggered the uprisings and the popular revolutions in the Arab countries are young, or what is described the generation of internet, Face book and twitter. They represent a large segment of the society and they seek a democratic system that guarantees them a life of freedom and dignity. Their problem is that they are not organized as political parties and they lack charismatic leadership to shape their thinking and lead them to achieve common objectives of building a democratic system and a state of institutions. The fragmentation of the youthful energies is not to the advantage of the newly-born democratic revolution. These young people need to be organized so that they can close the gate before Islamist parties that enjoy unity of command, experience and capacity to maneuver and kidnap the revolution from its legitimate owners.
"Demographic Explosion
"This factor is no less dangerous than political Islam to impede the transition to democracy. The Arab population doubles every quarter of a century. At the turn of the twentieth century the population of the Arab countries was about 28 million but climbed to 350 million today, representing the highest rate of fertility in the world. This demographic explosion contributes to the deterioration of land fertility, increased salination, water shortage, the expansion of desertification and the suffocating crisis of housing.
"Most Arab countries are not capable of producing food for their people. There is direct correlation between economic sufficiency, political stability, human development, social peace and the success of the democratic system.
"The population explosion coupled with deteriorating economic condition could lead to the burst of the silent mines in society. The solution is a strict family planning as well as mounting a campaign to convince the people about the benefits of population control. It is difficult for any government, whether democratic or despotic, to create millions of new jobs annually for university graduates and others. It is unavoidable that disappointment will be the lot of the young people who will fail to attain the rewards they have expected from their revolution.
"The Followers of the Despotic Regime
"One of the impediments faced by democracy is that the despotic regime would have relied for a long time on a policy of "divide and rule" and the creation of a large slice of beneficiaries of money, high posts, status and other privileges. These individuals fully realize that with the fall of the regime the retention of their privileges and their own safety would require desperate defense of the despotic regime, the source of their livelihood. This is what happened with the launching of the terrorist war against Iraq after Saddam's demise. This is what is happening in Syria, Yemen and Libya."
"Summary and Conclusion
"The Arab nations suffer from poverty of democratic traditions, the absence of civil society, the spread of corruption, patronage and favoritism in government, in addition to political Islam, population explosion, economic crisis, and unemployment, religious, sectarian and tribal divisions. All of these factors are impediments to transition from despotism to democracy."
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