Daily Times

Events in the Arab world have dissolved easygoing stereotypical labels. As I have written previously, we should be more aware of the diversity within Islamism with some leaders like Rachid Al Ghannouchi promoting an Islamist outfit with a democratic and liberal bent. If anything, what is required is social engagement rather than shunning political actors purely because of the label ascribed to them.

The Arab world is the best example of inter-generational politics. The ‘old guard’ throughout the Arab world is teetering at the brink, but it is not only the autocratic dictators, aged, delusional and tyrannical who are alienating their populations, it is also the Islamist elders. There has been great speculation about the role of Islamists in a post-dictatorial Arab world, but this revolution was not brought about by Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood initially was reluctant to join the protests and the old guard themselves were surprised at the ferocity and popularity of the revolt.

The Brotherhood serves as a microcosm of the internal transformations going in Islamist politics, which may see a shift towards the Left. Combining social justice, economic fairness, freedom from oppression and equality, some of the basic moral values of Islam, the younger, technologically savvy reformists within the Brotherhood are seeing the current revolution as a chance to bring about a new type of Islamist politics which is more progressive, tolerant and democratic.

The Arab revolution has marked the politicisation of the Arab youth; far from being apathetic or disillusioned, the youth are shaping a new discourse of politics seeking for a broad-based coalition affirming basic virtues such as democracy. This marked maturity is something their elders could not have dreamed of. The youth branch of the Brotherhood, is trying to move their organisation into the political mainstream — the younger members now blog, Facebook and are aware of all the tools of social networking, which allows them a space to be critical of some of the more conservative views within their ranks.

What these Arab revolutions are doing is ending the monopoly that the old conservative guard of Islamists had over dissent. It has opened up the political space and allows for an open exchange of ideas. The younger members of the Brotherhood are sympathetic to secular movements and organistions like April 6 and Kefaya. The conservatives have to compete in the market place of ideas now that the old fear of autocracy has gone.

In a recent piece in the Guardian, Khalil al-Anani, an expert on Egypt’s political Islamists at Durham University said, “The reformist wing within the Brotherhood will be strengthened at the expense of the conservative old guard.” Even though there is a reformist wing, the Brotherhood are by no means social liberals (though a reformist wing could be transformed into a liberal Islamic party). Instead, this growing reformism within Islamism across the Arab world marks the gradual liberalisation of Islamist politics following the example of Rachid Al Ghannouchi and the AKP Party. It is moving towards grounding democracy, operating in a pluralistic political culture and accepting diversity. Such an evolution is perhaps the most promising part of this revolution. There is a noticeable shift towards the Left, particularly if one reads the writings of Al Ghannouchi who is a leading Islamist leader and intellectual in the Arab world.

In Pakistan, our Islamist parties are still stuck in the colonial era of Islamism, where there are still strong theocratic ambitions. The theocratic ambition within Islamism is dying out in the Arab world, as the youth realise the madness and the lunacy of the idea, instead of accepting a democratic framework, which allows them to carve out a space for progressive religious political thinking.

By liberalising and opening the public space, democracy is inevitably strengthened and the virtues of liberty ingrained in the hearts of citizens. Those who argue that a strong man is always needed to keep the Arabs in control are harbouring deep-seated racial prejudices, and are ignoring the political transformation taking place.

Ibrahim el Houdaiby, 27, whose grandfather and great-grandfather were supreme leaders of the Brotherhood, recently remarked, “Very soon, and it’s happening already, there will be no such thing as the Muslim Brotherhood anymore. The organisation will be there, but it will have been transcended.” The internal ideological divisions between reformists and conservatives within Islamism will play themselves out in electoral politics with the establishment of new political parties. This has already happened when prominent reformists broke from the Brotherhood to form a new political party, Hizb al-Wasat (the Centre Party). The party takes a liberal approach to issues of minority rights and gender equality.

The Wasat party marks out the direction of future politics in the Arab World, moving beyond simplistic divisions of ‘religious’ vs ‘secular’. The liberal democratic movements on the Left in Egypt are also being strengthened, bolstered by the Egyptian youth who are concerned about economic justice, welfare and democratic reform.

That being said, there is a lot for Egyptian liberals and democrats to be critical about in the current manifesto of the Brotherhood as described by Rachid Al Ghannouchi. There is much to criticise about the group’s conservativism, but thankfully this will be played out in democratic politics rather than violence, and that’s the point many are missing.

Freedom feeds on freedom. The cause of economic justice and social welfare is rarely helped by dictators and autocrats. Amartya Sen, the renowned economist, makes the case that democracy and economic development are linked.

The Brotherhood serves as an umbrella with a breathtaking diversity of viewpoints — everything from Salafi fundamentalism to Islamic liberalism. The question for the Brotherhood is that of transition to a political party or even a series of political parties. The Brotherhood will remain in public life as a social movement, but due to the different trends within it, it is difficult to see how it can sustain itself as a single political party. We may see more AKP-style parties on the model of Turkish Islam, combining liberal principles on the basis of Islamic values. Many of the Islamic liberals and reformists have views, which make them natural allies of the democratic Left.

For years the slogan of Islamism engrained in the Brotherhood’s motto, “Islam is the solution” was taken at face value without questions. Now, with the opening of the political space, the question everyone will be asking is, “What do you mean by ‘Islam’?” Do you mean a democratic, liberal and inclusive Islam or an exclusionary theocratic one, which does not take note of human rights?

The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at ahmadalikhalid@ymail.com