Having gotten a foot in the door, Islamist movements across the Middle East need to demonstrate their intentions through democratic practice, writes Osama El-Ghazaly Harb* Change and reform in the Arab world, or the Middle East in general, are no longer far-fetched propositions. Democratisation, first broached in the aftermath of 9/11, is something ordinary citizens as well as political activists talk about all the time. As 2005 drew to a close, debate over reform became heated in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and elsewhere. A new reality is taking shape. In various presidential, legislative and municipal elections, things are being done differently. But there is a price to pay. Murder and violence and a whole range of social and political convolutions mark the tormented birth of a new scene. The wind of change is sweeping across the Arab world, and is unlikely to blow over anytime soon. What makes this momentum for change take on such intensity is a number of factors. Firstly, outsiders are applying tremendous pressure on a region that is vulnerable to pressure. For many geographic and historic reasons, the Middle East, of which Arab countries are the majority, is the focus of world attention. This region has been the scene of vicious rivalry between the Americans and the Soviets after World War II. Now, it has earned the undivided attention of the world's sole superpower. And the US is not the only one urging reform and democratisation in the Arab world. Most Arab countries experience a rise in home- grown pressure for reform. And it's the combination of domestic and foreign pressure for democratisation that is changing the face of the region. Following 9/11, the Americans abandoned their customary support for stability, opting for democracy instead. The US now acknowledges that stability can be a breeding ground for corruption and despotism. It is willing, therefore, to sacrifice short-term and coercive stability for long-term and democratic alternatives. The US is more willing than any previous time to let Islamists become part of the political scene, and is brushing aside claims that the Islamists want to monopolise power. The success of US policy hinges on two factors: the US will have to show more commitment to Palestinian rights and push for a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the US should abandon its policy of double standards and match its words with deeds in matters concerning democracy. Secondly, the domestic urge for democracy has reached a critical mass. For years, the Arabs had been reluctant to go to the polls. Dissuaded by periods of despotism and oppression, Arabs had grown too cynical to care. This is no longer the case. Over the past few months, the international media has been reporting a much-changed scene. Arab citizens are flocking to polling stations, even in the midst of turmoil and under occupation, as was the case in Palestine and Iraq. In Egypt, women voters have been photographed trying to climb through windows into voting stations in the countryside. In Saudi Arabia and other conservative Gulf states, women have been getting a foothold in public life. In Lebanon, it suddenly became possible to organise a million-strong demonstrations. The reasons for low public participation in political life are still there. Undemocratic practices, occupation, heavy-handed security measures, mistrust of the political process and deep-seated scepticism remain. What is new is the changed public mood. The public is evidently eager to challenge the status quo and bring new faces into power. This could be the influence of the region's new and powerful media. It could also be the influence of the wave of democratisation seen in other parts of the world. What we know is that, more than anytime before, the Arab public is exhibiting unprecedented vitality and dynamism. One cannot deny the moral encouragement foreign pressure is lending to the cause of democracy. Even among leftists, pan-Arabs and Islamists -- people with no love lost for the US -- foreign pressure for democratisation has been welcome. Thirdly, the rise of the Islamists has been crucial to the new scene. In most Arab countries, despotic regimes have smothered secular and civic opposition, including leftist, pan-Arab, and liberal groups. What the regimes failed to suppress, however, was the Islamic opposition. This may seem odd, but it isn't. Islamic opposition groups are nearer to the dominant culture. They are closer to the heart of the under-educated and impoverished classes. The simple slogans used by the Islamists, all with religious connotations, are hard to challenge and reject. The Islamists are financially independent. And they have recourse to venues that are out of bounds for security services, especially mosques. In other words, Islamic groups have a freedom of movement that other groups lack. Religious societies, being a main component of Arab civil society, have been active in providing educational, health and social services to the impoverished classes. These societies often outperform government aid organisations in cases of natural disaster and conflict. In most Arab societies that have allowed free elections, the Islamists have made significant gains. Foreign pressure for democratisation has given them the chance to come out into the open, where they had no trouble defeating the much- weakened secular opposition. The West, in a major turnabout, is now encouraging them to speak out, even in countries where they are still illegal. The strong showing of the Islamists in the early stages of democracy is at least partly due to the evident weakness of civil political groups. At some point, non-religious groups may re-organise and launch a counter-offensive. For the Islamists, this is the moment of truth. Now that they are out in the open, now that they are part of parliaments and other political institutions, they need to have a policy, and a realistic one at that. They need to do dispel lingering mistrust about their intentions. Democracy is the litmus test for the Islamists. Either they become adaptable or they stand outdated. * The writer is editor-in-chief of the quarterly Al-Siyassa Al-Dawlia issued by Al-Ahram and a member of the Shura Council.
