Ayoon Wa Azan - Davos 2012 (1)

This year’s session of the World Economic Forum was dominated by the global financial crisis and pressures on the euro. This is while the Arab side had its share of attention, albeit it was dominated in turn by bearded figures, as I saw two bearded prime ministers from Morocco and Tunisia, and also the leader of Ennahda in Tunisia brother Rashid Ghannouchi, and the Egyptian presidential candidate brother Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, along with colleague Waddah Khanfar, who was visibly active and who partook in many sessions. Is it the Arab spring or the Islamist spring then? Personally, I find no difference between the two, and so I will convey, to the benefit of my readers, some of the debates that took place in a session that was attended by Amr Moussa, Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh and brother Rashid Ghannouchi, in addition to the young Tunisian activist Amira Yahyaou, the woman behind the website “Al-Bawsalah [Compass]”. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh said: The claim that Islam is incompatible with modernity, freedoms and democracy is unfounded. Muslims revolted against oppressive regimes which the West had helped keep in power until the revolutions toppled them. The youths of Egypt and Tunisia demanded freedom, dignity and justice. The entire Egyptian people took to the streets, and not the Islamists alone, against corruption and tyranny, and the people will not accept a return to the fold of tyranny. For the first time in 60 years, free and fair elections have been held in Egypt, and 70 percent of the people voted smoothly, in a civilized manner, and without violence, which was not the case in the previous fraudulent elections. The women of Egypt rose up against marginalization, and are demanding the rights they were denied because tradition, not religion, has established a patriarchal society. Rashid Ghannouchi: The Tunisian revolution paved the way for Arab revolutions. Its goal was social, because the revolution wanted to restore dignity to the citizens, and for the people and the government to reconcile. The Arab spring turned into an Islamist spring, but revolutions did not take away freedoms from the citizens. They took place for the sake of freedom. No person or a group of persons can rule with a legitimacy that does not stem from the people. Since the nineteenth century, the Muslims have seen the West progress while they have fallen behind and they therefore have a dream; the reformists sought to reconcile Islam with modernity, and Islam with democracy. Islam does not have a church that represents God on earth. The state does not reflect the will of God. The West struggled to liberate the state from the clenches of religion. But we struggle to liberate religion from the clenches of the state. What do the Islamists want from the state which has become a mafia, or a gang bullying people and stealing their money? They want a state of democracy and freedom, run by men of finance and reform. Amr Moussa: We are facing an Arab revolt, a revolt of the people against conditions that have been for years unacceptable. The Arab people’s desire is to rid themselves of dictatorial regimes that led to their decline at all levels. We are debating religion and state, while people in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria are preoccupied with other matters, matters that involve their daily lives and economic conditions. The first priority must be to reform society, end corruption and build the economy. The Islamists have benefited from democracy, while Western countries called for democracy only to object to the results afterwards. Hamas won the Palestinian elections in a democratic climate in 2006, but the Western countries rejected its victory and fought the Palestinian group. We must accept the results of democracy. The Al-Azhar document included the following highlights: The freedom of religion, the freedom of expression, scientific research and artistic and literary creativity. Economic and social conditions must be reformed, and the security of the people must be safeguarded. Then in the discussion that followed, Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh stressed that reforming the economy is very important indeed, while Rachid Ghannouchi said that what is needed is to end the state’s tutelage over the people, because the state does not represent religion but rather the people. Brother Amr Moussa then said that the army is an important institution of the state, that every institution has a function and that when a president will be voted in, the army will return to its barracks. These are the excerpts I chose from the addresses of three figures of Arab politics, and I hope that I have succeeded in giving a comprehensive picture of the climate surrounding the debates in Davos.