Political Islam: can a culture of rights unite and reconcile?
Food for thought: Is political Islam criminalized, underestimating how much that culture can enrich political debate and social issues in the region, isn’t it? / Possible connections between the culture of rights promoted by the European Left and values belonging to political Islam / Perspectives of national reconciliation and regional stability after Muslim Brotherhood’s decline
Objective of this dialogue: Opening a debate, free from prejudices, on the post-revolutionary contribute of practices characteristic of political Islam to intercultural coexistence and promotion of universal human rights on the two Mediterranean shores.
Summary by Debora Del Pistoia, COSPE (moderator)
Participants: Fariza Ghadanfar Ahmed Beseiso, Palestinian Territories, activist for civil society and human rights. She’s founder of the Women’s Initiative For Equity (WIFE) movement, aiming at promoting gender equality in workplaces, and responsible for programmes at the Civitas Institute in Gaza; Mohammad Tolba, Egypt (via Skype), Egyptian Salafi activist and entrepreneur in the domain of information technology. He was one of the first protesters with a religious background in Tahrir square during the revolution of 2011 and he founded Salafyo Costa (Salafi sitting at Costa café), a movement that aim at challenging religious stereotypes and promote tolerance and cooperation between people from different social and religious background; Ernesto Pagano, Italy (via Skype), expert in Arabic language and culture, documentary maker, he collaborates with some newspapers and television programmes and he directed “Napolislam”, a film about conversions to Islam in Naples (Italy); Gianluca Solera, activist and writer; he was active in the European Green Party and afterwards worked as coordinator of networks for The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures. He currently supervises the “Italy/Europe/Mediterranean and Global Citizenship” department at COSPE.
The debate on the relationship and compatibility of Islam with democracy is certainly not recent and it often causes confrontations. These debates are sometimes polemical and useful to support the western thesis describing political Islam as a uniform and homogeneous block and as an unimaginable interlocutor. Nevertheless this discussion, in the framework of the Sabirfest, is not about the theoretical existence of a “modern and democratic political Islam”. It is about the urge of opening a debate on practices promoted by the moderate wing of political Islam and about the chance of developing some room for dialogue and reconciliation with moderate Islamist movements existing in the post-revolutionary Arab context. The question is: can we promote alliances for an intercultural coexistence and for universal rights on the two shores of the Mediterranean? Political Islam recently succeeded in gaining importance in Egypt and Tunisia: in both countries Islamist parties won the first free post-revolutionary elections, but their actions were judged not compatible with democratic and citizenship values. Both in Egypt and in Tunisia, parties inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood have implemented reactionary policies which repress the dissent, violate human rights and accept the economic neo-liberal model. Some intellectuals, as Samir Amin, affirm that, up-to-now, Islamist ruling parties applied antidemocratic values and not those belonging to Islam; this choice perfectly supports the objectives of the dominant imperialism and the demands of the worldwide economic liberalism (“capitalistic Islamism”). Islamist parties needed to politically justify their project after years of political oppression; they thus built it starting from Islam as a reference point, but then accepted the economic liberal model, becoming prisoners of it. After the decline of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Tunisia, the State has started again to repress all kinds of Islamist movements. This action represents a violent suppression of any form of dissent and brings old repressive practices back, which date back to pre-revolutionary tyrannical regimes: these ones are guilty of having destroyed pluralism in their societies and of having incited the proliferation of radical Islamist organizations.
Is it possible to think about a different connection with moderate political Islam, without criminalizing it, but giving value to its ability to enrich political debate and social issues in the region? Which are the perspectives for national reconciliation and connection between the culture of rights promoted by the European Left and values belonging to political Islam?
The speech by Mohamed Tolba brings interesting elements since its very beginning. Tolba is an Egyptian Salafi activist, one of the first religious protesters in Tahrir square during the revolution of 2011 . He underlines the value of the experimental experience represented by Salafyo Costa, a movement founded in 2011 that was able to gather people of different religions and identities such as conservative Salafi, followers of the Muslim Brotherhood, liberals and progressives, as well as Coptic Christians. The group has rapidly evolved into a social movement that builds upon pilot strategies to promote coexistence and dialogue among the different components, being clearly aware about the necessity to fight general mistrust towards Salafi. Mohamed Tolba mentions football plays and recreational activities among the initiatives promoted by Salafyo Costa. The movement counts 25.000 followers and can be considered as a unique experience in the Arab world: it is able to forge a common identity by promoting both the values of the revolution of 25th January and the values of unity, in a society which is more and more polarized. Tolba believes that inter-religious understanding, pluralism and cultural diversity could really be promoted by gathering people with different religious, ethnic and ideological backgrounds, elaborating a complex common identity. The experience of Salafyo Costa shows it is possible to develop social and political struggles avoiding social and identity divisions.
Ernesto Pagano explains, during his speech, that many Italians who converted to Islam express a strong need for spirituality and search for an identity able to give a new sense to their existence at the same time. Pagano underlines that Islam does not represent a monolithic block wiping the identity and culture of converted Neapolitans out. Islam “talks” and intertwines with local traditions, and declines itself in cultural habits, redefining into a composite and complex identity. A relevant example is represented by the traditional local bakery, whose products become “halal” (compliant with precepts belonging to Muslim law) or by the overlapping of two rituals in the same square: the worship of the Virgin of Carmine (Madonna del Carmine) and the prayer for the end of Ramadan. Similar and convergent values of the Neapolitan and Muslim population meet and mix in the experience of the conversion, bringing an interesting example of Islam as a peaceful form of coexistence, open to exchange.
Fariza Beseiso starts her speech by analysing the reasons behind the political victory of Hamas in Gaza in 2006 and the socio-political dimension of the Palestinian context. She affirms that Hamas’ ruling experience demonstrates that the coexistence of moderate and democratic Islamism has failed so far. She also adds that dialogue with moderate Islamists must be promoted and developed starting from current events. This approach will let Islamist movements gain the necessary experience to reach political awareness, helping them to be consciously involved in the democratic play. She considers common mobilisation strategies for secular civil society and moderate Islamist one very important.
Gianluca Solera recalls the urge of reflecting on re-launching the dialogue with moderate Islamist groups and movements, aiming at promoting common values, acknowledged by both parties, beyond ideological memberships. Considering secular forces as the only interlocutors and bearers of universal values in the Arab world could produce two negative consequences: blocking the emergence of moderate political forces in the democratic context from the very beginning, and exacerbating identity clashes. The topic could not be simplified to a mere difference between Islamic and secular, because integration between politics and religion in the Arabic-Muslim context is inevitable. Starting from this reflection, there are two current challenges: integrating Islamist currents into a democratic context on the one hand and launching an unbiased debate that avoids polarizations and the identification of politics with identity issues on the other hand. Building a network of resistance and struggle for rights between the two shores of Mediterranean and a common and complex concept of citizenship, could be possible; but only if the European Left with progressive views on the social and economic system were able to reconsider her constant prejudices against moderate Islamist movements promoting universal values, and to build alliances with them.
