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Political Islam and European Foreign Policy Perspectives from Muslim Democrats of the Mediterranean

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Political Islam and European Foreign Policy Perspectives from Muslim Democrats of the Mediterranean POLITICAL ISLAM AND EUROPEAN FOREIGN POLICY PERSPECTIVES FROM MUSLIM DEMOCRATS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MICHAEL EMERSON AND RICHARD YOUNGS (EDITORS) SAMIR AMGHAR, TALAL ATRISSI, SENEM AYDIN AMEL BOUBEKEUR, RUŞEN ÇAKIR, SALAH EDDINE JORSHI SALAM KAWAKIBI, EMAD EL-DIN SHAHIN ROBERT SPRINGBORG, NATHALIE TOCCI CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES BRUSSELS The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute based in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound analytical research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe today. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors writing in a personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect those of CEPS or any other institution with which the authors are associated. This study was carried out in the context of the broader work programme of CEPS on European Neighbourhood Policy, which is generously supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo and the Open Society Institute. Cover photograph: Supporters of the Democratic Forces Front (DFF) attend a demonstration in Rabat, 06/09/2007 (Reuters). ISBN-13: 978-92-9079-711-1 © Copyright 2007, Centre for European Policy Studies. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior permission of the Centre for European Policy Studies. Centre for European Policy Studies Place du Congrès 1, B-1000 Brussels Tel: 32 (0) 2 229.39.11 Fax: 32 (0) 2 219.41.51 e-mail: [email protected] internet: http://www.ceps.eu CONTENTS 1. Political Islam and the European Neighbourhood Policy ...............................1 Michael Emerson and Richard Youngs Part A Case Studies in Political Islam 2. Morocco.................................................................................................................14 Samir Amghar 3. Algeria...................................................................................................................29 Amel Boubekeur 4. Tunisia...................................................................................................................46 Salah Eddine Jorshi 5. Political Islam in Egypt .......................................................................................65 Emad El-Din Shahin 6. Political Islam in Lebanon ..................................................................................86 Talal Atrissi 7. Political Islam in Syria.........................................................................................99 Salam Kawakibi 8. Political Islam in Turkey...................................................................................113 Senem Aydin and Ruşen Çakır Part B Evaluations 9. The Impact of Western Policies towards Hamas and Hezbollah: What Went Wrong?..................................................................................................136 Nathalie Tocci 10. Political Islam and Europe Views from the Arab Mediterranean States and Turkey..........................................................160 Robert Springborg About the Authors....................................................................................................185 References..................................................................................................................191 1. POLITICAL ISLAM AND THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY MICHAEL EMERSON AND RICHARD YOUNGS Since 2001 and the international events that ensued the nature of the relationship between the West and political Islam has become a defining issue for foreign policy. In recent years a considerable amount of research and analysis has been undertaken on the issue of political Islam. This has helped to correct some of the simplistic and alarmist assumptions previously held in the West about the nature of Islamist values and intentions. Parallel to this, the European Union (EU) has developed a number of policy initiatives primarily the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) that in principle commit to dialogue and deeper engagement all (non-violent) political actors and civil society organisations within Arab countries. Yet many analysts and policy-makers now complain of a certain atrophy in both conceptual debate and policy development. It has been established that political Islam is a changing landscape, deeply affected by a range of circumstances, but debate often seems to have stuck on the simplistic question of ‘are Islamists democratic?’ Many independent analysts have nevertheless advocated engagement with Islamists, but the actual rapprochement between Western governments and Islamist organisations remains limited. Despite the centrality of debate over this issue, it is striking that detailed information is still scarce on Islamists’ perspectives on European foreign policy initiatives. Our project has sought to rectify this.1 1 The project has been a joint venture of CEPS, Brussels, with the Fundacion para las Relaciones Internationales y el Dialogo Exterior (FRIDE), Madrid, and the | 1 2 | EMERSON & YOUNGS 1.1 Debating Political Islam Intellectual work on and debate over political Islam has mushroomed since 2001. This has amply demonstrated how Islam is a fluid and internally diverse phenomenon. It has become almost universally accepted that Islam’s more radical forms and frequent questioning of democratic norms should be understood as reflective of a prevailing context, and not unchanging Islamic textual tenet or principle. The focus of enquiry needs therefore to be more practical, with a view to understanding more about Islamist parties’ policy goals and aspirations. For example, support for democratic norms has recently been stressed, even by those Islamist organisations often assumed to be towards the less moderate end of the spectrum.2 Also, it has been argued that illiberalism among Islamists is more prominent in the social rather than the political sphere.3 One summary of the current situation asserts that Islamist organisations have gradually dropped their outright antipathy to ‘Western’ norms of democracy since the 1990s. On the other hand, a series of ambiguities has emerged as tensions surface between their role as religious organisations and as aspirant political players.4 These ambiguities relate to issues such as: • Law: the relationship between the sharia and law-making by elected parliaments, for example on matters of family code and law; • Violence: rejected by political organisations, but with more questionable positions taken by loosely-linked networks; • Individual rights in relation to the good of the community; • Women’s personal status issues; • Respect for religious minorities. valuable cooperation of the Fundacion Tres Culturas, Sevilla; the latter kindly hosting a workshop of authors on 24-25 November 2006. 2 Interview with Nadia Yassine, of Justice and Charity, in Morocco, in ARB 4/6, July 2006 3 Olivier Roy (1994), “The Failure of Political Islam”, London: IB Tauris, p. 195. 4 N. Brown, A. Hamzawy, M. Ottaway (2006), ‘Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World: Exploring the Gray Zones’, Carnegie Working Papers 67, March. POLITICAL ISLAM | 3 Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 especially, Western commentators have claimed that their perspectives on Islam have shifted. Increasingly, broader recognition has emerged of the extent to which contemporary trends in Islam have been determined by prevailing political contexts. Leaders, ministers and senior diplomats have repeatedly rejected the notion that Islam should be conceived as a monolithic assault against Western values. Western analysts and policy-makers claim that non- democratic interpretations of Islam are misplaced distortions. External actors, it is implied, can help release Islam’s democratic potential. Analysts, Western diplomats, donors, funding organisations and international institutions assert a belief that Islam can be a positive mobilising force for democracy, social justice and stability in the Middle East.5 These viewpoints challenge dramatic scenarios of anti-Western fundamentalist forces taking power, and instead advocate engaging with moderate Islamist parties and organisations that are currently enjoying a rise in popular support. There is a need for coherent and integrated policies to deal with all non-violent political forces in these countries, rather than creating unnecessary resentment by, for example, condemning individual arrests of liberal figures while remaining silent in the face of numerous arrests of Islamists. Given the more pragmatic approach recently adopted by many of the moderate Islamist movements, many argue that this is a propitious time to take advantage of the latter’s relative openness towards engaging Western countries by reaching out to them and establishing strategic links. It is also being proposed that Western actors need to engage further in less politicised areas at the grassroots level. Certain analysts have been critical of some of these assumptions, however. Central to one of the most influential theses on political Islam is the contention that the moderate and democratic platforms espoused by Islamist parties reflect deep internal contradictions. Islam, it is argued, has been weakened by a division between the moderates of the pious middle classes, on the one hand, and the frustrated young urban poor, on the other. For the latter, Islam continues to be a vehicle of protest, but one that has failed to develop any comprehensive
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