VOLUME 6 EDITION 10 WINTER 2012 ISSN 1756-7335 THE ARAB REVOLUTIONS: HOPES, CHALLENGES AND TRANSITIONS volume 6 edition 10 winter 2012 arches quarterly 1 Arches Quarterly is published by Westgate House, Level 7, Westgate Road, Ealing, London W5 1YY Tel 020 8991 3372 / Fax 020 8991 3373 [email protected] / www.thecordobafoundation.com Submissions of articles and reports for Arches Quarterly should be made by e-mail, in Word format, to the editors: [email protected] DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in Arches Quarterly are those of the individual authors and should not be taken to represent a corporate view of The Cordoba Foundation. © The Cordoba Foundation UK 2012 THIS ISSUE Volume 6 Edition 10 Winter 2012 ISSN 1756-7335 Available online: thecordobafoundation.com Anas Altikriti Chief Executive Abdullah Faliq Editor Editorial Team: Amjad M. Saleem S. Alam Arzoo Ahmed H.D. Foreman Dr Mehrunisha Suleman Catriona Robertson Baqaullah Ibn Faiz Amina Easat A.S. Khan Art Editor LITERATURE PROMOTIONS: 20 Islamist Radicalisation in Europe and the Middle East: Reassessing the Causes of Terrorism - George Joff é 35 Britain and the Middle East in the 9/11 Era - Rosemary Hollis 44 The Muslim World Book Review - The Islamic Foundation 52 The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath - Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn (eds.) 52 Demystifying the Caliphate - Madawi Al-Rasheed, Carool Kersten & Marat Shterin (eds.) 58 The First World War in the Middle East - Kristian Coates Ulrichsen 85 After the Sheikhs: The Coming Collapse of the Gulf Monarchies - Christopher M. Davidson 109 Understanding the Nakba: An Insight into the Plight of Palestinians - Nasim Ahmed 109 Ashes of Hama: The Perilous History of Syria's Muslim Brotherhood - Raphael Lefevre 116 Islam and Civilisational Renewal - International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies 143 The Shi’a of Samarra: The Heritage and Politics of a Community in Iraq - Imranali Panjwani (ed.) and Charles R. H. Tripp (fwd) 143 Politics & Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring - Michael J. Willis 2 arches quarterly volume 6 edition 10 winter 2012 INTHISISSUE 04 Editorial Abdullah Faliq 08 Foreword Anas Altikriti 10 The Arab Intifada in Perspective George Joff é Creeping Shari’a and Galloping Secularism: The Mimetic War between Perennialist Ontology 21 and Secularist Epistemology in the Arab Spring and the Global Awakening Robert D. Crane 28 Britain and the Arab Revolts Rosemary Hollis 36 Tunisia – Challenges of Coalition Rule and Democratisation Intissar Kherigi 45 Being Salafi : Modernity’s Neglected Children Omar Farahat 53 British Foreign Policy and the Arab Spring: The Challenges of Transition Kristian Coates Ulrichsen 59 Egypt’s Revolution and the Palestine Question Daud Abdullah 65 The Arab Revolts: The Soccer Impact on Central Asia James M. Dorsey 70 The Arab Spring and the Role of Al-Jazeera Wadah Khanfar 74 The Turkish Model of Governance and the Arab Spring Mustafa Akyol The Muslim Brotherhood from Opposition to Governance: 86 Examining Classical and Contemporary Political Literature Sondos Asem The Caliphate and the Political Ideology of the Iraqi and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood 97 Fareed Sabri 110 The Arab Spring: What did it do for women? Shazia Arshad 117 The Importance of Trade and Capitalism in a Changing Middle East Vali Nasr 124 In Search of a Political Vision for the Arab World Karim Sadek 134 Bahrain’s Oppressed: Lone Voices in International Law Imranali Panjwani 144 The Gulf Monarchies: In the Wake of the Arab Spring Christopher Davidson 150 The Battle for Public Opinion in Europe – Changing Perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian Confl ict Book Review 152 The Arab Spring & Religion or Belief: How Should Europe Engage and with Whom? EU Roundtable Report 158 Picture Gallery volume 6 edition 10 winter 2012 arches quarterly 3 FROM THE EDITOR ARAB SPRING – A DOUBLE- Th eir challenges range from fi re-fi ghting EDGED SWORD? to establishing law and order whilst he uprisings in the Arab world negotiating with security services and lit the fl ames of change for many the military - largely unhappy about the T- their quest for universal values of changes that have taken place; sustaining freedom, dignity, justice and democracy. coalition rule in the face of suspicion Who could have predicted that the and a barrage of attacks from secularists desperate act of the young Tunisian and liberals on the Brotherhood’s “real” fruit and vegetable vendor, Muhammad motives; and responding to the demands Bouazizi, setting himself on fi re, would and emotions of the revolutionaries – some ignite an unstoppable revolutionary spark now accuse the Brotherhood of reneging in North Africa and the Middle East. Th e on their promises. ensuing changes in the region were truly In reality, emergent governments such unprecedented, a seismic shift evidenced as those in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are by the swift ousting of the presidents of inexperienced and will need time to fi nd Tunisia and Egypt; the demise of Ghaddafi their feet and round their rough edges. in Libya replaced with civilian rule; as Patience is needed for this to occur, and well as major changes and developments in the context of the immense challenges in Yemen, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi that confronted previous secular, liberal Arabia, Jordan and the drawn-out bloody and nationalistic political parties, and revolution against the Assad regime in ideological trends, this chance should be Syria. given. Th e election victories of Islamic- Whilst the changes in the region are a leaning parties and organisations have welcome sign for most, there are clearly also exposed their internal dynamics problems and challenges too; hence my and challenges, such as the formation of description of the Arab Spring as a double- splinter groups, and whether they are able edged sword. Th e positives are many, the to eff ectively carry their followers with removal of dictatorships; the emergence of them within the new politicised realities free and fair elections with participatory and politics-dominated work. democracy; the opportunity for coalition Externally, however, the myriad of crises, rule; respect for the rule of law, fair trials challenges and events do not make for a under civilian rule; greater economic smooth transition to eff ective civilian rule. prospects, to name but a few. Th e convergence and coalescing of secular, On the fl ip side, the challenges and liberal and former regime remnants problems are all too evident, such as (who faired poorly in the elections) have in Egypt and Tunisia. Th e previously become far more vociferous against the outlawed and main opposition force in new Islamist governments. Th rough Arab countries, the Muslim Brotherhood, demonstrations -- often violent -- and today enjoys political power in the countries negative caricature of strict Islamic Shari’a where former dictators have been ousted. states, they have been able to disrupt law 4 arches quarterly volume 6 edition 10 winter 2012 EDITORIAL and order, and undermine the Islamist-led signifi cantly impacted the Islamist psyche governments. Th e new governments seem – reinforcing or mainstreaming the interested in embracing diversity, through message of political engagement and social coalition rule, such as accommodating in activism such as that of the Brotherhood. government secular, liberal, salafi sts and For others, like the emergent Salafi sts, other new political actors. Whilst these the Arab Spring has helped moderate and new coalitions are fraught with challenges, bring them into the political realm, whilst they have nevertheless been relatively undermining the violent and radical successful in Egypt and Tunisia given the strands -- thus illustrating the futility of violence, disengagement and isolation. The Arab revolutions Th is issue of Arches addresses some of the above-mentioned matters and challenges have... presented the facing the region. As usual, our writers dilemma of knowing hail from a broad spectrum, including activists and stakeholders, commentators, the limits of protest experts and academics. We are particularly and expression... This grateful to Fair Observer for publishing newfound freedom the summaries of some of the articles in this issue of Arches, and also for sourcing a could backfi re if not kept number of these contributions. in check. Th ank you. Abdullah Faliq EDITOR obstacles and challenges. But how they ARCHES QUARTERLY perform and manage diff erence remains to be seen in the future with growing political and social instability. Th e Arab revolutions have also presented the dilemma of knowing the limits of protest and expression. Whilst people are now able to express themselves freely through protest and lobbying, the issue of responsibility appears to be somewhat lacking. Th is newfound freedom could backfi re if not kept in check – stability and the rule of law should take priority now. Despite the negatives associated with the Arab Spring, the outlook is positive. It has defi ed many generalisations, the common-held belief that Arab and Muslim countries are incapable of reinvigoration to awaken from their slumber to eff ect Abdullah Faliq helped set-up The Cordoba Foundation change in society, free from dictatorships, and edits Arches, amongst other publications, as the foundation’s Head of Research. In 2001, he helped launch corruption and injustice. It has also the “Declarations of European Muslims” by the Grand challenged prevalent but eschewed views Mufti of Bosnia Dr Mustafa Ceric. Faliq studied Arabic and about the role of religion at the state level, conducted research in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Palestine & Bosnia as part of his MA and doctoral studies specialising in Islam in particular. Muslims can live and Arab political Islam and British Muslims. Active in the British organise themselves in the spirit of political Muslim scene since the 1980s, he is currently a trustee of the London Muslim Centre, former Deputy General Secretary of pluralism and diversity. the Islamic Forum of Europe, and a founding member of the Th e Arab revolutions have also European Network on Religion and Belief (ENORB).