European Abrahamic Forum Zürich Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V. Bureau au Maroc مركز تواصل الثقافات Center for Cross-Cultural Learning Rabat “Between Turmoil, Change, and Renewal” Religion and its Role in Re-shaping Societies in Transition in the Arab Islamic World Zürich / Rabat 2013 Europäisches Abrahamisches Forum European Abrahamic Forum Evropski abrahamski forum EAF European Abrahamic Forum Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Zürich Bureau au Maroc مركز تواصل الثقافات Center for Cross-Cultural Learning Rabat “Between Turmoil, Change, and Renewal” Religion and its Role in Re-shaping Societies in Transition in the Arab Islamic World International Consultation Rabat (Morocco), 31 August – 02 September 2012 Zürich / Rabat 2013 EDITED BY Prof. Dr. Stefan Schreiner PUBLISHED BY European Abrahamic Forum Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Center for Cross-Cultural Learning c/o Zürcher Lehrhaus 11, rue d`Agadir, Av. Laalou, Derb Jirari Limmattalstrasse 2 Quartier Hassan Zkt Hassani # 11 CH – 8049 Zürich B. P. 559 Rabat Chellah Rabat Medina, Morocco Tel. +41 (0)44 341 1820 10010 Rabat, Maroc Tel: +212 537 20 23 65 Fax +41 (0)44 341 1829 Tel: +212-5 377 612 32 / 33 Fax: +212 537 20 23 67 [email protected] Fax +212-5 377 612 35 http://www.cccl.ma/ PRINTED BY Druckerei Maier GmbH Rottenburg a. N. (Germany) © European Abrahamic Forum / Zürich Konrad Adenauer Stiftung e. V. / Bureau au Maroc Center for Cross-Cultural Learning / Rabat 2013 ISBN 978-3-00-040837-3 The present volume records papers presented to the – fourth – International Euro- pean Abrahamic Forum Consultation which was held in Rabat (Morocco) in Au- gust/September 2012. At the invitation of the European Abrahamic Forum Zürich (EAF), the Kon- rad Adenauer Stiftung – Office Rabat (KAS), and the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning in Rabat (CCCL), about twenty scholars and leading experts from eleven Middle Eastern/North African and European countries representing the three Abrahamic faiths and faith communities came together to discuss “Religion and its Role in Re-shaping Societies in Transition in the Arab Islamic World”. The purpose of this volume is not only to document the consultation that took place some months ago. Recording the papers presented to introduce the respective sessions and, thus, outlining and illustrating the many facets of the topic and re- flecting the variety of approaches to it, the volume wants to offer also fresh, new in- sights into recent developments in the Middle Eastern/North African region and, thus, contribute to create a better understanding and awareness of the changes in the Arab-Islamic world. At the same time, the volume wants to invite the reader to pick up the thread and continue the discussion on issues which deserve to be considered as seriously as carefully, because they are essential not only to under- stand the unfolding events in the Arab-Islamic world, but also to build new good neighbourly relations between people living on all sides of the Mediterranean. Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished guests, Dear friends and colleagues, On behalf of the European Abrahamic Forum (EAF) I have the honour and pleasure of welcoming you to Morocco’s charming capital city of Rabat. At the same time, I would like to thank you very much for kindly having accepted the invitation to be with us tonight, and I would like to express my appreciation of your presence at the opening session, as well as at the conference table of this – the fourth – International EAF Consultation, which is to be held in Rabat on this and over the coming days. More than a year has passed now since the beginning of what has been called The Arab Spring, needless to say, an event which has begun to change the world dramatically. Indeed, since then, we have been and still are witnessing both radical and far-reaching changes taking place in the Arab Islamic world and beyond, changes which eventually led to regime and system change in more than one country in the Near East / North African region, changes which mark the dawn of a new era. For this reason, we set out last year to try to get – if not a full, so at least – a better un- derstanding of what was happening and continues to happen in our “neighbourhood” and tried to make an assessment of what we – at that time quite optimistically – called “the aftermath of change”, a change that started in Tunisia and Egypt and then spread across to other coun- tries in the Arab Islamic world. Today, however, we know that speaking about “the aftermath of change” was rather too premature because, seen from today’s perspective, there is as yet no “aftermath of change”. We are still in the middle of change. Even a year on, it still seems to be too early to be talking about this, and it is not at all clear what the result of the process of change and renewal is going to be. The only thing that seems to be sure and can be taken for granted is that the process of change and renewal has become irreversible, despite any setbacks along the way. The will, the courage, and – above all – the determination of the people to change the political landscape of the North African and Near East region and to re-shape the political map and re-structure the social and economic order in their respective countries, will not stop at the point it has reached now. In addition to this, it cannot and should not be overlooked that, here and there, the first important steps have indeed been taken to implement the idea of change and renewal: new constitutions have been developed and adopted, new parliaments and governments elected etc. - IX - As noteworthy as it is remarkable in all this is, however, the fact that wherever elections have taken place thus far, and new governments have been installed, it has been the so- called moderate Islamists and their parties, such as the an-Nahda party in Tunisia or the Muslim Brothers’ Party of Freedom and Justice (Ḥizb al-Ḥurrīya wa’l-‛Adāla) in Egypt, which have won the majority votes, followed by the more traditional, conservative or even fundamentalist Salafi parties, such as the Party of Light (Ḥizb an-Nūr) in Egypt. And those who were the first to demonstrate in the streets, on the other hand, are hardly, if at all represented in the newly-elected legal bodies. Politically it is now the “religious” parties that will shape the post-revolutionary countries and will leave their imprint on societies. There certainly are a number of reasons for this devel- opment which gives rise to questions like the following: why was it precisely the religious, i. e. Muslim parties that emerged victorious and were the winners of elections? What does their “victory” mean for the others, the unsuccessful parties, and what will be the impact of the Muslim parties’ “victory” on the situation of other religious communities, e. g. Christians, Copts, in Egypt, Jews and Christians in Tunisia? And what chances and prospects are still left of building civil societies? New situations bring new challenges and require new answers, as we said last year. Encouraged by the discussions that we had and, in view of the aforementioned recent de- velopments in the Arab Islamic world, it seems therefore more than appropriate that we should continue our study of this area. All the more so as, from the very beginning, our aim as EAF has been, and remains, not only to provide a forum for dialogue, but also to establish a network that might be described as an attempt to create an awareness of being and remaining neighbours, who belong to one and the same neighbourhood, irrespective of whether we live on this or that side of the Mediterranean. Thus we hope to contribute towards the building of a civil society across the Mediterranean. Following along these lines, the European Abrahamic Forum (EAF), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation –Rabat office, and the Center for Cross Cultural Learning in Rabat agreed to organize and jointly host this new EAF consultation, to discuss these new challenges and to look for the new answers and solutions which are needed. At this point, I would like to extend my thanks to our partners, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Center for Cross Cultural Learning and their respective representatives, for their readiness to work with us, thus giving us this opportunity to convene here in Rabat and discuss matters related to the question – “religion and its role in re-shaping revolutionary / post-revolution societies – chance or threat to the building of civil society?” Once again, a very warm welcome to you all. I hope this will be a fruitful consultation process for us all. Thank you for your attention. Prof. Dr Stefan Schreiner European Abrahamic Forum (EAF) - X - Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very honoured to have been invited to address the distinguished participants of the IV International European Abrahamic Forum Consultation. May I express my sincere thanks to the Coordinator of the European Abrahamic Forum, Prof. Stefan Schreiner, as well as to the representatives of the Zürcher Lehrhaus Foundation, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Centre for Cross Cultural Learning Rabat for this initiative. Since 2005, the Forum is engaged in interreligious dialogue including all three Abraham- ic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – and in building bridges across and around the Mediterranean. Its aim and activity have become even more important since the popular upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East last year. Where in consequence democratic reforms were undertaken, they reinforced political plurality of these societies and created politi- cal space for parties which refer explicitly to Islam.