ARAB SPRING Society, Culture and Politics in West Asia: Post-Arab Spring Dynamics MAJALLA KAIRALA (Seminar Special - 24 & 25, October 2013) ISSN: 2277-2839 Vol. 3 • Issue 1 • July 2014 Chief Editor Dr. Mohammed Basheer K Assistant Editors Dr. Thajudeen A S Noushad V Department of Arabic University of Kerala Majalla Kairala Seminar Special Vol. 3 • Issue 1 • July 2014 Seminar Organising Committee Dr. Mohammed Basheer K, Convenor Dr. Abdul Rahman, Joint Convenor Ashraf Kadakkal, Academic Coordinator Dr. A Nizarudeen Dr. Muhammad Kunju Metharu Prof. Thonnakkal Jamal Dr. Muhammad Kunju Dr. Zainudheen Dr. Zeenathu Beevi Dr. Sajjad Ebrahim Dr. Abdul Latheef Dr. Ubaid A Dr. P Naseer Dr. Suhail E Dr. Shanil A Fazeela Sajithkhan ISSN: 2277-2839 © 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 prior permission of the authors. The authors are responsible for the views expressed in their articles. Book & cover design Nujumudeen Typesetting Beegom Benazir Printed at Print out Valley, Calicut Published by Dr. Mohammed Basheer K ₹ 300.00 Contact for copies: 04712 308846 / [email protected] Contents PREFACE • 5 Dr. Mohammed Basheer K ARAB SPRING – AN OVERVIEW (INAUGURAL SPEECH) • 7 P K Abdu Rabb SOME LESSONS FROM THE ARAB SPRING • 9 Dr. Jasim Husain (Bahrain) MAKING SENSE OF THE SAUDI FLIP FLOP AT THE SECURITY COUNCIL • 14 Gulshan Dietl PALESTINIAN POLITICS AND THE ARAB SPRING: SOME CRITICAL ISSUES • 19 Prasad M V ARAB SPRING IN THE GULF REGION: REACTION FROM WITHIN • 24 Dr. Hemayun Akhtar Nazmi THE ARAB SPRING AND ITS IMPACT ON WOMEN • 33 Sainul Abideen K ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE ARAB SPRING AND BEYOND • 41 Dr. Sudeep K S ‘POWER AS A TOOL OR IS AIM?’ A POST ARAB SPRING READING OF ISLAMIC POLITICS • 50 Sufyan Abdul Sathar M INFLUENCE OF THE ARAB SPRING ON THE ARABIC POETRY • 53 Abdul Gafoor Kunnathodi NILE IS STILL MOURNING: THE ARAB SPRING BLOSSOMED IN EGYPT AND WITHERED ON THE SHORES OF NILE • 61 Asharaf A, Kadakkal LITERATURE AND THE ARAB SPRING: THE EMERGING TRENDS • 67 Aftab Ahmad THE CAUSES OF ARAB SPRING: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY • 80 Dr. K M A Ahamed Zubair DEMOCRATISATION AND THE ARABS: A HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL STUDY • 84 Dr. Samuel J Kuruvilla & Dr. Suhail Ebrahim POLITICAL AND CULTURAL REPRESENTATION OF SUFI MISSIONS IN THE ARAB SPRING • 93 Abdul Jaleel PC ISLAMISM AFTER ARAB SPRING: THE DISCOURSE OF COMPATIBILITY TOWARDS DEMOCRACY MARGINALISED IT’S OF EXTREMISM • 101 Noufal Konnakkattil FEMINIST DISCOURSE IN THE POST-ARAB SPRING WEST ASIA • 110 Dr. Obaidullah Fahad ARAB SPRING: THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE ARAB WORLD IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRATIZATION • 131 Alavudheen K M ARAB STATE SYSTEMS IN THE LIGHT OF THE ‘ARAB SPRING’ • 140 Shelly Johny PUBLIC POWER AND TECHNOLOGY: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN ARAB SPRINGS • 148 Dr. Sabu Thomas ARAB SPRING AND THE NEW WAVE OF DISPLACEMENT IN WEST ASIA: AN ANALYSIS ON THE IMPACT OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN JORDAN • 155 Lirar Pulikkalakath المرأة في الربيع العربي • 163 أ.د. أحمد عبد القادر الشاذيل د. تاج الدين املناين دور المجتمع المدني جزء ﻻ يتجزء في مرحلة ما بعد الربيع العربي • 175 محمد منصور Preface Society, Culture and Politics in West Asia: Post-Arab Spring Dynamics ver the last few decades, the scope of Arab Spring and the fall of despotic regimes- OWest Asian studies has transcended all add to a long array of events that offered the disciplinary borders and gained currency fundamental components for a new West Asia to beyond the confines of Area Studies. It now emerge. Perhaps more striking is the new found offers a rallying point for many disciplines popularity of new media that represents new including history, politics, theology, literature communication genre for variety of purposes and international relations that collectively like political mobilization and opinion building. contribute to re-portray the discipline’s The awakening that led to a democratic apocryphal image as one that is often pitched revolution in the heart lands of Arab world is in terms of geopolitical and the strategic studies. now swiftly moving towards more confused and It would not be an exaggeration to say uncertain situation. The ebb and flow of the that the contemporary World politics is being Arab Spring is revealing political storms that mediated by the currents in the south east of the could flood the Arab world with chaos and Mediterranean. Though Arab-Islamic society, confusions. The movement gets pushed from once functioned as the driving force of the world the central position to peripheries exposing its civilization, subsequently lost its position, it inability to withstand the challenges. continues to play a decisive role, if the present The process of Arab Spring can’t be analysed events can be taken as indicators. in a particular point of view as its formation The region has witnessed a series of diverse and movements were very complicated. It was yet shared movements that affected the social formed according to existing socio political relations, economic exchanges, political scenario of the country. At the same time we institutions and regional geopolitical setting. can’t say that the revolution was taken place Disintegration of Soviet Union and resultant in a morning. But there is a long history of re-orientation of regional politics, end of cold dedication and the sacrifice by generations who war era, neo-liberal re-configuration of Arab were brutally hounded by the dictators. economies, political reforms in the monarchic Arab uprisings have paved the way for change regimes, new-found popularity of Islamic in discourse of politics and governance as well political activism, Gulf War, War on Terror and as these movements became driving forces for PREFACE 5 the people to protest against the depraved the purpose of addressing a wide variety of issues governance. In USA it was the motive behind that characterize society, culture and politics in ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement and in India the contemporary Arab World. This issue of it encouraged the youth to struggle against seminar proceedings is an effort to enlighten the corruption and gender bias. works from multiple disciplinary vantage points It is in the backdrop of these developments, in order to record the change and dynamism in Kerala University had organized a seminar with their entireties. Dr. Mohammed Basheer K 05.07.2014 Head of the Department of Arabic (i/c) Karyavattom & Convenor of the Seminar Registrar, University of Kerala 6 MAJALLA KAIRALA • Society, Culture and Politics in West Asia: Post-Arab Spring Dynamics • July 2014 Seminar Special (24-25, OCT. 2013) Arab Spring – An Overview (Inaugural Speech) P K Abdu Rabb (Minister for Education of Kerala) am very glad to inaugurate the two- people as well as to suppress them, to topple an I day national seminar organized by the authoritarian regime as well as to give it a back- Department of Arabic, University of Kerala, door entry should be studied in the language on Society, Culture and politics in West Asia: Post- classes. I think this is one of the reasons why the Arab Spring Dynamics. Language and culture Department of Arabic is organizing the two-day of a people are closely related to the political seminar on the Post-Arab Spring Dynamics. dynamics in a region. So the initiative taken by Above all, developments in West Asia, the Department of Arabic to discuss and debate especially in Egypt, during and after the Arab the political events and undercurrents in West Spring are to be studied in the larger context Asia after the celebrated and hopeful upheaval of constitutionalism and democracy. Sadly, termed as Arab Spring is true to the spirit of words such as constitutionalism, democracy, the evolving trends in linguistics and cultural secularism, and civil society are understood and studies. It is commendable and recommendable. misinterpreted for the hegemonic purposes of All language departments should conduct the US administration and some of the western programmes on the politics and culture of academia represented by Samuel Huntington regions where the languages are communicated. and company. We know that after the Arab One of the important things to note in this Sprig, Morsī was democratically elected. But the context is the role of social media in having US and those who claim to uphold democratic brought together diverse voices against Hosni values supported the military coup. Mubarak’s regime. In connection with the But the western academics select what they phrase ‘Arab Spring’ we heard Facebook and like to call it democracy and Select what they Twitter mentioned. In the post Arab Spring hate and fear to call it autocracy. Those who phase as well, social media have played a crucial claim to uphold secular values forget that Israel, role in engendering fear as well as caution about an apartheid state founded on religious identity, the Morsī Administration. While it remains a has violated these values time and again. We very important topic to be analysed in political all know that the right wing evangelists as well studies, forms of language used to mobilize as Zionists play a crucial role in the policy ARAB SPring – AN OVERVIEW (INAUGURAL SPEECH) 7 matters of the US state. In the wars against the establish relations with the opposition, either people of Afghanistan and Iraq, the US has by inviting it to join the government or not to violated constitutionalism and many principles take part in a broad national dialogue’. But as he enshrined in international treaties like the was a democratically elected leader of the state, Geneva Convention. So democracy, secularism he deserves to be heard and be given a chance.