EVENTS

Date:	Friday, January 13, 2006
Time:	9:00 AM -- 12:00 PM
Location:	Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036

January 2006

Dissent and Reform in the Arab World: Dissidents and Reformers from the Arab World Speak Out

In November 2003, President George W. Bush jettisoned half a century of American foreign policy, declaring that “stability can not be purchased at the expense of liberty.” America, he announced, would adopt a “forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East.” But any freedom strategy in the Middle East is lost unless it builds on the work of the many Arabs who champion--often at great personal expense--change at home. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, there are activists throughout the Middle East battling for individual rights, free markets, and the rule of law. Risking ostracization, prison, and worse, these men and women are the building blocks of a new Middle East. They are the authentic voices of the people of the Arab world, with practical (and occasionally revolutionary) strategies for reform. For the last several years, AEI has worked to identify and support dissidents and reformers throughout the Arab world. Each participant of this event has put forward a specific outline for change in his or her own country, addressing topics as diverse as press freedom, economic and political reform, religious freedom, and the perils of engagement with the United States. On January 13, AEI held the first in a series of conferences on dissent and reform in the Arab world, focusing on Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen.

Panel 1: Challenges to Reform in North Africa

Danielle Pletka
AEI

President Bush has talked a great deal in recent years about promoting freedom in the Middle East, and the United States has indeed invested significant political capital into furthering this policy. However, the people of the Middle East are the real builders of democracy who are fighting daily to reform their respective societies.

AEI has brought together a group of activists and reformers in the Arab world to discuss how to promote a credible reform agenda from within the region. Each activist has written a paper detailing the actions necessary to achieve reform in his or her own country, putting aside external considerations such as relations with neighbors and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In addition, these reformers have been given the opportunity to express their views in meetings with U.S. government officials in the State Department, at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill, and with senior journalists.

Saad Eddin Ibrahim
Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies

2005 was a year of reform, change, and elections throughout the Arab world, and this should be a source of great optimism for advocates of democracy. But the gains in the region are still in their incipient stages, and America’s support is necessary to continue down the path to reform.

The rhetoric coming from Washington has changed from fighting the war on terrorism to fighting the war of ideas. This is a welcome change because it more appropriately expresses the three main components of the struggle for democratization. First, the democrats--the human rights activists and reformers--must fight the autocrats. These autocrats generate the theocrats, the second group the democrats must fight. The autocrats and the theocrats together are engaged in an unholy and unintentional alliance to squeeze the democrats. The autocrats do this by repression, stifling the efforts of dissent and opposition, and the theocrats by defamation, portraying the democrats as anti-Islamic agents of the West.

Because the autocrats have cornered their countries’ resources and media, it is easy for them to continue their hold on power. The theocrats control mosques, from which they can spread their message. The democrats, then, must fight to expand the public space so that they can have the freedom to fight against the autocrats and the theocrats. America can assist with this in the following manner: First, cease supporting the autocrats. Second, aid the democrats in gaining access to the media and push for freedom of the press. Third, engage the theocrats in a dialogue on the subject of America’s apprehensions about the theocrats’ respect for the principles of human rights and democracy. Finally, America can follow the Helsinki model it developed with the Soviet Union to link economic and political relationships to liberalization.  

Mohamed Eljahmi
Libyan-American Activist

There are three impediments to reform in Libya. The first is in the political sphere. Qadhafi has created a hierarchical organization that forces individual dependence on the state, while he retains all executive and legislative power. The second impediment to reform is in the economic realm, where Qadhafi has confiscated and nationalized private property. In addition, he also expropriates the income of Libyans in order to keep all incomes equal. In effect, this creates a totalitarian-rentier state. The third impediment to reform is in the judicial field, where peaceful dissent, assembly, and political association have been criminalized. The regime uses religion as a political tool, allowing Qadhafi to portray himself as a successor of Abraham, Jesus, and Mohamed. Under these conditions, Libyan youth--the majority of the population--have only three options: join the security forces, engage in drugs and prostitution, or sign on to jihadist movements.

Qadhafi feels immune from American pressure following his decision to give up his WMD program. America’s policy of expecting from Libya only incremental reform will not be effective since Qadhafi believes that the pressure to democratize will end after President Bush leaves office.

Neila Charchour Hachicha
Parti Libéral Mediterranéen

Tunisian president Ben Ali rules as an autocrat without any tolerance for dissent or civil society. But free elections should not be the first step in a program of liberalization in Tunisia. Dictators use elections as demagogic tools. Further, the anger of the people towards autocrats and theocrats must be pacified in order to develop the political maturity that is necessary for elections. Before this political maturity develops, there must be a secure and open forum in which people can speak freely without fear and a free and independent civil society.

If the United States wants to fight terrorism it must not deal with the repressive autocracies that fuel radicalism. When America does so, it gives these autocratic regimes legitimacy. Instead, America and Europe must present a united message for liberalization.

One important step toward reform is to create a think tank for the Arab world. Based on the Internet, this think tank could evade the restrictions put in place by the various regimes of the region and would serve as a professional network of dissidents, reformers, and journalists, lending these democrats credibility in the region. Using television to reach a mass audience would further bring political maturity. America’s al-Hurrah station, with more effective and professional management, could become a platform for civil society and for Muslim democrats. Strong and consistent U.S. support for reformers in the region will force the autocratic regimes of the Arab world to democratize.

Panel II: Roadblocks to Democracy in Yemen

Rola Dashti
Kuwait Economic Society and FARO International Co.

On May 16, 2005, following forty years of struggle, Kuwaiti women were recognized as citizens and obtained the rights to vote and run in the country’s parliamentary elections. Women demanded an active role in public life and fought for their constitutional rights against radical Islamic extremists, despite facing continuous psychological and social terror. Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood use Islam to terrorize women, labeling them as anti-religion, anti-family, and agents of the West. This form of terror can be even more powerful than physical harm. Many dissidents are stifled by voices urging them not to continue in their efforts, but one cannot allow extremists to control the lives of future generations.

Kuwaiti women have won a battle against the country’s extremists, but winning a battle is not enough. It is imperative that the war against radical, extremist Islamists be won. These extremists, who oppress women and endorse terrorism as a means of conflict resolution, are in the minority and cannot be allowed to control the lives of the majority. Democracy must spread in the region for women to play an active role in the public sphere. With continued external support, extremists will be defeated, and justice, liberty, and freedom will prevail in the Arab world.

Kanan Makiya
Iraq Memory Foundation

The assumption throughout this event has been that dissent and reform are synonymous terms, when in fact they are quite different. Dissidence operates on culture, and not directly on politics. It involves critically reflecting on one’s culture in a potentially humorous way. Of late, dissidence has blossomed in the Arab world, most notably in Iraq where it has reached levels unseen before the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Reform, by contrast, operates in the political sphere and is more difficult because it involves changing historically rooted structures. While dissidence flourishes in the Arab world today, reform continues to stall. This situation means that elections are not always the best way forward. While elections are desirable, culture must change first, a process in which dissidents play a crucial role.

Islamists are making more headway in the Arab world than liberal reformers because their mindset is closer to the reigning ideologies of decaying Arab regimes. Liberal initiatives must focus on changing culture. While this fight will take longer than many would like, once it is achieved, political reform will follow.

AEI interns Daniel Kaplow and Colin Kelley prepared this summary.