Intense theoretical debates about the virtues of democracy have been taking place over the last months as we attempt to analyze events in the Arab world. Democracy, most conclude, should be the goal: it is the best political system, one in which citizens can see that their political choices are respected, their freedoms and rights protected. Such an outcome would be MENA’s greatest achievement: at last, the Arabs will experience pluralism, openness and—why not—modernity.
At the same time, in the West, the democratic system is going through one of the deepest crises in its history. Far from idealized, theoretical descriptions of the democratic system, citizens of Western countries have the increasing impression they have been forgotten; that their opinion counts for nothing. As Ben Ali, Mubarak and Qaddafi fall because their respective peoples are calling for freedom, eight European leaders (the list is far from exhaustive) who should have resigned because of their responsibility for the economic downturn are imposing their rule over the political apparatus. The political system known as democracy has proved to be neither transparent nor free when both state and citizens are so deeply in debt. Who is making the decisions today? Who has the power?
When Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou started playing politics with his call; for a referendum, he was criticized and eventually forced out of office: it is not time to consult your people, he was told, as their freedom to decide could lead to our collective collapse… The dominant economic powers and institutions as well as the ratings agencies have enforced their own logic: this is not the right time to consult your people. The media simply follow along behind; for them it natural and consistent for elected presidents and ministers to be forced out of office without the population having had its say. As if, in time of crisis, the rules of democratic procedure must be suspended: citizens are nothing but spectators.
The Muslim majority countries are being asked to reassess the relationship between the state and the religious authority. Islam should not impose its truth and dogma over the democratic elected state. The latter must be free, and must express the will of the majority. Theocratic regimes are dangerous, as they neither protect the equality of citizens before law nor their right to decide their future. Critical points indeed! The Muslim majority countries should by all means rid themselves of their secular or religious dictatorships. To call for democratization is legitimate and appears to be the only way forward: this is the essence of the Arab awakening, its hope as much as its goal.
Yet, we should be asking sharp questions about the model and the ends. Should the Arab countries follow in the footsteps of the West? Is the Western model worth duplicating? Where are this freedom and transparency the democrats are talking about? Whichever way you turn, you hear rising complaints: people feel as tough they are losing their rights, enjoying less freedom, becoming progressively marginalized. In the United States, the most recent and ever-deepening economic crisis is exposing the citizens’ helplessness. Millions are unemployed and deep in debt; they have no medical insurance to cover their needs, no social services to protect their families. There are asked to vote for candidates who spend billions of dollars on election campaigns, yet end up being forgotten between elections. Some citizens tried to make their voices heard on Wall Street: real power lies is not in the White House but along that street where the dominant economic actors, agents and institutions, are not required to respect democratic rules. Theirs is the power of economic control and high finance, of money and media: here democracy has no room, no reality. The protestors numbered a few thousand indignant citizens expressing a common view: which way are the Western democracies heading?
In Europe, the feeling is the same. We may well have no religion exerting control over the state, but the transnational corporations, economic institutions, banks, media and well-structured lobbies are undermining the very essence of any democratic system (which should be based on transparency and majority rule). We talk about separating religious authority from state authority—but who will protect the state from the economic, financial and media powers that are imposing their anti-democratic decisions and policies.
It is all well and good to celebrate an idealized democratic model, but the truth of the matter remains that Western democracies are eroding; people are losing their rights and prerogatives. It is time for the citizens to wake up and to demand transparency, respect, and consistency. The Arab world needs political creativity; but the West, deep in crisis, cannot be a model. It is time to find other ways, new horizons. The globalized world is undermining national democratic dynamics. Tunisia, Egypt, Libya or even the United States, Greece, Italy, France or Germany cannot achieve “democracy” on their own.
Yet nationalism would be a new trap, as the non-democratic forces are lurking behind the existing nations, where the citizens have no status and have lost their rights. Democrats and free citizens must learn to look beyond their borders: an arduous and demanding task that will require transnational civic movements. There is no choice. With freedom come some constraints: an apparent paradox, yet a historical truth.
Published in Gulf News on November 15, 2011 : http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/western-democracies-are-undermining-people-s-rights-1.930694
I wish someone would explain this post-national globalized era. What is it people enbision in a posnational world: one globalized nation, with one global culture. How can anybody want that; a globalized world devoid of any history?
Definition of democracy:
Government of the corporations
For the corporations
By the corporations
For sure religious and secular dictatorship is not to be condone.
Democracy has utterly failed to protect the people from the corporations evils (utter misery of the many,depletion of natural resources).
Corporations have proved to be far more harmful than traditional religions.
To watch with what degree of religiousness the actors of democracy follow the dictates of the corporations, one cannot but wonder:
corporation is the new god of the west.
And the religion to worship this god is but democracy.
Tariq Sahib,
The Arab Spring is a unique and a singular phenomenum in the history of the world! It is the first becasue it is a revoultion without any leader (s). It is the revolution of clooective ideas, a totally social nature, like a roll of soft cotton wool all laced together to form a solid ball, which can be very effective as we have seen from the results.
For the first time in my life I have started to look at the Arabs as a vibrant and living nation. I think the Arab Spring is in essence closest to the Ummah model which the Prophet gifted to the world 1500 years ago. I think you are bing too harsh in judging the movement as a copy cat of the Western style of democracy. You should be aware that all democracies in the West have subtle differences from country to country. I am sure the valiant Arabs of Misr are perfectly capable of charting their own course even if it means that they chose to ignore Ulema like you.
As a non Arab living in the ‘Arab world’ I am saying ‘no!’ to any looking over the border, if it means more Arab nationalism like we have seen in recent decades. The ummah is not ‘the arab world’, the prophets community was multicultural. Islam did not come to humiliate people but to elevate them.
Being a respected traditionalist reformer, I would like if Sir Tariq would address the connection between arab nationalism and islamism which is ruining islams image and threatening muslim unity. Thank you.
Power corrupts, absolute power (dictatorship) corrupts absolutely. The arabs, in their absolute or relative power have done great harm to the powerless, and their intellectuals and politicians corrupted arab minds. I hope a new, democractic era can correct this. I call to all minorities, Kurds, Berbers, etc. to hold onto your faith, to keep faith in your arab brothers (which, I agree sometimes is tested) who are burdened with this amanat from Allah (they too are tested) and to fight for your dignity at the same time. God is with the powerless.
one other small point: the arab world consists 300 million people, of which 40 million kurds, 40 million berbers and 10 million copts and other smaller and less known groups (I am talking about people who still have this identity) The (may I say quite ambitious….) arab project has failed. We, all of us need new ways of peacefully living together.
Thank you for this stimulating piece. As a European, I feel deeply that we have yet to confront the hypocrisy of so much of our policies: preaching democratic values and human rights – but supporting dictators, especially those seen as ramparts against islamic extremism. See [->http://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2011/11/09/an-up-hill-struggle-for-democracy/] for my thoughts on democracy, from a country (Switzerland) where we’re voting all the time. All our democracies show great weaknesses and failings – but is there any other system that allows EVERYONE to have their say, and feel that they are part of one community?
“We never seen democracy, all we’ve seen is hypocrisy”, Malcom X
My Dear Tariq
May Peace be with you-Greetings from Mauritius
I cannot but agree with you- On the one hand western democracies have failed its people and on the other hand we are seeing the beginning of history. The western model was hailed by some to have reached its pinnacle and that there cannot exist a better alternative than the western model of governance and the western model of economy. Both have failed miserably – when we look how people in those countries have become poorer and that economic measures are today being imposed on their very people who vote them to parliament =Often stated as government by the people and for the people, what we have seen over history is that these countries have been at the mercy of a bunch of capitalists to the detriment of its own people. The participation in the affairs of the country is left to those who are the political elites only and the economic model is based upon greed, speculation and the welfare of a few.
Muslims in the arab countries have every right to develop their own brand of democracy- based upon islamic principles of justice and participation. The very model developed by the Prophet (pbuh) in Madinah- where he made to draft the first constitution of an islamic state. All the actors of the madinan society participated fully in the affairs of the society. During the past decades, a lot of development in the field of Islamic economics and finance haves taken place. Muslims in these countries must realize that it will be some time before viable political and economic institutions are developed in these countries. There is a lot of expectation from the Muslims who have been for many years deprived of political freedom and a participative democracy.
Replacing one dictator by another dictator is not the solution. Muslim activists must realize that they cannot force their ideas and ideals on people. Any change must come from within and with the full participation of the people. For some time now people have been used to terms such as ‘Shariah compliant financial systems’. Even here in Mauritius, thirty years back the government was not agreeable to amend the banking act to allow islamic banks to function- today this is history as five years back legislation has been passed to allow islamic bank to function and even recently a local editorialist (non muslim) condemn the way of doing of Charlie Hebdo- stating that Muslim countries have every right to rule their countries by whatever way they want. On the other hand, Western leaders must now understand that the game is over- that of imposing their diktat on other countries and that of pressurizing government through their lobbies to do anything against the will of its people. I am thinking of the numerous lucrative military contracts worth billions of dollars that are spent without any benefit of the people –
The path will be a long and difficult one and it is only the beginning of a new page of history- not only for Muslims – but also for humanity.
Muhammad Imraan
Thank you for this masterpiece Prof Ramadan, could not agree more.
Most of modernistic elequent, if not all, are just hypocritical. Certainly, the elequence is an innate talent elaborated via the natural inter-social training process. Hypocrisy contradicts with the well-balanced intelligence: Honesty is the foremost criteria of Democracy. W.N.
We simply need the “THIRD WAY”.