Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July/August 2004, pages 88-89

Muslim-American Activism

Prospects for Democracy in the Middle East

Morocco’s Ambassador to the United States Aziz Mekouar (staff photo L. Al-Arian).

“DEFINING & Establishing Justice in Muslim Societies” was the theme of the fifth annual conference for the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) held on May 28-29 in Washington, DC.

Panelists discussed the prospects of democracy in the Middle East, including the Bush administration’s efforts to change existing political systems in the region.

President of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Carl Gershman began his talk by saying there is a “growing pessimism about the prospects of democracy in the Middle East.” Referring to the Nov. 6 speech by President George W. Bush on democracy in the Arab world, Gershman said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Arab leaders “rejected Bush’s vision.” It was not entirely welcomed by grassroots organizations pushing for reform in the Middle East either, Gershman said. “Many organizations in civil society said they agreed with the message even if they don’t like the messenger.”

According to Gershman, the May 23 Arab League Summit that took place in Tunisia was “greeted with cynicism” by some who maintain that it did not go far enough in pushing for political and democratic reform. The statement released following the summit, “ignored the role of civil society organizations in the region,” he said.

On a more optimistic note, Gershman continued, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the issue of democracy in the Middle East has now become a “top agenda item.” It will be a topic of discussion at the G8 Summit on June 8-10 in Sea Island, Georgia, at the EU and NATO summits.

Gershman indicated that democracy is a long process that involves more than “getting rid of a dictator.” There are five critical elements that form the foundation of democratization, he began. First, democratic movements must emerge from within the Middle East, he said, pointing to the example of prominent Egyptian pro-democracy advocate Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Secondly, the United States and international human rights organizations must support dissidents and human rights activists, as was the case in Czechoslovakia, Poland and elsewhere before the fall of Communism, he continued.

After providing ideological support, the U.S. government must then offer “concrete support in the form of grants and training,” he said. Along with top European leaders, U.S. officials should then “pressure and encourage” Arab governments to reform so that they can “become part of the modern world economy,” Gershman stated.

The final step involves creating a political context in which democratization can take place. Specifically, if Iraq’s transitional sovereign government creates a stable society in which minority groups are respected and individual rights are protected, then this will bode well for the future of democracy in the Middle East. Furthermore, Turkey’s application for membership in the European Union has put it on a path toward internal reform. As for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the U.S. should “support groups in the West Bank and Gaza that promote democracy,” he suggested. Finally, Gershman said Iran is “a breakthrough waiting to happen,” adding that it is “relatively open and inoculated against totalitarianism.”

Gershman concluded his speech by calling on the American Muslims in the audience to serve as a “bridge community” to push for democracy in their native countries. This has worked in the past, he stated, citing the example of the Ukrainian Diaspora community, which is “pressing for free and fair elections in the Ukraine.”

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Alina Romanowski said it was the goal of the Bush administration to “nurture and enable desire for change and reform in the region for our own national security interests.”

The Middle East Partnership Initiative, which was announced by Secretary of State Colin Powell on Nov. 2, is “intended to bring governments, the private sector, and civil societies together to support empowering women,” Romanowski said.

Stressing the importance of education in democratization, Romanowski said “economic modernization and prosperity are not possible without an educated workforce.” Through the MEPI, the U.S. government has begun a program in which young female college graduates from the Arab world will be granted internships in U.S. businesses, she said.