Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Category: Islam and Democracy

Turkey: AKP’s Moderation

December 21st, 2010 by Evan

Writing at Foreign Policy, Gonul Tol counters criticism of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). “The party’s performance in government suggests that pressures from the opposition and from within its own diverse constituency have led the AKP to pursue centrist policies at the expense of alienating more conservative segments of its base,” Tol writes. The central question is will AKP continue to pursue economic and political reforms before and after the 2011 parliamentary election or “suffer from incumbent fatigue.”


Posted in Islam and Democracy, Turkey | Comment »

Egypt: Mubarak Responds to Criticism, Coptic Tension

December 20th, 2010 by Evan

During a speech opening the new Egyptian parliament, President Hosni Mubarak rejected international and domestic criticism while attempting to calm Muslim-Coptic tensions. In a veiled response to U.S. calls for international electoral monitoring, Mubarak said “We never give up our sovereignty and free will. We reject dictations and imposed conditions. We are always heedful to the security of Egypt and its citizens.” Mubarak also mocked opposition attempts to form a shadow parliament saying “let them have fun.”

In response to recent protests by members of Egypt’s Coptic community, Mubarak accused unnamed groups of exacerbating the conflict. “These endeavors sometimes target Muslim-Coptic unity, and, at other times, aim to play us against our Nile Basin brothers,” Mubarak said. Members of the Coptic community, both in Egypt and the U.S., criticized the president and said his speech did little to address the Copt’s demands for equality and greater religious freedom.


Posted in Egypt, Islam and Democracy | Comment »

Iran: A Divided Nation

December 17th, 2010 by Jason

In two new pieces, Mehdi Khalaji and Abbas Milani explore cultural and political divisions in Iran.  Khalaji focuses on the growing split between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. “Tension between the president and the Supreme Leader is built into the Islamic Republic’s core,” Khalaji writes, because the Supreme Leader is chosen, while the President “emerges from an electoral process.” This natural tension has caused conflict between Khameini and the two previous presidents, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami. Khalaji concludes that “[t]he history of the Islamic Republic indicates that the power struggle between the Supreme Leader and the president never abates. It also suggests that the Supreme Leader will prove to be stronger.”

Milani takes a sociohistorical view of the divided Iranian identity. Looking back over the country’s history, Milani sees “a bifurcated, tormented, even schizoid cultural identity: pre-Islamic, Persian-Zoroastrian elements battling with forces and values of an Arab Islamic culture.” Milani goes on to detail the the struggle between the two identities, which conflict through art, film, language, and the meaning of modernity. Post-1979 Iran can be seen through this lens of bifurcation. Ayatollah Khomeini advocated for a Shi’ism that rejected modernity (i.e. the Shah and his insistence on a Persian national identity) and established a strong state that clashes with calls for greater democratization from many citizens. “[A] critical look at the past shows the bleak future of Khamenei and other champions of despotism. Violence can only delay but not destroy the rights of man in a nation that has embraced the cultural ethos of modernity.”


Posted in Civil Society, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Political Islam | Comment »

Iran: A Quiet Ashura

December 16th, 2010 by Evan

Writing on the Shi’ite holiday of Ashura, Scott Peterson notes the absence of protests in Iran. Last year, thousands of Iranians took to the streets, invoking the memory of Imam Hussein to protest the repressive Ahmadinejad regime. “Now forced underground and facing severe restrictions, where is the Green Movement today?” Peterson asks. Nader Hashemi, Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver, responds that the Iranian opposition is likely engaging “in a process of reflection, social networking, and organization to raise critical consciousness, and to basically just try and keep the movement alive, waiting for another opportunity where they manifest their presence and push forward their pro-democracy agenda.”


Posted in Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy | Comment »

Saudi Arabia: Reforms Fall Short

December 16th, 2010 by Evan

In a new piece for The Wall Street Journal Christoph Wilcke, Senior Researcher in Human Right Watch’s Middle East and North Africa Division,  examines King Abdullah al-Saud’s record. While the King did take steps toward promised reforms in 2009, over the past year the country has experienced a series of setbacks. Journalists and professors have been arrested for writing about domestic political issues, Wilcke notes, adding that “Punishment for voicing ideas goes directly against the grain of the tolerance that King Abdullah has touted since he took the throne in 2005.” Moreover, in contrast to King Abdullah’s promotion of religious tolerance abroad, “public observance of any faith other than Islam remains prohibited” in Saudi Arabia. The two areas where the country has taken steps forward are women’s rights and judicial reform, but even in these areas the results of reform efforts have been underwhelming, Wilcke concludes.


Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Saudi Arabia | Comment »

Instability Ahead for Authoritarian Regimes in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

December 14th, 2010 by Evan

In a recent piece, Daniel Brumberg argues that Egypt’s rigged parliamentary elections threaten to destabilize the country. “When there is no honest mechanism by which citizens can create a moral, ideological and/or institutional connection to the state, society will go in its own direction. This is a prescription for mass apathy, out of which mass resentment could suddenly explode, especially during moments of crisis.” Meanwhile, John Bradley has a new article on the “looming” succession crises in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Despite their historical and rhetorical differences, these two powerful Arab states “increasingly resemble each other…in terms of populist Islamist fervor and limited political representation,” Bradley writes.


Posted in Egypt, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Saudi Arabia | Comment »

Saudi Arabia: Pro-Democracy Group Plans Protest

December 13th, 2010 by Jason

The Associated Press reports that the the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association plans to lead “the kingdom’s first sit-in protest this month to demand radical political reforms, a constitution and elections.” The article also discusses how Saudi Arabia has handled internal dissent saying, “Saudi authorities usually deal harshly with opposition but in recent years liberal-minded figures have been petitioning King Abdullah for reforms.” Also, the editor of the magazine Umma Conference, Mohammed al Abdul Karim, was arrested last week for writing an essay questioning “why ordinary Saudis have no choice in selecting their leaders,” and speculating on “how the kingdom’s security might be affected if rival factions within the royal family began fighting amongst themselves.”


Posted in Civil Society, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Reform, Saudi Arabia | Comment »

Farcical Elections Offer Little Hope Across Middle East

December 2nd, 2010 by Evan

The Economist recently published an article documenting democratic stagnation across the Middle East. Elections in Bahrain, Jordan, and Egypt have only led to the “perpetuation of rule by well-entrenched strongmen, the demoralisation and sometimes radicalisation of the forces opposed to them, and the degradation of the word democracy,” the author writes, adding that there is little difference between countries “that make a show of practising it and those, like Saudi Arabia, that do not even pretend.” According to The Economist, the Middle East’s democratic deficit is partially the result of uncertainty about what democratic governance should actually look like: “As many opinion polls have shown, Arabs sound keen on the idea of democracy. But what is understood by democracy, in a region with so few examples of it, remains open to question. Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, once described the Egyptian army as an example of democracy, on the ground that a commander weighs opinions from his officers before making a decision. By this definition, his party may deserve its name.”


Posted in Arab League, Elections, Islam and Democracy | Comment »

Iran: Ahmadinejad Profiled, Tensions Between Conservative Factions

November 30th, 2010 by Jason

Frontline’s Tehran Bureau has published two articles profiling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s political history. The first article focuses on Ahmadinejad’s use of populism to set himself apart from the clergy, and his sometimes messianic self image. The second article explores the tensions between a more secular nationalism, often associated with Ali Shariati, and the “Velaayat-e Faghih (guardianship of the Islamic jurist),” associated with Supreme Leader Khomeini and the Islamic revolution. The second article concludes by looking at various scenarios for the presidential election in 2013, including a “Putin-Medvedev Shuffle,” necessary because Ahmadinejad is constitutionally prohibited from running for a third consecutive term. Rahim Mashaei, a close aide to Ahmadinejad, is named as a possible successor.

Amir Taheri, writing in the Wall Street Journal, also chronicles the growing tensions in Iran between the several conservative camps, which has garnered recent attention due to a threat by some legislators to impeach Ahmadinejad. “Behind all this is the struggle for power between the mullahs and the rising generation of the military and their technocratic allies. […] Whatever the outcome, we are sure to witness a long and bitter fight within the ruling establishment. Because neither Ahmadinejad nor his rivals within the regime have anything positive to offer Iranians, both have to maintain the country’s state of permanent crisis.”


Posted in Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam | Comment »

Iran: Ahmadinejad Faces Growing Conservative Opposition

November 24th, 2010 by Evan

Writing at The Daily Beast, Reza Aslan argues the recently revealed plan to impeach President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is indicative of growing popular and elite displeasure with his policies. There is a sense in Iran that “with the protests having died down and the ‘Green Movement’ having been (for the moment) contained, the alliance of convenience that had formed among Iran’s feuding conservative factions would fracture, taking Ahmadinejad down with it,” Aslan writes. As opposition in parliament and on the street to Ahmadinejad’s planned subsidy reduction program grows the President’s position will likely become increasingly tenuous.


Posted in Iran, Islam and Democracy | Comment »

Egypt: Widespread Arrests Stifle Campaigns

November 22nd, 2010 by Evan

Over 1,200 Muslim Brotherhood members, including eight nominees for the upcoming election, were arrested Friday and Saturday following a series of violent clashes with police at campaign rallies across the country. Representatives of the Brotherhood reported members were detained in 22 provinces, with the largest number of arrests occurring in Sharqiya and Alexandria. “The regime is sending a message that there will be no election,” said Saad el-Katatni, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc. In a new article for Al Jazeera, Evan Hill describes challenges facing the Brotherhood and the organization’s tenuous relations with proponents of democracy in the West, while Amro Hassan and Jeffrey Fleishman document internal rifts between conservatives and reformists and the effect of increased government pressure on the organization.


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »

Hamid and Gause Debate Democracy in the Muslim World

November 19th, 2010 by Evan

Shadi Hamid, Director of Research at the Brookings Doha Center and Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, and Gregory Gause, Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont, recently participated in video debate on democracy in the Muslim world. Over the course of the conversation, Hamid and Gause discuss whether democracy in the Middle East is in Washington’s interests, what Islamists would do if they came to power, and the durability of authoritarian rule across the Arab world.  View the full discussion here.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, Islam and Democracy | Comment »

Doha Debates Choose Democratic Reform over Economic Liberalization

November 12th, 2010 by Anna

At a recent round of the Doha Debates – a monthly, televised event in which panelists debate a controversial issue before an audience drawn primarily from Qatar’s student body – 63% of audience members said that democratic reform should take precedence over  economic liberalization. Although it was not a scientific poll, the vote “offer[ed] a clear rejection of the philosophy of the region’s so-called moderate Arab states, where economic incentives are offered in place of meaningful political reform,” the Los Angeles TimesMeris Lutz reported. One of the panelists debating the topic, Georgetown University academic Jean-Francois Seznec, argued that immediate democratization might lead to Islamist rule, which could mean more restrictions on freedom of speech. Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas responded that “you need to achieve participatory politics. […] If the government keeps shutting up leftists, Nasserites, liberals and democrats, the Islamists will win.”


Posted in Civil Society, Freedom, Gulf, Islam and Democracy, Public Opinion | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship”

November 11th, 2010 by Evan

The Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted a discussion titled “The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship” on Wednesday. Brian Katulis, senior fellow at CAP, moderated a panel composed of Steven Cook, senior fellow of Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Michael Werz, senior fellow at CAP. As part of the larger discussion of Turkey-U.S. relations, the panelists addressed the development of democracy in Turkey.

To read full notes, continue below or click here for a pdf copy.

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Political Parties, Turkey | Comment »

Can Christian Democracy Movements Provide Lessons for Islamist Politics?

November 5th, 2010 by Anna

In an article for the Boston Review, Jan-Werner Muller of Princeton University details the history of the Christian democratic movement and asks whether “the historical analogy between Christian and potential Muslim democracy…perhaps suggest[s] promising alternatives to the authoritarian rule that dominates the Middle East.” He asserts that “institutional structures are what matters, not political ideas or programs” – as such, he concludes that “calls for liberalizing Islam and arcane disputes about the Qur’an’s compatibility with democracy are largely beside the point. Programmatic moderation, if it happens at all, will be a result of democratic political practice, not its precondition.” In the case of Christian Democracy, Muller writes, leaders drew in voters by basing their platforms on a particular body of thought, while simultaneously “reassuring nonbelievers that those of faith had accepted pluralism.” By delicately balancing various principles, Christian Democrats made themselves appealing to both Christians and non-Christians. Whether this is possible for Islamist politicians, Muller writes, remains unclear. He points out that “the political mobilization of believers does not necessarily result in a one-to-one translation of private religious identities into public political identities,” and that identities are reconstructed in pluralist arenas where compromise is key. Thus, he concludes, “blanket condemnations of Islam as incompatible with Democracy overlook the fact that religious doctrines do not strictly determine politics.”


Posted in Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Political Islam | Comment »

Iran: Khamenei Courts the Clerical Establishment

November 1st, 2010 by Jason

In a new, detailed piece at Tehran Bureau, Muhammad Sahimi explains the history of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s troubles with the clerical establishment, and what, if anything, his recent trip to the holy city of Qom accomplished. “Unlike his predecessor as Supreme Leader — Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — Khamenei has never had his own independent base of popular support.” The process through which Khamenei rose to the position of Supreme Leader was heavily influenced by Hashemi Rafsanjani, who thought Khamenei was “weak in religious credentials and therefore pliable.” The recent trip to Qom was an effort to “have the most senior grand ayatollahs and ayatollahs greet him as he entered the holy city, where about 30 Marjas taghlid currently reside. It became quickly clear, however, that aside from Khamenei’s reactionary supporters…no credible cleric would agree to that.”

Sahimi calls into question reports that Khamenei was able to achieve the main goals of the trip: to officially become a Marja taghlid, or figure of emulation, and to be named the Marja-e omoom, the foremost of the Marja. He said that it does not matter how various “daily hardline mouthpieces” and “other reactionary websites” refer to Khamenei. “The great aspect of Shiism is that it is the people who decide whom they want to follow, whom they want to emulate, whom they consider a true and pious Marja,” he says.


Posted in Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam | Comment »

Egypt: Brotherhood Pushes to Keep Slogan, Announces Social Justice Agenda

October 29th, 2010 by Anna

Al Masry Al Youm reports today that the Muslim Brotherhood is urging the High Elections Commission to uphold a court order allowing the campaign slogan “Islam is the Solution.” In The Brotherhood’s Opinion, a weekly post by the group, the Brotherhood criticizes the regime’s arrests of group members and calls on the government to treat all candidates fairly. Saad al-Katatni, a Brotherhood spokesman, also asserts that the High Elections Commission “must take a neutral stance as it is not an affiliate of the NDP.”

Muslim Brotherhood sources also say that the group will focus on social justice issues in its campaign platform during the upcoming parliamentary elections. The specific election program – which outlines strategies to tackle unemployment, the uneven distribution of wealth in Egypt, women’s issues, Coptic relations, and other social and political challenges – will be released in the coming weeks.


Posted in Egypt, Elections, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam | Comment »

POMED Notes: “19th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference”

October 22nd, 2010 by Jason

The National Council on US-Arab Relations held its 19th annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference on Thursday. Opening remarks were made by Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO of the National Council on US-Arab Relations and Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, chairman of the Board of Directors at the National Council on US-Arab Relations. The first talk on the agenda was entitled “Arab-US Relations: Misadventures Past and Present,” and was given by The Honorable Chas W. Freeman Jr., former Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of Defense.

 (To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf.)

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in DC Event Notes, Diplomacy, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Military, Neocons, Political Parties, Sectarianism, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: Election Date Set, MB Leader Interviewed

October 20th, 2010 by Jason

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced today that the parliamentary elections will be held November 28. He also announced that the run-off vote would be held December 5 and the new parliamentary session will begin December 13.

In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Mohamed Saad al-Katatny, head of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc, said that the group plans to continue the use of the slogan “Islam is the Solution” in spite of pressure from the Egyptian government. When asked by the interviewer if he thought election monitoring was necessary, al-Katatny responded “If the regime intends to have fair elections, it will allow the international community or civil society to monitor. Preventing monitoring means there’s an intention to rig elections.” Al-Katatny was also asked if the Brotherhood planned on fielding a candidate for president, to which he answered “No.”


Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »

POMED Notes: “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge”

October 14th, 2010 by Jason

The New America Foundation (NAF) held an event today marking the release of Hooman Majd’s new book, “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge.” Majd was introduced by Steve Clemons, Senior Fellow and Director of the American Strategy Program at NAF.

 (To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf)

Read the rest of this entry »


Posted in DC Event Notes, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »