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On the morning of September 11, 2012, Dr. Azizah al-Hibri addressed students and faculty at the School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University on a panel titled “Arab Spring and Sustainable Democracy”, part of a larger Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum.
Dr. al-Hibri emphasized the centrality of democracy to the Islamic worldview. Properly understood, this worldview, she noted, is based on an all-encompassing concept of Justice which is restorative and compassionate. It subsumes within it not only democracy, but also gender equity and minority rights. In developing modern constitutions in the Arab World, Dr. al-Hibri underlined the importance of consulting not only classical Islamic jurisprudence, but also modern one that takes into account the demands of modern life. Women’s participation in revolutionary movements and government, for example, is crucial today for the sustainability of democracy in these countries. Dr. al-Hibri talked also about KARAMAH’s workshops in the Middle East and North Africa, focusing on the relationship between Islamic jurisprudence and women’s leadership. Many of these workshops have taken place in conjunction with the Arab Spring.
Other speakers included Dr. Muqtedar Khan, Associate Professor of Islam and Global Affairs at the University of Delaware, who provided an analysis of the Arab Spring and the way in which values of equality and freedom of speech play a role in redefining citizenship, and thus the state. He also discussed the way in which Islamic political thought is being forced to evolve, acknowledging the fundamental relationship between Islam and democracy for fear of losing political gains in the Arab Spring.
Dr. Laith Kubba, senior program officer for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy, went further in elaborating Islam’s role in the development of Arab Spring nations. He asserted that Muslim thinkers had “failed” in providing the Muslim world with a worldview that included a comprehensive approach to modernity, and thus Muslims in many places struggle with reconciling Islamic core values, and centuries of culture, tradition and historical memory when it comes to change. Thus, struggles over the Muslim identity contribute to the challenges many Arab Spring countries now face.
Dr. Peter Mandaville of George Mason University and the Brookings Institution provided the audience with his analysis largely from a U.S. policy perspective. He addressed Shari’ah law and the importance many Arab Spring countries place on incorporating elements of Islamic jurisprudence into their new Constitutions, especially in matters of family law. Dr. Mandaville also discussed the U.S. policy perspective towards the Arab Spring and “Islamist” governments, and why it was imperative that the U.S. recognize such governments as “broad-based movements” rather than political parties characterized by polarizing, single-track ideologies. Lastly, he talked about Al-Azhar, and the important, politically-independent role such institutions of higher learning should play in shaping the future of Arab Spring countries.
From different perspectives, each panelist expressed concern over aspects of the Arab Spring which are potentially threatening to democratic sustainability, Muslim identity and the rights of different groups, such as women and religious minorities. For this reason, KARAMAH continues its fundraising and programming efforts in the Middle East and North Africa, hoping to disseminate its jurisprudential research in support of sound Constitutions which embody both democracy and core Islamic values.
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