When the twenty-six-year-old college graduate, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in Tunis, he sparked a revolution that was more than 40 years in the making. Sadly, he did not live to see the change. "Revolutions do not cause change they confirm the change which has already happened," wrote Dr. Don Beck, a complex systems strategist. Typically, this happens more to societies that are already changing, as the raised expectations put pressure on existing leaders and structures, like the geologic tectonic shifts that will rise to the surface during earthquakes.
As a once second generation Arab Nationalist who now works on emergence and geopolitical reform in Arab cultures, I have longed for this day to come. Since the end of colonial rule we in the Middle East have taken several shots at defining ourselves and our nations. We haphazardly embraced Marxism and Socialism, copying ideas that did not fit our cultural values. My generation believed that the road map to democracy in our region should not come from bloodshed but rather from building capacities in Arab people and institutions in the culture. Unfortunately, our political-clannish leaders who were embroiled in the history of the region were not interested in making our vision a reality. We were defeated. Our aspirations were crushed as we left our homeland in droves seeking opportunities in other parts of the world. Those who couldn't leave watched the oppression fester for years as it took the lives and the freedom of hundreds of thousands of people.
For the Arab world, this is just the beginning.
To help shape the newly liberated Middle East, we should look at what type of institutions must be created to harness the dreams of the people demonstrating in the streets and co-design for their emergence. Unfortunately, because of the effects of past repression and the historic absence of democratic institutions, the Arab street lacks the depth of political maturity required to create a full picture of democracy with viable and sustainable institutions. The Arab street never had effective leaders who concerned themselves with building the foundations for democracy. From Nasser to Assad to Saddam Hussein, leadership in the last fifty years in the region has lacked vision and capacity. It has too often relied on the rhetoric of empty promises. These men were leading as paternal leaders with impassioned speeches rather than pragmatists with a developmental road map for their countries.
This revolution is one that is toppling the old patriarchy and has little chance of succeeding if women are not given a voice as an equal partner in society. "Arab women will no doubt change the world" says Dr. Jean Houston, one of the founders of the Human Potential Movement who consults with the UN and advises on our projects in the Middle East.
It has been my experience through numerous projects I start in the Arab world that women emerge as natural leaders, in their community and beyond. They are the power that is moving the Arab world forward, and are creating their own version of feminism that does not look anything like the Western feminist revolution. Theirs is one that empowers their daughters to get the best education and gain the autonomy needed to be a true partner in nation building. In doing so they have been fostering and practicing their own brand of Arab and Islamic feminism that fits the value-systems within their cultures.
Dr. Suleiman, a charismatic woman in her 40s, is the former psychologist of the Dubai Police Department who intimates women's role in Arab culture: "We now have two generations of women who obtained advanced degrees from Western countries and came back home and yet we're still veiled by society and not by the veils on our heads. We are working to change this unhealthy attitude towards women, and will not rest till our daughters have the same rights and social standing that our sons." Demanding equal rights for women has to be an integral component of the new Arab identity that is being shaped, and must be recognized under the law and enforced by authorities. Adding this evolutionary piece will serve as the catalyst for this monumental change.
With such an explosion of repressed potential, how can the Arab world prepare for true democracy? What will be the ideal form of governing that works for the Middle East? And how can we in the First World understand and support the emergence of Arab-Style democracies?
The crucial insight here is that one style of democracy does not fit all. The Myth that Western democracy, if given the chance, can spread throughout the Middle East has proven to be a false doctrine. We need not look further than the Western coalition's experience in Iraq and Afghanistan to recognize the failure of this thinking. Tom Barnett in his book The Pentagon's New Map states that Arab-style democracies will resemble more those of India, Malaysia or Singapore rather than Western Europe or the US.
Ayman, a young Egyptian national who holds a business degree looks and sounds much like the protesters in Tahrir Square. He says that there has to be a system for the older people to retire with a pension that honors their past contribution. This will be the only way for the younger, educated generation to have careers and participate in the socio-political development of their country. He is one of millions of Egyptians who couldn't find work in Egypt and settled for being a waiter at a Kuwaiti restaurant. We've seen many intelligent men and woman like him demonstrating in Tunisia, Bahrain and Libya who are well aware of the processes and the themes of democracy but lacked the comprehensive view of what it takes to build a viable nation.
Maysa, a Gen Y activist for Palestinian women in the West Bank reiterates the view about Arab patriarchy providing her pragmatic solution "to the Palestinian people, Arafat was the father figure. To the Arab street, Nasser was the father. But, now it's time to move on. We must build civil and government institutions that lead to nation building." From where will the determination and leadership emerge to accomplish this monumental task? Would a benevolent autocrat provide that interim role that will support the establishment of structures and systems that will lay down the foundation for this Arab-style democracy?
"The pathway from tribalism to democracy has to pass through autocracy" wrote professor Clare W. Graves, founder of psychology at the large scale. In these tumultuous times can the intelligence of the masses elect a benevolent autocratic leader without him becoming another Gaddafi or Mubarak? A benevolent autocrat is someone who recognizes the frailty of the infant stages of democracy and has the best interest of his/her people in mind and has their respect. Someone who has the power to quell the disruption caused by zealots and extremists, while promoting robust institutions and development prone societies. This is where the West has to rise up to the challenge and balance its interests with those of the Arab street.
If the West aggressively focuses on creating innovations in green technologies, then the Middle East will be relieved of an exploitative economic relationship and left with no choice but to focus on developing its most underutilized resource: women and the young. This has to be coupled simultaneously with a layered and culturally fit development program that addresses the most nagging issues in the Middle East. In a town hall meeting with young Fatah leaders in Bethlehem, I asked the audience to come up with a future vision for Palestine and the Arab world. In compelling Arab emotional outburst, they all said they want to have world class hospitals and universities where Westerners choose to come.
Arab-style democracy is a system where everyone is equal under the law -- women, men and children regardless of their riches or political or tribal affiliations. This has to spread and be enforced at a systemic level. New governments along with the private sector have to embark on robust and fully integrated development programs that go beyond the reach of a typical World Bank strategy. These programs cannot stop at ad hoc projects that build the infrastructure of highways, power and sewer systems without building the supporting societal and civil structures that can sustain nations.
Since religions plays a crucial role in the Middle Eastern identity, religious institutions have to be regulated to preach tolerance and supported, as they play a vital role in society. Schools have to become institutions that build autonomous individuals, not followers of clan leaders. This should happen in quality public schools that are available to the masses. Financial pressure on parents has to be alleviated by creating good paying jobs that fit their capacities. This list is merely the beginning of the changes that are needed to establish the new Arab nationalism within the unique boundaries of each Arab nation. The Arab league has to come out of the shadow of dictators and become a functional body that includes a trade organization to benefit the region's human and natural resources.
The values of the industrial age are just emerging in the Middle East under the umbrella of the age of technology and knowledge. Arab cultures have no choice but to advance in this global world, this has to be a systemic, holistic approach that will ensure the future of Arab Gen Y and stop the brain drain from the region. This is the time where the Arab intelligence can empower individuality, a quality that has long been the catalyst that helped the developed world thrive.
These Muslim women who now demand freedom, exactly who are they demanding it from? A new Government? Government may change, but Shari'a law governs every Muslim home (even Muslim homes outside the middle east) & it shapes the minds &behaviour of Muslim men, women &children. These women are prisoners in their own minds,bodies & homes. Personally, I grew up in a multi-cultural community but Ayaan Hirsi Ali's books opened my eyes to a truth Westerners don't want to admit for fear of seeming "intolerant" - But we are tolerating the mutilation, brutilisation and often murder of girls and women under the "veil" of Islam...Is that freedom???
This separation of the sexes is as we know, "Separate, and NOT equal" - this is where it has to begin for equality.
The truth is that women are not exactly equal to men, in many ways they are far superior at organizing ideals and keeping these ideals intertwined into the fabrics of society. The current ideal extant in many Arab cultures exists to the credit of women, their sense of propriety as regards keeping traditional Arab cultural underpinnings at the root of their lives is the reason the their once male dominated society surged during past epics and has re emerged as a dominant epic today as regards ascension to the full measures of many revolutions which came before theirs today.
To my reckoning, from many conversations with Arab and Middle Eastern women, it seems that their is room for many diverse sentiments which merge into a panoply of Arab feminine aspects of the greater Arab cultural diversity. I have spoken with women in veils who are very emancipated and some who wear the veil not with some insecurities brewing in their personal experiences as regards political participation, so the aspect of femininity concerning the veil hijab or burka is not immaterial but not as predictably telling as one might think by some measures of perception in western press.
Read this article again, it is excellent
One phrase in your article struck me as being a bit unrealistic. That is: "religious institutions have to be regulated to preach tolerance". Do you think this could be done by a democratically elected government? That would be a huge feat! Democratic governments will likely have several factions competing for power. Trying to regulate religious institutions would probably result in deep conflicts which could undermine the stability of the governments. This is a really difficult issue. Considering the fact that religion plays such a crucial role in Middle Eastern identity, it seems that the best hope for tolerance is to try to encourage some transformation of the religion itself. Could Islamic theologians possibly reconsider the doctrine of Abrogation? Could Muslims accept that the Prophet was also human and that the later revelations might have been influenced by the political conditions of the time and that the earlier revelations contain the true essence of the religion. The mythic phase of human development, as described by Dr. Graves, will probably be strong in Arab cultures for a long time.
the Phillipines or Japan which is different from that in Europe. If the revolutionaries want better standard of living and higher pay, they may be disappointed. Just about the only similarity that is present in every democracy is the way they elect their leaders and even here, there are major differences. As for freedom and human rights, again, there is no rules. Every country is different. In a country where religion
and politics are all one and the same without separation, religion almost always dictates the outcome of any election and the rights of the people..
While there are definitely negative aspects of Arab tribalism (especially for women) there are many desirable things--the very things that many feel have been lost in Western civilization.
For instance, I was surprised by the very common practice for extended, multi-generational families to live under one roof--the bare rebar you see sticking up at the corners of most homes is there to allow additional floors as the extended family grows. Not only does this allow people of modest means to band together and live in far nicer conditions than if they lived individually, but it seems to give everyone--young and old--a sense of purpose.
The old are not shipped off to some home and the young are not farmed out to daycare and summer camp. The prime duties of the family members (both male and female) can be within or without the home.
There is far more individualism and personal freedom than I imagined. Personal honor is demanded because dishonorable actions are deemed detrimental to the family and tribe as a whole. As a consequence you truly have to look for trouble in these societies and you can be almost certain that you will be dealing with those who have been disavowed and have no personal honor.
http://www.submission.org/suras/sura8.html
Democracy will indeed happen, after the army gets tired. A radical state similar to that in Iran will be "elected" in some horribly rigged elections. Their new democratic utopia will more likely involve sharia law and the government will oppress the people with an iron fist. The people will love it because "the religous leaders will tell them that this is what god wants." The newly created state will then probably start a war with its regional enemies over religious ideology and we'll all skip down the utopian path together.