“This is a modern history book, because in recent times the world has changed profoundly,” said former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato when introducing the book I Fratelli Musulmani nel mondo contemporaneo [The Muslim Brotherhood in the Contemporary World] (Edizioni Utet), written by Massimo Campanini and Karim Mezran. Considering the ongoing transformations in the Middle East, this is now a very current issue. Uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya pose a number of questions concerning the causes that sparked these conflicts within this historical context, and on their consequences. As emphasized by Amato, president of Resetdoc’s Scientific Committee, “the expectation is that if something changes, we could be faced with an hegemony of the Muslim Brotherhood, which represents a significant part of the population.”. The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the largest Islamic movements in the world, and also very powerful and influential, demanding strict observance of the principles established by the Koran, also opposing the secularisation of Islamic countries and western influence.
“The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, who founded this movement in 1928, is dead,” explains the Sole 24 Ore journalist Alberto Negri. “However, his brother, his children and his nephews are still alive. What is perhaps even more interesting, is the movement that developed in Egypt and represents the initial period, without forgetting that there are many radical offshoots. One must also make a generational distinction. During the uprisings, the young have behaved in a totally autonomous manner, and with the objective of removing Mubarak from power, taking to the streets without awaiting the approval of leaders. One will now have to see what political dynamics follow, to what extent the experience of these leader will count and what the role will be played by their elders. In recreating new political balance in the country, there will certainly be also a part of the regime that has not been destroyed and that will attempt to regroup around the army. In Egypt and in Tunisia, dictatorial regimes froze all political activity, while in Libya the situation will deteriorate as time goes by.”
According to Francesca Corrao, professor of Arab language and literature at the Luiss university, these uprisings were to be expected. “In countries in which there is no freedom of expression and where one cannot make manifest one’s thoughts,” explained Corrao, “novels, poetry and jokes are used to communicate opinions. A careful analysis shows that the level of intolerance had become unbearable, while in Tunisia no one spoke out and the system could be compared to the DDR, where there was at least one spy in every family. This historical period will have to be entirely rewritten.” Furthermore, “there is an extremely important movement ongoing in the Mediterranean area, and it shows us how political ideas evolve in the Arab world. The Muslim Brotherhood, although presented as a very violent movement, has attracted attention to modern Islamic ethics. After the colonial and nationalist periods, it is now necessary to revise matters, also because there is not only one single Islamic school of thought and, over recent years, capacity to evolve has also increased.”
Hence the need for freedom experienced by people in these countries had become pressing, but the problem is to understand how it will be possible to conciliate Islam and democracy. “Let us remember that we are not the exclusive owners of democracy, which is perhaps more developed in Arab countries than in Italy,” emphasized Corrao. “To better understand matters, one must bear in mind that in Tahrir Sqaure, al Qaradawi reiterated the plurality of religions and respect for Muslims and Christians, and bloggers too have shown a transnational solidarity that is the founding principle of Arab countries.” This was a point Amato also agreed with, reminding us that, “After the humiliation the West has inflicted on the Islamic word, we cannot now demand that all the world’s democracies should be modelled on our own perception of democracy.” And Professor Massimo Campanini, a professor at the Oriental University in Naples, and one of the authors of the book, said, “the book’s objective is to discover new paths, to understand if there is a theoretical and practical phenomenology, or new possibilities and perspectives for understanding the Arab political system. The Arab and Muslim world is not the East, but also the West, there is a historical bond. One must understand whether there is an Islamic path to democracy and whether the Muslim Brotherhood can provide a contribution in this sense, because, even if considering its extremist tendencies, it is an interesting phenomenon. If there is an Islamic path to democracy, the Muslim Brotherhood has probably followed it with great contradictions and one will have to see what this movement will do when called upon to create a new reality in Egypt.”
“Nowadays, when I hear talk of an Islamic danger, I feel offended, Said the Moroccan journalist Zouhir Louassini. “What must we do to persuade westerners that this is a democratic revolution? The posters carried by people were written in various languages because there is a desire to establish a dialogue with others. One girl even carried a poster bearing the words Yes, we can. The desire was to broadcast a sense of calm, since people in Arab countries are asking for change, for real freedom. Enough with this western egocentrism. One must respect the will of the people and we are probably moving towards the Turkish model, with an Islamic party that preserves and respects the rules of the secular world.” According to Karim Mezran, instead, it was extremely difficult to predict what has happened, especially in Tunisia, where nothing led one to believe there was such discontent. “Furthermore,” added Mezran, “a systemic analysis that includes data, proves that the country was experiencing rapid expansion. When all economic and social data improved significantly, the uprising began.”
Translated by Francesca Simmons