By Ronald Meinardus
After nearly eight years at the helm of the Cairo Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF), Germany’s liberal think tank, Dr. Ronald Meinardus, who has on and off contributed also to the editorial page of this newspaper, is leaving Egypt shortly. What follows is the second installment of a personal review the author has titled “My Liberal Times in Oum al Dounia”.
Promoting liberalism in the Arab world is a Herculean task. It is no exaggeration to say that liberalism has an image problem here. Many, if not most Egyptians have a negative view of all things liberal. Out of ignorance and as a result of systematic brain washing, many perceive liberalism as against their heritage and culture and in contradiction with religious teachings. I find this stereotype an affront against the many liberals who are religious. Over the years, I have worked with many Arab Muslims and Christians who are true believers in the Almighty and just happen to have more progressive views in political and social issues than their reactionary denouncers. Defaming these people as unbelievers goes against the rules of human decency.
The allegation that liberals and their ideas are inspired by outside forces and have no homegrown roots is probably the biggest challenge for liberals and liberalism in the Arab world today. It is crucial that Arab liberals confront this allegation. To assert that the idea of individual freedom is foreign and, therefore, not compatible with Arab cultural and religious beliefs borders on racialism. This suggests the people living in this region are either not ready for liberty or – even worse – not capable or not willing to live as free men and women.
Most Arabs today have, at best, a limited exposure to liberal conditions as they grow up and live in a different environment. In most parts of the Middle East, the only “tangible” experience with liberalism is “economic liberalisation”. In many cases, however, the declared market reforms have failed to improve the living conditions and remained far below the expectations of the masses. Today, many Egyptians blame “market reforms” for the perceived wide-spread corruption and nepotism. They are not able – or not willing – to appreciate that it is not the market system that has failed but that the main reason for the absent “trickle-down” of wealth is the lack of the rule of law and accountability. These are essential preconditions for the markets to set free their beneficial power
There are various other reasons for the weakness of liberalism in the Arab world. They are sociological, cultural, and political. It is well established that many, if not most political parties claiming to be liberal are elitist and have a hard time to pass their message “on the street”. It is also no secret that many of these parties lack organisational clout and unity. Disunity and factionalism remains the achilles heel of Arab liberalism. As long as this malady prevails, the liberal forces will remain far away from popular success and political power.
In the Arab world, as in other cultural environments, “liberal” is not an attractive brand name. It is no surprise that not a single political party in the Arab world uses this epithet in her name. Of course, I felt disappointment when in late 2011 the Network of Arab Liberals, a federation of liberal political parties from the region, took the unanimous decision to drop the name “liberal” and rechristened the group as Arab Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AAFD). Full of political symbolism, this very visible retreat was a concession to a hostile public that has yet to understand what “liberalism” stands for.
To help rectify this unfriendly image and promote a rational debate about liberal ideas and policies has been the main focus of my work in this part of the world. We have organised myriad of educative activities and various campaigns to raise liberal awareness. I am particularly fond of a series of liberal books in Arabic in which mainly Arab liberals have published their thoughts.
Another priority throughout have been efforts to promote the cooperation between the liberal parties of the region. Many are not aware that liberal political parties and groups aspiring to promote a liberal agenda actually exist in more or less all Arab countries. They are particularly vocal with a distinguishable role in domestic politics in Morocco, Lebanon, and Egypt. The buzzword here is networking. The liberal parties of the Arab world have come a long way in associating and working together.
Liberal networking doesn’t only have a regional, Arab dimension, but also an international extension. Over the past years, the bonds between the Arab parties and their alliances and the international liberal family have grown exceptionally. Today, many Arab liberal political parties are members of Liberal International, the world federation of liberal parties in London. They participate in their congresses and thus have a chance to promote also distinctly Arab causes in these international meetings.
Why is this important? Many challenges our societies face will never be solved on a national level; regional and international coordination is of essence. International relations should not be left exclusively to governments. Political parties and civil society should have a stake also. For this, they need to cooperate. This is one raison d’etre for international organisations like the AAFD or Liberal International (LI).
More recently, the sense of harmony between liberals in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt, and their companions in Europe has suffered a blow. Differing assessments of the events in Egypt in the summer of 2013 are the main reason for the setback. This is not the place to get into details. But it is safe to say in a nutshell that liberals outside the Arab world have shown little understanding, let alone sympathy for the conduct of the security forces against the Islamists. As a result, there exist profound differences of opinion between Egyptian and European liberals how to deal with political Islam. I share the European position that in the long run the problems facing Egypt (including the detestable terrorism) will only be solved in the context of a political process.
Discussing these matters honestly and openly has become increasingly difficult. In an environment governed by emotions fanned by nationalistic media, Egyptian interlocutors often expect unconditional support for their position and the authorities’ actions. This makes reasonable dialogue difficult – and, as a result, foreigners with a diplomatic inclination often simply avoid such interaction.
The exchange of ideas is always important – particularly in difficult times, like the ones we are in right now. This goes all the more for dialogues among liberals who intrinsically hold a common set of values. Against this background, we have developed new programmes that aim at bringing liberal leaders from Europe and the Arab world together to discuss issues of common interest and, hopefully, arrive at joint conclusions.
