The rise of Islamism

Although the Arab Spring uprisings are not thought to be religiously motivated, the burgeoning Islamist parties represent an unusual step in pursuit of democracy and freedom from tyranny. Oliver Roy reminds us (albeit unnecessarily) that not every functioning democracy need be a secular one:

To grasp what is happening, we must set aside a number of deep-rooted prejudices. The first of these is the assumption that democracy presupposes secularisation. The second is the idea that a democrat is, by definition, also a liberal. Historically, this has not been the case. The American Founding Fathers were not secularists; for them, the separation of church and state was a way of protecting religion from government, not the reverse. The French Third Republic was established in 1871 by a predo­minantly conservative, Catholic, monarchist parliament that had just crushed the Paris Commune. Christian democracy developed in Europe not because the church wanted to promote secular values, but because it was the only way that it could maintain political influence. Finally, let's not forget that populist movements in Europe today align themselves with Christian democracy in calling for the continent's Christian identity to be inscribed in the EU constitution.

The idea that secularism is necessary for every form of democracy is arguable, yes, but so is Roy's rather contentious claim that the Founding Fathers wanted to protect religion from government instead of the reverse, which seems an awfully banal and meaningless statement when you consider that many the founding fathers were deists, not theists. Does it actually matter who is being protected from whom? This doesn't disqualify the label 'secularism'. Aside from this, it's obvious that Roy lacks even an elementary understanding of what is meant by religious freedom: freedom from theocracy and religiously-motivated policy (religious freedom, of course, being vital if a society wishes to embrace diversity of faith, not to mention the various forms of unbelief). It's such a non-point. Any dunce can discern that it's not a requirement that a democracy be secular — but that doesn't change the fact that it certainly helps.

In a recent op-ed on the rise of Islamism for the New York Times, John Owen wrote the following:

Political Islam, especially the strict version practiced by Salafists in Egypt, is thriving largely because it is tapping into ideological roots that were laid down long before the revolts began. Invented in the 1920s by the Muslim Brotherhood, kept alive by their many affiliates and offshoots, boosted by the failures of Nasserism and Baathism, allegedly bankrolled by Saudi and Qatari money, and inspired by the defiant example of revolutionary Iran, Islamism has for years provided a coherent narrative about what ails Muslim societies and where the cure lies. Far from rendering Islamism unnecessary, as some experts forecast, the Arab Spring has increased its credibility; Islamists, after all, have long condemned these corrupt regimes as destined to fail.

You can read the rest here.

(Image: "Newly elected speaker of the Egyptian parliament, Saad al-Katatni, of the Muslim Brotherhood." Photographer: Asmma Waguih/Pool/Getty Images, via Bloomberg)