Islamic Revolution in the Middle East - Coursework Example

Islamic Revolution in the Middle East Introduction The recent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been interpreted in Europe to be Islamic revolution using the 1979 model of Islamic revolution in Iran (Blight & Pulham, 2011). Europe is expecting to see Islamism movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots in the neighbourhood to lead these revolts or to wait in ambush to seize power from those revolting current leadership (Hooglund, 2007). However, so far Muslim brotherhood has taken low profile and pragmatism to the surprise and worry of many (Guest Contributor, 2011). The revolts were launched by post Islamist generation. The post Islamic generation has little if any interest in ideology (Tagliacozzo, 2009). Their slogans have been pragmatic and very concrete, “get out”. The new generation does not invoke Islam like the old generation did in Algeria in 1980s (Blight & Pulham, 2011). The new protesters have been seen by analysts as being perhaps practicing or even devout Muslims, but who separate their religious faith from their political agenda. Thus, protesters in the Middle East are secular movement that separates religion from politics. Revolutions in Middle East The 2010-11 Middle East and North Africa protests has also been labelled Arab Spring (Guest Contributor, 2011). They are a revolutionary wave of protests and demonstrations. The protests in Egypt and Tunisia were mainly due to people rising against dictatorships (Tagliacozzo, 2009). On the other hand, protests in Lebanon were based on the fact that the man the citizens were hoping to become their prime minster was not chosen to form the government due to the fact he lost a majority in the parliament (Amineh, 2007). Other countries in Middle East whose basis of protests were to oust dictators from power included Libya, Armenia, Syria, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain and Yemen in addition to Algeria (Blight & Pulham, 2011). In Bahrain, the main issue was inequality among the ruling minority Sunnis against the majority Shi’a. Some of these revolts like in Tunisia and Egypt have been able to oust their dictatorial leaders while others like Bahrain the fight is still on even though the government of Bahrain has received support from other Sunni led state under the auspice of GCC (Blight & Pulham, 2011). The revolutionary protests have shared techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving demonstrations, strikes, rallies and marches in addition of use of social ,media such ad Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to communicate , organize and creating awareness in the face of state attempts at internet censorship and repression (Amineh, 2007). In summary, the protests in the Arab world have been motivated by dictatorship, economic decline, absolute monarchy, government corruption, human rights violation, unemployment, and extreme poverty (Hooglund, 2007). Concentration of wealth in the hands of autocratic leaders, corruption and the refusal of youths to accept status quo has been the catalyst of all revolts in gulf countries and northern Africa. Revolution in Middle East is being led by younger generation who are demanding for democracy to replace corrupt dictators that have been in power for long (Guest Contributor, 2011). From the demonstrations witnessed in the Middle East, those involved are not demanding secularism but instead they do not see Islam as a political ideology that can provide a better system for societies (Tagliacozzo, 2009). Thus the post Islamist generation is operating with the idea of a secular political arena (Hooglund, 2007). The flag waving during demonstrations is an indication that the young generations are patriotic although not nationalistic. To the surprise of many, the young generation is not listening to conspiracy theories (Blight & Pulham, 2011). They are not shifting their blames to the US or Israel for the problems facing the Arab world. Even though France supported Ben Ali, who has since been overthrown as Tunisian leader, the demonstrators are not blaming France for their problems (Amineh, 2007). Although there are signs of pan-Arab political ethos in the copy cat contagion that spurred Yemenis and Egyptians to revolt in the wake of events in Tunisia, Arab nationalism is no where to be seen in the slogans being sung in the streets by demonstrators. The role of Islam in Middle East revolution The Shi'a in Bahrain Bahrain is the lone gulf Arab state to witness large-scale protests since protesters ousted Tunisian and Egyptian presidents. The unrest in Bahrain is largely sectarian. The ruling Sunni al-Khalifah in Bahrain is originally from the Nejd region in Saudi Arabia (Guest Contributor, 2011). They are related to the al-Sabah ruling family of Kuwait. The al-Khalifah has been ruling over Bahrain’s majority Twelver Shi’a population since 1820 when they were installed to power by Great Britain. The Shi’a account for 70% of Bahrain’s population while the Sunnis make up most of the remainder (Amineh, 2007). Bahrain’s rulers have engaged in talks about power and the constitutional monarchy decentralization for long. However, divisions within the ruling family between hardliners and reformers have practical realization of these intentions (Hooglund, 2007). These divisions are being played out by accusations that protesters are being motivated by Shi’a. The protesters in Bahrain have received expression of sympathy from Iran’s Shi’a population (Blight & Pulham, 2011). However, analysts agree that there is no evidence that Iran could be behind the protests in Bahrain. Some moderate Sunni religious clerics such as Shaikh al-Qaradawi have remarked that protests in Bahrain are Shi’a revolts. Surprisingly, these clerics have supported revolt against Syria’s Shi’a dominated regime (Amineh, 2007). This is backed by the fact that Shi’a have for long been complaining that they are oppressed by the Sunnis by being denied equal access to public housing, jobs and welfare. The Bahrain government has also been granting Sunnis from outside Bahrain citizenship something that the Shi’a have chafed fearing that this will dilute their demographic strength (Tagliacozzo, 2009). This went a notch higher when the main Shi’a opposition party, Wefaq, walked out of parliament in demand for a more democratic constitution (Hooglund, 2007). This clearly shows that the unrest in Bahrain is sectarian pitting the ruling minority Sunnis against the ruled majority Shi’a. The implication of this unrest is that Saudi Arabia which adjacent to Bahrain and is a Sunni kingdom is worried because it has its own repressed Shi’a minority (Blight & Pulham, 2011). Sunnis and Shi'a in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is a Sunni nation. The Shi’a in Saudi Arabia is the minority. Seeing the unrest reach a boiling point, Bahrain government requested assistance from GCC (Tagliacozzo, 2009). The GCC is composed of Sunni governments which are willing to ensure that no state that is under the control of Iran is in their midst (Guest Contributor, 2011). This saw Saudi Arabia send 1,000 troops to Bahrain under the aegis of the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC), which has seen as one Sunni monarchy helping another (Blight & Pulham, 2011). This was translated as one family coming to the rescue of the other instead of one country coming to the rescue of the other. Analysts said that the presence of Saudi troops on Bahrain soil was a terrible mistake that could likely escalate tensions between the protesters and Bahrain’s ruling Sunni family. It is thought that the intervention by Saudi Arabia could radicalize protesters (Blight & Pulham, 2011). This assistance provided by Saudi Arabia under the umbrella of the GCC has been seen as an invasion by Shi’a protesters and the Shi’a run Iran. The provision of assistance by Saudi Arabia to Bahrain government is also seen as a way to alleviate a situation where victorious Bahrain Shi’a could help their oppressed counterparts in Saudi Arabia to demand for fair treatment by their Sunni led government. Islamic brotherhood in Egypt The Muslim Brotherhood is a religious and political group founded on the belief that Islam is not simply a religion, but a way of life (Tagliacozzo, 2009). The group advocates moving away from secularism and instead a return to the rules of the Quran as a basis for healthy families, communities and states. The brotherhood group is important in Egypt because it has a widespread support among the middle class in Egypt and its members control many of the country’s professional organizations (Guest Contributor, 2011). Even though Muslim brotherhood is technically illegal, it has enormous social welfare infrastructure that provides cheap health care and education. Previous unfair elections have seen this organization being the only opposition that has welded much power (Amineh, 2007). However, critics of Muslim brotherhood have disagreed that the role of the Muslim brotherhood was central to the opposition (Blight & Pulham, 2011). This is based on the fact that antigovernment coalition and the leadership of reformers are diverse (Tagliacozzo, 2009). Analysts believe that the military wont allow the group to seize power in the post Mubarak era. While the Muslim Brotherhood youth and some of their leaders actively participated in the protests, there were no signs to indicate that Islam is the solution. This shows that Egyptians have grown accustomed to the same political forces and opposition personalities in the streets but this has since changed. Even though initial protests in Egypt were initiated by human rights activists and the Muslim Brotherhood did not participate in the initial protests, they increasingly participated in subsequent protests that saw the ousting of Mubarak (Blight & Pulham, 2011). All the liberal and leftist groups that participated in the protests were not organized but the Brotherhood were well organized. Brotherhood were not the majority of protesters but were the most courageous during the Egyptian unrest (Guest Contributor, 2011). When the government invited opposition to talk with vice president Omar Suleiman, which ended without progress, some opposition groups muted but brotherhood officials vowed to continue the protests until Mubarak left power (Tagliacozzo, 2009). The prominence of Muslim brotherhood in the protests left America policy makers and their Israel allies worried of possible takeover of Egypt by Islamic group such as the Muslim brotherhood. In spite the fears, Brotherhood and its supporters downplayed its role in the Egyptian uprising and downplayed the role of any religious or class animus. On the contrary Iran beliefs that this group is the only way to move away from the west dominion over Egypt. Referring to Egypt protests, Iranian president said that the 1979 Islamic revolution was becoming a global movement in the Middle East. He said that the revolution had led to a global awakening and a new movement in North Africa and the Middle East (Guest Contributor, 2011). According to Iranian president the protests in Egypt were an indication of ideological failures and prosperity of religious movements in the region (Tibi, 2008). On the other hand, the Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei described Egyptian protests as an Islamic awakening in the Middle East geared toward defeating the West and their ally Israel (Blight & Pulham, 2011). He described the protest in Cairo as explosion of sacred anger against Hosni Mubarak whom he described as being a traitor dictator guilty of betrayal of his people through joining hands with Israel and delivering a severe blow to the Arab unity in the region (Guest Contributor, 2011). The hope of Iran was that the Muslim brotherhood would assume power after the collapse of Mubarak to pave way for a realignment of Arab countries in the region and help to isolate Israel in the Middle East (Hooglund, 2007). According major General Rahim Safavi, Middle East protest marked the end of former geopolitical system of the Middle East and North Africa, which was based on complete dominion of western power and the establishment of a new system of Islamic Middle East in which the nations determine their own fate (Amineh, 2007). Conclusion The recent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been interpreted in Europe to be Islamic revolution using the 1979 model of Islamic revolution in Iran. The 2010-11 Middle East and North Africa protests has also been labelled Arab Spring. Concentration of wealth in the hands of autocratic leaders, corruption and the refusal of youths to accept status quo has been the catalyst of all revolts in gulf countries and northern Africa. Revolution in Middle East is being led by younger generation who are demanding for democracy to replace corrupt dictators that have been in power for long. Islam groups such as Shi’s in Bahrain, Sunnis and Shi'a in Saudi Arabia and Islamic brotherhood in Egypt have been instrumental in shaping these protests. Reference Amineh, M. (2007). The Greater Middle East in global politics: Social science perspectives on the changing geography of the world politics. London: BRILL Blight, G., & Pulham, S. (2011, April 5). Arab spring: An interactive timeline of Middle East protests. The Guardian. Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline Guest Contributor. (2011). Islam’s role in Egypt’s secular revolution. The University of Wisconsin. Available at http://insideislam.wisc.edu/index.php/archives/6875 Hooglund, E. (2007). Twenty years of Islamic revolution: political and social transition in Iran since 1979, 2nd Ed. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Tagliacozzo, E. (2009). Southeast Asia and the Middle East: Islam, movement, and the Longue Durée. New York: NUS Press Tibi, B. (2008). Political Islam, world politics and Europe: democratic peace and Euro-Islam versus global jihad. London: Routledge Publishers Read More