The Real Debate That Islamism Should Spark
Rami Khouri
– The Cairo Review of Global Affairs
▻https://www.thecairoreview.com/tahrir-forum/the-real-debate-that-islamism-should-spark/?platform=hootsuite
Every few years, it seems the world of Middle East and global policy analysis passes through a phase when a basic question rears its head in the media and in conversations across the world: Is Islamism a dangerous trend of the future in Muslim-majority societies, or a natural passing phase only? I am struck by how often in conversation with friends and colleagues around the world the discussion so often reverts to this issue—while in daily discussions with Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East, the issue is less frequently raised.
I am not sure if that means that, a) the West is rightly obsessed with this genuine threat of long-term Islamist militancy, b) the West has bought the line put out by assorted Arab autocrats who are directly threatened by Islamist uprisings or opposition forces, c) Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East who live with these issues every day recognize that Islamism and its manifestations like the Muslim Brotherhood or ISIS are primarily surface manifestations and symptoms of deeper issues that are not really about religion—but about politics, human nature, and the abuse of power that degrades hundreds of millions of citizens who have nowhere else to turn other than their religion.
I ask this question because it is important that every time this discussion revives, we make sure to debate the right issues, rather than being sidetracked by smoke screens and diversionary propaganda that is now widely disseminated through global public relations campaigns funded by a few wealthy Arab countries that are genuinely worried about the persistence of Islamist movements all around the region.