Egypt’s liberals need Islam
Egypt's liberal activists should bring in an Islamic identity to their message.
CAIRO: Egyptian liberal activists are saying all the right things. They talk of democracy, freedom, justice and a move toward a better future that sees Egypt strong and prosperous. At the same time, they are losing the public, who seems bent on maintaining their backing of a military who has done almost everything they can to maintain a stranglehold on power and public discourse. With possibly two months remaining until Egyptians head to the polls to vote for a new parliament, all is not lost. The key, however, could be religion, or rather its use leading up to the vote.
The liberal groups in the country have long avoided Islamic tendencies, preferring instead to push a secular, civil movement forward. This, while ostensibly the best solution for the future of Egypt, misses the reality on the ground. In rural areas and among the lower-middle-class populations, Islam is the leading force driving people forward. Everything is Islam.
A waiter at a Cairo cafe told me recently that the activists – by this he meant the liberal left – “are not Muslims and they don’t want us to have religion.” While not true, it highlights the divide in information and public discourse that has arisen in the country over the past few months. The left maintains their staunch anti-Islamic state stance; and at the same time have given the military the ability to shore up its support, 88 percent have a favorable view of the ruling junta.
Bassem Sabry, a leading liberal political thinker, told me recently that the activist community must begin to approach Islam in a better way in order to create mobility among the rural areas of the country, who predominantly support the Islamic groups – the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists – if they want to compete in the fall elections.
“They need to start developing ideas of Islam,” he began, “and this means discussing with people the idea that Islam promotes democracy, freedom, religious tolerance and openness.” He talked about the need to look into the earliest era of Islamic history and the openness created during the faith’s infancy.
He said people will be more willing to get behind and support the activist community if they come to their level of perception. Islam is so vitally important in Egypt that “to be perceived as anti-Islam will win nobody over.”
Sabry is correct. Islam is the solution. Not in the Brotherhood’s slogan-sense, but rather in a goal-minded and directed campaign to win over the public. From conversations I have had with a myriad number of Egyptians – a cross-section of society – many people want the same things. It comes down to language and how the activists are perceived.
Think American politics for a moment. In 2000, Al Gore largely “lost” the presidential election because he was not seen as likable. More Americans would rather have sat down for a beer with George W. Bush than Gore, even as public opinion polls largely showed Gore’s policies were more readily accepted by a majority of Americans. The same can be said of Egypt. Egyptians from all walks of life tend to agree with the goals of the activists, but do not view them as likable.
What can be done to rectify this is a simple two-fold plan that would develop the ideas that Islam is compatible with a secular state while maintaining the vast majority’s desire to hold onto their Islamic identity. Early Islamic society tells us that the religion was in fact a mobile, fluid faith that was not hindered by strict interpretations of Islam. This can be implemented on a pseudo secular level that could win over the hearts and minds of many Egyptians.
Second, and most important, is how the activists talk to the public. Too often, the activists have an almost holier-than-thou attitude that has turned off most average Egyptians. It may not be their intention and they may not even realize it, but this has hurt their “street credibility.” In order to break through these chasms and build a bridge to society, changing the language employed and implementing an Islamic identity to their message could do wonders to change the current trends that have seen the liberal activists alienated and pushed aside.
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