Katie McGinnis

Recently in 2011, a series of uprisings commonly referred to in the media as the “Arab Spring,” began occurring in the North African countries of Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia.  Beginning with Tunisia in January of 2011, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was the first to be ousted out of his authoritative position over the country.  Following in the February of 2011, President Hosni Mubarak resigned from his dictatorship after a series of uprisings in Egypt.  Shortly after Egypt’s overthrow of its government, Libya followed with the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in the end of October of 2011 after some time of uprising.  These three revolutions have brought about a new sense of hope for the people of these countries in establishing a more just government. 

            On October 25, 2011, Mark Urban of BBC News published on article on the possibilities that the rise of political Islam in these newly revolutionized countries is likely to bring:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15454217

Urban notes that Islamism, the presence of the Sharia in legislation, has a great force behind politics in these countries.  Tunisia has put into action a democratic-style government with Islamists winning the first elections and instating a government based around Sharia. Libya, although still under a National Transitional Council (NTC), has integrated the Sharia into its national law. Urban notes that the Sharia is integrated into legislation in these countries with a more modern mindset.  In one example, the NTC is establishing “banks based on religious non-profit principles,” not “cutting off the hands of the thieves.”  Although not all parties in these countries full heartedly support Sharia in legislation, all parties so far are willing to accept the fate of the elections.  Remaining fairly neutral on the topic, Urban presents this movement as the “flourishing of religious and national feeling made possible by the removal of dictators who often saw the mosques as dens of sedition.”

Urban does a good job of taking into account both positive and negative views of Islamism in politics while remaining relatively neutral on the subject.  With the exception of suggesting jihad, he does not form stereotypical opinions of the Islamic faith when discussing the issues surrounding Arab Spring. He presents the Al Nour party which clearly supports Islamic law in government.  He also presents the Ennahda party which takes a lesser liking to religious law in government.  He does, however, fail to represent the opinions of the minorities who may have no say in government. While the political movements of Arab Spring seem well-intentioned, will the integration of religious law and democratic-styled government be successful?  The people of these societies are being given the freedom to choose their leaders for a change of pace. But will minorities still be respected despite preferential differences in religion?  Those in support of an Islamist government are trying to live out their religious duty of making Islam a priority for everyone, because in their eyes everyone is born Muslim. But as Urban suggests, might an Islamist democratic government take a turn similar to that of the al-Qaeda?

Just as Urban is taking a relatively open approach to Arab Spring, many other non-Muslims, such as “Western intelligence agencies,” too are keeping an open mind with the development of new styles of government in these countries.  Problems that some suggest may arise with these new governments include the issue of political pluralism.  As Urban proposes, one of the big questions is whether the political Islamists taking control of these countries will be able to turn over power as citizens see fit in order to maintain the democratic government style.  Or, will these leaders revert to political styles similar to that of other Islamic regimes? In addition, will jihad become a future issue? With an Islamic dominance, will these countries possibly take to violence at countries around them in support of their religious traditions beginning with Muhammad?  While not all Muslims support the violence of jihad, the media has portrayed jihad as one of the fundamental beliefs in Islam.

As Urban puts it, only time will tell the outcome of these newly forming governments in the Arab Spring movement.