NY ENCOUNTER/ The Arab Spring: the search for freedom and dignity

One year after the Arab Spring, a panel at the New York Encounter discussed the future of the movement toward freedom in the Middle East.  Italian journalist Marco Bardazzi introduced speakers Frank Anderson, former CIA Chief for the Near East, and Egyptian professor and columnist Wael Farouq, a participant in the Tahrir Square demonstrations.

The panel addressed the topic, “Either We Depend on God or on Power: The Case of the Arab Spring.”  Although there is a general fear of an Islamic Winter following the Arab Spring, both speakers offered an optimistic view of the future of the liberation movement which swept through the Arab world. 

Anderson affirmed his own faith in God and his realism toward power, whether corporate or of the state, which can wield great good or great evil.  Having been to war, he believes God would have no part of it, but as Christians it is our responsibility to bring God’s will to earth, and in particular, to be good citizens.  An evaluation of the current situation requires seeking accurate information, following the evidence, and going beyond a “bumper-sticker” understanding of events.

Across the Arab world, popular uprisings brought down governments and instituted new reforms.  Even if the initial fervor has decreased, recent polls show a gradual change in opinion in these countries, which saw the revolution as legitimate, and shifting away from support of Islamist regimes.  In Tunisia, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after corrupt police officers confiscated his wares, sparking a revolution which ended in the dissolution of the parliament and the president fleeing the country.  In Egypt, the revolution began when a restaurant owner couldn’t get rations and ended with Mubarak’s removal.  These two countries were not the worst off economically, but the rulers and their families were on the take and despised.  Libya was in the worst position politically, with an erratic leader who suppressed local civil organizations, but slowly neighborhoods are uniting, bringing stability.

The typical Arab state until now has been some form of monarchy, and in the worst cases corrupt regimes depended on the fear of Islamists to maintain power. 
The Arab Spring, Anderson pointed out, seems unencumbered by the kind of ideologies that drove 19th and 20th political movements, such as Marxism or National Socialism, which led to the death of millions.  This movement is more diffuse, which points to continual gradual change, as shown in opinion polls which favor moderate leaders and a political identification based on nationality more than religion.