Liberal Reform in the Arab World: Is There Hope?---By Omran Salman

Liberal activists in South Korea during a sit-in in solidarity with the Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011
?Liberal Reform in the Arab World: Is There Hope
By Omran Salman /
In 2007 she wrote an article entitled "Secularism is the Solution". I think it is still valid today, but I do not republish it here, but I quote the following sentence.
"Secularism, in fact, is not directed against religion, but rather is a means of regulating the relationship between the political and the religious: it means the neutrality of the state in matters of religion and the removal of religion from the political sphere. Not every secularist is against religion, or every religious person is against secularism "
Liberalism is also in essence not anti-religious, and is neutral on the policy side. It is a general trend that embraces the values ​​of freedom, law and the civil state. In this sense, liberalism is closer to the cultural, social and political space that allows and encourages the various trends in society to emerge, grow and flourish, without any abrogation. Liberalism provides a healthy environment for all, to stand out and manage differences among themselves in a way that is in the interest of society, which is what we need most today
Liberalism and religion
Attempts to spread liberalism in the Arab world have faced many challenges, most of which revolve around the relationship with religion and politics. Over the past decade I personally have witnessed the activity of the liberal and reformist trend in the region. The Afaq site, which I was honored to establish and manage (between 2006 and 2009), was one of the few liberal sites that supported this trend and also suffered from setbacks.
The issue of liberal reform in the Arab world, which has been temporarily weakened by the "Arab Spring Revolutions", is still pressing today, as before these revolutions
Opponents of liberalism focused on the misleading notion that Arab liberals are anti-religious. And that they encouraged moves and initiatives aimed at undermining the customs and traditions of some Arab societies
It is undeniable that some Arab liberal figures have their declared negative attitude towards religion. But in most cases the accusation was purely an attempt to distort the image of the liberals and to incite the public and governments against them.
For example, liberals in a country such as Saudi Arabia have supported and supported women's movements for their rights. Sites such as the Saudi Liberal Network and others have played an important role in creating an environment that enabled activists and activists to claim those rights. Others also addressed the serious abuses committed by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice
The Saudi liberals were therefore subjected to a violent campaign led by the religious and political institutions and some pens in their orbit
No attention has been paid to the fact that these issues are at the core of human rights and have nothing to do with religion or social customs
Liberalism and politics
Some anti-liberals also criticized the liberals for standing by Arab governments when it came to cracking down on Islamists. There is some merit in this kind of criticism. There is no justification for suppressing any opposition group that adopts a peaceful approach and does not aspire to abolish the other. Of course, some liberals did not have to justify what Arab governments do or are involved in such a conflict.
In fairness, it is difficult to misunderstand the position of governments or to defend groups that do not conceal their objectives of control and the confiscation of the other's right to exist. And expression
In cases where the fate of the state itself is threatened by groups that champion religion and use violence and coercion, it is natural that liberals and all those who are concerned about the survival of the state and its institutions stand against these groups.
In other cases, and not least, when Arab governments used their power to suppress political violators, including Islamists, the liberals and others stood up against the domination of these governments. The activity of dozens of Arab activists and jurists is the clearest evidence of this.
In other words, even though Arab liberals preferred to stand with governments, the liberals were not ever repressed by these governments
!Liberal Reform .. Necessity
Of course, there are other criticisms of liberalism in the region. But it can be said that most of these criticisms, despite the validity of some of them, do not go out of contention and settle accounts and serve a certain political or religious agenda.
The issue of liberal reform in the Arab world, which has been temporarily weakened by the "Arab Spring Revolutions", remains pressing today, as before the revolutions.
The liberals will do well if they give the issue of culture and values ​​an interest like their interest in religion and politics
The Arab societies have not fulfilled the tasks of building a modern civil state. Freedoms are absent or absent. Accepting the other is merely a verbal exercise that does not exist in reality, and the invocation of laws depends on the political will of the rulers, and the constitutions, though they contain many rights, are void of their content
One important entry point for change may be to engage in mainstream culture. The system of values ​​and principles that prevail today in the Arab world. This system still devotes monotonous thinking and inferiority to the other, and remains the captive of ancient thinking, in the differentiation and discrimination on the basis of religious, sectarian and national.
This system not only hinders the issue of liberalism, but it also destroys any hope for Arab societies in a secure, stable and prosperous future
The Sunni-Shiite conflict today, for example, is a political dispute between states, not a bipartisan one. But it did not develop into a comprehensive conflict, if the dominant culture in the region views the religious and sectarian components as different rather than discriminatory. The Shiites are not better or worse, higher or lower, right or wrong
From Sunni or vice versa; they are just two different sects. The difference does not generate hostility, but discrimination does. The liberals will do well if they give the issue of culture and values an interest like their interest in religion and politics

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