Is Democracy An Option In Africa Or The Middle East?
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Is Democracy An Option In Africa Or The Middle East?
by Jerry Waxman
Great ideas come from the Middle East. They haven't all stayed there. One great idea which evolved and circulated about the ancient nations of the Mediterranean was "democracy." It was short-lived as a form of government in the countries that tried to institute it. It came back into play two and a half centuries ago in the western world, and has been credited with being the force that has driven the United States and Europe to their current status as powerful leaders in world affairs. With the recent unrest and series of upheavals in Africa and the Middle East, the question remains; "Could democracy work in these countries?"
One of the fundamentals of democracy is equality of all individuals in their rights to govern themselves as a society. The earliest democracies had a problem with this as only certain classes of people actually took part in legislation and governing. Modern democracies in Europe and the Americas have had problems with this perhaps because the notions of royalty and elite classes are so embedded in history. Nevertheless, it was western thinking that introduced the current concept of government by the people, and it is in the United States that the institution of democracy has had the longest success. Yet, even in the U.S. the institution of democracy has faced serious challenges lately. So with any attempt to institute democracy in an African or Middle Eastern country we should expect problems. The notion that all people are equal is not an easy one to adopt in many societies.
Whenever there is an election in Africa, the process is frought with violence and fear and corrupt practices by those holding power. Though there might be unbiased oversight of the elections, there always remains concern that election results were pre-determined. So it is that the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that journalists would be protected during the elections. In other words, exercise of "freedom of expression" is very risky in the Congo.
It is not as though Middle Eastern countries fair better. To an extent, democracy is already practiced in some Islamic countries. Their being "Islamic countries" constitutes a major challenge to their being democratic countries - as freedom of expression and freedom of religion are considered fundamental to democratic values. Today, the Arab world and the Islamic non-Arabian countries are debating what constitutes an Islamic state. They de-emphasize any thought about human rights or equality of the people, as their main focus is on governments being informed by religion - by a narrow interpretation of Islam. Their objective appears to be to maintain power in the hands of religious leaders and those who already hold power. They likely see the advent of people voting their minds as a threat to their own status quo.
A hint of progress has surfaced. The Saudi king recently stayed the corporal punishment - ten lashes - of a woman who was caught driving a car. Perhaps the king has come around to recognizing women as human beings. Two days ago he declared that women could participate in elections and could run for office. He did not specify that women could vote or that women could actually hold office. Perhaps those ideas will catch on later.
Today On The World History Timeline
September 30, Day 273 of the year 2011
. . .Snapshot 30 September 2011 . . .
. . .Headlines . . .
Islamic Or Islamist: A Debate On Defining New Arab Demographics . . .
Iraq's Journalists And Artists Are Less Optimistic These Days . . .
Saudi King Overturns "Lashing" Sentence For Woman Driver . . .
Why Films Got Banned. . .
. . .Today's Story . . .
Islamic Or Islamist: A Debate On Defining New Arab Demographics
(NY Times) By force of this year’s Arab revolts and revolutions, activists marching under the banner of Islam are on the verge of a reckoning decades in the making: the prospect of achieving decisive power across the region has unleashed an unprecedented debate over the character of the emerging political orders they are helping to build.
Few question the coming electoral success of religious activists, but as they emerge from the shadows of a long, sometimes bloody struggle with authoritarian and ostensibly secular governments, they are confronting newly urgent questions about how to apply Islamic precepts to more open societies with very concrete needs.
In Turkey and Tunisia, culturally conservative parties founded on Islamic principles are rejecting the name “Islamist” to stake out what they see as a more democratic and tolerant vision.
In Egypt, a similar impulse has begun to fracture the Muslim Brotherhood as a growing number of politicians and parties argue for a model inspired by Turkey, where a party with roots in political Islam has thrived in a once-adamantly secular system. Some contend that the absolute monarchy of puritanical Saudi Arabia in fact violates Islamic law.
A backlash has ensued, as well, as traditionalists have flirted with timeworn Islamist ideas like imposing interest-free banking and obligatory religious taxes and censoring irreligious discourse.
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Iraq's Journalists And Artists Are Less Optimistic These Days (NY Times) In a note to friends brimming with defiance and poetic musings, citing as inspiration Jesus, Imam Hussein, Gandhi, Che Guevara and the Buddha, Hadi al-Mahdi prophesized his own murder.
“I will sleep in peace. I want to rest so long, and dream of my name written on my grave, dream that my son will come and visit me, even once, my son who does not speak Arabic well. I hope that he will be able to read his father’s name, the lover of freedom and its martyr.”
That letter was written in June, and by September he was dead from an assassin’s silenced pistol, another journalist killed in Iraq. But perhaps none of the killings has resonated so deeply in a nook of society that welcomed war with such eagerness.
The murder has reverberated through Baghdad’s community of journalists, artists and writers, spurring a moment of deep introspection for a cadre of secular intellectuals, many of whom fled repression under Saddam Hussein and returned to their homeland after the invasion with the hopes of being the liberal conscience of a new nation.
Many kept their optimism during the worst years of the war. But now, as the American military leaves and they witness scenes of triumph from homegrown revolutions in neighboring Arab countries, they are reconsidering their country’s own experience with overturning a dictatorship.
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Democratic Republic Of The Congo Assures Protection For The Press In Upcoming Elections (VOA News) The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo says it supports press freedom by ensuring journalists are protected from attacks ahead of the November 28 general elections.
Information Minister Lambert Mende condemned previous assaults and said the government has launched an “official” investigation into violence against journalists.
“We have deployed some policemen and security personnel to try to give them more security,” said Mende.
The move comes as some political parties have expressed concern their opponents are breaking electoral rules by launching campaigns far ahead of the official starting date, October 28.
Observers warn of the increasing potential for violence between supporters of political rivals in the next few weeks.
Mende warned against retribution by partisans of political parties.
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Saudi King Overturns "Lashing" Sentence For Woman Driver (BBC News) Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a woman to 10 lashes for breaking a ban on female drivers, reports say.
The ruling, although not officially confirmed, was tweeted by a Saudi princess and reported by AP news agency citing an unnamed official.
The woman, named as Shema, was found guilty of driving in Jeddah in July.
The sentence came two days after the king announced women would be allowed to vote for the first time in 2015.
"Thank God, the lashing of Shema is cancelled. Thanks to our beloved king," tweeted Princess Amira al-Taweel, wife of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
"I am sure all Saudi women will be so happy."
Two other women are due to appear in court later this year on similar charges, reports say.
In recent months, scores of women have driven vehicles in Saudi cities to put pressure on the monarchy.
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Celebrity Black Bear Believed Killed By Recreational Hunter (BBC News) The bear "born on the internet" is believed to have been shot and killed by a hunter in Minnesota, US.
Hope was recognised internationally after her birth was filmed and broadcast live via a webcam in 2010.
The black bear and her mother Lily were subjects of a study by US biologist Dr Lynn Rogers and featured in the BBC documentary The Bear Family and Me.
Recreational hunting is permitted by licence in the state but hunters are asked not to shoot collared bears.
Dr Rogers and his colleagues at the Wildlife Research Institute were tracking 13 bears, each wearing identifying collars.
Using the GPS tracker in Hope's mother Lily's collar, the researchers confirmed her visits to a known hunter's bait site, but they could not account for the rest of the family.
The biologists have been working with the Minnesota Department for Natural Resources (DNR) who licence hunting in the state.
A hunter has now contacted the research team to confirm that he killed a yearling female in the area on 16 September.
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Why Films Got Banned (BBC News) The way films are censored can tell us much about changing attitudes in society to sex, violence and rebellion, writes Ben Southwell.
Enter the hidden world of the British Board of Film Classification's written archive and a hundred years of film censorship are laid bare.
It's possible to chart the changing concerns of the board as it has trodden a fine line between enforcing the standards of the day and recognising artistic endeavour.
The letters between censor and film-makers begin to take on a life of their own as the relationship develops from regulator to collaborator and beyond.
An examiner's report on Ken Russell's The Devils reveals a wry sense of humour often present in the censor's letters. "I have no personal knowledge as to the shape of nuns under their habits, but I doubt they all look like the 'Playmates' of this film."
What the letters reveal is the way certain films and scenes can be singled out to show the changing values of a nation. In the post-war years it was fears of social unrest that were near the top of the agenda.
As the nation relaxed into the 1960s, nudity becomes a prime concern. The early 1970s saw film-makers keen to push at the limits of acceptability.
In the 1980s the board changed its name from British Board of Film Censors to that of Film Classification and it was levels of violence that capture the attention.
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Music, Diplomacy And White House Entertainment (BBC News) Whoever holds the keys to the White House not only has the free world to organise but a busy entertainment schedule too. It's not just fun - very often it's crucial for oiling the wheels of diplomacy.
"It's the social side that really gets a lot of business done," says Maria Downs, social secretary to President Gerald Ford.
Richard Nixon's vice-president, who became president for two years after the Watergate scandal, did not leave as big a mark as some other 20th Century presidents - but he and his wife earned an excellent reputation for arranging, and enjoying, good entertainment.
In October 1975, as part of Middle-Eastern peace initiative, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat attended a White House state dinner and Betty Ford chose Pearl Bailey, a Broadway actress and singer who had sung for President Sadat in Egypt, to perform.
Maria Downs took the singer aside before she took to the stage. "I said, 'Pearl, the State Department briefing told us no dancing for the Sadats.'"
But after the performance, as the crowd burst into a standing ovation, Pearl Bailey reached down and grabbed President Sadat pulling him to his feet and twirling him around the dance floor.
President Ford reacted by escorting Mrs Sadat on to the floor.
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