Role of the Egyptian Revolution for Modern Islam - Essay Example

?Islam in the Modern World Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Egyptian Revolution 12 4 Contradictions in Islamism: Role of the Egyptian Revolution 2011-12 8 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Contradictions in religious beliefs have been a common phenomenon in every religion whether, Hinduism, Christianity, or Islam. One of the basic reasons for such contradictory convictions regarding the religious teachings may be because of the age old notions or values practiced under these creeds, which, with the passing time becomes unsuitable or rather incompatible with the changing requirements as well as perceptions of human beings. In the words of Groff & Smoker (1996), “fundamentalism or religious extremism or fanaticism--when religions claim their version of religion is the only one--are seen as an extreme form of the socially-learned aspect of religion and one not conducive to creating world peace”. In most of the instances, these religious teachings are observed to be quite traditional and introduced in the early centuries. Since then, these religions have been strongly influenced with the inclusion of various modern thinking in the daily lifestyle of human beings as well as revolutions which at times deliberately contradicted the initially developed religious beliefs (Ahmad & Reifeld, 2004). From a materialistic point of view, it can be affirmed that with changes taking place amid the human society in the due course of action, religious beliefs have been and is most likely to be contradicted repeatedly (Calma & Gershevitch, 2009). Contradictions in Islam were also quite apparent in its chronological practices. It has often been argued that during the introductory phase of Islam, Christianity and Hinduism faced various disadvantageous dilemmas in comparison to Islamism. However, with the passing time, Islamism has been repeatedly contradicted with regards to the religious definition that it provides for human rights and equality, especially in relation to gender (Hitchens, 2009; Abdel-Latif, 2008). The so called ongoing Egyptian Revolution of 2011-12 can also be argued on with regards to the contradictory beliefs currently existing in relation to the implications of Islamism (Gad, 2011). The below discussion will thereby be focused on the contradictions currently witnessed in Islamism in the plight of the recent Egyptian Revolution of 2011. The Egyptian Revolution 2011-12 The recent Egyptian Revolution of 2011 is witnessed from various perspectives by the worldwide experts, analysts and critiques. While a few of the experts view the revolution as the aftermath of the continuous social and economic failings. Corruption, brutality witnessed to be practiced by the law enforcers majorly including the police, unjust implementations of political prohibitions restricting the human rights to vote freely, inflationary rates, stagnant unemployment and also the practice of inequality in terms of religion, sex and wealth distribution as well (Meguid & et. al., 2011). Others view the revolution as a new opening towards a broader concept of Islamism with the virtues of greater democracy and equality within the population introduced by the hands of the youth (Engdahl, 2011; Wahba, 2011). However, it is worth mentioning that the revolution did not take place with Islamism as its primary reason. The revolution was actually caused due to the ongoing economic, social as well as political malpractices within the economy under the veil of Islamism, to a certain extent. As stated by Claret (2011), “in a country like Egypt where nothing is conceivable without Islam or eastern Christianity...” The early as well as the current research based on the political, economic and social processes within Egypt along with other Middle Eastern nations have often claimed religion to be in the position of a vanguard in relation to the unjust functioning of political leaders, police and other social leaders (Claret, 2011). As a matter of fact, Egypt is known to be one of the strongest believers of Islam and is thus known to be a major Islamic state where almost every action in the social context is gauged with reference to Islamic beliefs. It is in this context that Islam had to witness multiple revolutions over the past decades which were based on the religious beliefs of Islam to a certain extent. For instance, the Egyptian Al-Jihad Movement of the early 2000s was strongly inspired by the religious beliefs of Islam practiced within the nation. Notably, the influence of Islamism on the political implications of Egypt can be apparently witnessed since then, which also created a strong impact over its economic and social environment (Scott, 2003). However, the recent Egyptian Revolution is learnt to be vastly different from the revolutions which took place in the past decades within the nation and based on almost a similar ground. The Egyptian Revolution of 2011-12 materialised after the downfall of Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, the former President of Egypt in which the young population was identified to play the crucial role of the pioneers and executors. The prime reason to bring this revolution into action was the demand to discontinue the cabinet appointed by ex-President Mubarak which was introduced in the month of January in 2011 as well as resignation of the elected parliament ministers through the poll which was executed in the year 2010 and was strongly suspected to be manipulated with the intention to satisfy the sole purposes of the political leaders rather than for the overall social and economic development (Meguid & et. al., 2011). The demand to re-introduce a strong and corruption free political environment to foster an overall development within the nation was also proposed through this revolution. It is worth mentioning in this context that based on the negative consequences of political disorders and inhibited human rights of the Egyptian people, the young generation of the nation had decided to exclaim their protest against this socio-economic structure. Notably, there are various similarities and dissimilarities as well that can be observed in comparison of the recent Egyptian Revolution and other riots that took place in the past chronological socio-economic performances of Egypt. The similarities can be noted with reference to the reasons that were observed in the revolution of 2011-12 and the prior riots concerning the Egyptian social as well as economic growth from an overall perspective (Joseph, 2011). However, the Egyptian Revolution of 2011-12 can be referred as a unique riot in comparison to other revolutions on the ground that the protestors in this riot mainly comprised of the young generation. It was also different on the ground that unlike the prior revolutions, this riot was strictly focused on the limitations of the socio-economic environment persisting within Egypt rather than gauging the logics behind the protest with the Islamic implications. As was noted by Claret (2011), this revolution was neither dressed with the slogans of ‘Allahu Akbar’, which means ‘God is Great’ and nor with the religious notions such as ‘Al-Islam Huwa Al-Hal’, which means ‘Islam is the Solution’. The protest put forward through the recent Egyptian Revolution of 2011-12, was also not executed on the streets and public gatherings in its initial phase unlike the prior riots; rather, the revolution materialised gradually through social networking sites accumulating the affirmation of a huge young population all around the nation (Claret, 2011). It was on the 25th January, 2011 when these young groups of people gathered in the famous Tahrir Square of Cairo, to openly protest against the political, economic as well as social regimes being practiced within the economy. It was fundamentally due to the reason that the young generation of the society considered these practices to hinder the overall economic growth of Egypt in comparison to other developing nations in the Middle Eastern region such as in the case of Russia. With the passing days, the number of protestors rapidly increased in the Tahrir Square claiming their remonstration focusing on the Mubarak government and thus demanding for the renovation of the existing political, economic as well as defence and security policies executed within the nation. The protest gradually shifted towards the pre-Mubarak period and post-Mubarak socio-economic scenario and the failure of the government to serve with a peaceful environment to the nationwide citizens. The revolt was then interrupted with the inclusion of violence by the armed, anti-Mubarak protestors after the 18 day long peaceful protest (Joseph, 2011). This particular riot in the modern Egypt, not only attracted the worldwide dignitaries, but also created a long lasting impression on the Egyptian population making them realise the requirement of modern, civilised and most importantly, the need of a structured and well maintained socio-economic environment with regards to the sustainable growth of the economy in the international forefront. It is in this context that the riot or the Egyptian Revolution 2011-12, as it is referred to, has been widely considered to open a pathway for the betterment of the Egyptian economy making it much more sustainable amid the rapidly developing economies (Rutherford, 2008). Contradictions in Islamism: Role of the Egyptian Revolution 2011-12 Contradictions in Islamism have been a common phenomenon. Similar to other religions, the periodical interventions from the external environmental factors such as globalisation, modernisation and influences from other religious beliefs among others have repeatedly created an impact over the principles and practices of Islam. However, it is quite noteworthy that interpretations of a particular religious belief from various perspectives also act as a major reason for contradictions witnessed with regards to these creeds. Even in the case of Islamism, this particular notion cannot be completely neglected. As was noted by Yuksel & et. al. (2007), the understanding of the teachings in a particular religion, especially in the case of Islam depends highly on the perceived values, perceptions and other psychological aspects of a Muslim which is again influenced by the surroundings where the individuals lead their lifestyles. In Islam, this particular notion is observed to be more apparent in comparison to other religions mostly due to the reason that Islamism is often regarded to be a complex phenomenon which intends to define the human life and certainly control the human behaviour from multiple and diverse perspectives (Mozaffari, 2007). One of the most vital contradictions raised in Islam in the 21st century context relates with the modern definition of democracy. The religious definition of democracy, as put forward by Islam, is fundamentally based on two notions, i.e. Shura and Bay‘a. Where Shura indicates towards the ideology or philosophy of consultation, the notion of Bay‘a embraces the philosophy of making a conditional oath by a newly selected ruler with regards to his/her loyalty for the countrymen (Ashour, 2004). However, it has not been possible for Islam to develop a proper and comprehensive definition of democracy which can play a major role in constructing the modern egalitarianism as per the continuous changing and more demanding socio-economic requirements facing the consequences of complex terminologies such as globalisation and modernisation. As Boukhars (2005) affirm, there are different Islams or rather Islamic theologies existing under the same roof of the traditional Islam. The chronological changes in the historical, socio-economic as well as cultural context have in various instances altered the theologies of Islamism. Hence, in the current day phenomenon, a vibrant mixture of different theologies and perceptions regarding the Islamic views, especially concerning the definition of a democratic governmental structure, can be witnessed which is also prevalent in Egyptian political structure. It is in this context that in its historic development, the political constitutions of Egypt have been frequently gauged by Islamic ideologies. These ideologies are again observed to be rooted on the basis of varying perceptions and explanations which in turn define a complex and multi-dimensional structure of Islam. It is worth mentioning that fundamentally due to this reason, i.e. the existence of multiple thoughts regarding democracy in Islamism, frequent instances witnessing contradictions with regards to Islamism can be identified. For instance, the Middle Eastern nations, including Egypt, have been ruled with authoritarian political regimes to a large extent focusing on the notion presented by Islamism towards exclusive regional centrality. The political practices within the Egypt were also observed to emphasise and encourage the existence of personal-autocracy in many instances. This in turn intended to suppress the notion of activism in Islamic theologies destroying the essential groups for continuous economic development (John, 2007). The power of Egyptian ex-President Mubarak was also witnessed to be gauged by the Islamic notion of centralised personal-authoritarian power distribution in the political environment. However, with the rising consciousness amid the modern Egyptians as well as within the moderate traditional Islamists, this notion was opposed perpetually through chronic revolutions within the nation (Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale (CeSPI) & et. al., 2010). With regards to these revolutions which took place within Egypt, it can be affirmed that in most of the riots the focus or prime reason was to protest against the prejudiced political practices of the then political leaders and elected committees. The reason can be observed to be similar with regards to the Egyptian Revolution 2011-12, where the prime intention of the protestors was to depict their disgruntlement towards the political or governmental regimes of Mubarak’s elected committee. The demands that were put forward by the protestors were mostly indicated towards a fresh constitution which would mainly emphasise on democratic regimes rather than on personal-authoritarian policies. To be precise, the protestors in Egyptian Revolution 2011-12 demanded a new constitution with proper rules and policies concerning free right to vote, free right to justice, equal distribution of wealth through adequate employment and adequate guiding principles for poverty reduction (Joseph, 2011). Through this particular rebellion, it becomes quite apparent that the political practices executed in Egyptian socio-economic environment intended to annihilate the radical groups of the society to a large extent. Because of this suppression, the consequences that were witnessed by the Egyptian society was the gradual rise of negative powers such as corruption, unemployment and poverty along with unequal distribution of wealth, stagnant technological growth weak trade policies and restriction of free voting rights among others. It is in this context that the aforementioned consequences led by the continuous practice of personal-authoritarian political regimes acted as the fundamental reasons to cause the recent Egyptian Revolution in the Tahrir Square on 25th January, 2011 (John, 2007). Islamic contradictions can also be witnessed in this context with reference to the Islamic notion of jihad which fundamentally elaborates on the religious responsibilities perceived by every Muslim. It is worth mentioning that the practice of authoritarian political regimes and concentration of economic power in the hands of a few ruling personalities were rooted on the basis of jihad depicting the authoritarian power to be sole responsible for the overall welfare of the Egyptian society according to the ideology of Islam. On the other hand, the recent revolt in Egypt was also reasoned with reference to jihad exclaiming the essentiality of human rights and other demanded aspects based on the theologies of Islamism. Even the practice of violence in opposing malpractices towards human society and favouring overall development has not been contradicted by the Islamic beliefs which in turn again supported the revolution (John, 2007). Hence, this particular aspect significantly depicts the contradictory perceptions of Islamism existing within the modern Egyptian society with regards to secularism, jihad and democracy from an overall point of view. Conclusion With reference to the discussion above, concentrated on the significance of the recent Egyptian Revolution of 2011-12 in the political history of the nation and Islamism, it can be stated that contradictions have always existed in this particular religious doctrine, whereby the referred riot acted as a fuel towards the eruption of a new theology in Islamism. Hence, the fact raised by Claret (2011) that other than Islamism nothing is believable in the nation can be agreed with, taking a strong reference from the Egyptian trend, to root the reasons for human actions with Islamic ideologies and theologies. However, the modern riot deliberately focuses on secularism of the political regimes practiced within the country raising the essentiality of democracy for the better development of the economy. Conclusively, it can be admitted that similar to other prior historic, socio-economic and cultural interventions which erupted within Egypt in the chronic instances, the recent riot also introduced an innovative and much modern theology to Islamism. References Abdel-Latif, O., 2008. In the Shadow of the Brothers: The Women of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Ahmad, I. & Reifeld, H., 2004. Lived Islam in South Asia: Adaptation, Accommodation, and Conflict. Berghahn Books. Ashour, O., 2004. Democratic Islam? Assessing the Bases of Democracy in Islamic Political Thought. McGill University. Boukhars, A., 2005. Clash of Theologies within Islam. Center for Defense and Security Policy, Wilberforce University. Calma, T. & Gershevitch, C., 2009. Freedom of Religion and Belief in a Multicultural Democracy: An Inherent Contradiction or an Achievable Human Right? Australian Human Rights Commission. 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