Hamid Basyaib: The Echo of Reformation in the Middle East

The call for reformation currently rises in many Muslim countries, mainly Middle Eastern countries. The wind of change or islah blows in Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon and Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The question is this: is this echo of reformation merely a response of the American resolution, or is it due to internal distressing conditions. Hamid Basyaib (researcher at Aksara Foundation and the Indonesian Institute) observed this tendency in the international conference of US-Islamic World Forum, held 10-13 April in Doha, Qatar. To Ulil Abshar Abdalla from Liberal Islamic Network, Hamid reviewed some fundamental issues discussed in that forum at Thursday (21/4).

ULIL ABSHAR-ABDALLA (UAA): What do you think about Qatar after joining the international conference of US-Moslem World Forum there?

HAMID BASYAIB (HB): In my point of view, Qatar is a Gulf country that understands well what to do. Qatar is a small country that realizes about its smallness, and it is a rich and small-populated country (less then half million citizens). The genuine inhabitants of Qatar are approximately a hundred and fifty thousand people which half of them is police and Army. It is a small country with much money, which knows exactly what it really wants.

UAA: Would you describe demand for reformation in the Muslim world today at that forum?

HB: I think, this is demand for reformation in Arab countries in particular. Although the conference is the US-Islamic World Forum, the forum is almost hundred percent dominated by the Middle Eastern people, particularly the Arabs. That is why Pakistanis and Indians protested and asserted that the forum should not be called as the Islamic world forum since in fact most of its participants were the Arabs. The honest answer came from an Egyptian sociologist, Sa’ad Eddin Ibrahim. This Head of Ibnu Khaldun Centre for Development Studies said, “This is a so-called US-Islamic World Forum. However, not the whole Islamic world is in trouble, but only part of it.” According to him, only “an Arab part of the Islamic world” that is in trouble. 

UAA: Could you illustrate how bad the condition of Arab is therefore Sa’ad Eddin Ibrahim specified the trouble there?

HB: The first problem is power circulation, which is an important indicator of democracy. One of the important indicators of democracy is when the power circulates well in a fix and regular period, determined by a clean and just election and so on. The criterions were there. Trough these indicators, we can conclude that all the Arab worlds without exception -even the whole Middle Eastern region including non-Arab state like Iran, 22 countries, did not fulfill the democratic criterions. Many countries were Absolute Monarchy or Constitutional Monarchy but their performance are behind Holland, England, Sweden, Belgium, or even Thailand. In this case, the Arab world that is inadvertently also Muslims world were backward.
In the light of the modern politic, we observe many dynastic regimes in the Middle East or 1/3 of them is in the form of dynasty. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan took the form of dynasty or Absolute Monarchy. While the republic state is also dynastic in nature: although the state led by a president and took the form of republic, everyone knows that the election is arranged therefore its result will never be democratic.

In the case of Syria, the one who substitutes the late Hafez Asad is his own son, Bashar Asad. Suddenly, this eye doctor spontaneously elected for president trough the law amendment process because when his father died, his age was not enough for being president according to the rule. The same trend almost happens in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak was “coincidentally” coming into power because the former president, Anwar Sadat, was murdered. However, he was in power for a long time (more than 20 years) and may bequeath the authority to his son, Gamal Mubarak.

UAA: Do you see the hope of change in those countries? 

HB: This is interesting. I have written about Kifaya (enough) movement. However, in that forum, I sensed the ambiguity of Arab society in viewing the role of US in the reformation. US indeed have a wide interest and have been the only super power country, whose role is impossible to neglect. However, intellectuals and politicians in the forum were objected with what they called as US’ hard power. We can see it blatantly in the invasion upon Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Those invasions are opposed with various palpable reasons. On the other hand, they (Middle Eastern countries) hope for the US intervention in the form of soft power. This ‘soft power’ is the concept of Joseph S. Nye from Harvard University and is in various forms. Entertainment such as movie etc is part of this soft power. S. Nye suggested using this rather than using expensive hard power that cause many victims.

UAA: Do not those Middle Eastern intellectuals expect for the change from within?

HB: Unfortunately, there is no echo for change from inside. We have to consider about it seriously so that we do not just accuse them for demanding foreign intervention. In fact, there is no source of change inside. There is no attempt to change inside the regime, while the civil society is weak. It will be much better if the wind of change blows inside the country, or if the hope for change comes from the regime. The awareness of change should come from the regime or at least dissident in the body of regime trough either revolution or reformation. That is what happens everywhere!

UAA: Now the yells of “kifayah!” or “enough!” reverberate as the protest upon the regime. What does it means?

HB: Kifaya means “enough”. In Italian language, it is “basta!” Then, Italians yell the word “basta!” or enough to protest mafia’s domination and aggressiveness. It means enough of oppressions and tortures we suffered! Now the slogan for the Middle Eastern people’s revolt has become “kifaya”, which Robin Wright noted in the Washington Post editorial. This happens not only in Egypt, but also in Kuwait, and even in the most resistant country toward change: Saudi Arabia.

UAA: I guess that today, there is a strong voice saying, “what’s the point of that kafir (infidel) system of democracy in the Middle East?”

HB: I suspect that this sort of voice is an excuse to preserve the status quo, since they also understand well about the importance of democracy. In a clear circumstance, they propose the concept of syura or public deliberation. Nevertheless, they forget that concept of syura is a part of pre-Islamic noble values adopted by Islam. Hence, although rhetorically they refused democracy, they are proud of syura (public deliberation) as a form of Islamic democracy.

UAA: Why do many people resist the process of political system change in the name of religion?

HB: I think the American factor is the main reason. They hate America so much so they resist on every American thing. It is no longer rational resistance. When Holland colonized Indonesia, the Indonesians resisted every Dutch thing. That is why Indonesians preferred to learn Arabic language rather than Dutch or English, and refused using tie or trouser or adopting the class system for study since it regarded as the Holland method. There is always an impulse to resist colonialism anywhere. 
Therefore, Muslims in the world should raise a question whenever they adopted a non-Islamic system or particularly the western system: what will be lost from them? In my temporary opinion, they essentially have nothing to lose at all so they should not be worried about that. To me, Islam is religion that absorbs diverse sources. 

UAA: There is a dilemma, rejection of the western system on one hand, and the authoritarian political system on the other hand!

HB: That is right. I always say that civilization comes in one box. Therefore, bad political system will impinge on the others, for example, the value of Middle Eastern countries’ exports is very low. Doha Forum indicated that the value of Egyptian exports annually is equal to the value of South Korean and Taiwan exports in two days. Purportedly, GDP (Growth Domestic Product) of the whole members of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which is at least consists of 51 countries, is about 5.4% of the world GDP. Meanwhile, Japan’s GDP is about 15% of the world’s GDP. GDP of Japan alone is 4 - 3.5 times of the whole union of Islamic countries.

UAA: Is there correlation between the retarded development and the authoritarian political system?

HB: Definitely. Furthermore, it probably originated from the mistaken religious comprehension. Therefore, we should not rush in asserting that the matter of religion and its interpretation is settled and final, and let us be honest in self-correction. This attempt is very important since the available facts are hurting to neglect. We cannot take it for granted and say that the matters of religion are settled.

UAA: What about the problem of Israel that neglects them of their internal defects?

HB: Regarding Israel, it is important to discuss about the problem of Arab before Israel established. What happened before that? The entire Muslim world is colonized! This fact has nothing to do with Israel. We have to reverse the question: how can a state named Israel establish there? It is a historical anachronism since the Jewish state established in the heart of the Arab seas. Hence, presumption that there is something wrong with the Arab has become rational. Although the Israel factor has indeed worsened the problem, we have to observe the case one by one. Several Arab countries today have no problem and have a good relationship with Israel, like Qatar and Jordan. Therefore, discussing about Israel factor, we have to talk about its influence on each country one by one.

UAA: What about the America’s interest as regards with Israel?

HB: In fact, the establishment of Israel related more with the interest of England, and afterward America. Therefore, we recognized Balfour Declaration (1917) when Arthur James Balfour was British Minister of Foreign Affair. Bizarrely, both Islam and Jewish sides used religious argument to oppose and support the Israel state. Muslims proposed the perspective of Qur’an concerning Palestine, while Israel proposed the harder Biblical claims. Up to now, instead of uttering the word Israel or Palestine, many fundamentalist Jewish tend to call them Judea and Samaria to revive the old memory about the land, and the right wings politician supported that. 

UAA: Despite of the fact that political reformation is important, reformation of religious understanding is important as well, or even more vital, since many people are anti reformation and fettering the civil liberty in the name of religion. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive because in their perception, religion prohibits that. There are trivialities with serious consequence.

HB: This is a serious matter since eventually it is regarding human dignity. Idyllically, religion should not disturb or bother human dignity. In the case of Saudi Arabia, women’s dignity is obviously disregarded. Women do not even have their own identity card and have to follow their husbands or families. This is unbelievable that in this 21st century and in a prosperous and rich country –though not the result of their hard work- such matter still exists. Their upper classes possessed beautiful villas in Switzerland, Hollywood, and everywhere, but their women have no identity card. Driving car might be sophisticated matter, but identity card is a fundamental self-identification. 

UAA: Unfortunately, those shameful matters from Saudi Arabia have a great influence in our country because Arab is associated with Islam!

HB: Yes, that is very unfortunate. Particularly in Saudi Arabia, women have to cover their body from head to toe including face and endure other restrictions as if they are disgusting. On the other hand, it is also a form of humiliation toward men because this assumes that whenever man meets woman, there is nothing else but sex affair. Alas, there are two sacred sites of Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Mecca and Medina. Hence, any Middle Eastern product of thought regarded as identical to Islam and as more authentic than the product of our Islamic thought. Obviously, they are not certainly identical with Islam.

UAA: I think if reformation takes place in the level of politic and religious understanding of the Middle East, it would support our attempt.

HB: Yes definitely, since Indonesia with at least 220 million citizens regarded as marginal Islam. In the Qatar forum, the Muslim world is identical with Middle East although demographically, Muslims in the Arab world are less than 15-20 % of Muslims of the world. In China, there are 100 millions Muslims. In fact, Muslims in Arab are few but having a high authority. However, we have to admit that non-Arabic intellectual products were few and therefore there is still along way to go.  []