The tone and topic shifted sharply on the Forum’s second day, from poetry and the meaning of life to today’s political dramas and challenges. That the flame of the Arab Spring was lit in the Maghreb is part of history. But how far can we draw conclusions about a history that is unfolding at this very moment? Moderated by Abdou Hafidi, the discussion was fast-paced and passionate, ranging from Morocco to France, Syria to the United States. It covered raw party politics, religion, social forces, and culture. Three themes came up often: (a) a pride in a new openness, the possibility to debate fundamental issues with honesty and without fear, especially in Morocco; (b) large and looming questions about the role of religion and Islam, but also of spirituality, in the debates and in the realities on the ground; is the Arab Spring the spring or the winter of Islamism? What is today’s season?; and (c) the central importance of women; many of the debates in fact swirl around women’s rights and their true (and contested) place in emerging societies.
Were the uprisings that began in December 2010 a surprise, and if so why? The answer given was that they were only a half surprise. Much of what has taken place was the result of forces that were well known. But their rapidity and the violence with which they erupted, and which they have caused, caught many by surprise. Of the deep forces that are the true causes, none is as important as the dramatically youthful profile of the countries concerned. The passions and troubles of Arab youth, especially the unemployment so many face, was and is a tinderbox: Basta, enough, they say.
Less remarked on was the impulse and deeply rooted movement towards participation. Morocco’s 2002 peaceful demonstrations for and against changes in the family law are an example of the forces of change at work. Algeria’s aborted surge for democracy was another. Yet many signs were ignored, by media and by those in power. As an example, the remarkable Moroccan Truth and Reconciliation Commission was barely remarked in the wider press and commentary, though it traced new paths. The 2004 Arab Human Development Reports offered a profound diagnosis of the reality, highlighting the four pillars of problems: discrimination, the absence of basic liberties, the abject failures of the education system, and the unsustainable weight of military budgets.
Morocco’s rappers are a symbol and a sign of the force of social change (dubbed the “nightingales of change”). Deep shifts are visible also in many other arts. Echoing the themes of poetry the previous day, artists of many kinds are heralding change, but also leading and shaping it in new directions.
Much commentary and discussion centered on religion. The resurgence of religious conservatism has caught many by surprise. Islam, some argued, and religion more broadly are surely compatible with democracy and with an open society given the core shared values they involve. The Islamic traditions of the Maghreb are joyful, open, family-oriented. But the reality is that mosques are active social centers of gravity in communities, and forces of reaction meet there. The severity and austere character of Islamist pressures is a concern. The concern though should not center on salafism, something intrinsic to Islam, but on Wahabism, which must be called by its name and named for what it is and represents. True spirituality stands in sharp contrast.
There can be no true democracy without a rightful place for women: that message echoed strongly and in different ways. The debates and contending forces around the shape and values of society need to be recognized as first and foremost debates about women’s roles, in the society and in the religion.
Answering the questions about what the future holds for the Arab Spring and the Arab world, the clear message is that the genie has escaped the bottle, that the forces of change cannot, should not, and will not be reversed. But the future is clouded. The situations in different countries differ sharply: from a strong nonviolent force for change in Morocco, largely peaceful change in Tunisia, tumult in Egypt, to bitter violence in Libya and Syria. The experiences are in a sense laboratories. But one thing is clear, seen in politics and in the arts: the self-image of Arabs has changed forever and for the better. It is an image that is not, as it was too often in the past, drawn from outside or from others, but from within: that we are the shapers of our destinies is the message. The images may be raw and crude, but they are authentic.
So the day left us with demanding questions: where will leadership lead the Arab Spring and how will it filter and shape the multiple realities at work? Where will the live debates about religion and society lead? How can women’s roles be honored and reinforced? How can the real problems of unemployment and frustrations be addressed? How, amidst the diversity of ideas and forces that are at work, can common, shared values be guiding stars for the future?
