The Real Muslim Problem: A "Poverty of Dignity" Posted by Shadi Hamid

This plaintive, almost despairing piece by author Murad Kalam must be read by all those who care about the woeful state of not just the Arab world but of “Islam” itself. It reminds me of my own experiences living in Egypt and Jordan, where I would so quickly become disillusioned by the casual, rank hypocrisy, the jaded fatalism, the fevered willingness to blame internal problems on external, often nefarious, forces.

To see the Arab and Muslim world, is to see, in the most stark of fashion, how a great civilization – one that once led the word in science, medicine, and philosophy – could centuries later have fallen into an ever descending spiral. This is one of the great tragedies of our time. In looking for explanations, it is only too easy to fall back on the facile tropes of cultural determinism and Islamic essentialism. One wishes it could be so simple, that complex realities could be reduced into something more palpable.

Yes, lack of democracy, as I’ve often argued, has a lot to do with it. When people don’t have peaceful, legitimate means to express their grievances, they often express themselves in violent, dangerous ways. But it is not that simple, otherwise how would one account for British-born terrorists who grew up in a democracy but still blew themselves up, killing their fellow citizens ? We need to look at what Thomas Friedman calls the “poverty of dignity” to get the bigger picture.

At the pinnacle of Islamic civilization, Baghdad, now reduced to rubble, was once a city of wonder and riches. It was the leading center of intellectual and scientific thought, attracting scholars from across the globe. Muslims look back at the glory of their past and then look at their present situation, defined by false promise and lost potential. Where they were once the movers of history, they are now at its mercy. And this, I think, is where much of the anger and frustration germinates. Too many Muslims have lost their ability to chart their own course, to ask their own questions, to form their own governments. They are, thus, passive recipients of what others decide for them. This leads, invariably, to a sense of humiliation and a loss of self-worth and dignity.

Democracy can indeed be an effective antidote to terrorism, but only insofar as it can restore dignity, moral authority, and political agency to those who wield its instruments. Is Democracy up to the task ? I believe it is. It must therefore be promoted, supported, encouraged with nothing less than a constant and unswerving devotion.   

Comments

[David Billington]

"Is Democracy up to the task ? I believe it is. It must therefore be promoted, supported, encouraged with nothing less than a constant and unswerving devotion."

I hope your optimism is well-founded. But could you be more specific as to who should promote democracy and how it should be promoted? Two questions in particular:

Do you think the existing map of the Middle East is conducive to democratic communities, or do states there need to be reformed to function as unitary or federal democratic systems?

Do you think that democracy is primarily a matter of domestic change, or would you agree that there is also an external dimension, a need for new democracies to belong as equals to a larger alliance of democratic nations?

[Souldrift]

At the same time, if Democracy is forced upon a civilization, is it really democracy?

[tequila]

Interesting article. Mr. Kalam sadly appears to have had some rather odd illusions shattered before he left. Why, I wonder, was he so terrified of the anti-Iraq War demos? Given the way they morphed into the Kifaya movement, it is odd how Mr. Kalam views them as another example of Egyptian social dysfunction. Does he imagine all protests are like those in the U.S.?

[David Billington]

JP - "At the same time, if Democracy is forced upon a civilization, is it really democracy?"

We forced it on Japan after 1945 and I don't think anyone would say that Japan since then hasn't been a democracy. The problem is that in 2003 our government concluded that we could expect democracy to flourish in Iraq if we simply removed its previous regime and presided over a transition. The new permanent government may not be a completely lost cause if it can deliver on its promise to bring Shia militias under control. But the prospects of that do not look promising.

[Jeff Younger]

Mr. Kalam's article contains much that is new and interesting, but all that is interesting is not new, and all that is new is not interesting.

Mr. Kalam's concluding paragraph is revealing.

Even now, I can remember the dread in the faces of my Egyptian friends at what would become of their lives. Could it be, that the fascism which once bubbled up in Europe has now invaded the Middle East and that in our time, all hope for the true Islamic values of freedom, modernity and equality in the Muslim world lies not in the East, but in the West?

"Could it be"! Need we even question the authoritarian (not to mention totalitarian) nature of Islamic societies? Islamic societies execute homosexuals, kill children who violate religious fasts, flog and stone women who have been raped --- and on and on and on goes the tyranny. Only a liberal, blinded by an extremely suicidal case of cultural relativism, could fail to see this long before moving to Egypt.

Mr. Hamid does no better.

In looking for explanations, it is only too easy to fall back on the facile tropes of cultural determinism and Islamic essentialism. One wishes it could be so simple, that complex realities could be reduced into something more palpable…Democracy can indeed be an effective antidote to terrorism, but only insofar as it can restore dignity, moral authority, and political agency to those who wield its instruments. Is Democracy up to the task? I believe it is. It must therefore be promoted, supported, encouraged with nothing less than a constant and unswerving devotion.

Does Islam respect the dignity of all people? No. Ask apostates in Islamic countries. Ask the Copts who must pay a tax to prevent the Mullas from exterminating them. Ask the dar al-Harb ("the House of War" or non-Muslims) against whom Muslims are commanded to make war. Ask the maimed Buddhists in Malaysia and Thailand. Ask the Sudanese Christians and Animists at Darfour.

What moral authority can a medievalist religion have in a modern world of human rights? None.

What political agency can a society expect from a culture that cannot separate religion and state? None.

In contradistinction to the myopic Mr. Kalam, I recommend the more historicalWhy I Am Not A Muslim by a Muslim apostate schooled in a Pakistani madrasa, and the more realistic The Arab Mind.

[Joerg]

Shadi,

what kind of democracy promotion do you suggest?

In addition to democracy, the Arab world needs more civil liberties, I believe. An illiberal democracy will not help Arabs to reform, to ask their own questions, and solve their own problems rather than blaming outsiders.

Moreover, I believe Arabs could regain their dignity if they would pressure their governments to solve the Darfur problem. Sudan is a member of the Arab League after all. Most of the folks in Darfur are Muslims. Helping them would boost Muslim dignity.

I don't know for sure, but I got the impression that Jewish groups have been more active on Darfur than Muslim groups.

I am in Europe and can't attend any one of the Darfur rallies across the U.S. today. Therefore I have organized an online rally for Darfur together with many other German Bloggers.

I blog for the Atlantic Review, a press digest on transatlantic affairs edited by three German Fulbright Alumni.

Since you are Fulbrighter yourself, I thought you might be interested in our blog.

By the way, we have summarized and recommended your post in the Christian Science Monitor:
Fulbrighter describes London attacks as a turning point for the US Islamic community.

Keep up the good work.

[Tequila]

Jeff Younger, just FYI --- the folks in Darfur are Muslim, so you can stop counting them as human beings.

[Reynolds]

Joerq, in response to your comment....

Moreover, I believe Arabs could regain their dignity if they would pressure their governments to solve the Darfur problem. Sudan is a member of the Arab League after all. Most of the folks in Darfur are Muslims. Helping them would boost Muslim dignity.

...i have two comments.
1) Solving a problem in one part of the Arab World will not give dignity to all Arab Countries. I can't tell you how many, "if only Palestine were free, the Arabs would invent time-travel," conversations I have had. Solving the problems in Darfur or Palestine is not going to give Arabs a big box dignity and a smiley-face sticker to walk around with. Until Arab governments and Arab people in the Arab world take responsibility for their Arab futures through initiatives in education, manufacturing, intellectual developments in science and technology, and the like, the Arab people will continue to have Arab pride and no Arab dignity. With the exception of maybe UAE, Qatar, and Morocco, the Arab world has every reason to hang its head in shame for both a lack of intellectual activism amongst the populace, and a complete inability to bring itself into step with the rest of the developing world. Read your UNDP reports
2)The Arab League is a joke.

[Jeff Younger]

Jeff Younger, just FYI --- the folks in Darfur are Muslim, so you can stop counting them as human beings.

Yawn.

The typical liberal rhetoric uses two strategies on the defense: (1) obfuscate, and (2) poison the well. Joerq has done both in one sentence. Impressive.

It's enough to point it out. I won’t belabor the point.

[Joerg]

@ Jeff,

you are a typical right winger who fails to understand even simple stuff. The quote you attribute to me is not mine.