Liberalism is one of the great political mainstreams. Yet, at the same time, in the political dictionary of our times hardly another word is as controversial as the term “liberal.” For many, and surely the liberals, the term has only positive connotations. However, the many opponents treat it as a curse.
This dichotomy is also apparent in Egypt — as in other Arab countries. A powerful coalition of conservative, fundamentalist and pseudo-progressive ideologues has joined forces in a continuous effort to demonize all things liberal. The proponents of this anti-liberal campaign use an arsenal of negative epithets to denigrate liberals; they call them immoral, greedy, unpatriotic, foreign-led and un-religious, even anti-religious.
Sadly, not a single Arab country is ruled by a government that could rightly claim that is promoting a genuine liberal agenda. In some parts of the region, the opposite is the case: socialism, nationalism, religious fundamentalism and other non-liberal ideologies have had (and continue to have) a much stronger impact than the liberal paradigm. From a liberal perspective, this is a sad state of affairs — and, importantly, the deeper cause of many problems in the region.
After many talks with fellow liberals from this part the world I have concluded that Arab liberalism is faced with two main challenges: one is the external political environment, the other could be called the ideological framework.
Political reality of the Arab world today is defined by mostly authoritarian and more or less repressive regimes, the deficiency of free and fair elections and deficits in the rule of law and the respect for human rights. This environment has curtailed also the development of dominant liberal political movements and organizations.
Arguably more detrimental for the formation of a powerful liberal movement than the inhospitable political environment has been the weakness of Arab liberals on the ideological front: Arab liberals have to put up with an ideological environment in which their ideas and concepts are widely perceived as hostile to ideas and concepts considered mainstream by great segments of society.
The correction of this perception may be termed the main strategic challenge for liberals in this part of the world. To achieve this, liberals must leave the ideological defensive into which they have been pushed and convince the people that their ideas are not against religious principles and beliefs, but — on the contrary — in favor of the freedom of religion and the protection of it.
The promotion of individual freedom stands at the center of all liberal aspirations. Liberals believe that the longing for freedom is a universal human desire not limited by culture or geography. Accordingly, there also exists a liberal tradition in the political and philosophical thinking in the Arab world. It is imperative to recollect, highlight — and also communicate — this.
In all countries of the world people are standing up for their freedoms — on an individual level, in civil society organizations or in political parties. Of course, this is also happening in this part of the world.
One of the most intriguing experiences since coming to Egypt some three years ago has been to discover what I like to term the dynamism of Egyptian liberalism. Egyptian liberals are much stronger in numbers and in intellectual clout than many people inside, and particularly outside the country believe. Also, and this I find significant, liberalism is stronger than the existing organizations that claim to represent it today.
In a domestic political setting all too often perceived simplistically as an antagonism between the government on the one side and radical Islamist forces on the other, the forces between these hostile poles are not given the attention they deserve: Today, many people in this country (as in other parts of the Arab world) who are neither supportive of the ruling regime nor the religiously guided forces opposing it consider themselves as “liberaliin” or liberals.
The liberal trend — one could also call it a movement — is particularly vivid among the young generation. The intellectual vibrancy of young Egyptian liberals comes to life in the recently published English-language translation of the book “Why I am Liberal. Egyptian Youth Essays on Liberalism.” This 158-page tome comprises the award winning articles by young Egyptian men and women for an essay writing competition titled “Why am I liberal?”
Originally only available in Arabic, the English translation provides a fascinating insight as to how young Egyptians define liberalism, how liberal ideas have had an impact on their lives and how — on a more general level — young Egyptians believe liberalism could change in a positive manner the future of the society and the country they live in.
These are writings of young activists and, yes, young idealists, who are far away from political power. At the same time, however, their essays document that liberal ideas are very much alive in the minds, and also in the hearts, of the Egyptian youth.
Dr. Ronald Meinardus is the Regional Director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF) in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA), Cairo. The book “Why I am Liberal” has been published by Al-Mahrosa Publishers and is also available free of charge online at http://www.scribd.com/doc/33622358/Book-English-Why-I-Am-Liberal
