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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 March 2000 Issue No. 474 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 March 2000 Issue No. 474
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Temporal tunes
By Omayma Abdel-Latif
To some observers of political Islamic movements, the statement issued by Al-Gama'a Islamiya last Friday on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha (feast of sacrifice) contained a few surprises. The moderate tone -- when compared to previous statements -- and the language used to describe current issues on the domestic political scene reflected what some analysts claimed to be yet another attempt by the group to harness Islam to modern political thought. It also reinforces the view that the group is moving away from its all-too-common radical discourse vis-a-vis the state and the political system. Such a view, however, was not shared by others who, while admitting that the statement fostered notions of reform, believe that it did not provide adequate proof of the much-talked about change in the group's global perspective.
The two-page statement, titled Eid Al-Adha... between pains and hopes, has stirred controversy. It was described by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper as the first-ever by the Gama'a to delve into current issues and deal with them using language that resembles the discourse of well-established political parties. The statement did indeed mention -- albeit in a language of condemnation -- several issues, ranging from khul' -- a woman's right to divorce if she forfeits her financial rights -- to privatisation, the extension of the emergency law and corruption. It also contained attacks on the religious establishment which, according to one observer, revealed little -- if any -- change in the Gama'a's radical discourse. The only change of note, the observer said, is that their verbal attacks this time were directed against policies rather than the government itself.
Diaa Rashwan, managing editor of the State of Religion report, published by the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, believes that the significance of the statement should not be underestimated for it points to "a qualitative transformation" in the nature of the Gama'a: from a militant Islamist group to a political grouping with an Islamic ideological platform.
"This statement clearly indicates that the group has moved away from being a religious group which preoccupies itself with big philosophical questions, such as the sacred text as the source of legislation, to a socio-political group which is beginning to address temporal issues," Rashwan said. He said another important point raised by the statement is that it showed the group to have transcended the phase of questioning the legality of the system, which has consistently been a central theme in its discourse and a reason for constantly attacking the Egyptian government. Now, Rashwan says, it has begun to question the laws, not the legislative body that passed them.
Such a view is shared by others who find the statement indicative of an "implicit acceptance" of the system. Carrying this view further, Rifaat Sid-Ahmed, head of the Java Centre for Studies and Research and an expert on Islamic movements in Egypt and Iran, believes that this was not the first time a Gama'a statement dealt with temporal issues. One statement in particular, which Sid-Ahmed describe as "the group's most important," was issued a few weeks after it declared a cessation of violence on 5 July 1998. The statement, which coincided with the implementation of a new law regulating agricultural land rents, expressed the group's full support for the law. "This was unprecedented," Sid-Ahmed said. "They supported the government on an issue that had always been a bone of contention: who legislates. To them, it has always been divine sources and this statement was, therefore, telling of a radical change," Sid-Ahmed said.
While the Gama'a statements acquire considerable importance because they convey the group's ideological orientation vis-a-vis the state and society, one question which crops up frequently is whether such statements can, in themselves, infer the much-talked about ideological transformation in the group's discourse. The short answer, according to Seif Abdel-Fattah, a professor of political science at Cairo University, is no. "Such statements do not provide adequate evidence of a change," Abdel-Fattah said. "This group has committed a strategic error by engaging in anti-state attacks and the brutal use of violence. Therefore, while statements are important in revealing its position on particular issues, they do not provide answers to questions about the group's reform and evolution as a political entity," Abdel-Fattah told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Abdel-Fattah's comments lend credence to the view that what counts is not simply the group's ability to use different, more sophisticated language when tackling political issues, but whether it is capable of the required reform.
"If they are to resort to violence once again, they will condemn themselves to self-destruction," Abdel-Fattah added. Gamal Sultan, who is attempting to establish a party, the Hizb Al-Islah (reform), which has an Islamist platform, believes the latest statement shows the battle within the rank-and-file of the Gama'a has ended in favour of the moderate wing which seeks reconciliation with the government.
