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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
Islamists come into the fold of civil society
By Omayma Abdel-LatifThe governmental decree no 433 issued on 10 April, which approved the formation of Egypt's Society for Dialogue and Culture (ESDC), could have gone unnoticed. The reason that it did not was due to the fact that the key founders were none other than key Islamist intellectuals who were making a new foray into the public arena; they have founded an NGO whose main task is to initiate a dialogue between intellectuals from across the political spectrum.
The ESDC held its first meeting on Monday to draw up an agenda which, according to its chairman, prominent Islamist lawyer Mohamed Selim El-Awwa, will "contribute to all that is good for the entire society. Activities will be confined to the cultural sphere, with ESDC disseminating what we believe to be the correct understanding of our heritage and legacy through public lectures and gatherings," El-Awwa told Al-Ahram Weekly.
Many observers believe that the establishment of a new civil association, whose board and general assembly are dominated by top Islamist figures, is a new and significant development for the Islamists, who appear to moving further towards adopting the concepts of civil society, pluralism and democratic interaction.
But, more importantly, there is also reason to believe that the government's response is in itself an important development which may have significant implications for the troubled relationship between the state and the Islamists. To some observers, the government's approval reflects a potential governmental shift from confrontation to accommodation. In the words of Seif Abdel-Fattah, a professor of political theory at Cairo University, the approval is "a monumental achievement" along the road of integrating the Islamists in overt social activities.
"It also shows that the government is intent on reconsidering its own methods in order to promote the prospects of peace and security," Abdel-Fattah said.
Others, however, have warned that the government's response should not be blown up out of all proportion. In fact, the manner in which the government chose to give its seal of approval lends credence to this view. According to an official source at the NGO registration department of the Ministry of Social Affairs, when the list of names of members was first submitted to the department, security authorities objected to one name. The founders responded by crossing out this name. The official told the Weekly that "there was no explicit endorsement by the ministry and the society was established by the force of law."
The official explained that according to the new NGO law, no 153 of 1999, any organisation which submits an application will be established automatically by force of law unless it receives an official notice of objection within 60 days. The official disclosed that the registration department was not notified of any objection to the formation of the society from security authorities, which implicitly suggests that the society's agenda does not cross the state's red lines. After the expiry of the 60-day period, the governmental decree no 433 had to be issued.
Despite the fact that key members of the new society are already active political protagonists, any political action or activity which reflects partisan tendencies must be shunned by ESDC if it seeks to maintain its legal existence. To this end, members were keen to dismiss implications of any link between their application for a societal institution and the state's refusal to allow the establishment of political parties with an Islamic platform.
"The founders are active members of society who want to have a say on various social and cultural issues," Essam Sultan, secretary-general of the ESDC, told the Weekly. Sultan was one of the Islamists who sought to found the Wassat [Centre] party, an attempt which was rejected twice by the Political Parties Committee. He said the ESDC will lay emphasis on heritage revival, and -- contradicting what El-Awwa said -- will hold public seminars on different issues, including political ones. He conceded, however, that any political discussions will be governed by law and that they will not attempt to cross any red lines "for fear of being dissolved."
This drives home a point which Islamists who are not ESDC members but active political players have stressed. The point is that, while the move could be a step on the road to reconciliation, the fact remains that an NGO institution has a much lower legal status than a political party. Gamal Sultan is a journalist with the Islamist-oriented Al-Shaab newspaper and had applied for the establishment of a political party with an Islamist platform, but was turned down by the government. He believes that the ESDC cannot take the place of a political party because it is a "society for the elite and intellectuals," whereas the Islamist political trend, as he views it, is not "elitist" but relies on mass support and represents popular politics.
Responding to this, Essam Sultan said that the mere fact that the ESDC has several secular figures among its membership refutes the proposition that it is a society only for the Islamists. Rather, "it reflects the diversity of the political and cultural trends in Egypt, creating unity in diversity, which is what the society is all about," the ESDC secretary-general said.
