Over the past decade sectarianism has emerged as a major fault line in Middle east politics. Tensions between Shias and Sunnis have found new meaning in light of the Arab uprisings of the past year to define regional rivalries from the Levant to the Persian Gulf. The conflict in Syria, tensions in Bahrain, Lebanon and Yemen, simmering violence in Iraq and the larger regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia all tell of the growing importance of the sectarian divide.
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The Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) hosted a delegation from the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political wing of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. The panelists included Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, an FJP member of parliament from Luxor and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee; Hussein El-Kazzaz, a businessman and advisor to the Muslim Brotherhood and FJP; Sondos Asem, senior editor of the FJP's official website and member of the Foreign Relations Committee; and Khaled Al-Qazzaz, foreign relations coordinator for the FJP. ACMCU Founding Director and University Professor John L. Esposito moderated the panel. The four-member delegation discussed a brief history of Egypt prior to the uprisings of 2011 and went on to define their role in the political process leading up to the presidential elections that are scheduled to take place this May. Examining various social, cultural, economic, and political frameworks, the members of the delegation contextualized Egypt in the post-Mubarak era, detailing their vision not only for their party, but for Egypt as well. They then fielded questions from the audience, which spurred a lively and informative discussion.
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This panel discussion, co-sponsored by the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), the Egyptian American Rule of Law Association (EARLA), and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), explored the political and legal implications of Egypt’s recent parliamentary elections and forthcoming presidential elections. The discussion brought together experts who analyzed post-revolution legal reforms and election laws, specifically asked how these laws affected minority groups and parties, and offered recommendations for future reforms to help ensure free, fair, and accessible elections. Panelists also examined the results of the parliamentary elections: why did the Muslim Brotherhood and Nour party win such a large majority while the secular and liberal parties performed so poorly? Finally, panelists considered the elections’ impact on democracy in Egypt and relations with the United States, with special attention paid to U.S democracy-promotion efforts in the country.
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In the midst of the Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia alone seems to have escaped public protests over corruption, authoritarianism and the quest for more equitable sharing of benefits. This impression masks the realities of life and reform within the Kingdom. Dr. DeLong-Bas’s presentation explored some of the ways in which Saudi Arabia is working to address the challenges of the Arab Spring from a long-term perspective, offering analysis of areas of both stability and uncertainty for the future.
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Journalist and historian Paola Caridi discussed the Palestinian Islamist movement's political strategy from the participation in the 2006 elections up to the Second Arab Awakening. Caridi contributed to the founding of the press agency Lettera22 and has worked with several Italian dailies, weeklies, and reviews. Hamas: From Resistance To Government, her second book, was published in Italy in 2009 and in Palestine in March 2010.
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Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool is South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States of America. Before joining the Embassy, his most recent positions have included Member of Parliament in the National Assembly, Special Advisor to the State President of the Republic of South Africa and Premier (governor of the Western Cape Province). Ebrahim Rasool has a long history of involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle starting at High School and including leadership in the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the African National Congress (ANC).
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Speakers: Hooshang Amirahmadi and Shireen Hunter.
In this panel, speakers will discuss some of the key forces competing for power in Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections. The March 2012 elections for the ninth parliament since the Islamic Revolution in Iran will take place under the shadow of international sanctions and the threat of war. The ruling elite, although highly divided, is looking for large-scale participation in the elections as sign of popular support for the Islamic system. Meanwhile, the reformist camp is officially absent from the scene and aims at discrediting the elections as useless by claiming that the results are determined not by the people, but by powerful elements of the regime. Yet the elections will be hotly contested because of the deep splits which have emerged within the conservative ranks and the strong likelihood that some reformists will take part in the elections under the banner of some of the more moderate conservatives. The forthcoming elections are also significant because their result will indicate which tendency is more likely to win the next presidential elections in 2013.
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While politics has long been studied from a modernist systemic approach, sociology has been trying to relate the form to relations of power, and ideologies have addressed power and thought as being in a dialectical multi-dimensional relation. Yet even the shift from old to new social movements did not grasp the emergence of a new rationale of political agency. Informality is a concept that needs to be introduced here to allow better understanding of the political in its different manifestations and transformations. Dr. Raouf discussed how the Egyptian revolution can be approached through the lenses of informality, how the old social movements paved the way to new ones, and how the moment of change crystallized through informal actions.
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In her discussion about Guantanamo Bay, internationally renowned criminal defense lawyer Nancy Hollander provided an update on the pending military commission cases, pending habeas cases, and the continuing flexibility of the rules that apply in those cases.
*Due to technical difficulties, the first 15 minutes of this presentation was not recorded. ACMCU apologizes for this inconvenience.
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On February 13, 2012 Dr. Abou-bakr spoke about he and his wife’s (actress Tayseer Fahmy) experiences as protestors during the revolution, Tayseer's decision to run for the Maglis al-Shaab (People’s Assembly), their joint decision to establish a party (making her the first woman to lead a political party in Egypt), the challenges creating a new party presented, and their experiences during the elections. This event was co-sponsored by ACMCU and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies.
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