In an extensive conversation the renowned Islamic scholar Lewis, 94, recently expounded on the root cause of the region-wide eruption of protests, and urged the West not to press for a fast and fitful rush by Arab countries toward Western-style elections.
Lewis cautions against pushing Western democracies into the Middle East.
“The Arab masses,” he says, “are not ready for free and fair elections.”
At the heart of the upheaval, according to Lewis – perhaps best known for his history of the Ottoman Empire – is the Arab peoples’ pervasive sense of injustice suffered at the hands of “the sort of authoritarian, even dictatorial regimes, that rule most of the countries in the modern Islamic Middle East.” These regimes “are a modern creation,” whereas “the pre-modern regimes were much more open, much more tolerant.”
He predicts that hastily held, Western-style elections would bring about “a dangerous aggravation” of the abysmally poor peoples’ anger and resentment, which radical Islamic organizations would be well positioned to exploit. In particular, the Muslim Brotherhood “is a very dangerous, radcial Islamic movement. If they obtain power, the consequences would be disastrous for [in the case he cites] Egypt.”
As an alternative to such elections, Lewis advocates that the West back the gradual development of local, self-governing institutions, in accord with the Islamic tradition of “consultation,” for which there is a strong tradition in the region. Citing historical events and political literature in the Islamic period, he observes that this pre-modern system was entirely opposed to authoritarian or absolutist rule. Indeed, the sultans had to consult with many groups whose authority sprang from within and not from the state.
Pre-modern or contemporary, women are one group that has not figured in the self-governing formula. Lewis, forceful on this point, quotes a late 19th century Turkish observer:
We fell behind the West because of the way we treat our women … [Thus] we deprive ourselves of the talents and services of half the population … we submit the early education of the other half to ignorant and downtrodden mothers …[further,] a child who grows up in a traditional Muslim household is accustomed to authoritarian, autocratic rule from the start. I think the position of women is of crucial importance.
In sum, mindlessly pushing for an immediate, Western-style general election is “a dangerous fallacy which can only lead to disaster.” Better to “let them do it their way by consultative groups.”
In the case of Eqypt, the airing of Lewis’s views is especially timely. The country’s military rulers, paving the way for elections to be held in just four-to-six months, have proposed a slew of constitutional changes that are being disputed by various factions.
Is “instant democracy” a viable policy in the Mideast? Odds are, no.
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