Karim Raslan: The Egypt Example
Overthrowing a legitimately elected government is a coup d'etat — however you cut it. As Indonesians know, being a democrat means taking the rough with the smooth.
The ouster of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood will only lead to greater tragedies. Certainly, the secular liberals cheering on the sidelines will regret their initial glee at Morsi's reversal as truth, public trust and law and order become the biggest casualties of the sequence of events unfolding in Cairo.
Those who feel that 'political Islam' should be halted by whatever means — legal or illegal — are wrong. Once you subscribe to the ballot box, you cannot turn back.
Political expedience brings short-term and unsustainable 'solutions' that will in turn lead to greater injustices. Indeed, the Algerian experience back in 1990, when the army denied a clear electoral mandate, imprisoning and slaughtering thousands, is a stark warning of what could lie in store for Egypt.
At the same time, many Islamist parties across the globe — the spiritual heirs to Egypt's Ikhwanul-Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood) — will feel that democracy (one man, one vote) is not meant for them even though they often have the raw numbers to win elections.
Instead they will become increasingly convinced that a shadowy network of Americans, Europeans, liberals, financiers and 'global Jewish forces' will intervene to seize power.
In short, whatever they do, they'll always be victims of a determined conspiracy to deny them their legitimate place in the world. This will mean in turn that they don't need to address their own failings in terms of corruption, poor administration and hard-headed exclusiveness.
Morsi's administration was riddled with failings. Many had great hopes for him when he took office back in June 2012. It seemed as if he would be able to project a moderate face after decades of former President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian rule.
Unfortunately, this was not to be. Morsi bungled and badly: Egypt's economy stagnated, the trading volume of its stock market fell 31.2 percent in the first five months of 2013. Its budget deficit currently stands at about $29.2 billion, while official figures rather conservatively put unemployment at 12.5 percent.
At the same time, Morsi alienated both secular and liberal communities. Moderates and Coptic Christians were upset enough to boycott the drafting of the December 2012 constitution — which was criticized for lacking sufficient safeguards for freedom of religion and the rights of women — due to the administration's perceived lack of consultation.
Indeed, political Islam is facing setbacks even in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has suffered a series of crises as multiple scandals destroy its once pristine anti-corruption reputation.
Malaysia's Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) finds itself in need of extensive soul-searching after its less-than-stellar performance in the 2013 general elections — when it lost control of the state of Kedah.
The coup in Egypt (let's call a spade a spade, ya) will only reinforce the suspicion among these parties that they should be wary of the democracy.
This is a neat but flawed conclusion because most if not all of their failures have nothing to do with democracy.
Instead their failures are linked to poor administration, corruption and a refusal to acknowledge the need for balance and inclusiveness.
Sadly with Morsi's ouster as a backdrop, conspiracy theories will only proliferate.
Consultation and consensus, in particular, are critical aspects of good governance. Riding roughshod over the rights of minorities, whether racial, religious or ideological, is a recipe for trouble.
Karim Raslan is a columnist who divides his time between Indonesia and Malaysia.
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