Thinkerman Posted June 14, 2003 Interesting article ........................Islam in the wings......... by Rhoda Metcalfe Mother of the Brothers: Cairo Ever since the war in Iraq began, the US and its allies have been promising a new wave of democracy in the Middle East. But, as the allies discovered, the only opposition leadership that survived under Saddam Hussein's brutal regime were the Islamists. The same is true throughout most of the Middle East, and any democratic push could easily lead to the rise of elected Islamic governments, including inside the region's most populous country, Egypt. That makes many people, especially businesspeople, very nervous. In the lobby of the Egyptian Doctor's Syndicate, a young man sings the Muslim call to prayer into a PA system. The doctors' union, the lawyers' union, and the pharmacists' union are the home territories of the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist movement more than half a century old. Confident "They know that democracy means Islam in this area. Are the Americans ready to accept Islamic civilization?" challenges Essam al-Aryan, one of the Muslim Brothers' top leaders. These days, Dr al-Aryan is sounding cocky. He knows if the democracy that the US administration has been talking so much about came to Egypt tomorrow, the Muslim Brotherhood would be the only group with enough popularity to defeat the current government. Dr al-Aryan is also aware that many people, especially businesspeople, fear an Islamic government. But he says they shouldn't: "You know the Muslim Brotherhood, they are doctors, engineers, lawyers, professors. We are modern people." That does little to reassure Hamed Ghanem. He's general manager for Toshiba in Cairo, and the thought of the Muslim Brothers heading a government sends shivers down his spine. "In our present history, all the so-called Islamic governments are from my point of view not successful. They are, in my view, just dictatorships. I don't like it. I don't think it´s good for the country, it´s not good for people, it´s not good for business." Iranian example The pre-eminent example of a modern-day Islamic government is Iran. Asif Bayat, an Iranian sociologist, remembers how the business sector abandoned his country, sending the Iranian economy into a tailspin. "All these people who were running it, they had fled the country and things were really bad, in terms of management. So you had land, hotels, cinemas, cabarets. Who is going to manage this? The whole thing eventually went to this huge foundation, but really it is the state." Muslim Brother-led anti-US rally in Cairo stadium The Iranian state also took over the banks and began their first experiments with interest-free banking: under Islam, charging interest is considered sinful. The experiment failed. The banks eventually went back to charging interest, in the guise of a service charge. Most economically damaging of all, Iran's snarling anti-Western stance made it a pariah. Businessman Hamed Ghanem fears the same would happen in Egypt if the Muslim Brotherhood were voted in. "They'll say the West is our enemy - we're not going to do business with them. Definitely this is a disaster." Business support But not everyone agrees. Businessman Mohamed el-Kaissouni, the deputy director of a US-based business conglomerate he asked not be named, argues that the Muslim Brotherhood is far more moderate than Khomeini and the Iranian leadership. In fact, he says, many of the Muslim Brothers are businessmen. "Very successful businessmen. And very popular. And when you deal with them, if they promise something, they carry it out. That's one of the things helping people to feel there won't be a problem if we have an Islamic government." The Muslim Brothers themselves say their first economic concern is not with foreign investors, but with local corruption. Abdel Hameed Ghazali is an economics professor at Cairo University. He spent three years in prison for being a Muslim Brother. "Bribery, illegal activities; we are living in a corruption culture. We are going to fight corruption in politics, in economics. I think the foreign investor will be much happier dealing with people who have some law and order than people who really don't honour anything." And then? Many businesspeople would agree with that. But what comes after the corruption is stamped out? The Muslim Brothers have a slate of economic ideas, including an alternative approach to interest-free banking. They say they would welcome foreign investment, as long as it is "ethical". What that means is, like so much surrounding a potential Islamic government in Cairo, still unclear. Source: islamicity.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
