In the previous article, we discussed the most important reasons that led to the failure of Islamic parties in this era after the Arab Spring. In order for these Islamic political parties to regain their spring, they need the following:
1. Leadership renewal:
The most prominent crises that befell Islamic political parties, according to Omar Obaid Hasna, "is their inability and inability to devise renewed and contemporary leaders - to the extent hoped for - that guarantees the ability to communicate."
This problem was noticed by Muhammad Emara in some Islamic parties and movements, and he explained the link between the attribute of (righteousness) and the person of (the guide) in it, because it built its command on the talents of the person and not on building the institution, and this resulted in the oneness of opinion in it, and if the guide is absent, the guidance is absent.
Leadership renewal does not mean excluding historical leaders who have a balance of experience and knowledge of history, but rather it means achieving comprehensiveness and integration between the various types of leaders. The parties include in their leadership bodies, as al-Turabi says, representatives from: the people of precedence and experience, the people of public discourse, the people of giving and internal organization, and the people of The traditional religious character, youth, women, people of renewal, and people of special representation for regions that may be deprived because of direct election, the annexation procedures by indirect complementary election provided an opportunity to remedy that.
Islamist political parties need to move from soft power to hard power while retaining both.
Soft power is represented in the interest in youth and women and the formation of alliances with parties with self-esteem and sincere national concern, while the hard power is represented in money, media, the army and networking with local civil society organizations and international organizations.
2. Promote the practice of criticism and public criticism:
Parties that narrow down criticism and reviews, and cover up mistakes, under the pretext of class safety, protecting the secrets of the organization, and not giving way to trolling... etc., are parties - as Khaled Daoud says - that nurture and develop corruption in their institutions and behavior, until it is eliminated.
Civilizations commit suicide internally, as Khalis Chalabi says, states are defeated by internal disintegration, membership becomes sick with weakness of resistance more than the robbery of germs, and the fall of the branch with internal decay is more than a whirlwind of wind, and Israel triumphs with the contradictions of the (Arab) national center more than its tyranny.
Not everyone who criticizes Islamic parties or movements in general has to be an enemy or a conspirator against them.
Self-criticism is a necessity, which puts the party in a state of permanent review, continuous correction and continuous development, which enables it to achieve qualitative transformations and make promising initiatives that qualifies it to achieve its goals and reach its desired goals.
Also, keeping mistakes, not revealing them, informing individuals about them, and then treating them is like having time-mined mines planted in the party’s body.
Therefore, Omar Obaid Hasna affirms that the philosophy of justification, stopping counseling, disrupting dialogue and not studying aspects of negligence are factors that do not lead to the perpetuation and growth of these mistakes, but rather lead to their repetition.
3. Expressing people's living concerns:
The party is the son of its environment. There is no point and no sense in representing the masses if the parties do not express their concerns and speak their language, especially with the existence of tyrannical regimes that perpetuate poverty, marginalization and deprivation in people’s lives in order to occupy them with their daily lives, and then they leave the circle of the political sphere. In return for the impoverishment of the people, the wealth goes to a small group representing the entourage and entourage of the tyrant, including ministers, senior officials and brokers, and those who take over the boards of directors of large companies, and then the idea of citizenship is strengthened by wealth at the expense of citizenship by law. To get out of this predicament, societies, in order to preserve their dignity and prevail in justice, need strong parties whose motto is sacrifice and speaking the word of truth at all costs, within the framework of the legitimate peaceful struggle; A nation that does not feel all or most of the pain of tyranny does not deserve freedom, says al-Kawakibi.
Here comes the importance of saying the word of truth and sacrifice for freedom and justice, for freedom is the tree of immortality, and it was watered by drops of red spilled blood (Al-Kawakibi).
This does not mean taking violence as a way, as this means serves tyranny more than it harms it, but the parties and the masses before them have to take over to put an end to transgression, deviation, injustice, corruption and tyranny, by resorting to collective and peaceful civil resistance.
Among the most prominent means of resistance - without prejudice to the security of society - is the practice of expression, demonstration, rejection and peaceful disobedience to achieve rights, prevent infringement and achieve the required reforms, for (the best jihad is a word of truth for an unjust sultan), and the lost health is political freedom and its dowry is the large number of students, because the continuation of tyranny is an incurable disease. It results in many social diseases in the fields of politics, education, economics and others.
4. Mixing Hard Power and Soft Power:
Islamist political parties need to move from soft power to hard power while retaining both.
Soft power is represented in the interest in youth and women and the formation of alliances with parties with self-esteem and sincere national concern, while the hard power is represented in money, the media, the army, networking with local civil society organizations and international organizations, and weaving the threads of relations with international forces.
Erdogan would not have survived the 2016 coup attempt had it not been for his strong relationship with the army, and Morsi would not have been overthrown except because he did not contain the army and the media.
This does not mean politicizing the army or partisanship, but it is important that its leaders be entrusted to the honest patriots in it.
5. Cultural and ijtihad pluralism within the party:
The importance of cultural pluralism, jurisprudence, and opinions in general within the party lies in the extent to which party cadres are able to accept the other opinion inside and outside the party, and on the extent of cohesion within the party, which is formed from multiple parties from various sources, interpretations and opinions, which is an important indicator of the factor of growth or decay. If the dominant and influential (ideology) is based on fanaticism and lack of recognition of the jurisprudence of the other, the factors of contradiction will escalate, whether between the party and society from outside it, or between the party cadres themselves, which is a non-positive indicator for the future of the political party.
If the dominant ideology of the party is characterized by tolerance, non-fanaticism, acceptance of the other opinion and diligence, then the creative interaction between the party’s multi-disciplined cadres and the party and the community from outside it will help its growth and development, and give a positive indication for the future of the political party. Here, the time requires the Islamic parties to study what can be called “migrating birds” and polarized by some political opponents, so that their problems are approached and their observations are heard, and what can be fixed within the framework of what is possible and available, and the resignations of a significant number of leaders and members of Ennahda Watch it.
Difference and pluralism are a factor of enrichment and diversity, as advocated by Edgar Morin in his saying, “We must perceive a unity that guarantees and sustains diversity, and a diversity that is recorded within a unity. The first step in this way is to recognize plurality and difference, not to conceal it. Therefore, concealing unity should be avoided when differences appear, And avoid hiding differences when loneliness appears.
6. Exploiting Opportunities:
Despite all the decline and displacement of Islamic political parties in some countries and killing in others, they must remember the British historian Arnold Toynbee, the author of the (challenge and response) theory, according to which everyone can be subjected to a personal, societal or civilizational trauma. His response to this shock is either (introversion), and then return to the past and sings about it, or the response is (extroversion) and then jump to the future and look at it; The first is negative and the second is positive. It is a theory that applies very much to the case of many Muslims; When the Islamic civilization fell, the response was negative, and then there was a strong apostasy to the past and to praise it.
The parties should benefit from the lessons of this stage and transcend it, and look to the future positively, and take advantage of the positives and invest them. The Moroccan Justice and Development review has blown up the myth spread in the Arab world that Islamists enter power and control everything and have the ability to stay in power for a long time. This is not in the interest of the authoritarian regimes in the region whose survival is linked to intimidating the people from the Islamists; Morocco's experience has proven that Islamist parties are democratic parties that come to power and leave it at the ballot box, just like any liberal secular party. Justice and Development went out to the opposition without riots, without live bullets in the hearts of the pacifists, and without burning the corpses of innocents in the squares, for there is no superpower above true democracy.
One of the positive aspects is that these parties pursue political reform as the only way to reform society and the state, unlike some Islamic jihadist movements that do not believe in change except through armed violence.
Among the positives is the attempt of some to create a confrontational relationship between the Islamic political parties with the ruling regimes, but it failed thanks to the pragmatism of these parties (Moroccan Justice and Development as an example). Currently, this relationship is being created in Tunisia between the presidency and the Ennahda movement.
The starting point, then, is the correct diagnosis of reality, and the realization of real awareness of the nature of the conflict logic, and the challenges that stand in the way of the parties’ march, in order to respond to them in practice, and not let them interact, escalate and extend into the depths of time and the labyrinths of space.