Democracy Arsenal

« Covering the Egyptian Elections from Cairo | Main | Today's Elections in Egypt: What if, anything, did they mean? »

November 27, 2010

The Arab World's Ideological Stalemate? (as experienced on my flight to Cairo)
Posted by Shadi Hamid

On my Egypt Air flight yesterday to Cairo, I witnessed one of the more intriguing in-flight exchanges that I can remember. A bearded, well-dressed man sitting a few seats behind me began shouting at the flight attendant. He was complaining that the in-flight movie was inappropriate. What are these “offensive images?” he asked. These included a 15-minute stretch of the movie where at least one woman at any given time was wearing a bikini. In a couple of scenes at a club, members of opposite sexes were dancing in close proximity while, it appeared, consuming alcoholic beverages. “Are we really all Westernized now?” the man behind me asked, as if posing a question to those of us in the back of the plane.

The man’s arguments were rather interesting. He pointed out that if you took a poll of the passengers, most would agree the film was morally offensive. He asked the attendant, “if we ask the passengers what they think and they agree with me, then what will you do?” The attendant responded, “we don’t take public opinion (ra’i al ‘am) on the airplane.” The man was right: most passengers, and most Egyptians – the vast majority of whom don’t drink, go to clubs, or wear bikinis – would object to the film’s content. But at what point do they have the right to restrict minority expressions of unfaithfulness?

It was an odd, amusing exchange that justified the otherwise unpleasant experience of flying on EgyptAir. But it was a reminder of the fundamental lack of consensus in the Arab world over the boundaries and limits of the state. There are two groups – Islamists and secular elites – with worldviews which couldn’t be more different. They live parallel lives in parallel worlds, with parallel institutions. They rarely intersect. One group believes it has both history and the Egyptian people on its side. The other side, considerably smaller in number, likely has neither. It does, however, have the power.

This stalemate has paralyzed the Arab world for decades now.

Sunday’s elections will be just another version of this. The main players are the Muslim Brotherhood – populist, religious, and righteous – and the regime coalition which, with its president soon to pass, finds itself in an uncertain place. Both sides are strong in different ways – and weak in others. Neither seems to have anything resembling a coherent strategy for dealing with the impending transition that is soon to come.  

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451c04d69e20134898ebbfe970c

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The Arab World's Ideological Stalemate? (as experienced on my flight to Cairo):

Comments

Tracing the history and pearl worldwide in pandora charms Company now is the role of his greatest contribution. In addition, he also introduced to the reader that the pandora charm use different kinds of pearl early, such as California black pearls, Wisconsin purple pearls and Ohio simple beautiful freshwater pearls.
The book contains a series of the fabled pearls. Also describes pandora story in the past few years as a royal and celebrity jewel trading. One pearl's story often be mentioned" queen pearl", The American company had sold Napoleon's wife Eugenie queen a pearl. It is a royal pearl. But actually it is merely a New Jersey ordinary pearl.

In summer, we should wear a skirt that has swinging scene, wearing a small skirt that can expose body, with a variety of silver jewelry, pandora necklace, rings and pandora bracelets. Our youth should be bloom in this season.
Occasionally I pass a Pandora bracelet store, and that beautiful blue robin makes this hot summer more comfortable, and gives people a refreshing cool feeling. We can go the shop to take a look at that beautiful fine pandora jewellery. That beautiful jewelry on there is really very enjoyable. This makes me to think of San Mao. San Mao is a writer who I like most, I often read her book, he has a lot of collection of the treasure, those treasures may not be very valuable things, but each one has its own story.

In Danish fairy tale by Anderson, whatever being the Cinderella or Snow White makes us to be infatuated. Each girls have a princess dream, the ordinary girl fantasized that she is the Cinderella, the graceful girl fantasized that she is Snow White. When wegrew up, we found the reality may not like fairy kingdom, and those childhood dreams are fading.
Until we enter in Pandora charm store then we discovered that these happy fairy tales still in the flash, the tear which we are moved is crystal clear just look like these pandora bangles’ diamond. In here, These attractive pandora necklaces looks like Snow White’s dazzlingly equally. These pandora bangles looks like Cinderella's crystal shoes and makes one ecstasy. The most moving thing is there is a Pandora ring the mermaid in the sea the prince marry to. This was the thing lets the girl screamed, at that moment you will think that the marriage was the most wonderful matter in the world. And when a decision come out that we, in marriage, must take pandora ring and enters the wedding hall with beloved prince.

My father glared at him.UGG Boots

Clearance
'It's easy to see why some people would approve them,' he said. ' One of those brutes could do the work of two, maybe

three, ordinary horses — and for less than double the feed of one. There's a good profit there, a good incentive to

get them passed — but that doesn't mean that they're right. I say a horse like that is not one of God's creatures —

and if it isn't His, then it's an Offence, and should be destroyed as such.'
'The official approval states that the breed was produced simply by mating for size, in the normal way. And I'd defy

you to find any characteristic that's identifiably wrong with them, anyway,' the inspector told him.
' Somebody would say that when he saw how profitable they could be. There's a word for that kind of thinking,' my

father replied.UGG Boots Clearance
The inspector shrugged.
'It does not follow that they are right,' my father persisted. 'A horse that size is not right — you know that

unofficially, as well as I do, and there's no getting away from it. Once we allow things that we know are not right,

there's no telling where it will end. A god-fearing community doesn't have to deny its faith just because there's

been pressure brought to bear in a government licensing office. There are plenty of us here who know how God intended

his creatures to be, even if the Government doesn't.'UGG Boots Clearance
The inspector smiled. 'As with the Dakers' cat?' he sug?gested.
My father glared at him again. The affair of the Dakers' cat rankled.
About a year previously it had somehow come to his know?ledge that Ben Dakers' wife housed a tailless cat. He

investi?gated, and when he had collected evidence that it had not simply lost its tail in some way, but had never

possessed one, he condemned it, and, in his capacity as a

UGGS">Clearance UGGSmagistrate, ordered the inspector to make out a warrant for its destruction as an Offence.

The inspector had done so, with reluctance, whereupon Dakers promptly entered an appeal. Such shilly-shallying in an

obvious case outraged my father's principles, and he personally attended to the demise of the Dakers' cat while the

matter was still sub judice. His position, when a notification subsequently arrived stating that there was a

recognized breed of tailless cats with a well-authenticated history, was awkward, and somewhat expensive. It had been

with very bad grace that he had chosen to make a public apology rather than resign his magistracy.

href="http://uggbootsclearance4u.com" title="Ugg boots clearance">Ugg boots clearance
'This,' he told the inspector sharply, 'is an altogether more important affair.'
'Listen,' said the inspector patiently. 'The type is approved. This particular pair has confirmatory sanction. If

that's not good enough for you, go ahead and shoot them yourself — and see what happens to you.'
'It is your moral duty to issue an order against these so-called horses,' my father insisted.
The inspector was suddenly tired of it.
' It's part of my official duty to protect them from harm by fools and bigots,' he snapped.
My father did not actually hit the inspector, but it must have been a near thing. He went on boiling with rage for

several days and the next Sunday we were treated to a searing address on the toleration of Mutants which sullied the

Purity of our community. He called for a general boycott of the owner of the Offences, speculated upon immorality in

high places, hinted that some there might be expected to have a fellow-feeling for Mutants, and wound up with a

peroration in which a certain official was scathed as an unprincipled hireling of unprin?cipled masters and the local

representative of the Forces of Evil.
Though the inspector had no such convenient pulpit for reply, certain trenchant remarks of his on persecution, con?

tempt of authority, bigotry, religious mania, the law of slander, and the probable effects of direct action in

opposition to Government sanction achieved a wide circulation.
It was very likely the last point that kept my father from doing more than talk. He had had plenty of trouble over

the Dakers' cat which was of no value at all: but the great-horses were costly creatures; besides, Angus would not be

one to waive any possible penalty. . . .
So there was a degree of frustration about that made home a good place to get away from as much as possible.
Now that the countryside had settled down again and was not full of unexpected people, Sophie's parents would let her

go out on rambles once more, and I slipped away over there when I could get away unnoticed.

just hope world place

On my Egypt Air flight yesterday to Cairo, I witnessed one of the more intriguing in-flight exchanges that I can remember. A bearded, well-dressed man sitting a few seats behind me began shouting at the flight attendant. He was complaining that the in-flight movie was inappropriate. What are these “offensive images?ugg boots clearance” he asked. These included a 15-minute stretch of the movie where at least one woman at any given time was wearing a bikini. In a couple of scenes at a club, members of opposite sexes were dancing in close proximity while, it appeared, consuming alcoholic beverages. “Are we really all Westernized now?” the man behind me asked, as if posing a question to those of us in the back of the plane.

The man’s arguments were rather interesting. He pointed out that if you took a poll of the passengers,ugg boots outlet most would agree the film was morally offensive. He asked the attendant, “if we ask the passengers what they think and they agree with me, then what will you do?” The attendant responded, “we don’t take public opinion (ra’i al ‘am) on the airplane.” The man was right: most passengers, and most Egyptians – the vast majority of whom don’t drink, go to clubs, or wear bikinis – would object to the film’s content. But at what point do they have the right to restrict minority expressions of unfaithfulness?

It was an odd, amusing exchange that justified the otherwise unpleasant experience of flying on EgyptAir.ugg boots clearance But it was a reminder of the fundamental lack of consensus in the Arab world over the boundaries and limits of the state. There are two groups – Islamists and secular elites – with worldviews which couldn’t be more different. They live parallel lives in parallel worlds, with parallel institutions. They rarely intersect.ugg boots clearance One group believes it has both history and the Egyptian people on its side. The other side, considerably smaller in number, likely has neither. It does, however, have the power.

This stalemate has paralyzed the Arab world for decades now.ugg boots outlet

Sunday’s elections will be just another version of this.ugg boots clearance The main players are the Muslim Brotherhood – populist, religious, and righteous – and the regime coalition which, with its president soon to pass, finds itself in an uncertain place. Both sides are strong in different ways – and weak in others. Neither seems to have anything resembling a coherent strategy for dealing with the impending transition that is soon to come.

ugg boots clearance

That is an awfully astounding column you've posted.Thanks a lot for that a fantastically amazing post!

Red Bull Hats


Athenian democracy was direct. All citizens were expected to participate, and the attendance at the sovereign Assembly may have been as high as 6,000. When decision-taking bodies had to be smaller, their members were selected by lot rather than by election. Every citizen of Athens had a reasonably high probability of being chief executive for a day.When democracy was reinvented in the eighteenth century.

It's funny how we adopt words and adapt our lexicon to the times. This is a very useful slant on things.

That is an awfully astounding column you've posted.Thanks a lot for that a fantastically amazing post!

The comments to this entry are closed.

Subscribe
Sign-up to receive a weekly digest of the latest posts from Democracy Arsenal.
Email: 
Powered by TypePad

Disclaimer

The opinions voiced on Democracy Arsenal are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of any other organization or institution with which any author may be affiliated.
Read Terms of Use