Who are we, that's the question

THE GULF NEWS
Published: 21/03/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Islamism and democracy
By Mohammed Al Mezel, Assistant Editor Abu Dhabi:

Dr Jamal Al Suwaidi was one of the few people who didn't like what happened in last December's landmark elections of half the members of the Federal National Council (FNC). Despite the relatively small number of voters, the process was "a setback ... it showed a clear tendency towards tribalism," said Dr Al Suwaidi, Director of the Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR). In an interview with Gulf News at his spacious office at the futuristically designed centre, Dr Al Suwaidi - who is also the political adviser to General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces - said if the election process is to be expanded, "it will perhaps become even more tribal and will take the UAE back at least 50 years." Tribalism hinders the growth of a civic society, he said, adding that "in the UAE, there are no real civic society organisations. For example, where is the Human Rights Society? It has done nothing since its creation last year. It is just a name, a banner." The media is in a similar sorry state, said Dr Al Suwaidi. "We have to ask if we really have an Emirati media or just some kind of media in the emirates. It [the media] suffers from self censorship. Everybody talks about the freedom of expression but they never exercise it." As the interview progresses, the nationally-renowned strategist sounds pessimistic. "I appreciate the step by step process, initiated by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, but we have to admit that it is very difficult to establish a Western-style democracy in the UAE." Two main principles of such democracy are not feasible in this country, he explains. "The FNC cannot apply the accountability principle or vote [the government] out of office." Old guard Also, he believes that for democracy to establish roots here, the "old guard", including himself, "must turn the responsibility over to the new generation. There are young people in their thirties who are conscious of the regional and global changes and have a clear vision about what is taking place. This kind of change will make the UAE a better place." And another thing, he quickly adds, "it is important, before we speak about democracy, to address the issue of the national identity." The question of identity seems to be Dr Al Suwaidi's main concern these days. "Who are we? That is the question. I believe that we are Arabs and Muslims before anything. I refuse to play the game of sectarian or ethnic classifications," he explains. "It seems we don't realise the extent of the problem because economic growth and the rise of oil prices [can cover up many things]. But when the oil prices dip, like what happened in the 1980s, we will be left with this big question: who are we? "Our young generation doesn't learn that in schools anymore. Our education system is a failure. There is a significant migration from public schools to private institutions. The Ministry of Education talks too much, but does nothing." Here Dr Al Suwaidi stops to tell a story to stress his point. A few weeks ago he visited the Mall of the Emirates on Dubai's Shaikh Zayed Road and it was a strange experience for him. "I felt awkward as everybody there was staring at me as if I were from another planet. It was because I wore a kandoura." He said he was the only one at the mall wearing the white Emirati traditional dress. "I was in the middle of a sea of expatriates, many of whom might not have seen something like that before." He considers that part of the fallout of the vast changes the UAE society has gone through over the past decade due to the amazingly rapid growth in the economy. "We have developed an identity crisis," he explains, referring to the UAE people. "Sometimes we feel like strangers in our own country," he says, pointing out that foreigners now constitute more almost 90 per cent of the population - a stark contrast with the officially announced census results which said last year that foreigners represented 79 per cent of the UAE's total population. Too late He acknowledges "the danger" of the country's demographic dilemma but says it is "too late" to find ways to solve it. "The best we can do is to search for ways to how best to co-exist as nationals with the expatriate majority in the UAE," he says. A similar dilemma that concerns Dr Al Suwaidi is the rising cost of living. He wonders how citizens of "one of the world's richest nations" continue to suffer from "the madness of the price increases". "Where is the government? What is the role of the FNC? In a free market state, economic laws don't seem to apply. Adam Smith [the British father of modern economics who died more than 200 years ago] died twice, the second time was here in the UAE," Dr Al Suwaidi declared with a bit of irony. Abu Dhabi Islamism is not compatible with democracy, according to Dr Al Suwaidi. "We must admit that religious currents, like the Muslim Brotherhood, carry a message that enjoys the sympathy of the majority in the Arab world. But if they grabbed power they would send everybody to the gallows. Today, we are stuck between two extremes: the authoritarian regimes on one hand and the Islamist totalitarian opposition," he said. In the UAE the Brotherhood has a following, he reveals. "But they have yet to interfere in state policies. By nature, the Brotherhood adapts to the surrounding atmosphere. The Brothers in the UAE, hence, are different from those in Egypt or Jordan for example. But they surely have a local leadership in this country, carry public activities and have their own institutions. But in general they act quietly." A multi-faceted personality Dr Jamal Al Suwaidi received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, US, and is Professor of Political Science at the UAE University in Al Ain. He is also a Council Member at Zayed University and a member of the National Media Council. He has written numerous articles on many topics, including Gulf security, perceptions of democracy in Arab and Western societies, women and development, and is a contributing author to a number of political publications. The Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) was established in 1994 in Abu Dhabi as an independent academic institution to facilitate objective research on key political and socio-economic issues, and developments affecting the UAE and the Gulf.