Lessons from Turkey: An Open Letter to Muslim Democrats in Malaysia
The Islamic Renaissance
Front observes the protests in Turkey very closely. We believe there is
much at stake in how AKP (The Justice and Development Party) will engage
with the demonstrators at this point, especially with regards to the
relationship between Islam and Democracy.
It is well known that the AKP,
under the leadership of Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, rose to power with ideas
for a modern and inclusive balance between politics and Islam. Despite
its official ideology as a conservative party, it has nonetheless
assured the Turkish people and the international community that it will
abide by principles of transparency and openness in governing.
But we can discern some
regressive trends after three terms. For one, Erdogan’s refusal to
engage with the demonstrators, while blaming social media for stoking
unrest, shows how far he has clearly strayed from his democratic
ostentations.
The state driven regulation of
personal life has also increased to reach concerning levels. All this is
occurring alongside the rapid neo-liberalization of the economy,
risking greater inequality between the haves and the have-nots and
further devastation of the environment. Turkey too, currently has the
highest amount of journalists imprisoned among all member countries of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
All this, needless to say,
proves that contrary to initial high hopes, the Erdogan led AKP has not
embodied the ideals of good governance founded on the Islamic principles
of equality, justice and freedom.
Lessons for Malaysia
The Turkish example shows that
the task of establishing a moderate and enlightened vision of political
Islam only begins once in power. In this the challenge and priority is
not to add more cosmetic Islamic policies and laws, but to educate the
public of the virtues and values of democracy, justice and equality in a
complex world towards harmony and prosperity for Malaysians of
different cultures and religions.
Expectations are often higher
for Muslim leaders who are not among the common stock of politically
ambitious ulamas. They are assumed to be more flexible, or at the very
least, less beholden to rigid interpretations of Islam which many with
good reason feel cannot survive the dynamism and openness required for
any democracy to flourish.
It goes without saying that such
Muslim leaders are few and far between in Malaysia. And for that
reason, they are therefore entrusted with far more responsibilities to
help realize a more inclusive nation. For it will not only be Muslims
who will be turning to them with their aspirations: Non-Muslims too will
hope to be represented in the process.
However, given Malaysia’s
linguistic, cultural and structural complexities, Malaysians are willing
to be patient with these democrats as they work their way through the
obstacles before them. Here, we wish to remind our Muslim democrat
friends that the patience of Malaysians should not be used as a pretext
for further superficial Islamization, which is often the more tempting
route, given the conservatism that pervades Malay-Muslim political
culture.
The goal for any Muslim democrat
leader in Malaysia, first and foremost, is to ensure democracy. We wish
for our Muslim democrat friends and allies to heed this lesson from the
current struggle in Turkey.The Islamic Renaissance Front
observes the protests in Turkey very closely. We believe there is much
at stake in how AKP (The Justice and Development Party) will engage with
the demonstrators at this point, especially with regards to the
relationship between Islam and Democracy.
It is well known that the AKP,
under the leadership of Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, rose to power with ideas
for a modern and inclusive balance between politics and Islam. Despite
its official ideology as a conservative party, it has nonetheless
assured the Turkish people and the international community that it will
abide by principles of transparency and openness in governing.
But we can discern some
regressive trends after three terms. For one, Erdogan’s refusal to
engage with the demonstrators, while blaming social media for stoking
unrest, shows how far he has clearly strayed from his democratic
ostentations.
The state driven regulation of
personal life has also increased to reach concerning levels. All this is
occurring alongside the rapid neo-liberalization of the economy,
risking greater inequality between the haves and the have-nots and
further devastation of the environment. Turkey too, currently has the
highest amount of journalists imprisoned among all member countries of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
All this, needless to say,
proves that contrary to initial high hopes, the Erdogan led AKP has not
embodied the ideals of good governance founded on the Islamic principles
of equality, justice and freedom.
Lessons for Malaysia
The Turkish example shows that
the task of establishing a moderate and enlightened vision of political
Islam only begins once in power. In this the challenge and priority is
not to add more cosmetic Islamic policies and laws, but to educate the
public of the virtues and values of democracy, justice and equality in a
complex world towards harmony and prosperity for Malaysians of
different cultures and religions.
Expectations are often higher
for Muslim leaders who are not among the common stock of politically
ambitious ulamas. They are assumed to be more flexible, or at the very
least, less beholden to rigid interpretations of Islam which many with
good reason feel cannot survive the dynamism and openness required for
any democracy to flourish.
It goes without saying that such
Muslim leaders are few and far between in Malaysia. And for that
reason, they are therefore entrusted with far more responsibilities to
help realize a more inclusive nation. For it will not only be Muslims
who will be turning to them with their aspirations: Non-Muslims too will
hope to be represented in the process.
However, given Malaysia’s
linguistic, cultural and structural complexities, Malaysians are willing
to be patient with these democrats as they work their way through the
obstacles before them. Here, we wish to remind our Muslim democrat
friends that the patience of Malaysians should not be used as a pretext
for further superficial Islamization, which is often the more tempting
route, given the conservatism that pervades Malay-Muslim political
culture.
The goal for any Muslim
democrat leader in Malaysia, first and foremost, is to ensure democracy.
We wish for our Muslim democrat friends and allies to heed this lesson
from the current struggle in Turkey. - Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa
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