Another contrast with Egypt is the role of NGOs. Egypt was inundated in the late Mubarak period and immediately after its collapse by westerners arrogantly claiming to have the answers for Egypt's problems. Finally, Egyptians had had enough, and many such westerners were sent packing and their organizations put under greater scrutiny or shut down.
But not all westerners have the intent of undermining Islam. Muslims 'abroad' can support genuine democratic development in Muslim-majority countries--'Islamic democracy'--such as the American Muslim Council's Tunisian branch of its Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID).
CSID have organized workshops and conferences on democracy and Islam in Tunisia since 2011. They are working closely with Tunisia's Islamists to help them in the upcoming elections, though scrupulously avoiding any charge of financing or otherwise meddling in the political process.
Of course, this is slippery stuff. Will CSID's advice push the MB towards political irrelevancy, even apostasy? Certainly, its intent is admirable. It is dedicated to "studying Islamic and democratic political thought and merging them into a modern Islamic democratic discourse".
Just as flies are attracted to honey, US academics and politicians of all stripes are active in CSID events. At the same time, Tunisians are invited to the dozens of centers of Islamic studies in US universities, which were set up after WWII to fashion future unwitting handmaidens for the imperial project. The powerful US understandably tries absorb and shape potential and actual members of Tunisia's political and economic elite, and Islamists must be on their guard.
CSID organized a celebration of the new Tunisian constitution in Washington DC in February where speakers included Gerald Feierstein, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and the heads of the quasi-governmental 'NGOs' such as the National Council on US-Arab Relations, the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute, and the US Institute of Peace.
At the same time, CSID is targeted by Islamophobe sites such as globalmbwatch.com. And Ghannouchi was key speaker at their conference last year. Navigating the shoals of Islamophobia requires strategic thinking and wisdom. As thousands of courageous Muslims are murdered, tortured and languish in jail in Egypt, we can only wish Tunisians--and their genuine friends--well.
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