Islam, Democracy., and Freedom in North Africa

Abstract

The Islamic Society of the London School of Economics (London University) recently orgamed a one-day conference on “Islam, Democracy and Freedom in North Africa.” In attendance were scholars from several universities as well as religious leaders and former statesmen. The audience was composed mainly of university students. The first session featured S. Salaam of the Sorbonne (Paris), who discussed the recent situation in Algeria after touching on late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury social, political, and religious developments. He talked about the ulama’s role as a source of mobilization against French colonial rule as well as their attempts to motivate the masses, through their dynamic Islamic teachings, to struggle for the emancipation of Algeria. According to him, the moral and spiritual support of the learned segment of Algerian society enabled the nationalist leaders to unite the people behind a national cause, one which is also conceived of as the religious obligation of jihad. On a more recent note, Salaam noted that the media has attributed the Islamic Salvation Party’s (FIS) success in the last elections to Algeria’s economic backwardness. While there may be some truth to this argument, the success of Islamic ideology lies in its emphasis on social justice and equality, the strengthening of morality, and the uplifting of Qur’anic teachings. This is in stark contrast to the widespread corruption prevalent among the ruling elite. Salaam argued that the FIS has provided people with an authentic sense of identity which can be used to fill the gaps caused by modernization. The second paper was presented by Julian C. Hollick, a radio joumalist with America’s National Public Radio organization. Addressing the topic of Islam and the media, Hollick laid out the Western media’s misconceptions and distortions of Islam, which he attributed to either poor journalism or ignorance of (or prejudice towards) Islam. He noted that journalists are not as objective as is commonly believed, for they are products of a given society and share in its stereotypical images and prejudices. These factors can prevent a journalist from penetrating beneath the surface of a foreign culture and society. Hollick proposed that ignorance of different interpretations of events and a superficial study of the phenomenon being investigated results in both poor journalism and a distorted coverage of events. He stated that many Western journalists tend to cover the ”pathologic aspects of development“ in the Muslim world (i.e., militant Islam and women’s rights) since such stories have a greater chance of being ...