EU Middle East Forum (EUMEF)

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1 EU Middle East Forum (EUMEF) Pluralism in Egypt and Tunisia How the Political Opening is Changing Islamist Forces 17th New Faces Conference 4 7 October 2012

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3 Conference Brochure 17 th DGAP New Faces Conference Pluralism in Egypt and Tunisia How the Political Opening is Changing Islamist Forces 4 7 October 2012, Cairo In cooperation with German Council on Foreign Relations EU Middle East Forum (EUMEF) Berlin 2012

4 Established in 1964, the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH is one of the major German foundations associated with a private company. It represents the philanthropic and social endeavors of Robert Bosch ( ) and fulfills his legacy in a contemporary manner. The Robert Bosch Stiftung works predominantly in the fields of International Relations, Health, and Education. The EU-Middle East Forum, as well as its predecessors, the International Forum on Strategic Thinking (IFST) and the Forum European Foreign and Security Policy, have been realized in close cooperation between DGAP and Robert Bosch Stiftung. The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, ifa) is an organization operating worldwide to promote intercultural exchange and dialogue between civil societies. With funds from the German Federal Foreign Office, ifa supports with its zivik Funding Programme projects of German, international, and/or local non-governmental organizations to support the transformation of the affected Arab countries from autocratic models to functioning democratic systems reigned by the rule of law and a constructive conflict culture. The Gerda Henkel Foundation was established by Lisa Maskell in June 1976 in memory of her mother Gerda Henkel as a private, non-profit, grant-making institution dedicated to promoting research in the humanities. The Foundation has its headquarters in Düsseldorf and is active in Germany and abroad. In 2008, the Foundation included initiatives on conflict prevention in the program of fields it supports in order for the first time to cover scholarly projects that are not exclusively historical in thrust. Since 2009, Islam, the modern nation state and transnational movements has been introduced as a focal point of supporting activities for the same reason.

5 The American University in Cairo was founded in 1919 by Americans devoted to education and community service in the Middle East. Today, AUC is a leading English-language university an essential contributor to the social, political and cultural life of the Arab world. It also serves as a crossroads for the world s cultures: a vital, vibrant forum for reasoned argument, spirited debate and understanding across cultures. AUC is an independent, nonprofit, apolitical, non-sectarian, and equal-opportunity institution, fully accredited in Egypt and the United States. AUC enrolls approximately 5,500 undergraduate students and 1,300 graduate students in fields as diverse as the humanities, social and natural sciences, engineering, journalism, and business. It also hosts specialized graduate programs, such as gender and women s studies, international human rights law, migration and refugee studies, and environmental engineering. Freie Universität Berlin is one of nine German universities of excellence. As an international network university, it has established liaison offices abroad in Beijing, Brussels, Cairo, Delhi, Moscow, New York, and São Paulo. The Cairo Office of Freie Universität Berlin at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) was established in It aims to increase academic and scientific cooperation between Freie Universität Berlin and universities and research centers in Egypt and the Middle East. It highlights the university s outstanding research in many fields including Middle Eastern Studies. Furthermore it informs students and scholars from the region about possibilities of funding from German and European institutions. At the same time it is open to researchers and students of Freie Universität and helps them identify suitable partners for cooperation in the Middle East.

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7 Table of Contents GERMAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS (DGAP)... 3 EU-MIDDLE EAST FORUM (EUMEF)... 4 EUMEF TEAM... 6 DINA FAKOUSSA-BEHRENS (GERMANY)... 6 CHRISTIAN ACHRAINER (GERMANY)... 6 ANJA RUNGE (GERMANY)... 7 MANUELA HAGER (GERMANY)... 7 THE 17 TH NEW FACES CONFERENCE... 8 CONCEPT NOTE... 8 AGENDA SPEAKERS (IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE IN THE AGENDA) FLORIAN KOHSTALL (GERMANY) ANN M. LESCH (USA) GUDRUN KRÄMER (GERMANY) KHALED HAMZA (EGYPT) OMAR ASHOUR (UNITED KINGDOM) DISCUSSANTS/FACILITATORS CAROLA RICHTER (GERMANY) IBRAHIM EL-HOUDAIBY (EGYPT) PARTICIPANTS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER) RABII AGOUJGAL (MOROCCO) KARABEKIR AKKOYUNLU (TURKEY) IMAD ALSOOS (GERMANY) BILLUR ASLAN (TURKEY) ABDELRAHMAN AYYASH (EGYPT) AHMED BEN KHALED (TUNISIA) KATRIN BUCHHOLZ (GERMANY) CLAUDIA DE MARTINO (ITALY) KARIMA EL OUAZGHARI (GERMANY)

8 SANAA EL BANNA (EGYPT) RICCARDO FABIANI (ITALY) OMAR FASSATOUI (TUNISIA) ÖZGE GENÇ (TURKEY) ŞEBNEM GÜMÜŞÇÜ (TURKEY) EBTISAM HUSSEIN (EGYPT/GERMANY) ELIF KALAYCIOĞLU (TURKEY) SHAIMAA MAGUED (EGYPT) CINDY MAY (UK) ZIAD AKL MOUSSA (EGYPT) NEREO PEÑALVER GARCÍA (SPAIN/BELGIUM) CHIHEB SBAÂ (TUNISIA) RADAMIS ZAKY (EGYPT/CANADA) CONFERENCE VENUE

9 German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) The German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) is Germany s network for foreign policy. As an independent, non-partisan, and nonprofit membership organization, think tank, and publisher DGAP has been promoting public debate on foreign policy in Germany for over 50 years. More than members among them renowned representatives from politics, business, academia, and the media as well as more than 70 companies and foundations support the work of DGAP. DGAP s goals are to promote and contribute to foreign policy debates in Germany, to advise decision makers from politics, business, and civil society, and to inform the public on foreign policy questions and issues. DGAP comprises the think tank, the journal IP, the library and documentation center, the platform Young DGAP, and the web portal DGAP s think tank works at the junction between politics, the economy, and academia. Its work is interdisciplinary, policy-oriented, and covers different areas of German foreign policy, which is dynamic due to a globalized and rapidly changing world. The work encompasses research and publications, high-profile conferences and meetings as well as programs for the advancement of Young Professionals. The journal Internationale Politik (IP) appears in German as a bimonthly print magazine and in English as an online magazine on German and European foreign policy. IP Journal offers German perspectives on important foreign affairs issues as well as indepth analyses on central questions of German and European foreign policy by renowned authors and experts in and outside of Germany. The DGAP Library and Documentation Center (BiDok) is one of the oldest and most significant specialized libraries in Germany that is open to the public. It holds substantial collections on German foreign and security policy. The Young DGAP is a new initiative for members of DGAP under the age of 35. The Young DGAP aims at encouraging more young people to take an active interest in foreign and security policy through innovative events such as controversial debates and discussions with renowned decision-makers. The web page is DGAP s thematic web-portal. It provides wellgrounded background information and analyses about the research institute s current work. It thereby contributes to the professional and public debates about international politics. 3

10 EU-Middle East Forum (EUMEF) The EU-Middle East Forum (EUMEF) is one of the core programs for the advancement of young academics and professionals at DGAP. The forum conceptualizes and organizes dialogue and learning conferences, providing a platform for young experts from European and Middle Eastern states to exchange ideas, to debate, to jointly develop solutions to security and developmental challenges, to promote a better understanding and trust between different participants, and to build up a network of high caliber future actors and decision makers. The underlying idea is that security and developmental challenges cannot be tackled by single nation states but require international dialogue and cooperation. EUMEF is carried out in cooperation with its long-standing partner the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the German Federal Foreign Office, and the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa). The program s predecessors, the International Forum on Strategic Thinking (IFST) and the Forum European Foreign and Security Policy, were also realized in close cooperation with the Robert Bosch Stiftung. 1. Topics EUMEF mainly works on soft security issues such as democratization, human rights, climate change, and migration. In 2012, EUMEF focuses on chances and challenges associated with the current transformation processes in Egypt and Tunisia, and EU and German politics towards these developments. 2. Participants Participants of EUMEF s different conference formats come from the North-African countries Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, from Turkey, and from Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, and the United Kingdom. EUMEF targets students and young professionals from academia, politics, civil society, the media, and the corporate sector. Participants are recommended by a network of experts available to the forum. 3. Conference Formats EUMEF organizes three consecutive but different conference formats. The threepronged approach enables EUMEF to bring together future leaders at different stages of their career and to realize a sustainable network. International Summer School (ISS) For two weeks in summer in Berlin, the ISS gathers 30 highly qualified students or recent graduates (with 1 2 years of work experience). The focus lies on studies related to the fields of Political Science, Economics, Law, and Media and Communication Science. Besides lectures and speeches by international renowned experts, discussions, working groups, and training workshops on different aspects and angles of the 4

11 transformations in Egypt and Tunisia, open inter-cultural dialogue and social activities are part of the program. New Faces Conference (NFC) The NFC brings together 20 young professionals from academia, politics, civil society, the media, and the corporate sector. EUMEF organizes two to three NFCs per year, mainly in cooperation with different partner institutions in Turkey, Egypt, Morocco or Tunisia. In 2012, EUMEF is cooperating with the American University in Cairo and the Freie Universität Berlin Cairo Office. Each NFC focuses on and deepens a specific aspect of the summer school s main subject. The NFC provides a forum to intensively discuss these issues with like-minded peers and senior experts. At the same time the conference enables participants to expand their network and to initiate joint projects. Alumni Conference Biennially EUMEF invites all former ISS and NFC participants to reconvene in Berlin for three days. The Alumni Conference allows for a strengthening of the network and an exchange among the alumni. Subjects addressed are derived from up-to-date security challenges and topics of the former conferences and summer schools. Participants also get the chance to present initiatives and projects and to explore cooperation channels with other alumni. The next Alumni Conference is scheduled for November Objectives - Reflection and analysis of security challenges and the sensitization for effective solutions and policies on a national and EU level - Exchange of know-how and experiences - Promotion of an intercultural dialogue to increase understanding and trust between young potential policy makers from Arab countries, the EU, and Turkey - Promotion of a pluralistic, tolerant, and respectful debating environment - Establishing a network of high calibre future actors from North Africa, the EU, and Turkey 5. Team Head of Program: Dina Fakoussa-Behrens fakoussa@dgap.org Program Officer: Christian Achrainer achrainer@dgap.org Program Assistant: Anja Runge runge@dgap.org Program Assistant: Manuela Hager eumef1@dgap.org 5

12 EUMEF Team Dina Fakoussa-Behrens (GERMANY) Dina Fakoussa took up the post as Head of the EU- Middle East Forum in March She had been working for seven years as Project and Program Manager in international development cooperation targeting the Arab region. She was among others Project Manager at the German NGO Media in Cooperation and Transition ggmbh in Jordan, where she conceptualized and realized publications, workshops, and online projects on politics, media, and culture in Iraq and the region. Her last position abroad was at the German Heinrich Böll Stiftung The Political Green Foundation in Lebanon, where she worked for two years as Program Manager. She was in charge of concept development and organization of international conferences and workshops on democratization, human and women rights, conflict resolution, and climate change with a focus on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, as well as drawing up analysis on political and socio-economic developments in the region. Dina is Egyptian- German. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Minor in Economics from the American University in Cairo and her Master of Arts from the Freie Universität Berlin. Christian Achrainer (GERMANY) Christian Achrainer has been working as Program Officer for EUMEF since January Prior, he worked as Program Assistant and Program Officer for EUMEF s predecessor project, the International Forum on Strategic Thinking. He studied Political Science, Sociology, and Media and Communication Science at the Universities of Düsseldorf and Bremen. During his studies, Christian worked for the Politische Vierteljahresschrift (PVS), the flagship journal of German Political Science. Besides his work at DGAP, Christian is currently preparing his PhD-Thesis on German-Egyptian relations. His research is mainly focused on German foreign policy and development cooperation, German-Egyptian relations, political Islam, and the interplay of values, norms, and interests in International Relations. 6

13 Anja Runge (GERMANY) Anja Runge has been working for the DGAP since 2009, first as an Intern and currently as Accounting Assistant for the Forum. In this capacity, she is responsible for administrative tasks as well as financial project monitoring including variance analysis. Prior to joining DGAP, Anja received her degree in Business Administration from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. In her studies she focused on management accounting and financial reporting based on national and international standards (IAS, IFRS) as well as taxation of national and international transactions of private and incorporated companies. During her studies she worked as a Student Assistant for a non-profit organization that fosters research on and development of small and medium-sized companies, where she improved her knowledge of ERP-systems and data management. Manuela Hager (GERMANY) Manuela Hager is Program Assistant at EUMEF and Graduate Student of Islamic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Previously, she interned at the German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV), a non-profit and independent service provider for the Near and Middle East region supporting bilateral business activities between Germany and the Middle East. Between October 2011 and March 2012 Manuela studied abroad at the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences, Cairo University. Besides, she spent two months in Syria attending a Standard Arabic language course at the University of Damascus (2009) and has travelled to Lebanon and Turkey. Receiving her Bachelor s degree in Islamic Studies at Freie Universität Berlin in 2010, Manuela has learned Arabic and Turkish. In the course of her studies, Manuela has so far focused on feminist readings of the Qur an, Islamic reformists (e.g. arguing for the compatibility of human rights and Islamic values) as well as revivalist movements and political Islam in South Asia. 7

14 I. General Outline The 17 th New Faces Conference Concept Note Over the past year, Islamist movements have increasingly managed to translate their popular standing into sweeping election successes. With the demise of the authoritarian rulers in Egypt and Tunisia and the current attempted transition from an authoritarian to a democratic system, political forces in general including Islamists gained more freedom allowing them to widen their scope of operations and activities, and to institutionalize themselves by forming political parties to become official actors in the two countries political landscape. With their extremely successful performance in the recent elections, Islamists have clearly moved to the focal point of attention and without doubt they are forces that will have a great influence on politics and society in Egypt and Tunisia in the short and long-run. This reality necessitates scrutinizing and understanding their beliefs, ultimate goals, program/agenda and actions. It is particularly important and interesting to analyze to what extent there are changes in their ideological stands and concretization of standpoints and principles as a result of the new pluralistic structures and of moving from the opposition to the force in power holding the responsibility to govern. Islamists have been subject to evolution over the past decades but this transformation has always occurred under authoritarian or semi-authoritarian systems. Hence, the current unprecedented opening lends their evolutionary path new dynamics. It has to be noted here, though, that certainty about the direction of Islamist movements and about their genuine espousal of liberal values and embracement of democratic principles can only be achieved the longer they are active in parliament and government and are engaged in policy-making. Hence findings of the conference can only be considered a snapshot of the current situation, with a very high probability of new changes as a result of the state of flux both countries are witnessing and which is expected to continue for some time. The three-day conference aims to investigate Islamist movements in Egypt and Tunisia in an interdisciplinary setting, analyze how pluralism and political opening are affecting and changing them, and pinpoint (if possible) concrete policy measures and priorities they are offering their respective citizens. Implications of these developments for the democratic process and for stability in the two countries will equally be addressed. 8

15 II. Subjects The conference will examine Islamist forces in Egypt and Tunisia by looking at several domains. The focus will be on mainstream Islamist organizations (movements and parties) that have renounced violence and are pursuing their goals by peacefully engaging in political life. The first domain that will be addressed is the one related to 1) changes in their internal dynamics, structure, and power distribution. Questions that pose themselves here are for example: what is the influence and impact of contest, fragmentation, and intergenerational conflict over the proper course to be taken? What are implications of these differences on the strength and cohesion of the movement and party respectively? How does the thinking of younger members differ from the old guard? Are internal structures of the newly formed parties democratic and in line with their alleged support for democracy, or are religious, authoritarian, paternalistic structures prevailing particularly sidelining youth and women? Is there an attempt for a clearer separation between the political and religious wing of Islamist movements? Which conclusion can be drawn here concerning their sincerity of espousal of democratic principles in general? In the context of agenda examination, several other key sensitive issues deserve special attention. Their viewpoints on 2) the nature of the state and civil and political rights need to be thoroughly analyzed. Their constitutional priorities such as the role of Islamic law (sharia) need to be addressed as well as their stand regarding internal governance such as power distribution between the executive and the legislative and the decision-making process of legislation. For example, what do they think about pluralism and tolerance of other opposing views, especially in light of the religious framework (the marji iya) that many pledge needs to be integrated in any decision-making? There is also major concern on the part of liberal non-islamists that once in power, Islamists will severely curb civil and political rights of women, particularly those pertaining to the personal status law, and that the willingness of Islamists to make concessions in this domain will decrease. Doubts about equal citizenship and religious freedom including religious minorities like the Copts in Egypt are as strong and hence require closer examination. The same holds true for other individual rights such as the freedoms of speech and artistic expression. One of the toughest challenges facing any force in power in Egypt or Tunisia is alleviating the socio-economic hardship of the majority of the population, and success or failure in this area will certainly determine the political fate of the new rulers. Hence, what do the new actors have to offer in the domain of 3) social and economic policies? How do they intend to fight corruption, eradicate poverty, create jobs, and offer decent social services? Is their economic and social agenda conducive to realizing social justice, a major demand of the uprisings in both countries? Is an economic system along purely Islamic lines a wish of the past and do they seek a rather mixed system with options and choices? Who do they turn to for assistance, the 9

16 West or the Gulf countries and other Muslim majority countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey? The last point is related to one of their blurriest, most unpredictable agenda parts, namely the one on their 4) foreign policy orientation. What kind of foreign policy will they pursue? How will they deal with international agreements and conventions? Who will be their allies and what kind of policy will they adopt towards the Israelis and the Palestinians? Which implications does their foreign policy orientation have on domestic and regional politics? Finally, the conference will 5) draw on experiences of other Islamist forces in the region and relevant findings as well as address 6) the EU s politics and policies towards these developments and actors and whether there is need for an alteration or revision of these very ones or a simple recognition that an emancipation on the side of some North African countries is occurring that will translate into a redefinition of relations and power dynamics, which the EU can hardly influence. 10

17 Agenda Thursday, 4 October Meeting in the Hotel Lobby Welcome Dinner at Sequoia Restaurant in Zamalek Friday, 5 October Opening of the Conference Dina Fakoussa, Head of EUMEF, DGAP Florian Kohstall, Head of the Cairo Office, Freie Universität Berlin Ann M. Lesch, Associate Provost for International Programs, American University in Cairo Plenary Session: Dealing with Difference - Islamist Positions on Equality and Citizenship Coffee Break Gudrun Krämer, Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies, Freie Universität Berlin Working Group Session Group I - Discussant: Carola Richter, Assistant Professor for International Communication at Freie Universität Berlin Input Presentations by: Şebnem Gümüşçü: To Proselytize or to Represent - Islamic Political Movements in Egypt and Tunisia Billur Aslan: The Connective Power of Islamist Parties - How does the Internet shape the Activities of Islamists in Egypt? 11

18 Friday, 5 October (continued) Lunch Group II - Discussant: Ibrahim El-Houdaiby, Senior Researcher at House of Wisdom Center for Strategic Studies and Lecturer at AMIDEAST, Cairo Input Presentations by: Ebtisam Hussein: Changes and Continuities of Islamic Political Activism after the 25th of January Revolution Ziad Akl Moussa: Institutionalizing the Muslim Brotherhood - The Movement and the Party Working Group Session Coffee Break Group I - Input Presentations by: Cindy May: Deterioration in the Sinai and its Implications for Egyptian- Israeli Relations Abdelrahman Ayyash: The Muslim Brotherhood's Foreign Policy in Egypt Group II - Input Presentations by: Radamis Zaky: The Hopes and Expectations of Religious Minorities and the Supporters of a Secular State in Egypt after the Revolution Claudia De Martino: The New Egyptian Agenda versus the Israeli-led Status Quo Plenary Session: New Approaches of understanding Islamists and Authority Dinner at the Hotel Khaled Hamza, Chief Editor of and Founding Member of the MB s Think Tank 12

19 Saturday, 6 October Plenary Session: The Impact of the Revolution on the MB Coffee Break Ibrahim El-Houdaiby, Senior Researcher at House of Wisdom Center for Strategic Studies and Lecturer at AMIDEAST, Cairo Working Group Session Lunch Group I - Input Presentations by: Sanaa El Banna: Shifting Confrontation Lines through Political Contestation From Secular vs. Islamist to Islamist vs. Islamist Karima El Ouazghari: Islamist Movements from a Social Movement Theory Perspective - The Tunisian An-Nahdha within Changing Opportunity Structures Group II - Input Presentations by: Ahmed Ben Khaled: The Democratic Transition in Tunisia Transitional Justice and the Ennahda Party Chiheb Sbaâ: The Evolution of the Islamists Economic Vision Working Group Session Coffee Break Group I - Input Presentations by: Omar Fassatoui: Keeping the Tunisian Legal Exception - A Postrevolutionary Challenge Shaimaa Magued: The AKP and the Democratization Process in Turkey Between the Civilianization and the Desecularization of the State System Group II - Input Presentations by: Riccardo Fabiani: To the Right of Ghannouchi The Salafi Challenge to Ennahda Elif Kalaycıoğlu: Citizenship and Public Space Conceptualizations by Muslim Women s Associations in Turkey 13

20 Saturday, 6 October (continued) Plenary Session: Jihadism and Post-Jihadism in Egypt and Libya Omar Ashour, Senior Lecturer in the Politics of the Modern Arab World and Director of the MA Program in Middle East Studies, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter Dinner at Abu El Sid Restaurant in Zamalek Sunday, 7 October Plenary Session Input presentations by: Coffee Break Özge Genç: Religious Politics in Contemporary Turkey - Rupture or Continuity? Karabekir Akkoyunlu: The 'Moderate Islamist' Experience and the Politics of Reform and Power in Turkey Plenary Session - Input Presentations by: Lunch Rabii Agoujgal: The Party for Justice and Development in Morocco - Participation and Democratic Transition Imad Alsoos: The Dynamics behind Hamas Political Activism in Gaza - The Shift from a Social and Militant Movement to Demobilized Government Administration Plenary Session - Input Presentations by: Nereo Peñalver García: EU engagement with Islamist Movements - A New Beginning after the Arab Uprisings? Katrin Buchholz: A Myriad of Gaps does not make a Canyon - EU vs. Bilateral Engagement in Tunisia Plenary Session - Evaluation 14

21 Speakers (in order of appearance in the agenda) Florian Kohstall (GERMANY) Florian Kohstall is the Head of Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) Cairo Office at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), representing the university in the Middle East and North Africa region. Prior to joining FUB he was a Research Fellow with the Centre d'études et de Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et Sociales (CEDEJ) and Lecturer at Sciences Po Aix en Provence. Kohstall holds a PhD from Freie Universität Berlin and Institut d Études Politiques d Aix-en-Provence entitled International Cooperation and Authoritarian Consolidation: Higher Education Reforms in Egypt and Morocco". His research interests comprise university reform, political change, and the role of international donor organizations in the MENA-region. He published among others La fabrique des élections en Égypte Cedej, Cairo 2011 (with F. Vairel). Kohstall is a frequent contributor to the media on recent events in Egypt, Libya, and Morocco. Ann M. Lesch (USA) Ann M. Lesch is a Professor of Political Science and the Associate Provost of International Programs at the American University in Cairo (AUC). In her research, she mainly focuses on Sudanese, Palestinian, and Egyptian politics. Before joining AUC, Lesch has been a Research Associate at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia ( ), the Associate Middle East Representative for the American Friends Service Committee (Jerusalem, ), a Program Officer at the Ford Foundation (New York and Cairo, ), the Middle East Associate for Universities Field Staff International (Cairo, ), and a Professor of Political Science at Villanova University (Philadelphia, ). In Fall 2004, she joined AUC as Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and became Associate Provost for International Programs in Fall Besides, Lesch serves on advisory committees for Human Rights Watch (Middle East Program), Middle East Report (MERIP), and the Palestinian American Research Center, which she co-founded in 1998 and directed from 2001 until