Tackling regional sectarianism and extremism

The Marrakech Declaration is a good first step, but it must not stop there, says HA Hellyer

Militant Islamist fighters take part in a military parade along the streets of northern Raqqa province on June 30, 2014. (Reuters)

In late January, Morocco witnessed the signing of the Marrakech Declaration, a document that establishes principles of protecting religious minorities in Muslim majority states. It couldn’t be more timely. But what else needs to be done in the Arab world in particular, and the Muslim world in general, when it comes to pluralism?

When we examine sectarianism, for example, in the Arab world, we often find two extremes. The first, which is generally the position of Arab nationalists, is one of denial – where sectarian differences are ignored.

The second extreme is, perhaps, that of Lebanon, where the state’s institutions wouldn’t be allowed to function without identifying with a communal, sectarian identity.

There are valid points behind both approaches. When it comes to the nationalist point of view, the subsuming of sectarian or other identities under the rubric of Arab identity is natural.

In the second approach, the one taken by countries such as Lebanon, sectarianism and communitarianism are essentially not only recognised by the state’s organisations, they are institutionalised by them.

To function fully within the state, an individual needs to identify with a particular religious group. Otherwise, they are akin to being stateless.

That is where the Marrakech Declaration partially brings something new to the equation. If the idea behind it was to be another element of the broad push to counter violent extremism, it isn’t clear if the participants in Morocco would have been the right people. By their nature, violent extremists support marginal trends in Islam. Would they be interested in the declarations of mostly mainstream Sunni scholars?

But it is not all just about countering violent extremism. The bigger issue for the region is not just about radicalism, but what alternatives are being provided for young Muslims in 2016.

After all, at some time, the various crises will end, or be diminished in different countries in the region. But even that time were to come tomorrow, there would be the question: “Who are we?”

That’s a question that Europeans have been asking of themselves for decades and it led to discussions around multiculturalism and integration. It’s not always been healthy, but a genuine discussion has begun.

When it comes to the Arab world, it is less clear how much appetite there is for such a discussion. Communalism and communitarianism along sectarian lines is becoming more and more common – and in some areas, it is flaring up in the most disgraceful of fashions. In the worst of situations, one need only see ISIL’s moves in Syria and Iraq, and how violence against certain groups, including Yazidis and others, is being perpetrated.

But what has truly been promoted as a full-fledged political ideological declaration that would safeguard pluralism, and uphold fundamental rights?

It is in that vein that the Marrakech Declaration, perhaps, ought to be identified.

If it is really about countering violent extremism, then there will be problems for religious leaders to be effective with regards to those who are near to joining up with ISIL and those religious leaders would have to be credible with ISIL supporters in some way. If they are associated with government at all, they might indeed find their credibility rather difficult to maintain around the target audience.

But if the declaration was about something different, albeit linked, what then?

That is the real question that should be asked. The declaration made it clear the stances those present would uphold when it came to the protection of minority communities.

But it is not simply one declaration or a single document that is needed. Rather, it requires a fully fledged examination of what kind of politics the Arab world needs in a time of security versus stability arguments, human rights being curbed and so forth.

That examination cannot happen without a basis of a free, new political ideology and framework – and one hopes this declaration will be one of inspiration. Pluralism within a cohesive framework is something of a goal for diverse states – but it remains a quest of the utmost importance. The Marrakech Declaration is a good first step, but the journey remains.

Dr HA Hellyer is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC

On Twitter: @hahellyer