“The Freedom of Association is a precondition for non-violent political participation and thus also political reformsArab Council for the Freedom of Association
“If you look at the texts, our constitutions are very similar”, said Dr. Arous Zoubeir from Algeria. “The main difference between Germany and our part of the world is that in Germany the constitution is applied. This is not the case in our countries.”
Not a One-Time Event
Following the program in Berlin, the group joined an international conference at the Foundation’s headquarters titled “Civil Society in Europe and the Arab World – Towards a Sustainable Dialogue”. That this dialogue should not be a one-time-event was highlighted by Manfred Richter, Member of FNF’s Board of Directors. Speaking at the opening of the conference, Richter suggested that the European-Dialogue would be held annually at different locations
Speakers from Europe and the Arab world stressed that civil society entails a normative - value-based – component. The German historian Arnd Bauerkämper mentioned tolerance, plurality and liberty as such norms. In order to prosper, the scholar added, civil society needs the support and also the protection of the state
The European participants, among them several NGO leaders from Eastern Europe, acknowledged that these favourable conditions for civil society exist in their part of the world. However, the situation was very different in the Arab world, the Arab delegates stated. There, the liberally minded civil society finds itself sandwiched in between authoritarian governments on the one side and radical Islamist groups on the other side, whose democratic credentials are far from established: “The Islamists need to clarify their positions regarding human rights, democracy and pluralism, before we would recognize them as joint civil society partners”, said Dr. Azmi Subeir, a former minister from Palestine and now a senior member of a non governmental organization.
Joint Experiences - and Differences
“There exist a number of joint experiences between Eastern Europe and the Arab world
The relationship between politics and religion and the role of the church (or the mosque) in politics was just one of the many topics the delegates discussed in the plenary and in working groups during the conference.
The Arab-European sessions wrapped up with a public event on the relationship between civil society and the state in downtown Berlin attended by well over one hundred participants. Well known experts joined the panel which – once more – highlighted the big differences existing between Europe and the Arab world today. Markus Löning, the recently appointed Commissioner for Human Rights of the German Government stressed that the state has an obligation to support civil society for the sake of democracy. He also said that cooperating with civil society actors should be an important component of the external relations of a democratic government. Well known Egyptian human rights activist Hafez Abou Seada painted a very different picture of the situation back home: “In our countries, governments don’t see us as partners, they consider as a danger.”
