USM hosted a public forum on the ongoing revolutions sweeping the Middle East on Tuesday, with USM President Selma Botman and others speaking on the roles of women and religion in the demonstrations and their impact on United States foreign policy. The event was held in the amphitheater at the Woodbury Campus Center in Portland.
Botman, a scholar of modern Egypt with several books written about the country, has given commentary in the local press as events have unfolded. She was joined by several panelists who presented on different aspects of the uprisings.
The forum was divided into two parts, with panelists speaking about their respective areas of expertise, followed by a question-and-answer period.
The events in the Middle East began in Tunisia with the self-immolation of a street vendor whose goods were confiscated by the government. His death sparked the uprising in Tunisia, bringing down the Tunisian president and rapidly spreading to other countries in the Middle East.
Botman spoke about the important role social media has played in the revolutions in Egypt and the Middle East. She said dictators had long relied the inability of their people to effectively organize. “Autocratic leaders have kept their populations weak and divided,” she said. “They could do so because they controlled the sources, the content and the availability of information.”
Botman said that with the advent of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, it has been much less difficult for opposition groups to form, and for demonstrators to get information.
Botman criticized those who argue that Middle East stability relies on autocratic leaders such as Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak or Tunisia’s Zine Ben-Ali. “I reject as fallacy that the people of the Middle East are not ready for democracy,” she said.
Robert Morrisson, a professor of religion at Bowdoin College, spoke about the role religion has played in the uprisings. One group that has received a great deal of publicity throughout coverage of the revolution in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist party formed in Egypt in 1928 that, before the revolution, was the most visible opposition group. Despite the group’s prominence, it played only a small role in the revolution that brought down President Mubarak.
Morrisson said he doesn’t think the Muslim Brotherhood represents a threat to fledgling democracy. “The Muslim Brotherhood is likely to play a role in post-Mubarak Egypt,” he said. “However they would have to gain power through the democratic process.” Furthermore, Morrisson pointed out that, unlike Iran’s Islamic movement, which seized power in 1979, the Muslim Brotherhood lacks a well known, charismatic leader.
The prominent role of women in the Egyptian revolution was brought up by several panelists, most notably USM professor of history Eileen Eagan and Kathleen Sutherland of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
According to Sutherland, women have been an important part of the current demonstrations, as well as Egyptian democracy movements in the past. “Women have been the forefront of the demonstrations,” said Sutherland.
She also mentioned the women who protested against British rule in 1919, and the women led by Egyptian feminist Doria Shafik, who marched on Egypt’s Parliament in 1950 demanding voting rights for women.
A question-and-answer answer followed, with attendees asking the panelists questions ranging from the effects of the unrest on Israel, to how President Obama should respond to the uprisings.
USM alumni Tom Macmillan asked Botman if USM invests in any companies that support oppressive regimes in the region. “We are part of a system that enables dictators,” Macmillan said.
Botman pledged to look into USM’s investments.