Outlawing Islam

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Here is one from "The New York Times." Since "The New York Times" is famous
for being very pro-Israel, it was strange to see them publish such an article.

________________________________________________________
The New York Times Company

June 19, 1997

Outlawing Islam

Yesterday's resignation of Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan of Turkey stems
from a conflict, now bedeviling much of the Muslim world, over how much
freedom to grant Islamic expression and Islamic political parties. In Turkey,
the secular military pressured Mr. Erbakan, who heads an Islamist party, to
crack down on displays of Islam, and has now forced his resignation. Many
other nations, including Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, ban some Islamic parties
outright. Muslim nations are right to be wary of groups that might impose
dictatorships if they reached power. But such bans can end up creating
repressive police states in the name of preventing them. They can also help
radicalize Islamic movements that might otherwise play by democratic rules.

Governments can blame themselves for the rise of Islamic parties. In
societies intolerant of dissent, the mosque is often the only place where
people can speak freely and organize. In Turkey, Egypt and other nations,
Islamic movements appeal to non-fundamentalists disgusted with the corruption
and inefficiency of traditional parties. Governments often use bans to
eliminate the opposition.

There is reason to ban movements that use terrorism or seek to seize power so
as to impose dictatorship. But many do not.

The Islamic Action Front in Jordan, for example, competes in elections.

Turkey's Islamic party played by democratic rules. It won 21 percent of the
vote and governed in coalition with a secular party. There was little danger
that Mr. Erbakan would make Turkey an Islamic nation, given formidable
opposition to that course in Turkish society. Yet the military, which has
staged three coups since 1960, pressed Mr. Erbakan to shut down
Government-sponsored religious schools that have been open for years and to
crack down on religious expression, such as the wearing of head scarves in
government offices.

Efforts to suppress Islamic movements are common. In 1995 Egypt arrested the
most charismatic leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, a popular, relatively
moderate group that condemns violence. The Tunisian Government has arrested
thousands of members and sympathizers of Nahdha, an Islamic party that
behaved democratically.

The risk of banning moderate Islamic movements and expression is that such
steps can end up radicalizing them.

Like most political groups, Islamic organizations do not disappear when they
are banned. They simply turn to methods other than politics. The cruelest
example is Algeria, where the Government canceled elections in 1992 rather
than allow victory by an alliance of moderate and fundamentalist Islamic
groups.

The alliance was then outlawed and its leaders jailed. Its radicals turned to
terrorism, and the Government responded in kind. The ensuing bloodbath has
killed 60,000 people.

No government should sit back while terror groups or those promising
dictatorship seek to take power. It is not always evident when these dangers
exist. It is clear, however, that governments in the Middle East and North
Africa have often used this excuse to club the opposition. They should
instead compete with Islamic parties by making their own administrations more
competent and honest.

Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company

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