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ANOTHER VIEWPOINT
(AVP 54, February 1992)
3845 Buffalo Rd., Auburn, CA 95602-7901
ALGERIA: DEMOCRACY OR THEOCRACY IS NOT THE QUESTION
HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS IS
Elias H. Tuma
Last December's election results in Algeria have sent shivers through parts of the
Middle East, Europe, and possibly the United States. Will there be another Khomeini-type
regime in the Middle East? Will Algeria's Islamic Salvation Front broadcast its message and
spread its influence to other countries in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere? Will the fate of
"democracy" be doomed by the Front's victory? The answers to these questions are neither
clear nor easily attainable. Prejudice, ignorance, fear, and misinformation distort the picture,
poison communications, and render true answers next to impossible.
The Islamic Salvation Front's victory should not have come as a surprise. The Front
achieved an impressive showing in local elections a year and a half ago. Since then it has
pursued its objectives with confidence and self-discipline. It took advantage of former
President Benjadid's multiparty, free election system and seemed to play by the rules as a
constitutional party.
Until it is proven otherwise in a court of law or by some other
constitutional mechanism, it would be a betrayal for the government or any other authority in
Algeria to ignore the election results, or to try to void them by decree or military rule. To do
so would be a major setback for democracy and the idea of popular participation in
governance. It would also be a blow to experiments in free elections throughout the Arab
world. How would the National Liberation Front react if it were the winner and another party
wanted to overturn the results?
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Indeed, applying a double standard and invalidating the elections to prevent the
Islamic Salvation Front from forming a government, were it to achieve a majority, demonstrate
the immaturity and inability of the Algerian political system to face free elections and freedom
of choice by its citizens.
Developments in Algeria since the elections have been discouraging.
President
Benjadid has resigned. A National Committee chaired by a leader repatriated from exile has
taken charge, with military collaboration. Run-off elections have been cancelled, and no new
election plan has been announced. In place of a potential theocracy under the Islamic
Salvation Front a pseudo-military totalitarian rule has been reinstated.
However, whether the Islamic Salvation Front forms a theocratic government or the
National Liberation Front forms a secular government should not be the main issue. The most
important consideration is whether the government in office can solve the problems that
Algeria faces. Will such a government be able to control population growth, overcome
economic stagnation and unemployment, reduce the inequality of income and wealth
distribution, and bring about some degree of economic and political stability? Though in
power for the three decades since independence, the record of the National Liberation Front
is not encouraging. But will a theocracy under the Islamic Salvation Front do any better?
The Islamic Salvation Front has presented no platform, nor has there been any
discussion of its planned actions once in power, except to say that it will institute or impose a
system based on Islam and Shari’a Law. Leaders of the Islamic Salvation Front insist that
the answers to all problems can be found in the Qur'an. That assertion, however, is neither
sufficient nor reassuring as a solution to the pending problems facing the country.
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The leaders of Iran and of Sudan have made similar declarations and imposed political
systems based on Islam. And so have the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and other
religion-based political systems. But none of the governments of these countries has been able
to solve the problems of underdevelopment, poverty, under-employment, backwardness, and
dependence on the secular western countries in science, technology, and food production.
While Saudi Arabia has enough oil wealth to hide its failures, all the other Islamic government
have demonstrably failed to promote development and stability. On the contrary, all of them
survive by repression and military force.
The reasons for the failure of these theocracies to solve the persistent problems are
not difficult to find. First, without platforms and set agendas for action, they can hardly be
held accountable for their policies. Second, they may recognize but rarely acknowledge the
gravity of the problems they face, especially those of rapid population growth, technological
backwardness, and economic stagnation. Therefore, they feel little pressure to attack those
problems. In fact some countries, including Algeria, consider population growth to be an
asset, even though their resources are not growing as much, and the quality of life is
deteriorating. Third, these governments invoke the Qur'an and Islamic principles as guidelines
to manage their economies. But the Qur'an provides no operational guidelines for economic
management and efficiency. Therefore, the text of the Qur'an and the teachings of Islam are
often subjected to interpretation and reinterpretation which serve only to concentrate power
in the hands of political and religious leaders who are rarely qualified to manage the economy
rationally or efficiently. Fourth, by invoking the power of the Qur'an and Islam, these
government manage to find scapegoats to blame for their own failures, both within and outside
their countries, and thus redirect attention away from the basic problems facing the country.
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Fifth, by imposing Shari'a law, these governments deprive their citizens of their civil rights,
cause separatism within their own countries, and sow the seeds for sustained conflict and
abuse of human rights. By imposing an Islamic theocracy, they alienate non-Muslims, secular
Muslims, and women, all of whom are consequently deprived of their civil rights and freedom
of choice as citizens. Furthermore, by such imposition they waste vast amounts of resources
while trying to enforce the law, and by reducing incentives, active participation, and efficiency
of those alienated citizens. Finally, given the demands of modern economy and society,
invoking or reverting to theocratic fundamentalism can only perpetuate economic and
technological underdevelopment and prolong the struggle for development and higher
standards of living.
So far no Islamic (or other) theocratic government has managed to get out of the grip
of underdevelopment and dependence on secular countries for their basic needs for survival.
Neither Iran nor Pakistan can boast of success in solving the economic and social problems
they face.
The Islamic Salvation Front may be different and more successful, but only under
certain conditions. The Islamic Salvation Front is most likely to succeed if it can combine
respect for the rights of individuals to apply the principles of Islam (or any other religion) to
their own behavior with a secular form of government to take charge of the affairs of the
country, along the lines France has left as its legacy in North Africa. Religion in this model is a
personal matter, while affairs of the state are a public responsibility. If that is the plan of the
Islamic Salvation Front, then its victory in the elections should be honored as a welcome
development and a sign of political maturity in the country. Algeria could then prove to be a
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prototype of democracy, religious freedom, and national development in the region and the
Third World.
The Islamic Salvation Front has the chance and the responsibility to announce a
platform and commit itself to abide by the rules of democracy which have brought it to the
verge of assuming power. It also has the chance and the responsibility to declare its
commitment to respect freedom of choice, and human and civil rights of all individuals in the
country. By doing so, it would not only secure power, but it would also force the National
Liberation Front to comply with the rules of democracy, abandon the program of ruling
through the military, and schedule and honor the results of free elections. Algeria may then
prove to be a model country, and set the stage for socio-economic and political
transformation along lines of freedom, choice, and popular participation for all citizens,
regardless of religion, race, ethnic origin, or gender.
AVP is a non-profit, non-partisan monthly forum for constructive ideas, published by Elias H. Tuma.
Comments and contributions are welcome. AVP may be reprinted freely, though mention of AVP would be
appreciated. Lori Aoun is Assistant Editor and David Rinck is an Intern in International Relations. All
correspondence should be addressed to: AVP, 604 Barbera Place, Davis, CA 956l6.
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