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Is the dream of the new, Arab democracy movements of freedom and the rule of law, of a life of dignity now over thanks to the results of the first truly free elections in Egypt?

You could answer with "yes" - at least since the surprising success of the radical Islamist Salafists in the first round of parliamentary elections in Egypt. But that would be premature and too easy, especially in view of the unclear political situation in post-revolutionary Arab nations.

In fact, the way the ultra-conservative Salafists in Egypt understand Islam is without doubt too narrow-minded to constructively take part in a democratic political process. But as opposed to the success of the politically inexperienced Salafists, the election victory of the Muslim Brotherhood's party "Freedom and Justice" party was to be expected. This was also the case with the victory of Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD) and the Ennahda movement in Tunisia.

These movements are mainstream parties which are deeply rooted in the population thanks to their network with mosques, kindergartens and other charitable institutions. They are furthermore well-organized and are not considered corrupt.

Islamists can't go it alone

In the short campaign period, the Islamists were able to deflect from the actual socio-economic problems by placing their populist discourse on center stage. Questions such as "who are we?" were so fiercely debated before the elections as if Arab societies were facing a hostile takeover. That is why they were able to mobilize their supporters better than the newly formed liberal and civil youth parties, which were far less active during the campaign.

But panic or even hysteria are out of place in this historic situation. After all, none of the Islamist election winners in any Arab country will be able to determine alone the rules of the democracies to be established.

In Tunisia, Ennahda has to enter a coalition with other secular parties. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has to clearly distance itself from the Stone Age-Salafists if it wants to legitimately present itself as a credible force of change and avoid a confrontation with the revolutionary movement and the military council.

What is more important: experience shows that democracy has to include major societal movements in the political system. There's no way around it. Only then do these fundamentalist oppositional forces learn what it really means to assume political responsibility. They have to practice the art of painful compromise and only then can they develop the competence to solve problems. In short: the normative power of reality inevitably makes them more pragmatic.

No cooperation means failure

The Arab neo-Islamists therefore face a choice at the moment: either they assimilate to their changed environment or they continue to cling to their obsolete ideological concepts.

Should they really choose the second option, they will certainly fail to master the major challenges of the present, most notably the development of functioning institutions and the stimulation of the economy.

Author: Loay Mudhoon / sac
Editor: Rob Mudge