Accessing Justice in Arab Countries Beyond Covid-19:
A View from Civil Society
This volume is written in the spirit of a collaborative effort toward strengthening the rule of law at a time when the political and economic context is not favorable. In practice, it is the product of a conversation over a six-month period among practitioners and experts in the field of access to justice in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. As a starting point, authors were asked to provide an analytical view of the status of the justice sector and the right to access justice in their countries by exploring three main dimensions of analysis: governance of the justice sector, supply of justice services, and demand for justice. It was agreed upon that the timeframe of the analysis should start post-2011, with particular emphasis on the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the analytical work progressed, authors realized that as disruptive as it was, COVID-19 has been superseded in some national contexts by other major events, some of which constitute the majority of the analysis. Overall, the value of the volume resides not only in its geographical coverage, as it includes an analysis of eight countries from the Maghreb and Mashreq, but also in the varied expertise in different legal fields, such as women’s rights, refugee rights, personal status law issues, and constitutional law. The result is a volume that provides a glimpse into different geopolitical realities and highlights different analytical dimensions of access to justice.
Arab elites in times of transformation
The issue of reading Arab elites epistemologically has been a point of controversy among specialists. One thesis suggested that these elites failed to make an impact on a transformation that benefited Arab societies. The elites exerted an active influence in their societies; for at the stage of building the national state, the elites were placed within the circle of social demand to adopt the strategy adopted at the time in marketing the official discourse. However, the symbolic status of the elites at the time was distinct in societies, especially in the post-colonial era, where the elites placed the Arab person at the top of their priorities to build, educate, and bring them knowledge. However, the transformations in Arab societies have eroded the status of classical elites and pulled the rug from under them. Hence, the booklet asks several questions in this context, including: Who is the Arab elite? Why is the issue of elites being revisited in the context of the transformations in the Arab region? Have new elites emerged in tandem with the widespread consumption of new media among young people? Have economic and religious elites become more influential than intellectual and knowledge-producing elites? How can the status of the Arab intellectual elites be restored? The booklet reviews these and other questions, which are answered by a number of intellectual figures, namely: Prof. Adnan Al-Amin (Lebanon), Prof. Mounir Saidani (Tunisia), Prof. Samir Abdul Rahman Al-Shamiri (Yemen), and Dr. Ahmad Mufleh (Palestine). The material is in Arabic
Post-9/11 Transformations in the Arab World: prospects and outcomes
The events of 11 September 2001 sent a profound shockwave through the world, extending from the United States to all Western and Arab systems, and establishing the concept of international terrorism, which was intended to be associated with Arabs and Muslims in particular, thus producing the so-called Islamophobia in the media, which resulted in forming alliances to fight the so-called terrorism, accompanied by the escalation of ideological rhetoric against Arabs and Muslims. In the Arab world, people received the shock of the events of September 11 with certain fear and confusion, with the absence of a unified Arab discourse to confront the campaign waged against Arabs. The events had a clear impact on Arab economies, which recorded a decline in growth. Moreover, these events represented a complex for Arabs, who were not responsible for them, as they had to take a passive defensive position. Hence, the booklet asks several questions, including: What transformations did the events of September 11 generate in the Arab world? How did the stereotype of the Arab-Muslim terrorist emerge? How have these events contributed to the Western geostrategic repositioning in the Arab world? Could the Arab world have faced the campaign of exclusion and violence against it more effectively? These questions are addressed and answered in this booklet by a number of professors: Prof. Abdul Khaliq Abdullah (UAE), Prof. Al-Bader Al-Shatri (UAE), Prof. Hassan Hanafi Hassanein (Egypt), and Prof. Hassan Muzaffar Al-Razzo (Iraq). The material is in Arabic
Transformations in the Arab World and the questions of the renaissance
The Arab region has been undergoing rapid transformations for over a decade. However, the question of individual resistance to change is a normal question to ask from a sociological perspective, as it is a psychological issue that societies go through for fear of the unknown. The experience of Arab transformation urgently needs to establish evaluation systems on which to build an evaluation process, which should result from clear and objective scientific indicators. Hence, the booklet discusses the issue of transformations in the Arab world and the renaissance project, taking into account the nature of Arab transformations – their dynamics, accumulations, timing, speed, multiplicity, sudden and gradual transformations, their sustainability, and whether they are linked to a renaissance project or dependent on events. Moreover, the booklet sheds light on experiences of Arab transformations, evaluating them in terms of success and failure, and their potential impact on societal culture, not just on the superficial level. The booklet also takes a look at the roles of those involved in transformations, governments, and peoples, and the possibility of adjusting the pace of transformation. The booklet reviews papers presented by a group of philosophy professors, namely: Prof. Mostafa El-Nashar (Egypt), Prof. Magdy Abdel Hafez Saleh (Egypt), Prof. Esmat Hussein Sayed Nassar (Egypt), and Prof. Abdullah El Sayed Weld Abah (Mauritania), and Prof. Shaya Al-Wagayan (Saudi Arabia).
“The Arab Renaissance: Renewing the Civilizational Mission”
At a time when the region is witnessing ideological polarization, political conflicts, and loyalties to sub-identities at the expense of a unifying identity, many have increasingly felt a sense of hopelessness regarding the viability of belief in an Arab renaissance. In response to this growing sentiment—shared among various segments of society, including both specialists and youth—the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) decided to hold a conference titled: “Renewing the Civilizational Mission.” The conference addressed the concept of renaissance from multiple dimensions—social, political, and civilizational. It also explored the relationship between renaissance and religion, along with other profound concepts tackled by a distinguished group of thinkers, specialists, and intellectual leaders. Among them were the late Mohammed Shahrour, the late Hassan Hanafi, Ali Oumlil, Hassan Nafaa, Abdullah Al-Sayyid Ould Abah, Magda Al-Sanousi, and Mohammed Hssehas. It was then decided to publish these valuable lectures in this book. The book sheds light on various strategies to overcome the crises related to identity models, the nation-state model, and models of power-building, among other core topics. It is grounded in a humanistic dimension that transcends nationalistic or chauvinistic narratives, seeking to explore new horizons and bring about fundamental transformations on the path toward renaissance. The Book is in Arabic
The Possible Option: Is the Arab Renaissance a Dream of the Past or a Project for the Future?
Many Arab youth are expressing their lack of faith in the possibility of achieving the dream of the Arab Renaissance. In light of this vague reality, the book poses a fundamental question: Is the Arab Renaissance a possible option despite the challenges, disintegration, increasing divisions, and declining levels of respect for human rights? The Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) seeks to answer this question through this book. The book attempts to shed light on issues related to the Arab Renaissance based on the opinions of a group of thought leaders and experts, including the late Muhammad Shahrour, the late Hassan Hanafi, Ali Oumlil, Hassan Nafaa, Abdullah Al-Sayed Ould Abah, Majida Al-Sanousi, and Muhammad Hasshas. The Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) hopes that this book will be the beginning of a conscious movement and dialogue in Arab societies about the Arab Renaissance with the aim of bringing about an influential change that societies can sense at the political, economic, and social levels. *The book is in Arabic