Dealing with Islamists

Michael Allen has summarized a recent meeting that included Egyptian activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Rob Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Jeff Gedmin of Radio Free Europe. Ibrahim argued the specter of radical Islam is receding and therefore the U.S. should seek to engage moderate Islamists who have forsaken violence. He also emphasized the broad support of democracy and liberal values throughout the Middle East. Satloff cautioned, however, that the U.S. should only actively support those groups that genuinely share American values. Finally, Gedmin explained how the Eastern Europe example may be misleading when analyzing the Middle East because individualist values have less appeal in conservative Muslim circles.

In The Daily Star, Omar Ashour details the robust history of successful de-radicalization of jihadists, citing examples from Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Saudi Arabia. While dictatorships have had success in disarming jihadists, Ashour contends “success[ful] democratization and religious reformation remain critical to a long-term, durable solution.”