Hamid Calls for U.S. ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with Islamists

In an article for Foreign Affairs, Shadi Hamid from the Brookings Doha Center, argues that the U.S. will have to accept a larger role for Islamist parties in emerging participatory democracies in the Arab world; despite this leading to governments less amenable to U.S. security and foreign policy interests in the region.  Hamid argues that mainstream Islamist groups like the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood or the Tunisian Ennahda party actually have strong pragmatic tendencies and have been shown to be willing to compromise on core issues regarding their policies and their ideologies.  This in mind, Hamid calls for the U.S. to engage in a “strategic dialogue” with such parties across the region, reasoning that it is better to establish relationships with these parties now than after they rise to power in free elections.  He highlights cases where U.S. interests have previously aligned with regional Islamist groups: Syria and Lebanon’s Muslim Brotherhood branches remain in opposition to Iran’s influence in their respective nations.  Lebanon’s Brotherhood branch has also allied itself with the pro-U.S. March 14 alliance led by Saad Hariri.

Hamid also demonstrates that Islamist parties can be politically opportunistic as well; just like non-Islamist parties.  Jordan’s Islamic Action Front spoke out forcefully against the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait; and then switched course when public sentiment turned against the U.S.-led coalition.  Yet in 2003, Turkey’s Islamist AKP party voted in majority to support U.S. President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq  (under promise of billions in aid dollars), while the staunchly secular Republican People’s Party voted overwhelmingly against it.  Low level, but successful dialogue with Morocco’s Justice and Development Party has largely tempered the group’s criticism of the U.S., Hamid argues.  Ultimately, Islamist groups will, by necessity, come to terms with regional realities and adopt more pragmatic approached to the U.S. despite political posturing for their home audiences.  The U.S. and the international community will also have to finally come to terms with Islamist as well, he states.