Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 26)
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- Democratic Palestine : 45 (ص 26)
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thousands of people. In agriculture, they initiated nothing
except letting the sheep go to the forests to graze!»
The Muslim Brotherhood was not negatively affected by the
results of the Gulf crisis in Al Zabri’s view, but he added
another element to his evaluation: «This question is not
restricted to Jordan. People here see what the Islamic forces are
doing all over the Arab world. What did they do recently in
Tunis? In Algeria? When the country was heading towards
democracy and elections, they took to the streets, creating a
crisis and confronting the government, seeking to oust it. Many
people here are fearful of what might happen if they were to
depend on the Muslim Brotherhood. Perhaps also the clashes in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip [between Hamas and PLO
groups] have had an effect; people see that these things are not
to the benefit of the intifada...However, the Brotherhood is
still a strong party here, having spread their forces in many
areas. We need time, work and programs so people can
compare us with them. Now, with ministers in the new
government, we are in the spotlight. The people are watching us
and comparing our performance with the past.»
The conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood and the
progressive forces appears most intense on the social level,
particularly concerning education and women’s role in society,
but Lua’y Dabbagh explained that it exists as a political conflict
as well: «We don’t think all the Islamic forces believe in
democracy. Some Islamic officials have said that all non —
believers and leftists should be out of the society. Though we
join forces politically, especially for Palestine and supporting
Iraq, this does not mean we are in overall harmony in the
political field. I expect a confrontation to occur in the coming
session of the parliament when we discus the new laws; then the
divergence of ideology will become apparent...» Dabbagh
explained that it can at times be difficult to distinguish whether
disagreement with the Islamic forces is social or political,
because they themselves do not make this distinction: «They go
on the offensive on the social level to arrive at political results.
The social tension they have generated concerning the status of
women and Christians in the society could have dangerous
political consequences. This society has its defects, so such
tension cculd be disasterous, in the worst case leading towards
sectarian conflict.»
In discussing the Islamic forces, Dabbagh found it
important to distinguish between the religion itself and those
who believe in it and may instinctively be anti — imperialist and
anti — colonialist on the one hand, and the «political religion»
on the other. The political religion, as seen with the Muslim
Brotherhood, has traditionally had the role of compromise —
in Egypt, Jordan, etc.: «They found a way to coexist with the.
government even if the latter was pro — imperialist. In Jordan,
they did not constitute an opposition or even have a policy
against corruption. Their political role was limited until the
1989 elections, when they rushed on the scene. For the first time
in their history, the Brotherhood confronted the government in
Jordan, hoping to get votes, and they did.»
Concerning the strength of the Islamic forces, Dabbagh
pointed to two factors. The first is that religious ideology is
widespread among the masses, especially the less educated.
Secondly, the Muslim Brotherhood depends on bourgeois
strata, especially big and small merchants. «This sector is very
conservative and in a society like Jordan, we don’t expect its
role to decrease. However, the war and its consequences and
the new era in the world have weakened their ideology.»
Politically, the Unity Party seeks ways to cooperate with the
Islamic forces. «It is not in our interests to make an open
struggle with them,» stated Dabbagh, adding, «but we have to
confront them politically and in terms of their social policy,
26
because the conflict this generates will have negative
consequences on democracy. Now, with the new government,
if the popular movement, the liberals and the bourgeoisie arrive
at any solution to the main social problems, this will be a shock
for the Muslim Brotherhood. If no solutions are found,
JANDA will take the blow as did the Brotherhood when the
upper bourgeoisie excluded them from this government.»
Pluralism and party proliferation
With the adoption of the National Charter, over 60 parties
applied to be licensed. I asked Lua’y Dabbagh if there was
political justification for such proliferation or if many of these
parties were based on personalities rather than clearly defined
programs. He discounted the role of individuals and rather
listed five reasons for this blossoming of pluralism: «One: This
is our first democratic experience in Jordan; the emergence of
SO many parties is not strange, but a natural expression for a
highly politicized and educated society that has lived under
oppression. Two: Over the years, all pan — Arab and leftist
parties have operated in Jordan, especially the Palestinian
movement; the constellation is quite varied, so it is natural to
see many parties now that they are allowed. Third: It is obvious
that when we have always had a one — party system, the party
of the government and intelligence services, defending the
interests of a single class, the reaction will be a proliferation of
parties; even the bourgeoisie is a diversified class; so now
parties are blooming, representing all classes and strata. Four:
The history of many of these parties is connected with the Arab
national movement and its branches in different countries. In
Jordan, this has expressed itself in diversity. Let’s take the
Baath Party as an example. There are two sections, pro — Iraq
and pro—Syria, but even within these branches you find
anti— regime groups that do not join the other branch; thus,
there are 6 —7 projected Baath Parties now in Jordan.
«Five and in conclusion: We strongly believe in the basic
right of persons in Jordan to create parties as permitted by the
constitution. We must protect this right and not be afraid of the
proliferation of parties now, but we are not so superficial as to
think that in a society of 4 million, more than 60 parties can
survive. The political and social struggle will provide a natural
selector. The 60 parties will eventually be reduced to the few
which have the required dynamics and modes of struggle, anda
program which corresponds to the major issues of concern to
the main classes and strata.»
All three of the parties interviewed expressed satisfaction
with the state of cooperation within JANDA, which also
includes other leftist and nationalist groups, and individuals
connected to Fatah. The need for improving joint work stems
both from JANDA’s new posts in the cabinet and the future
objective of forming a progressive national front in Jordan.
The Unity Party stresses that this front must rest on the unity of
the left, which will become increasingly pressing as the situation
evolves. Lua’y Dabbagh noted that such unity is not only an
objective necessity but also quite possible if dialogue is
intensified among the leftist parties: «The diversities among the
left parties are subjective. In our analysis and ways of facing
problems, we are very close. In some cases, the diversities
between parties are the same as diversities in each party
internally...Left unity is a task in our program.»
Jordan and Palestine
In June, King Hussein made headlines when he told the
French magazine Le Point that now is the time for
face—to—face talks with Israel. When asked about the
significance of this statement, Tayseer Al Zabri pointed out
that the royal court had denied this statement, saying the
Democratic Palestine, August 1991 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 45
- تاريخ
- أغسطس ١٩٩١
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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