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The Arab Spring 10 years on: What went wrong in Egypt and Syria? - Dr Osman Bakash

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From The Thinking Muslim

Ep.37 - The Arab Spring 10 years on: What went wrong in Egypt and Syria? - Dr Osman Bakash


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We are coming to the tenth anniversary of the Arab Spring, the momentous series of events that started in hope with the desperate act of a Tunisian vegetable seller. With the return of another pharaoh in Egypt, the impunity with which he has meted out retribution upon those that were opposed to the regime and the killing field of Syria, whose soil today stands soaked with the blood of martyrs, makes even the most optimistic person surmise that the Arab Spring has turned into what can be called a cold winter. Over the coming weeks and months, The Thinking Muslim takes a look at the tumultuous decade from multiple perspectives. What went wrong? How did an event that reverberated across Muslim capitals, with echoed chants go so horribly wrong? And what lessons can we learn from the mistakes made? 

From my side, I once was full of hope for change. Naively believing that the autocracies that litter the Muslim World would fall one by one, their fragility reinforced by nothing but fear. Certainly, these regimes deserve to fall, yet those that had for decades claimed to have a blueprint for change were found wanting. If Islam was to have a central role in this change, the saddening realisation was that Islamic groups and parties were severely ill prepared at best and compromised at worse. The mess that is now Syria laid bare the problems associated with violent uprisings and the futility of asymmetric conflict, with some surmising that all hope is lost.

We take a deep look at the Arab Spring. And ask the following questions over and over again, why did it end up like this and what, if anything, can we do about it?  

Our guest this week is Dr Osman Bakash from Lebanon. I have known brother Osman for many years, and I have benefitted from his analysis on events. Osman was very active on Arab media channels at the height of the Arab Spring and remains a insightful commentator. This week we take a deep look at Egypt and Syria, unpicking the complex circumstances that led to both countries deepening their respective authoritarian rules. 

Muhammad JalalSource



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