Young in Arab world attracted to Western concepts of democracy

The workshop was held on the sidelines of the ongoing Arab Strategy Forum 2004 that is being held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

Prof. Ajami said that the concept of Arab liberalism poses a dilemma for the region. He said that the Arab rulers are shrewd in that they know how to maintain the mandate of power. He compared Russian liberalism to Arab liberalism and said that here the rulers know that if given the choice between mediocre ruler and Islamic fundamentalists the mandate of the people will always be with the rulers.

He said that the Islamists have been very good allies of the rulers because the public will always go with the rulers if caught between the regime and a nihilistic opposition.

Prof Ajami said that the basis of modernist culture is 'cause and effect' which is not acknowledged by the Arab world in the prevailing atmosphere of belligerent self pity and the 'conspiracy theory' at loose in the Arab world.

Fuad Ajami said that in the prevailing circumstances the world is not as accepting of the Arabs as it used to be. This will result in the young Arabs not being able to get the same exposure and opportunities that the previous generation got. These growing half-educated population will be the real threat.

The concepts of free enquiry and self criticism are Western ideas and the Arab world is getting attracted to them. Prof. Ajami said that in a way the criticism of the West are ways to conceal this attraction by the Arabs. He said that the Arab world is in many ways in the shadow of America which is reflected in some of the leading Arab media publications who publish contradictory images from the West.

The Arab Strategy Forum has six Organising Partners and two Media Partners. They are Emirates National Oil Company Ltd (ENOC), Abraaj Capital, PricewaterhouseCooper, DaimlerChrysler, National Bank of Dubai and Gulf News, in addition to Media Partners Al Sharq Al Awsat and CNN. The Arab Strategy Forum will provide valuable insights, which will help in improving the status of the Arab World.