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The Secret of Islamist Success

(Foreign Policy) Dalibor Rohac - What is driving the ascent of Islamic politics in Arab countries? Available data suggest that the statistical link between personal religiosity and actual voting for religious candidates is quite weak. Rather, the key to the success of Islamic parties lies in their organizational structure. Many Islamic political groups in the Arab world are part of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization founded in 1928 in Egypt. Involved in politics, proselytizing, and the provision of social services, Egypt's Brotherhood has become a model of Islamic political organization. Of all the legally registered NGOs and associations in Egypt, an estimated 20% are run by the Brotherhood. In 2006, the Brotherhood was running 22 hospitals and schools in every governorate of the country. In Jordan, the Brotherhood operates the huge Islamic Hospital in Amman and the al-Afaf Charitable Society, providing collective weddings and matchmaking services. Politicians in transitional environments are either new, with no political history or reputation, or old, in which case they were probably active under the previous authoritarian regime. In either case, it is not clear whether they can be trusted. The advantage of Islamic parties, including the Brotherhood, lies precisely in the fact that they are able to make credible promises about the provision of public goods. The writer is an economist at the Legatum Institute in London.
2012-11-01 00:00:00
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