Walking on the Razor’s Edge: Religious Groups and the 2011 Arab Spring

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One of the many demands for the youth who initiated the so-called “Arab Spring” of December 18th 2010 (first in Tunisia) was the establishment and consolidation of a true democracy, however defined. Our chapter focuses on, surprisingly, the non-participation by a few Islamic groups and their spreading ideas and distributing flyers saying the values of democracy violate the law of God, thereby rejecting all voices advocating for a civil state as well as condemning protestors who were causing fitna (strife). These groups demanded that Muslims should oppose all attempts at toppling the legitimate rulers of their countries. Our purpose is to examine the reaction of those key religious scholars, or ‘Ulam? in the Arab world and certain religious groups (for example, the Salafis in Egypt) in the region and beyond (Salafis exist in many Arab countries). We discuss how mainstream Islamists perceive democracy, look at two cases of how Arab regimes have treated religious movements and groups and then examine responses of key religious scholars or ‘Ulam? to the “Arab Spring,” especially two groups: the Muslim brotherhood and Salafi group. Lastly, we provide some thoughts on the future impacts of these developments.