Democratic Security in a time of extremism and violence Conference

14 Jan 2017
All democratic societies that value the liberties of their citizens, are content to declare that a crime is an act, not a thought, and is punished after the fact, and indeed have constructed elaborate legal and judicial procedures to ensure that police and prosecutors actually punish the guilty party after proving that they are responsible “beyond a reasonable doubt”. They prefer to let a guilty party go free than to incarcerate an innocent person. Terrorism poses a different challenge. The public wants the government to prevent the act of terror from occurring. To prevent an act from happening will require broadened surveillance and police powers to act on suspicions of conspiracy rather than to await that terrorists execute an act of terror and then capture the guilty party. That sets us on a dangerous path, where our liberties at risk. Recall the US “Patriot Act” passed after 9/11 to give government powers to fight a “War on Terror” begat Guantanamo, preventative detention, torture and the systematic murder by drone attacks. Where does the right balance lie? Does it differ from country to country? These are the questions that the Conference seeks to explore. However, it must also be emphasized that whatever the decisions that are reached by individual governments, ultimately terrorism shall be defeated through cultural confrontation, defeating extremist ideas with ideas of openness and pluralism. The rising problem of terrorism on both sides of the Mediterranean does not only pose military and security challenges, it also raises a fundamental set of cultural challenges. For in the end, the violent extremists among the religious zealots and the political movements that are devoted to terrorism as a means of achieving their aims, all need to be defeated in the realm of ideas. Their views must be exposed for the sham that they are and their positions must be marginalized so that their appeal to younger generations is minimized. This set of tasks is important for all governments, and constitute a basis for collaboration between the governments on both sides of the Mediterranean and beyond to all the civilized countries of the world.
Day 1
01:15:22

Opening Session

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01:19:13

Terrorism and the Constitution – A Framework for Action

The Constitutions of all civilized countries guarantee the fundamental Human Rights of the citizens. Thus fundamental rights (free speech, freedom of assembly, the right to petition, the right to organize, the right to strike and the right to privacy, to be safe from unreasonable search and seizure, etc.) should be guaranteed even in periods of so-called “War on Terror”. The presumption of innocence and the right to refrain from self-incrimination, and of Habeas Corpus in the Anglo-Saxon system, are equally fundamental rights must be consistently protected. Advocates of passing special laws to provide broader powers to the security forces, to allow them to move swiftly under conditions of imperfect knowledge, argue from fear of the consequences of delayed action. Opponents believe that it is risky to engage on such a “slippery Slope” and that it would lead inevitably to curtailment of civil rights of the ordinary citizens. They believe that it should be sufficient to have some expanded surveillance (under strict judicial review and control) plus extra-territorial cooperation of the investigative, policing and prosecutorial powers of various governments … Where is the right balance between these two views?
Speakers Tahany El-Gebaly, Petar Stoyanov, Amr Moussa, Heba El-Rafey, Ivo Josipovic, Amine Gemayel, Abdulaziz Altwaijri
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01:14:52

A Review of Past Experience

Since 9/11 the “War on Terror” has been the dominant form of confrontation between the civilized world and the merchants of hate and the artisans of terror. But there were other earlier campaigns of terror and governments managed to defeat them. From the IRA in the UK, to the OAS in France, and from the FARC in Colombia (the longest such campaign in history) to the GIA in Algeria and the Jama’at Islamiyya in Egypt (who assassinated President Sadat) all have lessons to teach us about how democratic regimes and centralized power confronted these challenges, and the insights that can be gained from these experiences. So what can we learn of previous terrorist campaigns and how they were confronted?
Speakers Khaled Azab, Rosalia Arteaga Serrano , Lobna Shattab, Shahira Amin
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Day 2
01:38:21

Current Perspectives: The Muslim-Majority Countries

Clearly however, there is a cleavage between Muslims and non-Muslims almost everywhere. And even though the vast majority of the 1400 million Muslims in the world are peaceful, law-abiding citizens, there undoubtedly developed in the last thirty to forty years or so, some strong currents of religious fanaticism that are bigoted and exclusionary. These currents have shifted the center of gravity of Muslim communities towards a more conservative posture. Even more, in same period we have seen militants take over established movements and sects, and the resurgence of the Sunna/Shia split has become more pronounced. But confronting them will require actions on many levels, and returning the center of gravity towards the more liberal, open and rational Islam of old requires that we confront ideas with ideas and change the religious discourse, the historical narrative and the public discourse in our societies. So this session will review what is happening in the Muslim world generally, and more specifically its impact on the Muslim communities of Europe.
Speakers Hisham El-Sherif, Taher Masri, Abdel Moneim Said, Naseem Ahmad Shah, Farida El-Choubachy
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01:06:42

Current Perspectives: The Western Countries

Scratch the surface of security and you get a prompt abridgement of liberty. Those who practice the politics of fear and hate expound populist promises of security and economic opportunities by scapegoating minorities and immigrants, which are proclaimed to be free-loaders and opportunists not to mention potential terrorists. These same politicians attack the legitimate governments, which are branded as incompetent or in the pay of special interests. Today there are such politicians in every country who fan the fears of the public, who play on the economic difficulties, promote hatred and xenophobia, and use the ensuing distress to build a power base and to try to dictate to the state the course that it should follow. They build on the alienating effect of vast bureaucracies and on the real distress of many who are suffering economic deprivation. They point to the presence of minorities and the difficulties of culturally assimilating them, to call for a return to a pure and powerful vision of the nation, the people the religion that they claim as the cure-all for the ills of society. But is more debate, more participation sufficient to check the advance of the populist xenophobes? Or are there major other actions that are required?
Speakers Hossam Badrawi, Rexhep Meidani, Kazuo Takahashi, Petru Lucinschi, Emil Constantenescu, Viktor Yushchenko
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01:08:37

Proposals for Action: In the Muslim world

The Arab and Muslim Worlds are in a paroxysm of violence and chaos; of collapsing states and rising militias; of terrorism and horrors beyond description; of countless victims and dislocated populations. Doubtless military force and strong state policing will be needed to restore order, stability and security. But beyond the necessary military and police actions, there is still the need to understand why these extreme ideas that beget violence and terrorism have spread in the Arab-Muslim societies and how to fight such ideas with ideas. It is clear the cultural landscape needs to be changed to promote an open and tolerant current where we can promote pluralism and multi-faceted identities within the national entity, or even the supra-national entity, as in Europe. Such a cultural framework should address the rights of all citizens, and recognize that women’s rights are human rights, and it should also facilitate orderly change through discussion and debate and peaceful participatory means of citizen engagement. All these aspects will diffuse the potential tensions and make it difficult for extremism to take root, for dissidence to turn to anger, and for anger to turn into rage and violence.
Speakers Farida Allaghi, Shahira Amin, Mohammed Hassan, Mostafa El-Feki, Zlatko Lagumdzija, Mohamed Mehanna
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01:24:25

Inter-Religious Dialogue, The Case of Egypt

Egypt, is a key country in the Middle East and North Africa Region, and a country that has confronted extremists and terrorists before, and is continuing to do so at present. Egypt recognizes fully the necessity of promoting greater social cohesion among its Christian and Muslim citizens, while marginalizing those who are trying to promote violence. The inter-religious dialogue launched by the highest religious authorities in the land, begat the “Bait Al-‘A’ila” (the Family Home) initiative and other approaches. This Session will attempt to discuss the experience of ‘Bait Al-Aila” initiative and other similar approaches
Speakers Mohamed Kamal Eldin Emam, Sameh Fawzy, Farida El-Choubachy, Mahmoud Hamdy Zakzouk, Bishop Ermia, Amna Nosseir
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01:35:40

Proposals for Action: In the Western World

The challenges in Europe, where societies must adapt to having significant Muslim minorities in their midst, pose difficult problems and will require imaginative solutions. But Europe has achieved its enormous successes due to visionaries such as Monet and Schumann. It gave birth to the European Union on the old continent, rising like a phoenix from the blood bath of the Second World War. A lattice of former enemies becoming allies; a community of nations. It succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Within a generation young people from France and Germany could no longer imagine their countries going to war. Today that vision has stalled. The economic crisis and the rising tide of migrants as well as the growth of alienated, mostly Muslim, minorities within the countries of the EU are posing new problems. In this session we will try to draw out the best possible suggestions that emerged in the previous discussions in the various sessions, to identify general recommendations for ensuring security in a democratic society
Speakers Alexander Likhotal, Boris Tadic, Kazuo Takahashi, Eka Tkeshelashvili, Valdis Zatlers
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00:54:23

Taking Stock: A Roundtable Discussion

Having ranged far and wide in the preceding sessions we will try to have a roundtable that will organize the most promising ideas emerging from these discussions. Thus the rapporteurs will report briefly on the key issues that emerged and further discussions will enrich the collective understanding of these issues.
Speakers Noha Omar, Kazuo Takahashi, Heba El-Rafey, Shahira Amin
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00:45:49

Closing Session

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