In response to the question regarding the levels of religiosity in the MENA region, I believe one has to recognize the fact that religion offers not only an outlet for devotion but also acts as a significant contributor to civil society in the area. As we discussed in class, numerous civil society groups foster deep communal relations through their various charitable organizations. This means that religious groups gain a strong base of support and can utilize this support when necessary. Now to loop back to the question itself, I feel that the answer is that- the people might not be particularly religious but the fact that religious organizations are the ones promoting democratic options or calling for change, means that it is these groups that capture popular support. As many of my peers have written, the support for these groups is not an indicator of overall religiosity but rather an indicator for which groups have been able to establish successful community ties and offer alternatives to regimes. Another oft-reiterated fact that we have discussed in this course, is how divergent the individual states of the MENA region are. Examining the religious evolution of particular states would give a better idea of how the region has changed since Said made his statements.
The fact that so many civil society organizations have religious undertones may make it seem that there has been a significant spike in religiosity in the MENA region. In reality, when one examines this in depth, it's far more complex.
I was doing some quick research and found that Pew Research Center has quite a bit of data on religious observances in majority-Muslim states, that would seem to back your analysis (http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-2-religious-commitment/). hough religion is identified as important by most people in the MENA countries polled, this doesn't really align with the lower percentages that strictly follow religious observances, such as daily prayer and mosque attendance. Based on the Pew data, it would seem that Muslims outside MENA (excluding European muslims) are less religious than Muslims in other regions such as South Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa.
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ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I'm not really sure that for individuals to be religious is equal to be not secular. President Sadat of Egypt who promoted his Image as a pious Muslim and chose the title the "Mo'men" mean the Believer was also promoting his famous slogan " no politics in religion and no religion in politics". I do agree with the view that most of the people in the Arab countries usually voted for the religion based political groups for economic and social reasons. Nevertheless, we can't ignore the religious factors when those groups used the Mosques as a politically mobilization centers and using holly texts to attract the masses.
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