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EU Weighs Talking to 'Moderate' Islamists
European Union foreign ministers were urged on Saturday to consider the previously taboo idea of dialogue with Islamic opposition groups in the Middle East to encourage a transition to democracy. They also discussed ways to strengthen emerging democracy movements in several Arab states and persuade authoritarian governments to relinquish some power and accept the principle of alternation, diplomats said.On the second day of an informal brainstorming session at a chateau in Luxembourg, the ministers were presented with a paper that suggested, at least in the form of questions, that the EU should reach out beyond its traditional secular interlocutors. "In the past the EU has preferred to deal with the secular intelligentsia of Arab civil society at the expense of the more representative Islam-inspired organizations," the report said. "Has the time come for the EU to become more engaged with Islamic "faith-based" civil society in these countries?" asked the paper co-authored by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the bloc's Luxembourg presidency. They acknowledged that talking to groups with a traditional reading of Islamic Sharia law and very conservative views on the role of women in society would be politically sensitive in some EU states and talked of fixing parameters for such a dialogue. Diplomats said Britain and Denmark spoke in favor of talking to moderate Muslim activists, and no one opposed it. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who chaired the session, said ministers agreed on the need to reach out to civil society as well as talking to governments. Rest at link. Posted by: ed 2005-04-16 |
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