The Arab Spring uprising which started in Tunisia and engulfed many Middle East countries like Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria is now moving towards the third year and there is no end in sight. Though Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have successfully elected new governments and Yemen is in the midst of a transitional government, Syria is still stuck in a quagmire, with the wave of protests and clashes between opposition groups and government forces still continuing.
Most of these countries have succeeded in toppling their respective regimes but instead of experiencing peace and stability, which freedom and democracy are supposed to bring, these countries are witnessing constant protests and clashes and there is so much hatred, hostility and lack of respect among various groups of people just because they differ in their views and opinions -- whether political, ideological, social or religious.
One reason for this behavioural excess is that the Arab revolution has broken the barrier of fear.
The single authority, which the people feared, has been overthrown, and there has been no 'replacement of authority' since the Arab Spring was a leaderless revolution.
It was not controlled by one person or group. Thus, it afforded the Arab people a lot of freedom to finally vent their anger and frustration.
After years of being under the tyrannical rule of Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gaddafi and Saleh, who restricted their citizens' thoughts, opinions and even movement, the people were all of a sudden given so much freedom, in a short span of time, to voice their opinions and say or do anything they wanted without fear of being incarcerated or worse, killed by government forces.
Also, because the old government was gone, there was a power vacuum. A new constitution has not yet been formulated and enforcement of the rule of law proved to be difficult because people would no longer follow the current rules believing it to be a continuation of the era of the autocratic regimes.
The new-found freedom gave certain groups, who had their own selfish agendas, to take advantage of the chaos.
This is why we see a resurgence in sectarian and partisan beliefs and ideas, which creates havoc and threatens the stability of the Arab Spring countries. The media also played a crucial role in promoting discord by deliberately provoking groups, and thus poisoning the community and causing even more chaos.
Another reason for the post-Spring chaos is that people have different perceptions of what freedom means.
When the Arab people finally broke free from the shackles of their autocratic regimes, many thought this freedom allowed them to do whatever they wanted without thinking of the consequences. They forgot that more freedom comes with more responsibility.
The revolution was also organised mostly by the youth, who relished the new-found power and started to challenge the old status quo and became rebellious to what they perceived as the "old context".
The old Arab and Islamic values that were once held in high esteem are now missing from the revolution. They are often seen as a thing of the past which has no place in the future.
However, toppling repressive regimes does not mean that we can cast aside our traditional values. People forget the fact that without our Arab and Islamic values the very foundation of a country unravels because it's these values which hold the society together and provide the moral guidance to the people.
After the French revolution, the values of liberty, equality and fraternity were the foundation on which the revolutionary French constitution was built on. The French revolution had liberated people from the old context and these three values became the new context the revolutionary French society relied on.
In his book, "The Social Contract", the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, said: "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."
A country's constitution is an example of the contract man is inherently bound to. In addition, one of the core values in the US constitution, aside from the more famous values of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", is the value of the "common good", which requires individuals to have a commitment to promote the welfare of the community rather than one's own selfish agendas. A country's constitution should represent the values it cherishes.
The anarchy that came after the Arab Spring represents a breach of the values held by all Arab people like the respect for public morals. What is happening in the media is a clear example, where insults and verbal abuses are rampant when dealing with opposing views, provoking and inciting the public to more violent acts.
We need to keep the ethical values of our Arab nation as well as our Islamic values. This is what should be emphasised in the new constitutions that the Arab Spring countries are currently formulating.
The new constitutions should not only incorporate the values of freedom, justice and dignity of the Arab Spring, they should also include Arab values that can respond to the new challenges facing the future of the Arab world.
© The Peninsula 2012
