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ICAN – International Civil Society Action Network for Women’s Rights, Peace & Security

 

Extremism as Mainstream: Implications for Women, Development & Security, in the MENA/Asia Region +

 

Direct Link to Full 12-Page 2014 Document:

http://www.icanpeacework.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Extremism-as-Mainstream.pdf

 

KEY FINDINGS

 

*Religious extremism is spreading into the mainstream throughout the Middle East and North Africa and in countries with significant Muslim populations.

 

*Extremist movements offer values, economic support and services, and a sense of community that are attractive– especially to the young and disenfranchised - in the face of    persistent socio-economic problems, corruption and poor governance in these countries.

 

*Militarized and violent responses, including drone attacks, from outside actors foment greater support for these movements.

 

*Recent political transitions, instability, and conflict in the MENA region have created power vacuums, and highly-organized extremist groups have utilized these openings to spread their messages, often with funding from states and wealthy individuals in the Persian Gulf region.

 

*Women are directly and deliberately targeted by extremist movements in both subtle and overt ways. Extremist forces are exerting strong pressure to restrict women’s legal rights and circumscribe women’s participation in civic and political life. Women have also experienced more direct physical insecurity, sexual harassment, and assault in public settings.

 

*Extremists are spreading their religious teaching and directives through powerful channels of communication such as television and social media, and religious schools.

 

*In every country, women are mobilizing to counter the impacts of extremism. Women’s organizations are directly engaging with communities, expanding awareness of religious tolerance and human rights, and advocating for gender equality. Unfortunately, these efforts are rarely recognized or supported by national or international

policymakers.

 

*To mitigate the spread of extremism, governments and the international development community must focus attention and resources to addressing the underlying economic and social malaise, and recognize the inherent need for dignity and justice.

 

Religious extremism is becoming more mainstream across Muslim majority countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Extremist groups and organizations recruit in communities and operate trans-nationally, using a variety of non-violent, coercive and violent tactics. They are extremely well-funded and receive overt or covert political support from key states and private actors, notably in the Gulf. They promote a clear vision and set of values, claiming the mantle of ethics and morality in the face of corrupt or

predatory states. As purveyors of key social services in poor and disenfranchised communities, they have extensive reach and influence. The ideology they proffer has profound long-term implications for society, the economy and ultimately peace and security.

 

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Defining Religious Extremism

 

For the purposes of this brief, religious extremism is defined as rigid interpretations of religion that are forced upon others using social or economic coercion, laws, intolerance, or violence. It is accompanied by non-fluid definitions of culture, religion, nationalism, ethnicity or sect which move citizens into exclusionary, patriarchal and intolerant

communities. Only a small percentage of religious conservatives are extremist in this sense. Although the focus here is on Islamic extremism in the MENA/Asia region, it is

important to note that religious extremism has appeared in many different regions of the world and has been associated with various religions. The use of violence justified for

religious ends is a characteristic of some extremist movements, but not all.

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The targeting of women is a central feature of these movements. This has been evident for years in countries ranging from Indonesia to Pakistan, but the Arab revolutions revealed the depth and breadth of their reach and goals. Although women played critical roles as protesters and activists in the Arab uprisings, the political transitions that followed ushered in highly-organized, intolerant campaigns. Women in the MENA region and beyond are finding themselves struggling to save their families from war, and fighting for basic human rights and participation in civic life.

 

Women civil rights activists and peace-builders1 who are active at local levels point out that religious extremists are appearing in communities with no previous history of extremism and promoting extremely intolerant views of women that restrict female access to schools, the workplace, and public spaces. They frame it as a return to a previous era or history, but it is more of an imagined past than a real one. Female civil society activists say that governments are unwilling or unable to defend women’s rights because extremists have accrued so much political and economic capital that states ignore women’s rights violations in order to appease extremists. Even women’s legal gains are being reversed in many countries, as restrictive and discriminatory laws and policies are proposed by ultra-conservatives.

 

But many women are taking a stand and countering extremism with different strategies. Some women’s organizations are directly engaging with communities, others are challenging the monopoly of religious authorities over definitions and interpretations of Islamic text, and infusing universal human rights norms into the discourse. Many are pressing for equality under the law.

 

The organizations and individual leaders that collectively form women’s movements in countries across the region do not have the resources, structures, or extensive outreach capabilities of the extremists. Despite shared concerns and values, there is fragmentation among them. Their capacity for strategizing for long term action is limited by the need to respond to more immediate crises and needs on the ground. They are further hindered by a lack of recognition from the international policy community, as the perspectives and experiences that women bring forward are often categorized as “women’s issues” and disconnected from clear peace and security-related debates and decisions.

 

ICAN convenes a MENA/Asia regional forum of female activists every year. In 2012 and 2013, the topic of extremism in the region generated significant discussion among the participants. The 2013 Forum “Building Movements, Promoting Plurality,” was a gathering of 70 activists from over 13 countries across the region……….