ICDS Weekly Forum during the Month of October

The Ibn Khaldun Center's weekly forums during October featured three sessions: the first explored secularism and religiosity in the United States, the second discussed ICDS' Annual Report on Sects, Ethnic and Minority Groups (SEMG) in the ArabWorld, and the third focused on the status of civil society in Egypt.

During the first session, most of the participants agreed that the United States is not an entirely secular state and that elements of its Protestant heritage from time to time will influence its domestic and foreign policy. Like with any religion, adherents of Protestantism can exhibit elements of self-righteous behavior, seek to impose their moral code on external entities, and frame an understanding of the world built from their own background. It is therefore important to deconstruct many aspects of American policy and to understand them in this context.

The second session discussed ICDS' 2005 Annual Report on Sects, Ethnic and Minority Groups (SEMG) in the Arab World that is expected to be published in January 2006. The report is expected to observe and document the latest developments pertinent to the status of ethic and minority groups in theArabWorld. It also attempts to expose persistent and urgent ethic tensions that require more domestic and international deliberation. The report also asserts that the principles of justice, freedom and equal opportunities, if applied, would be conducive to the abolition of both societal and official discrimination practiced against the various minorities in theArab world.

The third session focused on the status of civil society in Egypt. Without dissenting note, all participants agreed that the Egyptian civil society is still experiencing chronic weakness resulting from the restrictive rules and regulations imposed by the regime and from shortage of both financial and technical resources. They also condemned the State Security's role in fuelling internal conflicts within and among political parties. The participants also stressed that there was a need for opening more communication channels among the different components of the Egyptian civil society which would positively impact its performance.