Saving Hope (book)

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Saving Hope: The Long Way to the Arab Spring
ISBN
9789995870157

Saving Hope: The Long Way to the Arab Spring (

Arabic: إنقاذ الأمل: الطريق الطويل إلى الربيع العربي) is a 2013 non-fiction book by Bahraini cultural critic Nader Kadhim. Written in Arabic, it is the ninth book by Kadhim, who works as a Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Bahrain.[2] Written in two stages, before and during the Arab Spring
, the book discusses this wave of protests from two sides; the past and the future. The past is divided into three waves, each of them corresponding to an era of hope and aspiration. First is the enlightenment wave, followed by the revolutionary wave and finally the democratic wave. The author then tackles the Arab Spring and argues that it is not the time for celebration, but an important station in the long way towards democracy.

The book was positively received by reviewers in several Bahraini media outlets such as Al-Wasat, Al Ayam and al-Bilad. In addition, the pan-Arab Al-Hayat and Kuwaiti Al Rai newspapers gave it favorable reviews. There were mild criticisms for the book, mainly concerned with its scope. Every critic thought it should have expanded more on a certain aspect.

Background

Main article: Arab Spring

The

protests on 25 January, which also swelled and spread all over the country. After several failed attempts to stop the movement, President Hosni Mubarak announced his resignation and transferred power to the army on 11 February. These events "jolted the rest of the region" and several other Arab countries were quick to follow suit.[3]

In

UN Security Council–sanctioned NATO military intervention, the de facto ruler Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed.[4]

In

Saudi Arabia.[7] The initial hopes of democratic change have faced several setbacks in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia.[8][9] A report by Freedom House in 2012 suggested that while Tunisia was showing significant improvements, Egypt's improvements were limited and there were declines in some areas. Bahrain on the other hand was scoring record declines and was ranked lowest. The situation in Yemen was not much better than Bahrain.[10]

Inspiration and writing

Kadhim began writing the book in December 2010, a time he described as gloomy with no hope of change in the

Arab World. Then, when the Arab Spring began, he was deeply shaken by the rapid developments and the early victories achieved in Tunisia and Egypt, and described them as "a rain that fell suddenly on a barren desert". Therefore, he decided to stop writing and rethink the book's thesis, which until then had been influenced by the previous gloomy atmosphere. The stop was only expected to last for few months or a year at most until the events unfolded. But Kadhim only resumed writing in September 2012, a time when some countries were still in upheaval, while others were in transition. He was determined and motivated to re-examine the original thesis, to defend the Arab Spring, and most importantly to defend "the hope that this Spring had revived".[11]

Content

The book discusses the Arab Spring from two sides: the past and the future. The author argues that the Arab Spring was a result of a past which extends to the nineteenth century, which he names the "memory of hope". He then divides this long period into three eras: enlightenment wave of hope, revolutionary wave of hope and democratic wave of hope. Each of these waves is then discussed in detail.[12][13]

The enlightenment wave of hope

This wave started at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was characterized by the hope that

Europeanization. Another shared theme was their attempt to explain the backwardness of the Arab world and the progress of the Western world by one grand cause, each of them claiming to have found this cause. Despite the long time-frame and successive generations of this wave, the author concludes that it failed to achieve its goals.[14]

The revolutionary wave of hope

This wave started in the middle of the twentieth century and was characterized by the hope to achieve al-Nahda via rapid radical changes. Its theorists criticized the previous gradual approach as futile. They thought that the Arab world was held back from progress by two major forces: foreign

national liberation movements and revolutions. To them, revolution was the only way to overcome the backwardness of the Arab world. The Western world was no more a model to follow, instead Third World counties that resisted imperialism such as Vietnam and Cuba became the models.[15]

Following the defeat of Arab armies in the

authoritarian regimes. These developments and the 8-year Iran–Iraq War have struck a fatal blow to the Arab revolutionary wave of hope.[16]

The democratic wave of hope

This wave began at the end of the 1980s after the

Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the subsequent Gulf War have formed a strong reaction against tyranny, which was seen as the main cause of the crisis. It also weakened authoritarian regimes and gave civil society more space to maneuver. The number of non-governmental organizations in the Arab world jumped from less than 20,000 in the mid-1960s to over 70,000 in the late 1980s to 300,000 in 2008. Despite all of these developments, there was no significant democratic change in any Arab state throughout this period.[17]

The beginning of Arab Spring

In this chapter, the author argues that the grand narrative of democratic change was being weakened and replaced by small narratives of quality of life and personal consumption of commodities and services. Arab states used these narratives to polish their tarnished legitimacy. However, these small narratives were not sustainable. Dissatisfaction and despair were very high. This situation was ready to explode at any moment and was ignited by Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation. Although the Arab Spring began with great hopes for change, these hopes were replaced by fear and then by frustration. Setbacks such as the struggle between Islamists and seculars, 2012 Benghazi attack and Reactions to Innocence of Muslims have diminished much of the initial hope.[18]

The author concludes by arguing that change is hard and that one should not rush to think that the Arab Spring is the "time of festival". Instead the author blames this rush and exaggerated expectations for the diminishing of hope. He adds that although the way forward is long and hard (the events of early 2011 being an important station in it), we should hold on to the hope rescued by the Arab Spring and believe that a better future can be built by our own hands.[19]

Characters

Rifa'a al-Tahtawi
, the pioneer of the enlightenment wave of hope
Gamal Abdel Nasser was a main figure in the revolutionary wave of hope

For each wave, the author cites a number of characters as its thinkers and intellectuals.

The enlightenment wave of hope:[20]

The revolutionary wave of hope:[21]

The democratic wave of hope:[22]

Release and reception

Nader Kadhim signing a copy of the book in the 2014 Bahrain Book Fair

Saving Hope was published by Masaa Publishing & Distribution in Bahrain and Kuwait in 2013, with the subtitle, The Long Way to the Arab Spring.[13] Unlike Kadhim's three previous books, which were published gradually as articles in the media, no parts of Saving Hope were published before the official release.[12] The cover of the 314 pages book showed a Tunisian woman waving the V sign.[23] The book has received favorable reviews in various media outlets.

Writing for Al-Wasat, Mohammed Jalal praised the book's title and subtitle saying they reflected positiveness and reality.[24] He also stated that Saving Hope was Kadhim's most important book so far.[25] Writing for the same newspaper, Habib Haidar expressed his admire to the large amount of sources Kadhim used and was able to plot in a homogeneous way that is easy to read. He also noted that two thirds of the book were dedicated to the "memory of hope" and only 100 pages discussed the Arab Spring.[12]

Hassan Madan reviewed the book in 5 articles published in

Marxist parties in the Arab world.[26][27][28][29][30] Writing for the same newspaper, Mahir Abdulqadir praised the thesis of the book, stating that unlike many of the superficial analysis of the Arab Spring, Kadhim succeeded in tackling and examining the Arabic subconscious while keeping the reader in suspense until the last pages. He however criticized the book for not covering the "West aggressive attitude to the [Arab] Renaissance".[23]

One attendant of a cultural seminar about the book criticized it for lacking Islamic theorizing, while another described it as too optimistic. Overall comments were however positive.[31] Writing for Al-Bilad newspaper, Mohammed al-Mahfodh stated that the book was well worth reading and stopping by.[32] A review by Al-Hayat warned against judging the book from its optimistic cover image or title. It praised the book and described it as a "thoughtful and interesting study".[33] Fahad al-Hindal praised the author's critical reading of the three waves of hope in a review published in Al Rai newspaper.[34]

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Kadhim 2013, p. 2.
  2. ^ نادر كاظم [Nader Kadhim]. Al-Wasat (Bahraini newspaper) (in Arabic). 13 April 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  3. ^ Dalacoura 2012, pp. 63–5.
  4. ^ Dalacoura 2012, pp. 65–6.
  5. ^ Dalacoura 2012, pp. 66, 69.
  6. Huffington Post. Associated Press
    . Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  7. ^ Dalacoura 2012, p. 66.
  8. ^ Dalacoura 2012, pp. 72, 79.
  9. ^ Lyse Doucet (13 December 2013). "Hard winter for the Arab Spring". BBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  10. ^ Vanessa Tucker (September 2012). Divergence and Decline: The Middle East and the World after the Arab Spring (PDF) (Report). Freedom House. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  11. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 9–12.
  12. ^ a b c Habib Haidar (22 June 2013). كاظم: يستقرئ مدونة الأمل في الربيع العربي. Al-Wasat (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  13. ^ a b نادر كاظم يُصدر "إنقاذ الأمل: الطريق الطويل إلى الربيع العربي". Al-Wasat (in Arabic). 13 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  14. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 13, 41, 55, 67–8, 85–7, 93, 116, 132.
  15. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 14, 88–92, 108, 124, 132.
  16. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 14–5, 98–9, 101–2, 114–5, 125–7, 144, 150–1, 156–9.
  17. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 174, 182–7, 192, 196, 198, 200–1, 208.
  18. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 250–6, 279–86.
  19. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 24–5, 289–92.
  20. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 13, 67.
  21. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 88–91, 103, 107, 111, 117–8, 129, 131, 138, 146, 148, 152.
  22. ^ Kadhim 2013, pp. 175, 180–5, 191, 196, 200, 205, 207, 224, 228–9.
  23. ^ a b Mahir Abdulqadir (1 June 2013). إنقاذ الأمل.. قراءة فى كتاب نادر كاظم. Al Ayam (Bahrain) (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  24. ^ Mohammed Nuaman Jalal (4 January 2014). ملاحظات عابرة على هامش كتاب "إنقاذ الأمل" لنادر كاظم (1) [Passing notes on the margins of Nader Kadhim's Saving Hope (1)]. Al-Wasat (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  25. ^ Mohammed Nuaman Jalal (6 January 2014). ملاحظات عابرة على هامش كتاب "إنقاذ الأمل" لنادر كاظم (2) [Passing notes on the margins of Nader Kadhim's Saving Hope (2)]. Al-Wasat (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  26. ^ Hassan Madan (22 April 2013). قراءة لنادر كاظم. Al Ayam (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  27. ^ Hassan Madan (23 April 2013). نادر كاظم: فقدان الأمل أم إنقاذه. Al Ayam (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  28. ^ Hassan Madan (24 April 2013). نادر كاظم والموجات الثلاث. Al Ayam (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  29. ^ Hassan Madan (25 April 2013). نادر كاظم ونقد المجتمع المدني. Al Ayam (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  30. ^ Hassan Madan (28 April 2013). القديم يموت والجديد لا يولد. Al Ayam (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  31. ^ اشتباكات نقدية وقراءات مختلفة لـ "إنقاذ الأمل". Al Ayam (in Arabic). 26 June 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  32. ^ Mohammed al-Mahfodh (17 April 2013). "إنقاذ الأمل" قراءة مختلفة للربيع العربيّ. Al-Bilad (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  33. ^ "إنقاذ الأمل" ... الصعود إلى الأسفل. Al-Hayat (in Arabic). 6 August 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  34. ^ Fahad Tawfiq al-Hindal (1 August 2013). فاصلة / إنقاذ الأمل... صوت العقل. Al Rai (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 April 2014.
Bibliography
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