Fortunately, an Arab Islamic awakening that respects modernity and believes in the logic of development has found its way to power in recent years.
Arab parties can be divided into several groups, primarily three: the first with a religious Islamic background, the second with a pan-Arab nationalist background, and the third consists of parties belonging to specific countries in the Arab world that express national identity. If we want to open the file of parties in the Arab world, we initially focus on the religious group, some of which have taken the form of political parties while others maintain a religious character that aligns with the goals of existing parties.
It is essential to note that the concept of a political party in the Arab homeland is inherently flexible and may not accurately reflect the structure and functioning of contemporary political parties as seen in Western Europe and other regions that adopt the traditional democratic style endorsed by constitutional law theorists, including the prominent French jurist Maurice Duverger. The foundational concept of a party is a human group that adheres to a single ideology and seeks power to achieve its goals, as the absence of the pursuit of power entirely negates the concept of a party, rendering it merely a cooperative association. Therefore, targeting power is a fundamental condition for attaining governance according to the modern understanding of political parties.
It is not necessary for a party to emerge in its complete form to align with the contemporary concept of a political party; it may begin as a group with an academic ideological framework, similar to the Fabian Society in Britain, which later became the nucleus of the British Labour Party. Many examples exist of human collectives with a unified ideology that later transformed into political parties, gaining significant influence in their contemporary and evolving future, depending on the convictions of their founders and the transformations in some ideas, making them less radical and more flexible according to the prevailing reality.
If we apply this to the religious parties in the Islamic world, we find that they primarily rely on the logic of governance in Islam, as indicated in the Qur'an, which speaks to ruling among people based on divine guidance. This reliance on sacred texts and confirmed traditions serves as a source of legitimacy for religious parties in the East, despite their roots in conflicts with others and the striving to affirm their identity and amplify their influence, often based on blind obedience due to the sanctity of the texts they adhere to and the ideas they embrace. These parties arise from specific circumstances, a prevailing political climate, and a supportive cultural environment. For instance, "Hezbollah" in Lebanon represents not only the Shiite Lebanese but also other sects that align with Iran's directions and adopt regional positions consistent with Iranian policies.
The influence of "Hezbollah" has expanded to encompass a wide range of Lebanese state policies across all sects. The situation has extended to facilitate confrontations with others, as seen in the Houthi conflict at the strait of Bab al-Mandab in southern Red Sea, alongside other areas affected by Iran's resistance against American interests and its military engagements against U.S. soldiers. Therefore, we categorize "Hezbollah" not primarily as a religious party but as a political party with its agenda and aspirations, driving regional policies that position Iran as a significant player in regional affairs.
The reality is that the Persian state, for better or worse, aims to transition from the situation where the Shah of Iran served as the "police of the Gulf" to a broader scenario that establishes the rule of the clerics as the center of gravity in the region. The Iranians have successfully positioned themselves at the forefront of the scene, with a high-ranking official in Tehran once claiming that four Arab capitals are under their influence, asserting that Baghdad, Damascus, Sana'a, and Beirut all orbit around Iran. This claim, however, may not accurately reflect the dynamics, as there is undeniable interrelation—positive or negative—between these Arab countries and Iran, with the overarching cover being an ideological one that conceals political aspirations and roles associated with Iran as a key and influential player in the conflicts occurring in the region. All parties attempt to leverage the Palestinian issue, regarding it as a "red herring" that obscures their regional agendas within our contemporary Islamic context.
Moreover, it is crucial to reaffirm that "Hezbollah" is a distinctive model among parties not only in the Arab and Islamic worlds but also among existing party systems today. If we shift to the second category of parties, the pan-Arab parties, we see the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, the Arab Nationalist Movement, and various other Arab nationalist movements labeled as political parties. Notably, Zaki al-Arsuzi, Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Bitar, and others established the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which gained power in two Arab countries, Syria and Iraq, and had its regional branches in other nations such as Lebanon and Jordan.
These Arab nationalist movements collided with the Nasserist movement, leading the Ba’athists to topple the United Arab Republic in September 1961, resulting in a fragmentation of nationalist movements stemming from the developments surrounding the Palestinian issue, which was considered a stable reference point amid the changes that occurred. The Arab nationalist project has since declined in favor of the Islamic religious project. Since Nasser's departure, the pan-Arabist rhetoric has waned, and Islamists have predominantly taken center stage in many Arab and Islamic countries, with parties increasingly adopting a Salafi character that blends religion and politics, failing to achieve a significant role in Arab political life, thereby weakening the party concept distinctly.
If we examine the third model of locally-oriented political parties, we face the older Egyptian parties, which began with the first National Party and the Arabist movement within it, leading to the emergence of the large National Party under the leadership of a promising young Egyptian leader, Mustafa Kamel Pasha, who passed away in his thirties. The 1919 Revolution raised national, liberal, and secular slogans that resonated across the Egyptian streets, bringing about a national unity movement among Egyptians. The Wafd Party remained dominant until the July 1952 Revolution, which ushered in a different path based on a single party organization, starting from the Liberation Organization, through the National Union, and then the Socialist Union, leading to the National Party, which concluded with the January 25, 2011 Revolution, paving the way for the emergence of smaller political parties in Egypt, similar to what occurred in countries practicing multiparty politics across the Arab homeland.
Thus, the political party movement in several Arab countries has progressed, with Iraq, for example, witnessing the emergence of the Da'wa Party, which produced leaders on the political stage following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. It became clear that parties cannot be influential unless they stem from the street, reflecting the will of the masses that firmly adhere to national constants and religious practices despite the decline of cultural patterns, signs of modernity, and the ensuing struggles between external pressures and national will.
Fortunately, an Arab Islamic awakening that respects modernity and endorses the logic of development has reached power in recent years; we note current indicators in countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco, while Iraq's return to its Arab fabric represents a positive addition to the general scene. Nonetheless, we must point out with sorrow and pain the difficult situations in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and other nations whose peoples have endured unexpected burdens until the disaster of the war in Gaza serves as a clarion call for everyone to prepare for new challenges and crises, targeting Arabs and Arab identity in an unprecedented manner.
