INTERVIEW. A possible “pact” between Islam and democracy

Hicham Alaoui is the son of Moulay Abdellah, brother of King Hassan II, and the first cousin of the King of Morocco Mohammed VI. A professor and researcher at the University of California at Berkeley (United States), he is also a member of the board of directors of the Weatherhead center for international affairs at Harvard University. He founded and chairs the Hicham Alaoui foundation promoting research in the social sciences. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and of Human Rights Watch for the Middle East and North Africa region.
After publishing Diary of a banished prince: tomorrow Morocco (published by Grasset) in 2014, it will be released this Tuesday, November 26, 2024 by Editions du Cherche Midi l'essay Islam and democracy. How to change the face of the Arab world. Reconciling Islam and democracy is possible, he emphasizes, based on the analysis of political developments in Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab Spring.

In your essay, you compare the political evolution of Tunisia and Egypt after the Arab Spring. For what ?

This reflection finds its genesis in my experience, in Rabat, and in the corridors of the royal palace. I witnessed considerable political developments in Morocco where reformists and democrats called on the monarchy to adapt. Coups d'état made me wonder about the future of my family, closely linked to that of the absolute monarchy. The real research work began during the Arab Spring, from 2010-2011, a fundamental event, showing that societies aspired to democracy.

Reconcile…