Analisis konflik Timur Tengah

And Now, Islamism Trumps Arabism - New York Times

Hezbollah’s perceived triumph has propelled, and been propelled by, a wave already washing over the region. Political Islam was widely seen as the antidote to the failures of Arab nationalism, Communism, socialism and, most recently, what is seen as the false promise of American-style democracy. It was that wave that helped the banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood win 88 seats in Egypt’s Parliament last December despite the government’s violent efforts to stop voters from getting to the polls.

It was that wave that swept Hamas into power in the Palestinian government in January, shocking Hamas itself. “We need an umbrella,” said Mona Mahmoud, 40, Jihan’s older sister. “In the 60’s, Arabism was the umbrella. We had a cause. Now we lack an umbrella. We feel lost in space. We need to be affiliated to something. Usually in our part of the world, because of what religion means to us, we immediately resort to it.” The lesson learned by many Arabs from the war in Lebanon is that an Islamic movement, in this case Hezbollah, restored dignity and honor to a bruised and battered identity. People in Egypt still talk painfully about the loss to Israel in 1967, a loss that was the beginning of the end of pan-Arabism as an ideology to unite the region and define its people.

Dari NYT, persoalan klasik antara nasionalisme vs "spiritualisme". Atau bisa juga dilihat sebagai manifestasi dari skenario "clash of civilization"-nya Huntington. Kerangka Islamisme membuat persoalannya menjadi lebih luas dari persoalan Jazirah Arab, dan menjadikannya masalah global dengan memberi kerangka yang sangat luas.

Sebagai negara dengan penduduk beragama Islam terbesar persoalan ini tentu akan atau sudah mempunyai dampak terhadap Indonesia.

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