Conclusion

Abstract

For many decades the policy of Western governments has been one of repressing opposition movements in the name of fighting terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. At the same time the West has supported extremely conservative regimes in countries such as Saudi Arabia, which is responsible for the rise of extremist Islam inspired by the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Jihadist Da’ish or the self-declared ISIL. The disastrous effects of this policy, which can be described as ‘democracy only on our terms’, can be seen in the civil war which followed the election of FIS in Algeria and the humanitarian crisis which has resulted from the blockade of Gaza. The 2011 uprisings in Egypt and other countries have demonstrated the futile and unjust nature of this strategy. The years of US-sanctioned state terror under Mubarak closed down political dissent, but the political space created by social movements allowed alternative voices from both religious and secular backgrounds to be heard, including those of workers, the young, students and women.