Arab Spring, Islamist Summer

With the perspective that gives time, many Westerners who at first supported the Arab revolutions look now in fear the apparent result of this spring: an Islamist summer. It worries them so much that many celebrated the coup against Morsi in Egypt -despite being, all in all, a coup.

All the countries involved in the Arab Spring, from Morocco to Syria, have seen raise their Islamic base. In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood ruled the country until a coup ousted Mursi two weeks ago. Islamist militias in Syria such as al-Nusra are gaining influence. In Morocco and Tunisia two Islamic parties took power in the last elections. Hamas, in turn, governs in the Gaza Strip for some time now.

Since none of the previously mentioned factions have reached their sphere of influence after using violence (except al-Nusra) it is difficult to think that all those Islamists were not there before. Probably they couldn’t be heard. However, the new landscape gives them greater freedom of action.

But most of those who took to the streets of Rabat, Damascus or Cairo weren't religious, they were liberals. They wanted more democracy, more participation and a more equitable distribution of wealth. And they were asking for solutions to problems like unemployment and to break with the old regime.

However, following a familiar pattern, in every case what began as a liberal revolt has become an Islamist one. Just as the Palestinians first embraced Fatah and then jumped into the arms of Hamas, the other citizens of the Arab uprisings have traveled the same path, only that in an accelerated way.

It is a known pattern. Fatah, like Mubarak, Gaddafi, Assad or Ben Ali, represented the old regime. For its citizens, the only flag of change is that of the Islamists. And that is what they embrace, at least at first.

This should not surprise or be a cause of concern to the West. This is a natural evolution that does not have to stay like that. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is not anymore in power after increasingly having more and more problems to solve what people were really interested in; like unemployment. It took a second popular uprising and a military coup, but Morsi is ousted now.

And once awakened, the Egyptian society -like the other societies- is not going to stand idly by. The liberal roots of the revolution are already resurfacing in Tahrir.

But even if the Islamist were to remain in power in other places, a government with a strong religious bias is not so strange. It happens all the time in Western democracies. After all, the United States mint their coins with the phrase "In God We Trust", in England the Government is subject to the head of the Anglican Church and in many other countries the Prime Minister is sworn on the Bible.

Moreover, also in Western countries there is an alternation of power between more liberal and secular parties and others more influenced by religion. As long as this also happens in the Middle East, there is no room for concern.

What really matters is that: the alternance in power. If there is freedom to choose and change the government, there should be no problem. And so far, the Arab countries have demonstrated that it is possible. Even if a coup is needed.

The main problem here is that what the people in the Middle East may want, may not be in sync with what the West wants. That is another thing completely different, the personal preference of each country. After the coup in Egypt, several Arab outlets like Al Jazeera were raising the question of whether if the Middle East had failed democracy or it was democracy the one that failed the Middle East.

Along the way to democracy there will be progress on some issues, such as greater democratic openness and an awakening of society towards more liberal and secular thinking, and others will be steps backward. The cases of Gaza or Iran, where Islamic revolutions triumphed long ago, show the way, with its lights and shadows.

In fact, it's reassuring to those who are concerned about the Islamist future of the Middle East to notice that the people on the street now are again secular and demanding secular solutions.

The current drift of Arab society, after the initial wave of Islamism -the easier and more visible option- is that of secularism. That will be the second Arab Spring, but still it will take some time to arrive. Egypt is showing us the route. In the meantime, we will have an Islamist summer.