More than 1500 activists from the Middle East and around the world met in Cairo from March 29 to April 1 under the banner, "Towards an International Alliance against Imperialism and Zionism". The conference — the fifth held in Cairo since 2002 by the International Campaign against US and Zionist Occupation — brought together Islamic, nationalist and socialist forces from the region, together with delegates from anti-war coalitions in Canada, Korea, Venezuela and Europe.
The conference revealed increased cohesion among these currents in the struggle against both imperialist aggression and the dictatorial pro-US regimes in the Middle East.
The conference's success is an encouraging sign that a new pole of international leadership in anti-imperialist struggle may be emerging in the Middle East — analogous to what we see arising in Latin America under the impulse of Venezuela and Cuba.
Steps forward
Opening the conference, the head of a major Egyptian union* commented, "This year has written the death sentence for the US project in the region". This optimism was widely shared among delegates, who drew confidence from four major setbacks to imperialism in the region during the past year:
During last year's July war, the Lebanese revolutionary movement Hezbollah dealt a stinging setback to Israel's invasion army.
After the victory of Hamas in the January 2006 parliamentary elections, Palestinians have successfully withstood efforts by Israel and imperialist powers to blockade and starve them into submission.
The resistance movement in Iraq has held firm against the US and other occupation forces. In the words of the conference declaration, it has "pushed the US into a hopeless swamp". (See < http://www.socialistvoice.ca/Documents/CairoDeclaration2007.htA HREF="mailto:m"><m>.)
In the face of intense repression, the Egyptian people repudiated dictator Hosni Mubarak's moves to further diminish democratic rights by abstaining in his March referendum in a proportion variously estimated at 73% (the government) or 95% (independent observers). This victory coincides with a continuing wave of militant strikes and peasant resistance.
Egypt: united resistance
For the Egyptian oppositionists who made up the majority of those present, attending the conference was an act of defiance against the country's pro-US dictatorship. "We see growing national rejection of the corrupt regime", the conference chair told delegates. "The countdown has begun."
The coalition of democratic forces that led the recent abstention campaign in Egypt — Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood, secular nationalists in the tradition of former president Gamal Abdul Nasser, and socialists — also joined in calling and organising the conference. The conference debates revealed mutual respect among these currents and broad agreement on their common political course.
Among delegates from other countries, the most authoritative voices were those of Hezbollah and Hamas. The Egyptian government blocked attendance by delegates from Iran and Iraq, but delegations were present from a half-dozen other Middle East countries and a similar number of countries in Europe. Delegates also came from India and Venezuela.
The conference was organised simultaneously with the Third Cairo Social Forum, which featured discussions with worker, peasant, student, and women activists, in a large downtown union headquarters. About 200 participants came from outside the Middle East. Discussions were in Arabic, English and, occasionally, Korean; simultaneous translation between Arabic and English was professional and effective.
For Egyptian activists, whose events are routinely banned or attacked by police, this was a rare opportunity to speak their minds freely, and the conference was imbued by their joy, optimism, and enthusiasm. Outside the crowded meeting halls, literature stands of different groups were arrayed in a foyer that was usually filled by several hundred participants in intense discussion. Again and again I was approached by young Egyptian delegates, eager to find out who I was, to talk of their experiences, and to exchange information.
Inclusive social vision
Spokespersons of different currents stressed their inclusive vision of Middle Eastern society. "We stand together with Christians and Jews — this was decided by Islam 1500 years ago", said a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood of Sudan. The Egyptian Brotherhood distributed their program, which calls for partnership with the country's sizeable Christian minority and respect for their beliefs and worship. Many speakers stressed that they held no antagonism against Jewish people. "We are not against Jews but against Zionism", said an Egyptian leader of anti-Zionist work. "And there are many who are Zionists but not Jews, like George Bush and most of the Arab leaders."
Addressing a plenary session, a central leader of Hezbollah said that "Islamic movements must apply democracy", which he described as "the bridge to a better world in the Arab region". The state, he insisted, must be religiously neutral. "The government may be Islamic, but society must be open to all points of view. As the Koran states, we cannot force religion on people."
The Hezbollah leader criticised some Islamic groups that consider everyone else — even other Islamic groups — to be the enemy. "They will therefore fail", he said. But Hezbollah and Hamas "have no problems collaborating with the left", he said, pointing to Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci's insistence on broad popular unity. "The work against imperialism cannot be carried out by just one current."
Nor did Islamic delegates see any iron wall between their aspirations and those of anti-capitalist movements. A delegate from the Muslim Brotherhood of Sudan, recalling his country's Cold War-era alignment with socialist movements, added, "When the Soviet Union fell, the principles remained: freedom and equality, embraced by both socialist and religious movements". The conference declaration cited the importance of "linking the struggle against colonialism and racism on the one hand and the struggle against capitalist globalisation and new liberalism on the other".
Latin American allies
Many speakers from the Middle East stressed that they view popular struggles in Latin America as a firm partner of their movement. The chair of one session pointed to Venezuela as "the country that was more courageous than many Arab regimes" in opposing the war against Lebanon; a country "that is talking of socialism and nationalising while [our countries] privatise".
In the closing session, the Hezbollah leader returned to this point: "The fighters in Venezuela are closer to us than the Arabs that agree with imperialism or that impose injustice." And the conference declaration highlighted the task of "linking the rising movements of the left in Latin America with the anti-war movements on the one hand and the resistance movements and nationalist forces in the Arab region on the other".
The annual Cairo conference has emerged as an important vehicle to unite and coordinate forces for world anti-imperialist struggle. Its unscripted and candid debates provide a profound education about the world of Middle Eastern resistance. The conference stands in the front ranks of efforts to bring together in common endeavour opponents of imperialism in the First and Third Worlds.
Moreover, the Cairo conference stands as an example of unity among forces in the Middle East that have been previously divided by bitter antagonism — an achievement worthy of emulation by progressive forces in the West.
[*Individuals' names have been omitted from this article. A longer version of this report can be found at <http://www.socialistvoice.com>.]