Oasis Foundation probes Arab Spring

What is happening in the Middle East and North Africa? Is a social subjectivity and a new kind of politics being born? How far will the long wave of protest go? What will the future of the Christian minorities be in this revolution that is taking place? And what effects will this have in the West? These are some of the questions that the Oasis International Foundation’s Scientific Committee is reflecting on in a meeting currently underway in Venice, Italy.

Speaking to Vatican Radio Oasis founder Cardinal Angelo Scola, spoke of how these international meetings promote “mutual knowledge and encounter between Christians and Muslims”. He said the West needs to listen more to the actors of this change and above all help Muslim brothers promote a healthy relationship between religion and state.

He added that the direct accounts of what is really happening in the countries hit by revolutionary uprisings aim to help deepen our understanding in the West of the so-called Arab Spring.

On Tuesday, participants were addressed by Madawi al-Rasheed Professor of social anthropology at King’s College London, an expert in the history, society, religion and politics of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. She spoke of how, unlike neighbouring nations such as Bahrain, in Saudi Arabia the “Jasmine revolution has mainly found expression on the web” and that the most persistent demands of activists include “the recognition of human rights, political participation, the end of corruption and a constitution”.

The Oasis International Meeting concludes Wednesday June 22^nd.