Marzoug bin Tunbak, one of key speakers, blamed Arabs and Muslims for blindly adopting Western values.
He described civil society as a new sector that has emerged alongside totalitarian and democratic regimes in the lives of people. He said civil society has become a key element in emphasizing the values of justice, freedom and equality in all executive, legislative and judicial institutions.
The symposium explored the experience of Madinah during the era of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), where society was composed of a number of social and humanitarian components and Muslims applied an ideal model of governance, particularly the model of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). “But, why we did not benefit from civil society that was applied in the days of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), though Western countries benefited from it?” asked Tunbak.
He explored the beginnings of civil society institutions down to the present day and said they stood at nearly 50,000 in 2005, then doubled soon after. He said this was indicative of their viability and social acceptance.
Tunbak said some of these institutions have expanded and have a say in the international community as the case with human rights organizations, Doctors Without Frontiers and relief agencies who altogether call for rational governance and peace in the new world order.
He said these institutions have currently formed as a result of a set of values related to modernization and development and additionally due to the erosion of margin of expression and dominance of materialistic life among people.
