Letter: Egypt’s future and Pancasila

The key to Egypt’s future may be found in the Indonesian state ideology of Pancasila, which comprises five principles: Belief in one God, humanitarianism, unity, democracy and social justice.

As Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim nation, and now a successful democracy, the Indonesian model can be seen as a potential road map for Egypt and perhaps beyond.

In my humble opinion, of the political ideologies which arose in the 20th century, Indonesia’s philosophy of Pancasila may very well be the most profound, and at the very least, can provide a vision of a path for many states in the Middle East that seek a combination of the secular and theocracy.

Democracy is of course the most spiritually uplifting of all systems of government, while God is master, light and so very, very much more.

Greg Warner
Jakarta