The conference centre at Sharm el Sheikh almost compares to the one in Davos. It is impossible to believe that it was built in less than eight months. The main plenary hall easily accommodates about 1500 participants. There are a good number of smaller meeting rooms, high quality acoustics, open meeting spaces and all that a modern convention centre can boast. However, the speed with which it was conceived and constructed is impossible to believe.

The Sharm el Sheikh conference centre proves what an Arab enterprise can achieve if it has sincere determination and freedom and support from the State. I met an investment banker who was setting up shop in Cairo for his private equity business. In exactly half a minute, he outlined half a dozen segments of society where he would find takers for his private equity offers. Another investment banker wanted to invest in Egyptian banks. And it�€™s not just Egypt. There is a sense of awakening in Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria and Morocco. The smaller Gulf States are already roaring with speed. If Egypt could build a convention centre in 8 months, Dubai can build a massive hotel and Qatar can construct a college during the same time.

The speed at which development is taking place in about half of the Arab countries reminds me of Malaysia in 1995. One day Prime Minister Mahathir came up with Vision 2020 and the Malaysian private sector, in partnership with the Malaysian state, fostered development at breath neck speed. One of the first things that happened in Malaysia then was that someone built a hotel in about 8 months �€“ including the time taken from drawing plan on a board to hosting the first guest.

As compared to Malaysia of 1995, the Arab countries of today face monumental challenges. Iraq and Palestine top the list. There is a growing sense that it was necessary to not allow Iraq and Palestine to hold back the progress on other fronts, while it was necessary to resolve these issues on their own merit. In a session I moderated at Sharm, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon tried to suggest that the Palestine problem was a precondition for reforms. Prof. Said Aly, Director of Al Ahram Centre in Cairo, immediately disagreed with him. The Prime Minister had to modify his stance before the end of the discussion. Does this suggest a new dawn in the Arab world, where academics can dispute the heads of state in an open debate on an issue that has been considered the holiest of all? It is too early to say. A day before this debate, the government of Hosni Mubarak placed its main adversary, a liberal politician, in jail for five years. It also ordered a crack down on opponent from the conservative spectrum of politics on the same day.

Some scholars argue that Islam and democracy are not compatible. This is nonsense. Approximately 60% of the world�€™s population lives in democracies. And approximately 60% of the Islamic population, outside the Middle East, also lives in democracy. Thus, the proportion of people living in democracies among Islamic people outside the Middle East is the same as global average. The democratic deficit does not seem to have much to do with religion. It has more to do with feudal mindset and its supporting social structures.

If the Arab world has to rise, it will have to rise out of its dominant feudal mind. As Prof Said Aly said in our debate, the establishments believe that they have monopoly over human capacity to think. Their main opponents from the religion right are no different. They also want a monopoly of their type on the Arab mind. If the Arab world must escape the monopolists from the top and the bottom, it has no option but to develop a liberal middle.

The Arab League has made a beginning with its Tunis Declaration on �€œChange, Development and Modernisation�€. H.E. Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, firmly believes that it is necessary to go beyond declarations and constitutions. Reforms need to be a way of life. H.E. Dr. Masouma Al-Mubarak, Kuwait�€™s Planning and Economy Minister endorsed a similar line in our discussion as she repeated that reforms and democracy had to be nurtured through required practices and institutions by people.

If these words are to be translated into a reality, what does the Arab world need most urgently?

• Freedom for critical enquiry, which would involve most rulers agreeing to loosen their hold on states and most men agreeing to loosen their control of families.
• Large scale capacity building in work culture, labour productivity and entrepreneurship, which would involve giving up old habits.
• A few scientific and technological breakthroughs to build confidence and morale of the Arab youth, which would involve abdicating a psychological dependence on the West.
• Educational reforms and popular movements to promote scientific temperament using ICT for fast track, which would involve engaging new players outside the formal education field.
• Reconciliation within societies and polities with encouragement for cross fertilisation of ideas, and a vibrant relationship with the outside world.

Is this impossible? If a society can build a huge convention centre, an education complex and a massive hotel in less than 8 months, what is possible and what is not possible is mainly a matter of choice.