With all the talk of revolutions, the Middle East continues to slip backwards. The Muslim Brotherhood chants "Kill the Jews" in Cairo, we see mobs burning buildings, and we have President Obama quoting Martin Luther King - “There is something in the soul of men that cries out for freedom” - while the leaders of this "democratic transformation" read Mein Kampf and are well on their way to establishing Islamic theocracies over their peoples.
Change is indeed coming, but it is not the sort of change he has in mind.
For anyone who has the slightest understanding of the socio-political crises gripping the Arab Middle East today, it is clear that the “Arab Spring” is morphing into an “Arab Winter” leaving in its wake political instability, Sunni-Shiite rivalries, bloody clashes, assassinations, bombings, massacres of civilians, sectarian violence and massive refugee problems - everything except liberal democracy as we know it.
If anything, it's an "Islamic awakening", and the only winners will be the Muslim Brotherhood (whose political aims are akin to those of the revolutionary Khomeinists in Iran) and the Salafists (who are even more extreme in their Islamic views).
Recalling that the “democratic” revolution in Iran in 1979 was hijacked by the so-called “moderate” Khomeini Islamists, Obama fails to understand the dangerous implications of Muslim Brotherhood victories in Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco and the "West Bank".
He need only consult the most recent Gallup poll in Egypt (and Egypt is typical of other Arab countries in this regard) where 64% of Egyptians say that Shari'a must be the only source of legislation in their country. If that is to be the case, non-Muslims will be excluded from full participation in Arab societies, official second-class status (dhimmitude) will be conferred on them, and their lives and property will be protected only so long as they pay the Jizya – a discriminatory tax that must be paid by non-Muslims under Islamic law.
With elections scheduled within days, and Morocco as an example, that moment is fast approaching. Once elected, the Brotherhood can be expected to prevent parliament from passing laws that contradict the explicit commands of Allah as conveyed through the Koran and the example set by the prophet.
Unless I’m missing something... polygamy, the amputation of limbs, gender apartheid, the ethnic cleansing of Jews, hostility to Western influence, mandatory donning of the veil for women, honor killings, the execution of homosexuals, prostitutes and apostates (those who convert away from Islam), female genital mutilation, bans on music, dancing, men and women mixing in public, the blowing up of liquor stores, restrictions on scientific and technological inquiry and freedom of expression for artists, journalists and writers, the punishment of the media who exercise the right to disagree with their government, and practicing any religion other than Islam (witness the recent attacks on Copts and Christian Coptic churches in Egypt)... are anything but democratic by Western standards.
As Uriya Shavit of Tel Aviv University writes in the autumn issue of AzureOnline:
“As Islamist scholars have explained repeatedly, human beings cannot permit what Allah has forbidden, nor can they ban what Allah permits….The inevitable result of its electoral victory will be the formation of a theocracy. It will not permit the scientific and technological revolution of which Arab societies are in such dire need. Simply put, the future of Arab democracy hangs by a thread - the Muslim Brotherhood must be permitted to run in elections, but not gain power.”
When Westerners speak of democracy, they assume it means the same thing to all peoples everywhere. The assumption is that popular power goes hand-in-hand with freedom and tolerance for minorities. It is an assumption not founded on history or reason, but on wishful thinking. Democracy is no solution in countries where tolerance and freedom to dissent do not exist.
Our governments are outgrowths of our culture, as is theirs.
In the Arab Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world, democracy is an expression of the national will to unite a country by purging it of all its divisive elements. Consequently, Islamism can be expected to function as a democratic tyranny so long as the majority agrees with its basic premises - as seems to be the case throughout the Arab world.
And if the rest of the population doesn't agree - especially non-Muslim minorities - elections can be rigged, bullets will fly, and the prisons will be full.
We forget that our ideas of rights and freedoms and their accompanying form of government took centuries to evolve. As such “the democratic tradition” cannot be grafted on to an alien society lacking in such a history. Our governments are outgrowths of our culture, as is theirs. The only issues that will matter will revolve around what role the Koran will play in their societies and how to deal with those who refuse to accept that role. Attacking their embassies, burning their churches, and quashing their protests will teach these “deviants” to keep their place in Islamic society.
As Daniel Greenfield writes:
“If the Brotherhood achieves its aims, then the military will be taken apart and replaced by an Iranian-style Revolutionary Guard. That process is already underway in Turkey where there are more generals in prison than on the front lines. But if the military waits out all its rivals and then picks up Western support for stabilizing Egypt, then a new Mubarak will be in power.”
In the end, none of this bodes well for the implementation of Western-style democracy, pluralism, tolerance for minorities, popular dissent, scientific and technological advancement, or American interests in the Arab world and those who think otherwise are delusional.