Posted on 01/29/2006 7:27:35 AM PST by Dark Skies
Over four years ago, the world was flabbergasted to watch ululating Palestinians rejoice and cheer for the death of thousands of Americans in 9/11. Despite that the Americans did not hold grudges against them and kept pouring into their coffers one billion dollars a year. The Palestinians rely on two external sources of income: Israeli-collected taxes on Palestinian goods and aid that comes primarily from USA and Europe . They depend on these handouts, without which they won't be able to survive.
The election results of last week show that the anti American and pro terrorist sentiment among the Palestinians is prevalent. The victory of Hamas, a terrorist organization responsible for suicide bombings in Israel and anti Americanism was not a fluke. 77% of the population voted enthusiastically in a very clean and fair election. Hamas won 76 seats compared to Fatah’s 43. Palestinians overwhelmingly chose the members of this terrorist organization as their leaders.
This election, more than anything else, tells us who the Palestinians are and where they stand in regards to terrorism.
Bush presses for democracy in Islamic countries as if democracy is panacea. Democracy is however a double edge sword. Democracy without responsibility can lead to tyranny. There is nothing more dangerous than putting the power in the hands of a people who are not responsible.
Are other Islamic countries ready for democracy? If complete free elections are held today, and people are allowed to choose their own candidates, Osama Bin Laden would probably be elected as the president in several Islamic countries. As for Iraq , although the removal of Saddam was a gain for the world, the future of the Iraqis is less certain.
Not all people know what is good for them. Before empowering them, they must be educated. Rights come with responsibility. Those who are not responsible can't handle their rights and should not have them. This would be like putting a weapon in the hands of a child. He can hurt others and himself too. It is irresponsible to give rights to those who are not responsible.
Among all the Islamic countries, perhaps Iran is the only one that is ready for democracy. And that is because the Iranians have learned their lesson the hard way. Even there, it won’t be easy, as they hardly know what democracy means. Twenty seven years ago, the Iranians seized the power with great jubilee and handed it to the Islamists. Soon their jubilee turned into grief and they have shed a thousand tears of regret, ever since. They have not stopped cursing themselves for acting irresponsibly. Today, given the chance, they may act differently. But alas they do not have that luxury anymore.
The solution to the problems in Islamic counties is democracy. But before you hand people that awesome power, you must prepare them for it.
Aristotle understood the danger of democracy when people are not yet ready for self rule. The peripatetic philosopher was not against democracy. He suggested a sound balance between two extremes – one that romanticizes the rule of people and the other that advocates the governance of the elite that underrate them.
The masses are not always right. It is cruel to let people self –rule when they are not ready for it and have no understanding of democracy. They can end up hurting themselves and others. The tyrannical regimes of the Nazis, the Bolsheviks and the Iranian Islamists were all born out of popular votes. Yet no one would call them democratic.
Self-rule under law is better than all compelling forms of governments. However, democracy cannot be imposed universally. It must arise out of cultural and historical traditions of the people or it will fall into tyranny.
Islamic ethos is theocratic. A theocratic democracy makes as much sense as a round square. To have true democracy in Islamic countries, candidates and parties running with religious platforms must be disqualified. But if you limit the people’s choices to vote for their own candidates it won’t be democracy anymore.
In countries where people are Islamists, democracy cannot take root. Before we can promote democracy, the Islamic ethos must be replaced with the rule of law, respect for the rights of the minorities and the separation of religion from government. In other worlds these countries must be deislamized.
This is much easier said than done. Islam is political by its very nature. You can’t have it in any other way. The whole raison d'être of Islam is to take over the world, establish the Khilaft and rule it on behalf of Allah. Islam is not just a religion, but it is believed by Muslims to be the perfect way of life and governance. How can they keep their faith and distance themselves from it and its goal in their political life? This would be the cause of cognitive dissonance – the discomfort felt when facing a discrepancy between what one believes to be true and something that defies that belief. It is natural that one would want to reject any new idea to keep one’s faith.
What kind of commitment to democracy and democratic values can we expect from Muslims when they get their values from Islam which is anti democratic par excellence? Will someone like Omaya Joha, the famous Islamist cartoonist of Palestinian press and one of the winners of the election who proclaims, "If polygamy is good for Islam, it is good for me," be able to respect the rights of the minorities? If her religious zealotry makes her disregard her own equal rights, will she be able to respect the equal rights of the minorities and disregard her religion?
Imposing democracy in Islamic countries is therefore not an easy task. It's like trying to swim against the current. It’s only a matter of time that people fall back to despotism and tyranny again.
Bush may have all the good intentions in the world but he does not understand the idiosyncrasy of Muslims. His efforts of trying to impose democracy in Islamic countries are not going to work and in fact they will backfire causing more damage than good. You can’t build too high without a foundation. The foundation for democracy in Islamic countries simply does not exist. The America 's fiasco in Somali should have been enough to make them see that democracy can't be imposed on people who do not want it. The democracies in Afghanistan and in Iraq will fall, as soon as America pulls its troops out of these countries.
Yes, democracy is what the Islamic countries need most. But before democracy can take root, Islam must be weeded out.
You're right! That's why I think nuking Iran might not be such a bad idea. It's the only form of psychotherapy that's likely to work in that part of the world, just as it worked on Japan.
You're giving the Euroweenies way too much credit. Like all socialists, they see only what supports their own preconceived notions. All else is just the rantings of us "racist, capitalist, sexist, white male, Confederate, Christian fundamentalist, whacko nut job bigots".
THAT is where this is heading.
I won't be in the least surprised to wake up tomorrow, turn on the tube and see that it has begun. It won't take much at this point. We're at the edge of the cliff.
My question is, why does the world have to support a people that refused to support themselves? The sole objective of islamics when left to their own devices seems to be the spread of islam and the destruction of Israel and the West.
Makes sense.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.
The ultimate protection of a society is the willingness of its citizens to lay down their lives for the protection of their homes, families, and nation.
People who own their own homes, farms, and businesses will fight to defend them against the barbarians. Those who simply consume their welfare allotment are not so motivated
For a long time I've been an advocate of paying an emigration subsidy to any Palestinian woman age 18-25 willing to move elsewhere. $20K would find a lot of takers.
No Palestinian women = no next generation of Palestinian troublemakers
In Islam, only the warrior has status
Islam was only prosperous when it was expanding by conquest. As soon as its expansion was halted, and the influx of loot ceased, it went into decline for centuries. It was only rejuvinated with a new source of unearned wealth -- oil
It's funny you say that because, during the middle ages, the same was true, for the most part, about European civiization...men of title were warriors.
While Judeo/Christian civilization has moved on to more productive endeavors, islam is stuck in the middle ages.
No, islam isn't stuck in the middle ages, islam is stuck in its own roots, the parasitic nomadic arabic survivalist culture that can be traced historically back to 1500 BCE.
And Europe stayed stuck in the Middle Ages as long as that was true.
As long as the armored knight on horseback was the supreme fighter, and could beat a large group of unarmored peasants, he was in charge. Gunpowder changed that. Being a knight required expensive equiptment, and a lifetime of full time training to stay proficient. When a peasant with a musket could put a hole in a knight, that was that.
me too!
smug= 3 : highly self-satisfied
You will have to stay tired of it because many people judge Islam on the basis of the words of the Koran and Hadith. That you know apostates who claim that their beliefs represent Islam, rather than the sacred texts of Islam is immaterial. Mohammadans who look to their scripture for enlightenment and sanctification will be drawn to the undeniable call to violence.
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