By ali Sina
Monday, January 30, 2006
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 the 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.
ali Sina is the founder of faithfreedom.org, the organ of the ex-Muslims who strive against political Islam. "Only truth will set us free". Please promote faithfreedom.org
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