Will the Arab Spring Turn Into Winter?
Author: Robert R. Reilly
Will
the Arab Spring Turn Into Winter? by Robert R. Reilly
The
Judeo-Christian tradition and Islam have very different
understandings of the nature of man and his relationship to God, and
these understandings in turn go a long way toward determining the
political systems that grow out of these respective cultures. In a
recent article in MercatorNet, Bob Reilly does a great job of looking
into these differences and exploring the implications for democracy
in the Middle East. He also highlights a very important new website,
Almuslih.org ,
which is bringing reformist voices from the Middle East to
English-speaking audiences.
With
the lunatic tyrant Moammar Gaddafi almost gone from Libya and the
ground shaking under Bashir Assad’s feet in Syria, one could only
wish that hopes for the Arab Spring were on as solid a foundation as
many seem to think. One’s heart naturally goes out to those who
have been trampled for generations by one-party states or
megalomaniac supreme leaders. These people are getting their first
taste of freedom, and it is exhilarating for them and for all in the
West who wish them well.
For
example, John
O’Sullivan
celebrates that “Egyptians, Tunisians, Syrians, and Libyans have
now proved that they too value liberty and that they are prepared to
make terrible sacrifices for themselves and their fellow-countrymen.
That does not establish that liberal democracy can thrive in the
Middle East, but it settles the question of whether Arab soci