17 January 2011

The Power of Political Islam

.... Western leaders must understand that Tunisia is an exception in the region, and the best chance for democratization in the Arab World rests with the Islamist opposition.

Some, like Daniel Pipes, continue to cast non-violent Islamists as wolves in sheep’s clothing who are just waiting for their chance to establish Islamic states and, ultimately, reestablish a world caliphate.

But politically engaged Islamic parties have been participating in the electoral process in Indonesia, Turkey, Lebanon, and elsewhere for some time now, and the dire predictions of the pessimists have yet to substantially hinder U.S. interests. [Foreign Policy in Focus] Read more [via National Secular Society]