subject: Democracy and Islam -Are They Compatiable? [print this page] Democracy and Islam -Are They Compatiable?
The notion of Islamic countries seeking democracy within Islam is entirely false. The very nature of Islam is opposed to any form of democracy and will lead to a take over of a country becoming a proxy state of Iran or by an Islamic extremist organization. The spiritual leader of Iran referred to the "democratic revolution" in Egypt and the surrounding Middle East as Islamic not pro-democracy.
"These popular movements are definitely Islamic and should be reinforced". 1
Islam by its very nature is a theocratic religion and demands complete obedience to Allah and the Koran. Under Sharia law: There is no freedom of religion, no freedom of artistic expression, and no equal rights for women. Islamic states do not adhere to the The UN Declaration of Human Rights, which give the basic core values that all nations should abide by. That is why democracy cannot work within the framework of an Islamic state. As long as the state religion is Islam there can be no democracy. The Obama administration has shown its ineptness in dealing with foreign policy especially in the Middle East. Instead of seizing the moment, he has shown lack of leadership in foreign affairs.
The present crisis in the Middle East, Gulf States and North Africa is a window of opportunity for his administration to recapture lost leadership. The upheaval in region is a great crisis that has overwhelmed the administration. Obama's lack of a clear definitive strategy for the Middle East and his complete betrayal of Israel is only empowering Islamic militants. The events that lead to the over throw of the Shah in Iran in 1979 and the replacement of an Islamic theocratic state, can certainly happen and most likely will happen in Egypt. After all, the revolution in Iran succeeded because, for the first time, merchants, socialists, students, communists, and other groups had joined the radical clerics. That is why the slogan, Day of Rage as it was proclaimed on January 28 in Cairo, is dangerous and it is similar to the protest of the 1960's by radical left socialist in the US. As long as Islam governs a country as defined by the Koran and the religious leaders, democracy will never flourish.
The only democracy in the Middle East and the only reliable friend is the State of Israel. The US foreign policy in the Middle East is responsible for the impending crisis that is brewing today. The United States has joined the Islamic and European nations in undermining the State of Israel. The lack of strong support for Israel by president Obama has contributed in part to the upheaval in the Middle East. The willingness to allow Iran to continue its policy of arming her nuclear arsenal is a serious threat to the region. This policy of appeasement and lack of leadership, in the take over of Lebanon for example, by Hezbollah clearly demonstrates deficiency and expertise in diplomacy. The real battle in defeating Islamic terrorism and global jihad is ideological. Islam is, a totalitarian ideology that seeks world dominance.
A case in point is the recent announcement that the Muslim brotherhood is a secular organization. This statement was an eye opener on how the US administration thinks. The Muslim Brotherhood is not a secular organization. It has as its leader, Supreme Guide Muhammad Badi. Muhammad Badi besides being the spiritual leader for the Muslim Brotherhood is not only anti-American, anti Israel, but is anti-West. The recent remark by the Chief Intelligence officer James Clapper on February 10 reinforces the ignorance and naivet of the Obama administration. During a House Intelligence Committee hearing Clapper called Egypt's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood movement "largely secular." Badi in one of his sermons, urged all Arab and Muslims to unite in support of the resistance, for "resistance is the solution," and exhorted them to have faith in the Koranic promise that Allah would deliver the infidels into their hands, even if they are weak at the moment.
Now the US is faced with a post Mubarak government and the possibility of a stealth radical organization like the Muslim Brotherhood, taking power, which Iran has already blessed. The brotherhood has demonstrated a powerful capacity to mobilize people in an egalitarian fashion for election- parliament, for professional associations, municipalities, for trade unions, or where the people seek change. The United States and Europe calls for change and dialogue, but Islam call for Jihad that is why democracy cannot co-exist in an Islamic state. Supreme Guide and spiritual leader Muhammad Badi encouraged his follower's to-
Continue in jihad and to have faith in the Koranic promise that Allah would deliver the infidels into their hands, even if they are weak at the moment.2
This remark, which was a sermon to the brotherhood, clearly dispels the notion that the Brotherhood is a secular organization. It is also important to note, one of the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood besides regime change, is to transform the region, rescind the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel and to liberate Jerusalem. "The Way to Jerusalem Passes Through Cairo" 3 Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post says this:
According to a Pew opinion survey of Egyptians from June 2010, 59 percent said they back Islamists. Only 27% said they back modernizers. Half of Egyptians support Hamas. Thirty percent support Hizbullah and 20% support al Qaida. 4
Will Mubarak's military authoritarianism be replaced by Islamic totalitarianism? What is the US government saying to its allies in the Middle East? The answer is obvious..."We will abandon you!" Those who marched in the streets do not view Obama as a proponent of hope and change. This has been the case with Israel, Lebanon and now Egypt. The US in the eyes of Islamic states cannot be trusted because the US is looking out for her own self-interest. If elections take place and a new government emerges in Egypt, the new government will not honor the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The region will become more frightening than ever before and will lead to a major war. The looser will not be Israel, but Egypt and Israel's enemies. It appears that Egypt, and other Islamic states will go through the Valley of Achor. We can only hope that the so-called revolution will not become a Day of Nakba a day of disaster for Islamic states. It appears that it might very well be if things continue as they are.
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the author.
1. Jerusalem Post.com February 20, 2011
2. Memri.org October 2, 2010-report 3274
3. Montasser al-Zayyat, The Road to al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden's Right-Hand Man (London: Pluto Press, 2004), 62.
