The Arab Spring continues apace as one Islamic Dictator after another falls to popular uprisings. The US has either quietly stayed on the sidelines as in Egypt and Iran or played an active role as in Iraq and Libya. Although US involvement in Libya was sort of a one off since it was conducted via NATO which is a military euphemism for the US. The US along with the western powers see these uprisings as an effort by the people to be free and struggling for democratic representative government. While these uprisings may establish new representative governments any resemblance to any western style democratic government is wishful thinking. The western powers seem incapable of grasping the realities of the Middle East and Islam. In spite of the politically correct position of the US government and the West, the reality is Christendom ( read the West) is engaged in religious war with Islam.
The Obama administration has declared that all American Troops will withdraw from Iraq. For the anti-war crowd this appears as a victory instead of the disaster it may be because to the Islamic community they won and have succeeded in driving American Forces out of Iraq. Iraq is not politically stable and that instability is being driven by Iran whose objective is to create another Islamic Nation dominated by Iran. It is almost a certainty the current government cannot remain in power once the US leaves and any new government will be Islamic, not secular, and certainly anti-American and anti-Christian.
Currently the West is celebrating the fall of the Gadhafi Government with the belief (read hope) that the new government will be democratic, pro-west, and secular. The first step of the new government was to declare Sharia Law. Of course this doesn’t mean that will stand because like most of the Arab nations, Libya is tribal and each of these tribes is now fully armed and struggling to gain power. It is probable that Libya will remain unstable for the foreseeable future but regardless of who finally emerges as the new dictator he will not be secular or democratic but Islamic and certainly not pro-west. Abdul Jalil – the head of the Libyan transitional government has already announced that he intends to establish Sharia Law in Libya – thus firmly returning Libya to the 8th Century.
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia died recently and now who will be the new Crown Prince is undetermined but the probability is that the logical candidate Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz will be chosen. Saudi Arabia is strictly Islamic and rules with Sharia Law. World opinion has increasingly pressured Arabia to abandon or at least not enforce some of the more barbarous parts of Sharia. While Saudi Arabia has supported the US in some ways that support has largely been because the Royal family is not loved and needs international support. This is why the current Saudi government has been softening its enforcement of Sharia. If Aziz comes to power there is little doubt but he would return to the strict enforcement of Sharia law and reduce his support for the US. With Aziz in power Saudi Arabia could become very unstable and it is feasible that the Monarchy could fall and be replaced by an Islamic dictator.
As a further example of the failed US foreign policies we have Syria. The US was quick to step into Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya and to support the uprisings in Egypt but have done nothing to support the uprising in Syria. It is no secret that Syria has a well organized and capable military and Assad is supported by Iran. If the people of Syria by some miracle manage to overthrow Assad, can the US expect their support? Not very likely but if Assad manages to suppress his opposition which he is likely to do, he will be indebted to Iran and Hezbollah. He would then pose an even greater threat to Lebanon and Israel. What the US policy is toward Syria has never been very clear and the failure to support the rebels in Syria will strengthen the current government just as it did in Iran and America will once again appear to be an unreliable friend.
Iran is actually Persia and at various times in history Persia has been a mighty empire and it seems clear that the current government is intent on re-establishing that empire, if not directly certainly indirectly. As the Arab Spring progresses Iranian influence has spread from Iran across Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. How Turkey, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia react to this is to be determined but the intransigence of America cannot make them overly comfortable in relying on America and that is before Iran gains nuclear power, which they are sure to do. And when they do gain nuclear capability there is no doubt they will use it as intimidation on all of the Islamic Middle East in their bid to re-establish the Caliphate and the Persian Empire. In the meantime the American public should not be so quick to celebrate the Arab Spring as an example of the rise of democracy because these governments are not going to resemble anything like western democracies and with a Nuclear Iran as the central power a major military confrontation may not be far off.
Showing posts with label Arab Spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arab Spring. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Arab Spring and Islam
The entire Middle East is in turmoil as the people rise up in rebellion against the incumbent rulers. Unfortunately the western world sees this as a spontaneous effort by the people to achieve freedom and representative government. Actually this view rests on an appalling lack of historical knowledge as well as any insight into what Islam is all about. From the beginning Islam has swept all of the secular powers in the Middle East out of power and made great inroads into Europe and Asia but at no time did the Islamic rulers ever establish any semblance of a representative government or allow any of the freedoms so cherished by the West. Instead there has been just one repressive government after another and the Arab Spring is unlikely to produce anything close to a democratic government with all of the freedoms the west associates with democracy. In Iraq where American power overthrew a brutal dictator the new government is struggling to establish a representative government but is being challenged by Imam Al Sadr who wants an Islamic style government. In the meantime Christians are being persecuted along with any Jews that remain, so regardless of who emerges with the power it is unlikely to look anything like any western style democracy.
The people in the west, particularly those who subscribe to the pseudo-religion of multiculturalism and political correctness, watch these rebellions through western eyes and with virtually no understanding of what is actually happening. In the Arab world loyalties are very different than in the west and Libya is an excellent example to observe loyalties in the Arab world. In Islam loyalty is to the family – not just the nuclear family but all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and nephews. The second loyalty is to the village and the third level of loyalty is to the tribe. Loyalty to a country if it exists at all is pretty thin and in spite of all of the flag waving in Libya this is essentially a tribal war and not a civil war in terms of the people versus the government. This is a group of western tribes who have held power for forty years being challenged by the eastern tribes who think it is time they held the power. Once the current regime in Libya is gone the new one is unlikely to establish anything resembling a truly democratic government. It will be an Islamic government with the only unknown being how extreme will it be.
Somehow the politically correct crowd in the west excuses the excesses of Islam on the basis that these are extremists and that at its core, Islam is a religion of peace. The naïveté of this position is astonishing given the 1500 years of evidence. The reality is the Muslim Moderates the politically correct cite as examples of Islam as peaceful simply don’t understand Islam. The true Muslims are those that are conducting the war against Christians, Jews, and Infidels. They are not “extremists who have perverted the teachings of the Koran – no -- in fact they are following Islam and the Koran to the letter. In reality it is the moderates are not adhering to the teachings of the Koran and it is unlikely they would be tolerated by Mohammed if he were alive today. Of course it is possible that as the Arab Spring progresses these moderate Muslims might come to power but it is highly unlikely given the history of Islam.
The mobs in the streets of Syria, Libya, and other Arab states are all male although in Egypt you might see a few women but even there the majority is male. Does anyone expect for the new regimes to suddenly give women equal rights? Will women be free to dress as they choose and go where they please? Will there be freedom of religion? Will Christian missionaries be permitted to proselytize in these countries under the new regimes? Will the new governments allow freedom of the press or will the government continue to control what the people hear? Will these new governments be friendly to the west or will they continue the jihad? Will Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and the multiple jihadist groups stop attacking the west? The reality is that nothing has changed and it is unlikely anything will change. Islam has been at war with Christians, Jews, and the infidels since the 7th Century and their attacks will not cease until they have conquered the world, which is what they believe is the command of Allah.
The western powers can help overthrow these repressive regimes and hope things will change but it is very unlikely. It is more probable that the former repressive regimes will be replaced by new repressive Islamic regimes perhaps not as extreme as the Taliban but certainly not resembling anything like a true democratic government with all of the freedoms associated with a free and open society.
The people in the west, particularly those who subscribe to the pseudo-religion of multiculturalism and political correctness, watch these rebellions through western eyes and with virtually no understanding of what is actually happening. In the Arab world loyalties are very different than in the west and Libya is an excellent example to observe loyalties in the Arab world. In Islam loyalty is to the family – not just the nuclear family but all of the aunts, uncles, cousins, and nephews. The second loyalty is to the village and the third level of loyalty is to the tribe. Loyalty to a country if it exists at all is pretty thin and in spite of all of the flag waving in Libya this is essentially a tribal war and not a civil war in terms of the people versus the government. This is a group of western tribes who have held power for forty years being challenged by the eastern tribes who think it is time they held the power. Once the current regime in Libya is gone the new one is unlikely to establish anything resembling a truly democratic government. It will be an Islamic government with the only unknown being how extreme will it be.
Somehow the politically correct crowd in the west excuses the excesses of Islam on the basis that these are extremists and that at its core, Islam is a religion of peace. The naïveté of this position is astonishing given the 1500 years of evidence. The reality is the Muslim Moderates the politically correct cite as examples of Islam as peaceful simply don’t understand Islam. The true Muslims are those that are conducting the war against Christians, Jews, and Infidels. They are not “extremists who have perverted the teachings of the Koran – no -- in fact they are following Islam and the Koran to the letter. In reality it is the moderates are not adhering to the teachings of the Koran and it is unlikely they would be tolerated by Mohammed if he were alive today. Of course it is possible that as the Arab Spring progresses these moderate Muslims might come to power but it is highly unlikely given the history of Islam.
The mobs in the streets of Syria, Libya, and other Arab states are all male although in Egypt you might see a few women but even there the majority is male. Does anyone expect for the new regimes to suddenly give women equal rights? Will women be free to dress as they choose and go where they please? Will there be freedom of religion? Will Christian missionaries be permitted to proselytize in these countries under the new regimes? Will the new governments allow freedom of the press or will the government continue to control what the people hear? Will these new governments be friendly to the west or will they continue the jihad? Will Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and the multiple jihadist groups stop attacking the west? The reality is that nothing has changed and it is unlikely anything will change. Islam has been at war with Christians, Jews, and the infidels since the 7th Century and their attacks will not cease until they have conquered the world, which is what they believe is the command of Allah.
The western powers can help overthrow these repressive regimes and hope things will change but it is very unlikely. It is more probable that the former repressive regimes will be replaced by new repressive Islamic regimes perhaps not as extreme as the Taliban but certainly not resembling anything like a true democratic government with all of the freedoms associated with a free and open society.
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