RECENT Egypt and Tunisian Revolution and mass uprising in Jordan and Yemen (with emerging undercurrents in all Muslim states) is almost viewed by both Rightists and Leftists of the West as just a pro-democracy movement. Some are viewing this movement as being against the dictators who were brutal criminals, mass murderers, torturers, and were anti-democracy. Some are presenting the movement as a show of anger against poverty, unemployment, and hunger.
All these analyses, perceptions, and presentations are of course partially true but not absolutely true. The reasons are much deeper. To understand these movements, one has to have an understanding of Islam, Qur’an, Islamic history, and Muslim psychology.Could it be any more explicit? The Muslim is telling you that what Muslims mean by "freedom" isn't the freedom of democracy, a kafir (and therefore an "unclean," cootie-riddled) concept. They mean the "freedom" to follow the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad to the letter--the "freedom" to submit to sharia and its built-in inequities, ones which make it the antithesis of Western freedom.
Two things are common in the reasoning of Muslims’ uprising: slavery and humiliation. Muslims (a part of, or whole Muslim world) have been living under slavery for more than the last two centuries. First they were under the direct control of colonial and occupying powers; Britain, France, and Italy, etc. Afterward Muslims were slaves of the enslaving governments’ puppets, clients, paid agents, and rulers under all forms of governments --monarchy, dictatorship, socialism, and democracies.
However, Muslims have enormous power to emerge again even after the slavery of centuries. The reason is that their main literature, the book of guidance, the Quran, is intact and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) are intact. Its texts, words, and letters are intact...
Our failure to understand that--and, judging by what I've seen on CNN, the Beeb and Ceeb, the failure is rampant and firmly entrenched in the oh-so-appealing "freedom" narrative--will prove catastrophic for our future.
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What I find even more disturbing--and frustrating--is that we have already seen an earlier version of this same movie: The Iranian Revolution of 1979. Everything, except the names of the characters and the geographical backdrop, remains the same, from the "secularist" youthful throngs that initially took to the streets, to the shrewd old theocrats lurking in the shadows while waiting for the propitious moment to make their move, down to the wishful thinking and fatuous commentary by the Western intelligentsia and political leadership.
Apparently we are doomed to repeat a lesson of recent history that we did not learn the first time around.
Western intelligentsia are delusional and has been for some time.
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