| Many people suggest that as democracy spreads | | | | and Egypt have shown powerful support for |
| around the globe, we will see an emergence of | | | | Islamists. Religious groups have won majorities in |
| liberal societies. The popular media and the White | | | | the former two, while a majority of the Muslim |
| House make this assertion when suggesting that | | | | Brotherhood's candidates were elected in Egypt |
| as democracy spreads through the Muslim world, | | | | (not enough to form a government, since it didn't |
| peaceful and liberal governments will emerge in | | | | run candidates everywhere). |
| place of belligerent and oppressive tyrants. | | | | From these events I drew the following |
| To be honest, I believed it all myself until recently. | | | | conclusions. |
| But, as they say, hindsight is 20/20, and so a | | | | Firstly, and most importantly, Muslims in the Middle |
| confluence of recent events have allowed me to | | | | East do not have liberal values; their values are |
| see why this is not so. In addition, I'd like to take | | | | primarily religious. Whereas liberalism advocates |
| the opportunity to make the distinction between | | | | the separation of Church and State (Mosque and |
| democracy and liberalism. | | | | State as it were), Muslims in the Middle East are |
| Event 1) Two semesters ago, I took an excellent | | | | looking at drafting laws and constitutions based on |
| course entitled the Middle East Today, whose | | | | Sharia. Like Paul Martin said, you vote for people |
| focus was Islam. I learnt that "the door to ijtihad | | | | based on your values. As we in the West are so |
| was closed" (Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D, President, | | | | steeped in the liberal tradition, we inherently |
| Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc) | | | | associate liberalism with democracy. However, |
| sometime around the early 1300s. Ijtihad is, in the | | | | democracy means voting for people who reflect |
| clear words of Dr. Syed, "individual intellectual | | | | your values, and if your values aren't liberal, you |
| effort" used for the "articulation and interpretation | | | | won't have a liberal democracy. |
| of Shariah (Islamic law)." As scholarship in the | | | | Secondly, the liberalism to which Muslims are |
| Muslim worlds predominantly meant the study of | | | | exposed to here, mainly in the form of freedom |
| Shariah, shutting down ijtihad basically meant | | | | of speech and freedom of the press (i.e. an open |
| putting an end to critical thinking. | | | | door to interpretation), has rubbed off. At a |
| Event 2) The Muhammad cartoons published in a | | | | Hamas run school, losing a debate (topic: Who's |
| Danish newspaper stir up controversy in the | | | | filthier: pigs, rats or Americans?) could mean losing |
| Muslim world months after their initial publication. I | | | | your head, literally (assuming they have debates). |
| noticed that the Middle East's Muslims rioted, while | | | | In the West, losing a debate means learning from |
| those in the West protested. Note the nuance | | | | your mistakes and improving your critical thinking. |
| between rioted, as in trashed and burned things, | | | | This exposure to liberal values explains why the |
| and protested, as in peacefully voiced their | | | | reaction to the cartoons here in North America |
| displeasure. | | | | was letter-writing rather than flag-burning. |
| Event 3) Elections in Iraq, the Palestinian Authority | | | | |