"My friends, a future of liberty stands before you. It is your right. It is your dream. And it is your destiny." These were the words of President Bush as he spoke about his goals for democracy in the Middle East, but with civil unrest pervading the region, the realization of those goals is very much in question. In a region with such a complex history and unique traditions, can democracy ever truly thrive?
All Arab states are Muslim, except of Israel, and the first article in their constitution declares that the religion of the state is Islam. Lebanon is an exception, although Lebanon does not have the ingredients and components of a state, and will soon become Shiite under Iranian rule.
Islam is against democracy. Islam stresses authoritarianism, submission, patrimonial rule and lack of freedoms. Muslim scholars and Western Islamists claim that Islam and democracy are compatible; that Islamic values are the real source of democratic perceptions; and that the values and practice of Islam is the origin of human freedoms and the best proof of Allah's greatness. But this is a pure propagation, a Da`wah delivered for the Western public opinion's consumption. In fact, Islam and democracy are totally incompatible, and Islam clearly leads to the ruin of all values that we so dearly respect and cherish.
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