The new "democrats" in Egypt fear this guy? 71-year-old actor Abel Imam
There’s not much in life that gives less satisfaction than saying, “I told you so.” Readers of this
blog know that I have routinely inveighed against getting too excited about
“Arab Spring,” that series of upheavals that convulsed the Middle East in early
2010. Its Western defenders hailed it as an outbreak of democracy that promised
to empower the masses and bring an end to regional strife. I can forgive the
magical thinking of average Americans whose ignorance was a product of ahistoricism
and altruism. Our leaders and intellectuals should have known better.
At the time I was among the few observers that cautioned
that we ought not to throw around terms such as democracy, elections, and mass
participation with such cavalier recklessness. My own take on the Middle East
history is tempered by familiarity with seven decades of Islamic state policies
on Israel, gender equity, and multiculturalism. I have seen lots of
anti-Semitism, misogyny, and cultural intolerance; I have not seen much that
passes for democracy, nor do I hear it gurgling up from those groups likely to replace
deposed governments. I also know that theocratic states have been much worse on
the aforementioned issues than those authoritarian regimes the West reflexively
revile. Surely only a fool would equate leaders such as Mubarak, Saddam, or
Assad with social justice, but Egypt, Iraq, and pre-civil war Syria under those
tyrants surpassed the social justice record of theocracies such as Iran, Saudi
Arabia, Yemen, or the Taliban. Lest we forget, pre-revolutionary Egypt was the
first Arab nation to recognize Israel’s right to exist. (Jordan is the only
other.)
The 1979 Camp David Accords will be in serious jeopardy
under an Egypt ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood. Lately I’ve been hearing people
say that the Brotherhood has to be given a chance—that it contains “moderate”
elements. More magical thinking, say I. Why are well-intentioned people so reluctant to call out bad
behavior? Why are the same people–Noam Chomsky, who is Jewish, leaps to mind–so
intent on tolerating those who wouldn’t tolerate them? Mention “values clash”
and you get accused of being anti-Muslim. Applied to individuals, I agree, but
there is a fundamental values clash
between Muslim theocracies and Western nation-states. I’m all for letting Muslim
nations work out their destinies independent of U.S. interference. We have no
business in dictating their paths, and Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan
graphically indicate that we’re no damn good at nation building. Step aside,
and in doing so, let’s stop kidding ourselves: in cultural and political terms,
these are not our people. Those who wield power simply don’t believe in
multiculturalism, Israel, empowering women, the rule of civil law, or most of
the precepts Americans enshrine in the Bill of Rights.
The latest case in point is the jailing of Egyptian comedian Adel Imam. He’s serving a three-month prison sentence for
“insulting Islam” in roles in films such as “The Terrorist” and “Morgan Ahmed
Morgan.” At this point I should mention that Imam is 71-years-old and that his
first “offense” occurred in a 1994 film, the second in 2007. Mubarak deemed
neither film worthy of prosecution, but the conservative Salafi Muslims now
running the (soon-to-be-sinking) ship in Cairo somehow deem Imam a threat. (Gee--it couldn’t have anything to do
with the fact that Imam supported Mubarak, could it?) Still think the new Egypt
is on the road to democracy? Free speech? It sounds more like something out of
Orwell to me. And, yes, I told you
so.
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