Arab Democracy

כ' לחודש התשעי תשע"ג

Egypt’s New Constitution: Laying the Basis for an Islamist, Sharia State

Barry Rubin, December 3, 2012

On November 30, a Constituent Assembly consisting almost 100 percent of Islamists voted to approve the draft of Egypt’s new constitution. The next day, President Muhammad Mursi ordered that a referendum be held on December 15. In other words, Egypt’s population will be given two weeks to consider the main law, which has 230 articles, that will govern their lives for decades to come.

Most of the non-Islamists had walked out of the Assembly because they objected to the proposed constitution, and it seems as if the remaining opposition members did not even attend the vote. So great is the outrage that Egypt’s judges — who supervise elections and were explicitly asked by Mursi to oversee the forthcoming referendum – have refused to do so. (snip)

(Tip Credit: @Soccer Dad)

Oh, yeah, and their will be a next time.  The only question is whether it will be Turkey, Algeria, Jordan, or one of any number of other countries.  Perhaps this will be Syria's fate in the near future.

There is an expression:

"Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it."

The U. S. Government has been kvelling over the spread of the 'truth, beauty, and [apparent] freedom' of Democracy, around the world. In the 1980's, the Iron Wall came tumbling down, and one by one, Eastern European countries were reborn as democratic governments. The democratic wave soon spread throughout the member states of the Former Soviet Union,...well,...sort of.

Gee, do you think that perhaps this is because Arabs may actually be culturally-oriented in a completely different direction than the West?  The Uber Left refuse acknowledge the implications of this.  They like to chalk up their refusal to "cultural differences."  But, in reality it is just a gross denial of the impending terrorist take over staring them in the face.

Tokens such as King Abdullah of Jordan, along with assorted doctors, engineers, and other scientists are propped up as poster children for how the Arabs can see the light of Western European culture and change.

They do not call it that, of course.  Rather they have deluded themselves into thinking that they're just like them.

Rudolph Valentino

It is almost as if the liberal west has been seduced by the deep brown eyes of its fantasy Arab, and has been blinded to everything else surrounding him.  Meanwhile, their "conservative" counterparts have indeed, been seduced, by Arab oil, that is.

Horror stories of women unable to leave Arab countries with their children, if at all, honor killings and female, sexual mutilation, are anomalies, if the even exist at all.

Israel being bombarded by rockets from Hezbollah to the north, Hamas to the south, and sometimes both, is immaterial.

But this time, unlike 2011, it is the regime that enjoys the support of the armed forces and Western governments, being buttressed also with almost $10 billion in aid. “The people” aren’t going to bring down this regime and the new rulers are going to implement their interpretation of “God’s law.” That is the new meaning of democracy in Egypt. (snip)

Westerners have made their bed.  And, now they have to sleep in it.

I hope someone remembers to bring the condoms.

–Islamic Sharia law is the main source of Egypt’s laws. While this has been in previous constitutions, the problem is interpreting how strictly Sharia will be interpreted and how widely it will be applied. What that passage means for Egypt is going to be a lot more significant under a Muslim Brotherhood government with major input from even more radical Salafists than it did under President Husni Mubarak’s relatively secular-style regime.

–A basic principle of the Constitution (Article 4) is to consult al-Azhar, the country’s influential Islamic university on any issue when Sharia is concerned, which potentially means on every issue. That elevates al-Azhar above all other non-governmental institutions. Al-Azhar is not (yet?) in Muslim Brotherhood hands but its leaders, who know which way the wind blows, can be expected to back a tough interpretation of Sharia law.

– To further ensure that Egypt will be a Sharia state, another provision (Article 219) states that the principles of Sharia are to be found in the four Sunni schools of thought, ruling out any reformist possibilities.

The next time anyone writes an article, reporting similar "democratic" activities in Arab countries, I expect,....  No, I demand that the author conclude with the following statement:

"Is anyone really surprised?"  

(tongue-in-cheek) 

After all, look at Hamas.  It, too, was a "democratically elected" government.