Friday, December 30, 2005
You could also subhead this 'Demopaths' -- elections alone do not a democracy make. Andrew Bostom writes in The American Thinker:
...Responding to an uncharacteristic European Union threat to terminate its own de facto jizya, i.e., “aid” payments to the Palestinian Authority, should Hamas gain significant Parliamentary seats in the January elections, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal warned about the dangers of “playing with the values of democracy and freedom”. What a bitter irony that a murderous jihadist organization has co-opted the rhetoric of true liberal democracies in order to impose the totalitarian Shari’a “democratically”. As writer Diana West noted appositely,
“It is vox populi. And just because the people have spoken doesn’t mean we should applaud what they say.”
Democracy – mere popular rule – should not be our primary objective for the Muslim world, but rather Muslim societies and governments who share our values, so we can safely share this planet.
"Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal warned about the dangers of 'playing with the values of democracy and freedom'."
A pronounced and undisguised example of using the language of democracy while vacating the meaning and substance. The histories of Hamas, Hezbollah, Arafatistan, etc. reflect fascistic forms of both internal and external controls, so the argument they're now appreciative of "democracy" is amusing.
"Democracy – mere popular rule – should not be our primary objective for the Muslim world, but rather Muslim societies and governments who share our values, so we can safely share this planet." That's one of the most nonsensical statements I've seen lately. "Mere" popular rule? Since when is popular rule so insignificant? Hamas might come to power through an election, but it could never hold power democratically without changing into a dramatically different organization. By definition, if our goal is "mere" democracy, Hamas is not in the mix.
Does Andrew Bostom think that "Muslim societies and governments who share our values" (whatever these may be) will somehow come into existence without democracy?