Soccer Dad

The problem with Arab "reformers"

From "Egypt's chance to lead" by Jackson Diehl:

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest and most prestigious Islamic movement in the Arab world and, unlike Hamas and Hezbollah, it has explicitly renounced violence.

To which letter writer Gary Parker responds:

In the same column, he notes that the Brotherhood "opposes peace with Israel, supports the Iraqi insurgency, and believes Muslims should be ruled by sharia, or religious law" -- which prescribes stonings for adulterers. Doesn't sound nonviolent to me.

And that's the problem with most Arab/Muslim reformers, not just the Islamist ones. The Arab/Muslim world is filled with dysfunctional governments that hate Israel. So anyone who claims to be for good government gets the moniker "reformer" and is automatically a good guy. The antisemitism is glossed over or excused (after all how can anyone object to someone who supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, even someone who would deny his own citizens their legitimate rights and who can deny the real grievances of the Palestinians?).
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at June 8, 2005 06:11 AM | TrackBack