By Barry Rubin
President Barack Obama told Democratic Party contributors in Miami:
“When you look at what’s happening…in the Middle East, it is a manifestation of new technologies, the winds of freedom that are blowing through countries that have not felt those winds in decades, a whole new generation that says I want to be a part of this world. It’s a dangerous time, but it’s also a huge opportunity for us.”
By Fern Sidman
Israel National News caught up with frequent op-ed contributor, Dr. Phyllis Chesler, as she delivered remarks at a first-of-its-kind conference in Toronto entitled, “When Middle East Politics Invade Campus” on February 16th. No stranger to the lecture circuit or to controversy, Dr. Chesler’s appearance at this seminal intellectual forum served as the epicenter of the conversation on the continued and increasingly hostile demonization of Israel, both on the college campus and in the media.
FS: Today, you addressed the escalating hatred of Israel in the realm of the Western academy. Can you tell us your observations of this phenomenon since your book, “The New Anti-Semitism” came about some years ago?
by Raymond Ibrahim*
That democracy equates freedom is axiomatic in the West. Say the word “democracy” and images of a free, pluralistic, and secular society come to mind. Recently commenting on the turmoil in Egypt, President Obama made this association when he said that “the United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve” — as if the two are inseparable.
But are they? Does “democracy” always lead to “universal rights” — and all of the other boons associated with that form of governance?
by Raymond Ibrahim*
With Egypt’s “July Revolution” of 1952, for the first time in millennia, Egyptians were able to boast that a native-born Egyptian, Gamal Abdel Nasser, would govern their nation: Ever since the overthrow of its last native pharaoh nearly 2,500 years ago, Egypt had been ruled by a host of foreign invaders — Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks, and Brits, to name a few. After 1952, however, Egypt, it was believed, would finally be Egyptian.
Yet, though Nasser was Egyptian, the spirit of the times that brought him to power was Arab — Arab nationalism, or “pan-Arabism” — the theory that all Arabic-speaking peoples, from Morocco to Iraq, should unify. (Along with Nasser, the tide of pan-Arabism also brought to power Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi, Syria’s Hafez Assad, and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.)
by Raymond Ibrahim*
Recent comments by U.S. officials on the threat posed by “radicalized” American Muslims are troubling, both for their domestic and international implications. Attorney General Eric Holder states that “the threat has changed … to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens — raised here, born here, and who for whatever reason, have decided that they are going to become radicalized and take up arms against the nation in which they were born.” The situation is critical enough to compel incoming head of the House Committee on Homeland Security Peter King to do all he can “to break down the wall of political correctness and drive the public debate on Islamic radicalization.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron has taken a very public stand against Islamic extremism, giving me hope that Europeans are getting tired of their teeming mass of restive, violent Muslim immigrants. Cameron spoke Saturday February 5 at the Munich Security Conference. Here is the full text of his speech. Please read it and pass it on:
By Barry Rubin
As I pointed out recently the mass media in America generally presents only one side of the debate nowadays. Then, it publishes nonsense which survives because it is protected from the withering critique it deserves. And even people who should know better are just losing it.
Consider one example (Roger Cohen has gone beyond ridicule so let’s focus on someone who should know better). I regret criticizing Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution as he is one of the smarter, saner people.
by Daniel Pipes*
The Economist asked Anoush Ehteshami of Durham University and Daniel Pipes to address the motion: “Egypt will become a democracy within a year.” Ehteshami’s response in favor can be read here. Mr. Pipes’s response follows below.
Two reasons lead me to assert that the Arab Republic of Egypt will not boast a democratic political system at this time next year.
Why do so many Jews insist on their divine right to refuse to learn from history? How can a 1930s Stalinist ideology or even a 1960s liberal-socialist-feminist ideology exert such a death-grip over otherwise educated people?
My old friends, Rabbis Michael Lerner and Arthur Waskow have both written and posted pieces today in order to praise the protesters in the streets of Cairo. Both imagine they are pro-democracy advocates, perhaps like those in Tehran. Both rabbis are very much in a Passover state of mind.
by Daniel Pipes*
The sudden and as-yet-unexplained exit of Tunisia’s strongman, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, 74, after 23 years in power has potential implications for the Middle East and for Muslims worldwide. As an Egyptian commentator noted, “Every Arab leader is watching Tunisia in fear. Every Arab citizen is watching Tunisia in hope and solidarity.” I watch with both sets of emotions.
By Thomas Drewing
The GOP still doesn’t get it. They think that people will be mollified by the appearance of taking the Constitution and “We The People” seriously. And they know that far more people will be satisfied by the “news” that they are going to actually read it aloud, than will actually tune in and listen to that very reading.
What is lost on many of them though is the fact that this will be the first time many, if not most, of the actual Congress Critters themselves, have actually heard the words our country is founded upon. And in their desire to appear as though they have gravity and thoughtfulness, they will sit there, and place themselves in a thoughtful appearing state to listen. And actually… that is enough to make the difference.
by Daniel Pipes*
On Jan. 1, 1996, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz became regent and effective ruler of Saudi Arabia. His 15th anniversary this week offers an opportunity to review the kingdom’s changes under his leadership and whither it now heads.
His is perhaps the most unusual and opaque country on the planet, a place without a public movie theater, where women may not drive, where men sell women’s lingerie, where a single-button self-destruct system can perhaps destroy the oil infrastructure, and where rulers spurn even the patina of democracy. In its place, they have developed some highly original and successful mechanisms to keep power.
by Marvin Olasky*
Daniel Pipes founded the Middle East Forum in 1994. The author of 12 books, with a Ph.D. in medieval Islamic history, he is the most prominent American scholar of radical Islam; even CBS said he was “years ahead of the curve” in identifying the radical threat.
Many people associate Islam with terrorism, but you also examine a long-term threat that would be peaceful but transformative. In this country, mostly because of 9/11, we focus on terrorism, but in Europe the discussion is much more about immigration and culture. They say, “Unless we make changes, our civilization will disappear.” Demographics, culture, and religion may make Europe an extension of North Africa, with attractions like the Mosque of Notre Dame in Paris.
By Mark Krikorian, CIS.org
Progress on immigration policy is difficult because it’s a bipartisan issue. It doesn’t split neatly between right and left, between Republican and Democrat. On the side of amnesty, loose enforcement and higher immigration numbers are both organized labor and the Chamber of Commerce, both the liberal Center for American Progress and the libertarian Cato Institute, and both President Obama and former President Bush.
Interview with Daniel Pipes*
Citizen Times: Mr. Pipes, you head various organizations concerning the Middle East and Islam, and are one of the best known American writers on these subjects. How did this all begin for you?
Daniel Pipes: I am a historian of Islam with a special interest in the role of Islam in public life. I received my Ph.D. in 1978, just as Ayatollah Khomeini appeared. For the first time in modern history, Islam had a large and obvious role in Western public life. What had been in the 1970s an abstract interest turned very practical. Islamic matters subsequently became very topical. That prompted me to transit from medieval history to current events. While I cover many other topics besides Islam, Islam remains central to my interests. I have a perspective I hope is useful to understand the role of Islam in politics.
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