“Our” Islamists
Defenders of current US policy in the Islamic world argue that it is sometimes necessary to choose the lesser of two evils, which is why, when it came to the Persian Gulf oil monarchies, America chose the status quo over the Arab Spring. But, as its history in Afghanistan shows, the US risks fomenting new and even greater dangers.
NEW DELHI – Following the death of Libya’s Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s interim government announced the “liberation” of the country. It also declared that a system based on sharia (Islamic law), including polygamy, would replace the secular dictatorship that Qaddafi ran for 42 years. Swapping one form of authoritarianism for another seems a cruel letdown after seven months of NATO airstrikes in the name of democracy.
NEW DELHI – Following the death of Libya’s Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s interim government announced the “liberation” of the country. It also declared that a system based on sharia (Islamic law), including polygamy, would replace the secular dictatorship that Qaddafi ran for 42 years. Swapping one form of authoritarianism for another seems a cruel letdown after seven months of NATO airstrikes in the name of democracy.