One pernicious myth I'd like to dispel
Max Boot looks at recent polls showing an uptick in world opinion of the U.S. That's not too surprising, I suppose. The enmity that followed in the wake of the invasion of Iraq was bound to wane with time.
What I thought was more interesting, however, were these numbers:
Muslim opinion also challenges jihadist orthodoxy that proclaims that giving power to the people, rather than to mullahs, is "un-Islamic." The latest Pew poll found "large and growing majorities in Morocco (83%), Lebanon (83%), Jordan (80%) and Indonesia (77%) -- as well as pluralities in Turkey (48%) and Pakistan (43%) -- [that] say democracy can work well and is not just for the West."
So much for the notion that Arabs and Muslims "don't want" democracy. Can we please bury that patronizing and insulting meme once and for all?
Comments
Wanting democracy is one thing. Doing something to make democracy happen is another. Let them fight and die for it, not us.
Posted by: Roger | August 1, 2005 01:31 PM