Elections in the Muslim World, Be Careful What You Wish For

Beyond the Cusp ^ | April 4, 2011 | B Saunders

[bsaunders]

There has been fluctuating levels changing with each news report or editorial last seen of the possibility that the Muslim countries where leaders are under siege or have already stepped down will soon be holding democratic elections to decide the makeup of their governing bodies and leaders. Much of the reaction to the already planned elections in Egypt and the tantalizing possibilities of elections in even more Muslim countries have been widely positive despite absolutely no indication that such elections will turn out to the advantage of the Western democratic based governments and peoples. One need only look back at the last few elections in Lebanon that slowly but inexorably led to Hezballah now ruling that country and in complete command of the Lebanese military. Or we can remember the glorious results of the elections the United States forced to fruition in the Palestinian areas where the Hamas terrorist organization won an overwhelming victory that led to a civil war over Gaza won by Hamas and a refusal to allow further elections in the West Bank to assure President Abbas’s position. Even the election under United States and allies' careful supervision in Afghanistan did not result in the most promising of leaders. Many have referred to Afghan President Karzai as ruling over a criminal enterprise for the enrichment of his relatives who run the poppy trade and other shady enterprises. The closest any Muslim country who recently entered into a democratic system that has had even the slightest glimmer of promising results has been Iraq where the United States has tightly controlled the candidates permitted to run for office to some extent and have stood guard of the process for two full election cycles. The truth of whether democracy will survive in Iraq or Afghanistan will come once Western influence and troops have left and gone home. Then the true test will come and the results can then be measured.

The one supposed shining example of a Muslim country succeeding in holding to a democratic form of government is Turkey. It is true that since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established the Turkish Constitution, a democratic and secular rule survived for as long as they were permitted to enforce their Constitution. The secret to the success of the Turkish democratic system was due to the fact that Kemal Atatürk anticipated the eventuality that the people would elect religious leaders who would eventually be emboldened to the point of trying to enforce Sharia Law. It was when such a trend became apparent that the brilliance of Kemal Atatürk became evident. Most democratic governments in the West rely on the people to enforce the secular nature of their governance. Kemal Atatürk realized that in Turkey, with a predominant Muslim society, eventually the people would begin to turn towards a religion based governance and thus end the secular and liberal governance he had imposed in order to allow Turkey to keep pace with modern societies rather than fall victim to superstitions that infected much of the rest of the Muslim world. To prevent this occurrence, Kemal Atatürk tasked the military with enforcing the secular nature of the government. Should religious parties take control and begin to impose Sharia and turn away from secular ruling, the military was to dissolve the government and hold new elections until a government was put in place that returned rule to a secular model. This had worked well despite the occasional need for the military to correct the course of governance. With the election of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AKP party, Turkey began another shift towards religious rule. The military was considering removing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP party from power when the European Union, backed fully by the United States, demanded the Turkish military stand down and not interfere with the elected government despite this being their responsibility according to the Turkish constitution. As we look back now, we see that Kemal Atatürk knew who the people were that made up his country’s electorate and had wisely placed a limit on their ability to turn Turkey into another Islamist run country. Thanks to the interdiction of the EU and the US, Turkey has now allied with Iran, turned on Israel, and has begun entertaining ideas of reestablishing the Ottoman Caliphate. I, for one, really wish that the EU and the US had minded their own business and allowed the mechanisms put in place by the man, Kemal Atatürk, whose name the country bares to correct the course of the governance. Now, let them live with the Turkey they have created.

Beyond the Cusp

[bsaunders]

Thanks for reading this editorial article. I fear the overly optimistic politicians and so-called experts are going to lead us merrily down a merry path to disaster. If you liked this writing, there are numerous articles that I did not post here on FR. I try not to overestimate the value of my opinions beyond that of just another voice among many. To read other articles (I never excerpt my articles I post here) please visit Beyond the Cusp. Thank you again.