The
shift in the
American-lead western policies towards the Middle East meant that they
have sided with radical Islamists in the region. That policy is hoping
to bring in radical Islam from
the fringes of the society into the scene and hence pacify them by
absorbing their
aspirations through engagement in the political process. The Americans
must be hoping to subject
radical Islam to the realities of political administration. Countries
such as
Egypt and Tunisia are faced with economic, social and geopolitical
realities
capable of bringing political Islam down to earth with no room for
utopist altercations
easily nurtured in opposition corners. That must have been the hope of
the
likes of Obama and his think tanks.
liberals
and secular thinkers in the region see as it is once stated that USA
“has traded the tyranny of dictators to the tyranny of radical Islam and extremism” in the region.
From
the peoples of the region perspective, that
significant shift in the American policy which would certainly have
profound
effect on all aspects of life in the region, has not catered for the
views of those who have been fighting for the cause of democracy, human
rights and liberal secular cause in the region. Those who have been over
the years been seen by those very radicals as westernized and
anti-Islam. The balance
of power and argument has certainly tilted towards radical and moderate
political Islam, as a result of this policy change. Forces of democracy,
liberalism and secular free thought in
the region have taken some beating and are driven into obscurity right
now.
Forces of radical Islam are unleashed on the people of the region. They
are on
the scene now with no recognized model of governance or economics.
Confusion
and frustration will certainly follow. Huge sectors of these societies
will pay
a high price, especially women. It will take a generation or two to
redress the
imbalance created yet again by American ill-thought policies.
