America Siding with Radical Islam

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.