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Arabia
Keanulint-head: Stop pushing freedom since it’s slavery!
2004-03-08
Watch out for spin and anti-Jew bias. Hat tip LGF.
While acknowledging the need for political reforms, an Omani scholar believes Western countries, in particular the US, must stop pressing hard for democracy in the region at this point in time.
"It’s a Jewish plot, and besides, tyranny is much better."
"We want justice more than democracy," said Dr Isam Ali Ahmed Al Rawas, Dean, College of Arts and Social Sciences at the Sultan Qaboos University, in an interview with Gulf News. He was referring to the injustice meted out to Palestinians.
In giving them any concessions whatsoever.
"Democracy is not always freedom," he pointed out, while stressing that Omanis do enjoy freedoms. "We enjoy freedom of expression, that’s the reason why I can freely give my opinion on political matters," he said.
*snap* "Oops. I said we were free and I broke a harp string."
"Whereas, in a democracy like France, people don’t even have the freedom to dress," he said acerbically, referring to the ban on wearing the headscarf in public schools. Even in the US, Dr Al Rawas feels people need more freedom than democracy. "The American people don’t need State of Emergency," he said. Like many others in the region, Dr Al Rawsa is not against democracy. But, "instead of blindly importing the mechanism of democracy from the West, we should be allowed to develop our own model of democracy", he said.
"Preferably one that makes dissent worse than murder."
"It (democracy) will gradually settle and stabilise in our country but we must follow our own ways as we have strong tribal loyalty and family kinship," he explained.
"So you’re my tribe’s traditional foe? You Zionist!" *budda budda*
"We have a different way of ruling for thousands of years and we never allowed people to buy ’the chair’ by dealing and wheeling," he said. "We are on the right track as far as reforms are concerned."
"YEAGGGHHHH! FY LIFS!"
Citing some African states as examples, Dr Al Rawas said: "I feel sorry for democracy in these countries." Praising the reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, he said that in the last 33 years Oman has seen great development and progress and was transformed into a modern state. "In Islam it is said that a nation should not be ruled by those who want to rule but by those who are asked to rule by people," he said.
"Or rather by those who claim to be the people’s choice."
Dr Al Rawas reiterated that reforms are taking place in the region and although there is still need for more reforms, reforms cannot take place by merely taking decisions. "We have to involve the society," he said. He was critical of the double standard of Western countries, heavily influenced by "a particular lobby".
The freedom lobby.
"Look at the irony; on one hand, they are ready to kill our people and then in the name of democracy, they extend a hand of help," he said. He blamed Western powers for turning the Middle East region into a ’war zone’, and said: "We are not living in a normal Middle East region."
"Too much intellectual freedom! Too many Jews!"
Dr Al Rawas blamed the British for creating boundaries and problems of existence after they left this region. "They sucked us dry and left us alone," he said. He urged the Western powers to respect human dignity while dealing with the people of this region. Pointing a finger at the US, he said the UN was hijacked. "They don’t represent the will of their own people, but the Zionist lobby," he said of US policy-makers.
"What the FUCK?? My legs just shrank."
He also blamed the US for supporting the arch-enemy of the Arabs ­ Israel even while they talk about befriending the Arabs.
Because freedom is NOT slavery, keanulint-headed beauzeau!

This is part of the counterattack against Bush's grand Middle East intiative. The tactic involves bitching that the Arab and Muslim world doesn't want to have democracy imposed from outside, but has to get there under its own steam. I've commented before on the intellectual sloppiness of using the world "democracy" when we really mean "personal liberty." Georgie Ann Geyer talks about that better than I can (at least when I'm sober) today, while discussing Haiti:
1) An election alone does not create a democracy, although it's a good beginning; and 2) simply being elected doesn't give one the right to violate people's rights.

"It's complicated," Aronson said. "At what point does a democratic leader forfeit his right to rule? What Haiti needed was a Nelson Mandela, and what it got was a Robert Mugabe."

I would take it a little further. We're way too tied up with the magic word "democracy." It's almost like the ancient alchemists who thought they could make gold from common metals: The modern one-note Americans, rife in this administration, who insist that only the mechanism of democracy is important are the modern political alchemists.

Yet, while forms of democracy are surely desirable everywhere--I prefer the less purist phrase "representative government"--the mechanism of electing leaders doesn't mean much without the cultural, legal, social, economic and psychological stuff of democracy.
As I've said before, democracy isn't essential to build a just society. In places like Haiti, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and Liberia it can actually contribute to the problems. The despotic democracy is kind of the obverse of the benevolent dictatorship, I'd guess. Both are possible, though the despotic democracy is easier to find than the benevolent dictatorship. But there's no state where people groan under oppressive liberty — 'tisn't possible. Democracy (I'm repeating myself here...) isn't an end in itself; it can be a tool to achieve liberty, and it's probably the most usual indicator of liberty. But democracy without liberty is just the same old pig with a few extra layers of paint and powder.
Posted by:Steve from Relto

#7  Mojo, are you saying that Lex Luther was a Jew? I always thought he was Protestant. Those Jews ought not be allowed to fiddle with their names and drop the burg off the end and stuff. Martin Luther has been hijacked!!! Sorry, I think I was channeling Muck4dodo.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-3-8 10:21:29 PM  

#6  East Carolina is only the portal to Central State
Posted by: Shipman   2004-3-8 5:01:06 PM  

#5  What a maroon. The Jews? They're only your "arch enemies" because you make them be. If you jerks would stop messin' with 'em, they'd stop kicking your asses. Schmucks.
Posted by: mojo   2004-3-8 4:27:17 PM  

#4  I thought it was between Georgia and East Carolina?
Posted by: Fred   2004-3-8 3:35:18 PM  

#3  "The American people don’t need State of Emergency," he said.

Eh? It never interested me, but, geez, it's just a video game.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-3-8 3:19:40 PM  

#2  Actually, democracy doesn't necessarily bring prosperity - respect for individual property rights does. South Korea is a good example of a non-democracy that prospered because investment was respected and entrepreneurship wasn't stifled by excessive state-owned industries.
Constitutional Republics usually do better than straight democracies because the rights of minorities are better protected. When straight democracy precedes property rights, countries end up in the socialism gutter because politicians make unrealistic promises to the poor to get elected.* Many democracies in Africa and South America are leaning in towards the nanny-state fallacy because the are too poor and property ownership of land and resources has never been properly titled.

*Socialism seems to be more sustainable in Europe because there is enough wealth to be confiscated and reapportioned. Looks like Canada is driving into the nanny-state ditch to the extent that increased social program spending has sucked so much GDP that national defense can no longer be maintained.
The US isn't that much better off. When Social Security outlays peak, we will be faced with the choice of either running a huge deficit or mothballing our military. What a smart idea it was to dump Social Security revenues into the general fund to support pork projects. Thank you FDR.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-3-8 2:13:45 PM  

#1  We're starting to see more of this line of argument. Weren't Hosni Mubarek and Prince Feisal, FM of the Magic Kingdom, making statements in a joint communique like these a couple of weeks ago? The reason? Too much pressure to change the living room furniture, obviously. The professor's remarks seem out of touch, except I saw Chris Patten, EU FM, on Charlie Rose the other night, and one would have thought that the two had exchanged talking points. Get ready for articles of the same ilk popping up in the usual suspect newspapers and TV.
Posted by: Michael   2004-3-8 2:08:36 PM  

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