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Implications of an Islamist Tunisia

Reader comment on item: Turmoil in Tunisia

Submitted by M. Tovey (United States), Jan 18, 2011 at 18:28

What has happened in Tunisia should be cause for great concern, for the reasons intimated by Dr. Pipes and for reasons not yet seen lurking in the shadows of Tunisia's sand swept vistas. Just as Islamists have recently demonstrated so adeptly, rarely has an opportunity such as this been left unchallenged.

But as it has been debated earlier, this is not a situation of wondering if a moderate Muslim sensibility will assume control of Tunisian politics, but whether any moderated political presence can keep Tunisia from Dr. Pipes' worst case scenario. That Tunisia is a stone's throw (read missile launch) from Tripoli, which has a troubled history with the United States going back more than two hundred years, is one item this American thinks can be an indicator of things to come.

There is no doubt in this reader's view that if the Islamic sentiments were to be given any better chance than this to interdict and insert themselves into mainstream Tunisian politics, the script for taking that chance could not have been written in any other way to give the Islamist's what they need to not only achieve some portion of control, but to potentially assume a majority position.

Dr. Pipes also makes the assertion, correctly so, that little pressure from Western powers are in any position to thwart an Islamist assumption of power, that compromises already made have dulled any ability to put pointed pressure to keep Tunisia 'moderate;' that even if such a 'moderate' Muslim power structure were to emerge, any ability to maintain control remains to be seen. If the 'Ennahda ' are embedded in the society like counterparts in other Muslim countries and have a presence in the military, then one might easily assume the factors necessary to place 'Ennahda' in positions of power are already in place.

In any event, Tunisia can be added to the list of a changing Middle East (though not technically so, but by being in a nominal sphere of influence), so much so that just this little change of the balance is enough to reinforce the intentions of making the eastern Mediterranean more dangerous to western sensibilities and giving more encouragement to other places where just such a shift of power is all that is needed for Islamist's to be more bold in their quest for shari'a over all. As a reminder, those who hold to a Biblical scriptural worldview need not adopt a negative attitude to such things, remembering instead that all such things are under the control of the Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (36) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Oxymoronic "Islamists moderates" [181 words]PilarOct 24, 2011 23:24190345
1Turmoil in oppressive totalitarian Apartheid 'Arab world' [130 words]AnaJan 28, 2011 06:28182093
2Countering islamism [38 words]Clifford IshiiJan 23, 2011 14:22181965
4Egypt and Islamists [347 words]dhimmi no moreJan 22, 2011 07:52181949
Agree on enforced secularism, although not sure how long it can last [64 words]Charles MartelJan 25, 2011 12:41181949
4Overrating Tunisia's Islamists [167 words]Nafata BamagujeJan 21, 2011 03:39181932
The US war against Islamism creates strange bedfellows [61 words]RalphSchmalphJan 23, 2011 16:34181932
Deja Vu [106 words]Peter HerzJan 20, 2011 19:01181927
Exodus [104 words]UgriJan 21, 2011 12:10181927
4US is helpless and toothless, [99 words]roadmasterJan 20, 2011 07:31181917
1morocco [76 words]benchahbaJan 19, 2011 14:21181907
1views [89 words]AnnaJan 19, 2011 11:34181903
Pipes Focus [42 words]Michael NutkiewiczJan 19, 2011 10:45181902
Implications of an Islamist Tunisia [429 words]M. ToveyJan 18, 2011 18:28181890
Tunisia a la Iran!!! [85 words]JaladhiJan 18, 2011 16:00181887
Tunisia is not Iran [62 words]PhilippeJan 18, 2011 23:18181887
Good chance Tunisia would follow Iranian example!!! [97 words]JaladhiJan 21, 2011 14:35181887
tunisia a la Iran [273 words]moJan 21, 2011 16:28181887
Turkey [61 words]PhilippeJan 21, 2011 18:44181887
add on [55 words]PhilippeJan 21, 2011 18:49181887
1Mo's Delusion!! [226 words]JaladhiJan 24, 2011 15:58181887
tunisia a la Iran [186 words]moJan 25, 2011 12:35181887
3no point [69 words]the Grand Infidel of KaffiristanJan 25, 2011 20:54181887
No Point [88 words]moJan 27, 2011 13:12181887
3Mo - finding meaning where no meaning exists [194 words]the Grand Infidel of KaffiristanJan 28, 2011 07:00181887
1My Dear Mo [244 words]Seamus Dafydd Dives MacNemiJan 29, 2011 19:08181887
2Misguided USA policy with Moslem countries [355 words]NuritGJan 18, 2011 15:02181886
I thought that Ben Ali had been pushing a more benign Koran interpretation? [68 words]Charles MartelJan 18, 2011 14:37181885
objectıon [99 words]UMIT SOMERJan 18, 2011 09:45181878
Democracy in the Arab world? [36 words]yuval Brandstetter MDJan 18, 2011 08:04181874
1No U.N. Resolution against Israel is enforceable. [214 words]YJ DraimanJan 18, 2011 04:47181871
1Tunisian revolution not unexplained [351 words]Peter ClarkJan 18, 2011 02:36181863
Developments in Tunisia are a welcome news [294 words]GopalJan 18, 2011 02:00181860
Hope you are correct [57 words]Joe Six-PackJan 20, 2011 10:05181860
To Gopal [66 words]Seamus Dafydd Dives MacNemiJan 29, 2011 19:23181860
A problem of context [152 words]Seamus Dafydd Dives MacNemiFeb 5, 2011 22:06181860

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