Two better questions would be, "Do Muslims support democracy in Muslim countries?" I think the clear answer would be no.
A second question could be, "Do Muslim countries support democracy in Muslim countries." The answer there is also no.
Is the US more supportive of democracy for Muslims than most Muslims are for themselves? Probably yes!
Village Idiot — March 15, 2009
How about "Does the U.S. support democracy in North America?" Sometimes I wonder...
It might be helpful to ask the people polled in the survey what their definition of 'democracy' is. Bombing the crap out of a country before asking them to be more like us seems like a strange way to win those hearts and minds, but I'm no diplomatic expert so what do I know?
Also, I would bet that more Muslims would would support democracy in countries currently lacking it if there wasn't such a fundamentalist stranglehold on education (like is being attempted here by Evangelicals). Notice how much energy the extremists put into suppressing education; what an enemy fears and attacks most viciously (throwing acid on young girls trying to attend school is as vicious as it gets) reveals what they believe to be the greatest threat to them, which in this case is literacy.
As badass as they are, our Special Forces or B-52 bombers are not going to defeat extremism and bring freedom and democracy to places currently lacking them. A basic education for boys and girls
(especially girls) that is free of extremist ideology is the only viable way, and it is a realistic and attainable goal (and far cheaper than our current approach). Just ask Greg Mortenson. He understands the relationship between education, extremism, and democracy better than anyone else I can think of (and who I would be honored to share three cups of tea with).
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Comments 2
opminded — March 14, 2009
What a very strange question!
Two better questions would be, "Do Muslims support democracy in Muslim countries?" I think the clear answer would be no.
A second question could be, "Do Muslim countries support democracy in Muslim countries." The answer there is also no.
Is the US more supportive of democracy for Muslims than most Muslims are for themselves? Probably yes!
Village Idiot — March 15, 2009
How about "Does the U.S. support democracy in North America?" Sometimes I wonder...
It might be helpful to ask the people polled in the survey what their definition of 'democracy' is. Bombing the crap out of a country before asking them to be more like us seems like a strange way to win those hearts and minds, but I'm no diplomatic expert so what do I know?
Also, I would bet that more Muslims would would support democracy in countries currently lacking it if there wasn't such a fundamentalist stranglehold on education (like is being attempted here by Evangelicals). Notice how much energy the extremists put into suppressing education; what an enemy fears and attacks most viciously (throwing acid on young girls trying to attend school is as vicious as it gets) reveals what they believe to be the greatest threat to them, which in this case is literacy.
As badass as they are, our Special Forces or B-52 bombers are not going to defeat extremism and bring freedom and democracy to places currently lacking them. A basic education for boys and girls
(especially girls) that is free of extremist ideology is the only viable way, and it is a realistic and attainable goal (and far cheaper than our current approach). Just ask Greg Mortenson. He understands the relationship between education, extremism, and democracy better than anyone else I can think of (and who I would be honored to share three cups of tea with).
In a nutshell, education is democracy.