The Arab Spring Delivers a Dose of Reality

The Libyan National Transition Council, which proclaimed the country liberated yesterday, has today announced that it will quickly open discussions in order to form a transitional government within the next two weeks.

That is not news. But, the president of the NTC, Moustapha Abdeljalil, announced at the same time that Libya will henceforth be governed by charia law.

That brought veiled criticism from Europe in the form of French warnings that it will watch events closely, particularly to be sure that women are treated equally and that religious and cultural diversity is respected. The European Union called on the NTC to respect human rights.

In Libya, women were disquieted by the announcement, as were Libyan women living abroad.

The NTC president tried to re-assure the world and Libyan citizens about the imposition of charia law. "I wish to say to the international community that it should be assured that, while as Libyans we are Muslims, we are moderate Muslims…the rules of Islam represents no danger for any political party or group….It is simply that as Muslims, we have adopted the islamic law (charia) and any prior Libyan law contrary to charia is null and void.” He went on to explain that under charia, there is no possibility of divorce, that usury is abolished and that banks must henceforth operate as islamic banks. He also assured the press present in Benghazi when he made the announcement that the adoption of charia law does not mean that all current laws will be summarily overturned.

The announcement and assurances are undoubtedly cold comfort to those women, moderate muslims and non-muslims now living in Libya, as well as to those who would like to do business there. It will surely be read as a step backward, one that the United Nations and the coalition had probably hoped to avoid.

We can add to this the real probability that Tunisia’s Sunday parliamentary elections will result in a parliament led by a coalition in which the largest block is an islamist party, again a party that says it is moderate. And, since 90% of eligible Tunisians voted in an election watched over by more than 10,000 international election observers, one can hardly argue that the vote was manipulated.

So, what to make of all this. Perhaps, not much.

Let’s try a little fable - what if America had been seized by Maoists 50 years ago, its women subdued, its men treated with the harshest punishments and torture for disobeying Maoist rules. The, one day, the Arab world rose up and said, Enough. We will save our American friends. And they did, driving the Maoists out and restoring Americans to self-control. The United States was very grateful. It promised to re-establish a popular government and become a good member once again of the world community. Did America, out of gratitude to its Arab liberators, then become Muslim, knocking down churches and building mosques, telling women to wear veils, establishing islamic charia law? OF COURSE NOT. America returned to its tradition - liberal democracy, freedom of religion, equality of the sexes - in short, it became what it had always been, a western Christian-ethic democracy.

So, let’s not despair yet about the turn of events in Arab Spring countries. Give them a chance to get organized, to try to establish any form of representative government, something most have never known.

And let’s watch, as the French say, to be sure that women and religious groups and cultural minorities are not ill-treated. That, we did not intend when we agreed to help them. But, making western liberal democracies out of Muslim tribal and religious societies will probably take some time.