Let us go over what a true democracy is. It is where the right of the individual is placed over the rights of the society. Where every citizen has their rights and freedoms secured, where the people are the ones who control the country. Where the Leader is elected, and changed every few years, and the people have the right to impeach if they do not approve of the president. It is where the people have a say and an influence on what will happen to THEIR country.
Now the big question is, is the Middle East really capable of adapting to a true democracy? Is democracy really compatible with the Islamic law and their cultures? I believe the government should match the mindset of the people, otherwise it will just crash and burn. Americans for example, can live under a true democracy because their culture and views and mindset allows them to do so. You cannot tell me that the people in the Middle Eastern people have the same mentality, culture, moral codes and customs as the Americans do. A girl walking around in a Miniskirt in the U.S. is quite normal and the people do not make much a fuss about it, however a girl walking around in a Miniskirt in the more reserved countries in the Middle East would be frowned upon and slandered and would be considered a shame to the family. In America there is freedom of speech, and you are allowed to speak your mind and oppose and challenge your government and high authority figures. There is a lot more censorship in the Middle East, for example, an Egyptian blogger recently got sentenced to 3 years in prison for insulting the Egyptian army, as CBC News stated “An Egyptian military tribunal has convicted a blogger of insulting the army after he publicized reports of abuses by the military, and sentenced him to three years in prison, human rights groups said Monday.”. Many of the Middle Eastern countries even censor the internet, blocking access to sites that promote ideas that the government disapproves of, whether it is pornography, or a website that promotes opposition or something about human rights. Or another example that in the U.S. the homosexuals are at least tolerated and have some freedom and protection, I cannot say the same for the Middle East . The people in the Middle East culturally are a lot stricter and less “free”. It isn’t the Middle Easterners in general that worry me, it is the other group that worries me, the extremist minority, the small radical group that will cause trouble and provide a huge resistance to these changes. Middle East has a huge struggle in front of it before it can reach its goal of a democracy. They need to accept freedom in all its forms, Saudi Arabia would need to throw away the law forcing women to wear Burqa and not allowing them to drive; Iran would have to throw away its laws that all women must cover their hair, the countries must learn that it is not ok to harm homosexuals. And after the government drops these laws, the people must learn to accept it. The Middle East has a huge struggle in front of it before it can reach its goal of a democracy. I believe the people first need to modernize and get adapted to new customs and views before they can accept democracy. Because until their culture and mindset changes, there will always be quarrelling between the people on what is “morally acceptable” and what isn’t.