Slavoj Zizek's analysis of the recent events in Egypt and Tunisia is brilliant, as usual: "The rise of radical Islamism was always the other side of the disappearance of the secular left in Muslim countries." If you aim to destroy progressive leftist movements in developing countries, you can guarantee that in case of your success the void will be filled by fanatical religious groups.
There is hope that what's happening right now can fortify progressive movements in the countries where civil unrest is getting stronger daily: "And it is crucial to read the ongoing events in Tunisia and Egypt (and Yemen and … maybe, hopefully, even Saudi Arabia) against this background. If the situation is eventually stabilised so that the old regime survives but with some liberal cosmetic surgery, this will generate an insurmountable fundamentalist backlash." Zizek is absolutely right, in my view, when he points out that a fanatical religious backlash is the main danger in Egypt and Tunisia right now. And this is something that the international community needs to help avoiding.
Zizek takes to task Western liberals who fail to rally behind secular revolutions in these countries: "The hypocrisy of western liberals is breathtaking: they publicly supported democracy, and now, when the people revolt against the tyrants on behalf of secular freedom and justice, not on behalf of religion, they are all deeply concerned. Why concern, why not joy that freedom is given a chance?" I agree with Zizek in that the worst thing that can happen is the proliferation of fanatical fundamentalist regimes in the region (or anywhere else in the world). That is something to be avoided at all costs.
Read the entire article here: http://www.zcommunications.org/why-fear-the-arab-revolutionary-spirit-by-slavoj-zizek
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
8 comments:
"The hypocrisy of western liberals is breathtaking: they publicly supported democracy, and now, when the people revolt against the tyrants on behalf of secular freedom and justice, not on behalf of religion, they are all deeply concerned. Why concern, why not joy that freedom is given a chance?"
Damn Right!
“Canada supports the transition in Tunisia,” (Prime Minister) Harper said. “We support the democratic development that is taking place there and obviously want to see that proceed positively.” (Toronto Star)
What he didn’t mention was the fact that shortly after deposed Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country his billionaire brother-in –law who gained his wealth looting the country under the protection of the corrupt government flew to Canada on his private jet and stayed at the Château Vaudreuil, a hotel west of Montreal. Belhassen Trabelsi has a permanent-resident status which he obtained as an immigrant in a category reserved for wealthy investors. They are purported to be currently living in a mansion that they own in the Montreal area. The Globe and Mail had these comments:
Tunisian community leaders are dismayed the federal government has remained quiet while other countries like France have aggressively put a hold on family finances and vocally pursued investigations.
“People don’t understand how France and Italy, direct accomplices of the old regime, have taken positions while Canada sticks to one line saying the family is not welcome,” said Kamel Balti, a Montreal lawyer of Tunisian origin.
Oh my God, Canukistani, how crazy is that? I knew Harper was a hypocrite but he never ceases to bring something new to the table in that respect. Horrible!
One of the positive things during the Egyptian crisis for me is to discover the high quality of the journalism at Al Jazeera English website. This is not surprising since many of the journalists are former quality western writers. Avi Lewis was a high profile political commentator at CBC when he seemed to disappear a few years ago. He is currently producing a quality news program at Al Jazeera called Fault Lines. Joining A.J. is equivalent to committing professional suicide for western media. His wife is Naomi Klein who wrote No Logo. She has appeared on CNN as a faux American commentator many times. I wonder if she would get any screen time if she ever said I’m really a Canadian and my husband works for Al Jazeera?
No Logo is SUCH a silly book. Her The Shock Doctrine, however, is very good.
Busy day!
Remember my comments about ancient artefacts on your Egypt thread? On Monday, there was a second attempt at looting at the Cairo Museum which was not widely reported. Fifteen men were caught near the collection of King Tutankhamen. As I type this CNN is reporting a fire at the Museum. I suspect that many of the important items will either be “looted” or taken to a save location by the authorities for “protection.” If the current regime falls, many of the items will disappear into wealthy westerners private collections and the fleeing members of the government will profit handsomely.
The Muslim Brotherhood are not as fanatical as they are portrayed in the American Media, and they are not behind the events in Egypt, and they have said they will not put forth a candidate for president. See this article for background and also why not supporting the Egyptian people because of fears about the brotherhood is hypocrisy.
http://www.slate.com/id/2283616/pagenum/all/#p2
You'll love this. Egypt: A debate between Tariq Ramadan & Slavoj Zizek (2 days old) - Riz Khan - Al Jazeera English
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/
2011/02/2011238843342531.html
Oh, my dear friend, oh, oh, oh!!! Thank you so much for leaving this link. That's so great!!!!!
I will be placing it on the blog for everybody to enjoy.
Post a Comment