Libyan Islamists Publicly Lashing Citizens

Vigilante Islamists (allegedly from the extremist group Ansar Al-Sharia) publicly lashing citizens for unknown crimes in Libya, just because they can.

Lashings have resurfaced since crazy Muammar al-Gaddafi's (Qadhafi) was killed.  And forget the law, Islamists take it upon themselves to dish out the punishment without going through Shariah courts.

And the poor fool crying "Allahu Akbar".

The 'Arab Spring' Gives Rise To The Dark Days of Islamism

What many had hoped would happen with the advent of what eventually was coined the "Arab Spring" was a journey towards democracy for those who fought hard to rid themselves of  their ruthless autocratic leadership. Others, however, feared that with the removal of these dictators those mainly secular governments would give rise to fundamentalist Islamist political parties and they, in essence, would be replacing one evil for another.  Those concerns, it turns out, were entirely warranted.

Tunisia, a mostly secular nation that encouraged freedom of religion and gender equality, will now have a Moderate Islamist majority leadership.  The Ennahda Party is predicted to have won almost 40 percent of the 217 assembly seats with a 90 percent voter turnout.  Opposition groups claim that it was mostly the poor who voted for the party, which seems to confirm that it is mostly the ignorant, uneducated that are drawn to Islamist ideology.   In an effort to allay the fears of many Westerners and secular Tunisians, party members told the press that

“We would like to reassure our trade and economic partners, and all actors and investors, we hope very soon to have stability and the right conditions for investment in Tunisia."

“We respect the rights of women ... and equality between Tunisians whatever their religion, their sex or their social status.”

Sure, their elections were democracy in action, but Shariah law is the polar opposite of a democratic system of law. Women have very few, if any,  rights under Shariah, and minority religions (including minority Muslim sects) are persecuted and marginalized in countries that adopt Shariah as their rule of law.  And although Rachid Ghannouchi has vowed not to change the cultural fabric of society by imposing Islamic values on the Tunisian population, who knows if he will keep his word.

Then there's Libya.  They too claim the country will be a moderate Islamist state, but Shariah will be the law of the land. According to Interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil :

"Any law that violates sharia is null and void legally. The law of divorce and marriage... This law is contrary to sharia and it is stopped."

That was in reference to laws during Ghadaffi's reign that placed restrictions on polygamy, which is allowed under Sharia. They also intend on establishing Islamic banking in Libya.  They too are trying to reassure the world that they are moderates, but as is well documented there is no moderation in Islam  unless it is secular.

Next up Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood whose founder Hassan Al Banna  admired Adolf Hitler and whose slogan is "Islam is the solution" and "jihad is our way" is poised to win a majority, as well.

The West needs to come to terms with the fact that our idea of democracy is a far cry from what Muslim majority countries view as democracy. Shariah law is as backwards as it gets, and any country that adopts it as its main form of legislative law, is taking major steps back towards the dark ages.

What amazes me most is that these people have been given an historical opportunity to rise up out of the shackles of oppression, and yet they have opted to replace one form of domination with another far worse. All they had to do was look at Iran or the Gazans in Palestine to see the outcome of voting for a religious leadership.  The Iranian people voted in the mullahs during their revolution in the late 1970s and are now suffering terribly the consequences of that decision, with no hope of gaining freedom in the foreseeable future. The Gazans voted overwhelmingly for Hamas, and they too are suffering under the governance of a hard-line, extremist group.   While Libya and Tunisia might start off as so-called moderate Muslim countries,  that will more than likely change over the years.  Only time will tell.

Sources: AlJazeera, AlArabiya, TelegraphUK,

Sharia for Libya- Arab World Not Ready For Democracy

I'd like to think that the Arab world is civilized enough for democracy, but it is becoming increasingly clear that this is not the case.  At least democracy in the true sense of the word.

What the West has been touting as the "Arab Spring" - revolutions that have toppled regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya- is turning out to be nothing more than a re-awakening of racist, Islamist sentiments in the citizenry and leadership of some of those countries. Rather than embracing the  freedom and equality  that is part and parcel of  democracies, countries like Libya and Egypt are taking a step backwards.

Take Mustafa Abdel Jalil, interim head of Libya's National Transitional Council, who has said that although the new government will not tolerate "extremist ideology": In other words, Libya will become an Islamic state. Sharia Law is most definitely extreme, and lacks any of the fundamentals of equality, as much as Muslims like to claim otherwise. And any country that has Sharia as its rule of law, in no way qualifies to be called a democracy.  Then there are the  allegations of racism  by the so-called rebel liberators of Libya.  Apparently, they have been trying to purge Libya of the black Africans, and as a result have been arresting and murdering them. They deny it, but according to human rights organizations, there is plenty of proof. However, the hatred is definitely there, whether true or not.  According to one rebel "Libyan people don't like people with dark skins." They also don't like Jews, evident in the anti-Semitic cartoons of Gaddafi.

"We seek a state of law, prosperity and one where sharia is the main source for legislation, and this requires many things and conditions."  

And I don't hold much hope for Egypt, as far as Sharia goes, if the Muslim Brotherhood gets its grips on the leadership of that country. And one of the few Middle Eastern lands that was a quasi- friend to Israel is now hurtling in the opposite direction. The current military dictatorship has no love for Israel, and that doesn't seem likely to change.  In fact, Arab Muslim journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, partially blames the government for inciting the recent mob attack on the Israeli Embassy.  According to Toameh, several days before the rampage, 23-year-old  Ahmed al-Shahat climbed 20 floors to the Israeli Embassy and removed its flag.  Rather than punishing the young man, he was honored for his "courageous" deed, and given both a job and an apartment. This, Toameh believes, was more than likely the catalyst for storming the Embassy- individuals hoping to get their praise and piece of the cake in a country with high unemployment.  He fears that it will only encourage more violence.

I'm sure there are some in that region who might possibly possess the intellectual means to embrace freedom and democracy, but I think the vast majority don't and probably never will.





Sources: UKDailyMail, GuardianUK,

Libyan Woman Alleging Gang Rape By Gaddafi's Soldiers Dragged Away By Government Minders

I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to live as a woman in a Muslim country, let alone during times of upheaval. As much as Islamic scholars and others love to claim that women are revered and considered as equals in their religion, it's far from the truth. The majority of Muslim men have little to no respect for their women folk and we witness that lack of respect time and again.

Here's a very distraught Libyan woman who showed up today at a hotel in Tripoli where foreign journalists are corralled alleging she was beaten and gang-raped by 15 of Gaddafi's goons. What ensues is a harrowing encounter between hotel staff-cum-government minders who dragged the poor woman away while journalists tried to help her. At one point you can see someone actually trying to place a sack over her head, and we later see her being shoved into a car. Who knows what will happen to her, but I'm sure it doesn't bode well.



Another video, showing more of the scuffle between those intent on shutting her up and those journalists trying to protect her.