Reviews
“ There are many reasons why secular Arab dictatorships did not succumb to Islamic revolutions after 1979 even though Iran’s rebellion was enormously appealing to devout and angry Arab Muslims.�-“The Iranians,� pg. 24, “ Turkey may become a profoundly anti-American, anti-Israeli, and anti-Semitic country . But the country could develop a more competitive, healthy political system, where faithful and secular Muslims vie for the country’s soul in free elections.�-“The Turks,� pp. 97 – 98, “ It remains gospel in much of the West that there really is an Arab-Islamic exception to representative government .�-“Introduction,� pg. 1, “Democracy will be taking hold in traditional, modernizing Arab Muslim societies when we see debates that for us seem to be misplaced in a legislature or just too primitive to take seriously .�-“A Troubling Future?� pg. 90, “ What should the West-especially the United States-do as Islamists try to gain power in the Arab Middle East through the ballot box? (And they will definitely continue to try.)�-“The Americans,� pg. 115, "Today's rebellions are fueled, not by autocracy per se, but by failed autocracy." --Stanley Kurtz, Claremont Review of Books, “ Egypt deserves our special consideration, given its trailblazing role among Arab states , which still hasn’t ended even with its enormous problems. Egypt’s population alone-around 80 million-makes it the Arab world’s only heavyweight.�-“Introduction,� pg. 8, “Heavy-handed oppression, as we see in Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia, or the much more light-handed harassment that we have seen in the Turkish republic, has only made the Islamist case stronger, not weaker .�-“The Popularity of Islamic Fundamentalism among Arabs,� pg. 70, “What needs to be understood in all of this is that any legitimate form of government in the contemporary Arab Middle East must be complementary to the Prophet Muhammad’s legacy and the Holy Law .�-“The Arab Ulama and Reform,� pg. 83, "Today's rebellions are fueled, not by autocracy per se, but by failed autocracy." -Stanley Kurtz, Claremont Review of Books
