Don’t Fear The Islamists

Marwan Muasher makes some good arguments on why Islamists are not the threat they are made out to be in the west:

Islamists are not as popular as Western pundits and policy makers think. Political Islam benefited from closed authoritarian systems throughout the Arab world because there was no alternative; they were the only viable political opposition […] Islamists have proved to be no better or worse than any other party in government. The best way to deal with Islamist parties, therefore, is to include them in government and hold them accountable

But that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to rule as they please:

In order to ensure peaceful political competition between Islamists and other political parties, the new Arab democracies need to enshrine two principles in their new constitutions: pluralism and a peaceful political landscape that is free of armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

I concur. You should check out the full article. Very interesting.