Democracy in the Middle East - Can It Work?

Wow! Things are happening in the Middle East pretty quickly right now. Egypt is still in an uproar. Last night Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak went on Egyptian television and stated that he would not leave his office, but pledged not to seek re-election in September. Earlier in the day he had appointed a new Prime Minister to create a new government. Mubarak said, "This dear country is my country...and I will die on its land." Today, opposition leader, Mohammed ElBaradei gave Mubarak an ultimatum that he leave the country by Friday or, to put it in his words, "he will be a dead man walking."

You will remember that ElBaradei was the former head of the IAEC (International Atomic Energy Commission) and had the oversight of the Iranian situation. We know at least two things about this man: 1) he is very pro-Iranian, and 2) he is very anti-Israel. Need we say more. And, last night in his brief speech, President Obama stated that the Egyptians needed to include opposition parties in the formation of any government. Friends, standing in the wings is the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the oldest and most radical of the fundamentalist Islamic sects. I am fearful that allowing them a position at the table will result in what happened in Lebanon when Hezbollah was granted a role in the formation of a government - they soon took over.

And, keep your eyes on Jordan. King Abdullah, seeing what was on the horizon, quickly dismissed his government and selected a new Prime Minister to create a new government more responsive to the people's needs. The one thing the King has going for him that President Mubarak doesn't is that he is still popular with the Jordanian people.

I want to take a few moments to share my thoughts about democracy in the Middle East. To date there is only one country in that region of the world that has a viable democratic process - Israel. Oh, there are pseudo-elections held in Egypt and in Syria and in Lebanon and even within the Palestinian Authority. To date we have not seen democracy work there. Yet America keeps pushing for democratic reforms. In 2006, Secretary of State Rice and the Bush Administration urged the Palestinians to have elections. Yet, when the winner was announced - Hamas - we tried to void the elections because the ones we hoped would win, in fact did not. Hamas, whose strength was in the Gaza Strip took over that area later that year, filling the void left after the 2005 disengagement by Israel. I see where President Abbas has now called for elections this year for the Palestinian Authority. He, too, is trying to stave off a popular uprising.

Why doesn't democracy work well? I believe there are two reasons. First, these nations have a strong history of autocratic rule: the Hussein family has ruled Jordan since 1951; Hosni Mubarak has governed Egypt since 1981; the Assad family has led Syria since 1970; the Saud family has been Saudi Arabia since 1931. So we have entire generations that have known nothing but an autocratic leader. (To be sure, some have been friendly to the West, while others have not). So, if there is to be a democratic change, the people need to be instructed as to what democracy fully entails, and we have failed to teach them.

Second, democracy succeeds upon the foundation of a Judeo-Christian values structure. Democracy has worked in Europe and in many places in the Western World. Why? Because of the Judeo-Christian foundation of Constitutions and Civil structure. The Muslim religion provides no such structure. Therefore I have a very difficult time trying to understand how democracy will work.

Please remember our Christian brothers and sisters living within these countries. Pray for God to protect them. And pray, also, for those Jews who have stayed. These demonstrations can only increase the likelihood of more persecution.

So much going on, and we have not even touched the wacky weather most of us are experiencing. Praise God He is in control. That is what gives me peace at heart. I hope it does you as well.