To be fair to the clerics, the modern liberal coalition DOES want to turn their daughters into prostitutes.
Who would be the constituency of liberalism in the Middle East? Educated people and the professional classes probably would have been the natural choice, but this cohort has become intensely illiberal in the West: intolerant of other points of view and dismissive of value-neutral rules and institutions.
It’s a tricky question: liberalism requires that people respect the outcomes of contests even when they lose, and defend the rights of people to say things even when they disagree. It’s an awkward fit with human psychology, especially when tribalism is involved.
Interesting article and disappointing but not surprising that the region is not yet read for political freedom nor tolerance.
You state: "There’s no one monolithic Islam. There are many interpretations—and the dominant ones are beginning to change.". As an American, I get this (well, sort of). But I also have the impression that Sunni & Shia are far and away the most dominant ones and that their differences are perhaps the single largest factor in the Middle East turmoil (with Iran being the dominant trouble maker) .
Assuming my impressions are reasonably accurate, how are the Sunnis and especially the Shia beginning to change?
To be fair to the clerics, the modern liberal coalition DOES want to turn their daughters into prostitutes.
Who would be the constituency of liberalism in the Middle East? Educated people and the professional classes probably would have been the natural choice, but this cohort has become intensely illiberal in the West: intolerant of other points of view and dismissive of value-neutral rules and institutions.
It’s a tricky question: liberalism requires that people respect the outcomes of contests even when they lose, and defend the rights of people to say things even when they disagree. It’s an awkward fit with human psychology, especially when tribalism is involved.
Interesting article and disappointing but not surprising that the region is not yet read for political freedom nor tolerance.
You state: "There’s no one monolithic Islam. There are many interpretations—and the dominant ones are beginning to change.". As an American, I get this (well, sort of). But I also have the impression that Sunni & Shia are far and away the most dominant ones and that their differences are perhaps the single largest factor in the Middle East turmoil (with Iran being the dominant trouble maker) .
Assuming my impressions are reasonably accurate, how are the Sunnis and especially the Shia beginning to change?
Well said, Faisal.