Wednesday 26 January 2011

From Cambodia to Egypt

Remember Cambodia. The gallant struggle against the imperialist Americans. They were fighting the devil, so they had to be angels. Marching in support of the Khmer Rouge was a privilege. And then it all turned sour with the "killing fields". Of course no-one can blame us, how could we have known?
Actually we could have known, if we had bothered to look at the Khmer Rouge's ideology beforehand. We could have also investigated the warnings. Instead of just dismissing them as imperialist lies.

Remember Iran, the revolution. I was studying Politics at the University of Amsterdam. The Marxists (of many different plumage) were ecstatic. Marx had predicted this, the prelude to a socialist Middle East.
There were once again warnings, but they were again dismissed. Lies spread by imperialists and the new devils, the Zionists.

Remember Egypt. You should, it is today. The people are rising up, just like in Tunisia. The people want democracy. A new wind of liberty is blowing in the Arab world.
Or is it?
Here comes the warning. The only reliable information we have on how Muslim Egyptians think comes from a Pew Research Center poll on harsh punishments:

82% favour stoning women who commit adultery;
77% favour whippings/cutting off hands for theft and robbery;
84% favour the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim religion.

I find these percentages pretty chilling. But nobody needs to listen. I am just another imperialist and Zionist.


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