Arab Democracy

Professor AbuKhalil teaches political science at California State University, Stanislaus and visiting professor at UC, Berkeley. He is a citizen of the US and one of the first principles he is entrusted, by the university, to teach his students is the meaning and practice of democracy, law and order. Prof. AbuKhalil, however, has a very different concept of democracy to the one the founding fathers had in mind when they declared America a union based on democracy.

Here is he is trying to satirize Israel as a state that distorts the meaning of democracy:

"Israeli definition of an Arab democracy is this: An Arab democracy is a political system that hosts an Israeli embassy and protects it.

PS The US supports this definition."

Mind you, this is meant to be a satirical formulation of the idea of democracy. That is, a perversion of correct and proper definition of what democracy is and should be. What is it like? It is as if I were to mock a teacher for believing that he is supposed to teach his students the values of decency and honesty. Not so, such mockery would imply. A teacher is supposed to teach his students how to lie, cheat and steal.

What do you think AA's definition of democracy is?

Try this, and this, and this.

AA's definition of an Arab democracy goes like this: An Arab democracy is a political system whose law enforcement agency stands by and does not lift a finger when the embassy of a country with whom it has signed a peace treaty, and with whom it has commercial contracts, comes under an attack by an inflamed, unruly mob that demolishes the embassy's fence and invades its premises with the intent of lynching the six embassy personnel that remain in the building.

An Arab democracy is a political system that does not provide security, prosperity, economic growth and a better future for its citizens. An Arab democracy is a political system whose one and only concern is the destruction of a neighbouring country and the massacring of its terrorist people.

And I wouldn't give this a second thought if I didn't know that AbuKhalil channels the sentiments and aspirations of the Arab Street democrats.