Crap Throwing Monkey Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Yep, no kidding, can you say Iran. Fox News had someone on last night talking about plans to selectively bomb Iran, the only true Democracy in the entire region. Granted a right wing Muslim one, still ironic isn't it. 602853[/snapback] Actually, Iran isn't a true democracy; election results still have to be vetted by the religious leadership. Traditional Afghanistan society is probably closer to a true democracy than Iran is now. But nevertheless, Iran does have democratic institutions. And it may well turn out that Iran's form of "theological democracy" is ultimately the form best suited for the Islamic world... ...or not. One has to be careful distinguishing "Islam" from "Arab nationalism" in these discussions. Indonesia, for example, occasionally has democratic forms of government (in between coups, of course) that DON'T require religions approval. Ditto Pakistan. It could be that "Islamic democracy" is uniquely Arabic, and due less to Islam than it is to Nasserist-type Arab nationalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scraps Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Yep, no kidding, can you say Iran. Fox News had someone on last night talking about plans to selectively bomb Iran, the only true Democracy in the entire region. Granted a right wing Muslim one, still ironic isn't it. 602853[/snapback] Iran is a true democracy? How do you figure? Doesn't a council of Ayatollahs control who can actually appear on the ballet? Its not like the Iranian people can ever choose anyone who is truly secular. They just get to choose between different shades of religious nuttiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of BiB Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 Iran is a true democracy? How do you figure? Doesn't a council of Ayatollahs control who can actually appear on the ballet? Its not like the Iranian people can ever choose anyone who is truly secular. They just get to choose between different shades of religious nuttiness. 603606[/snapback] Yup. The council doesn't only approve candidates, but has veto authority over the rest of the government, plus most of the strong military and oil loyalties are with the clerical, rather than the political end. Relations between the US and Iran had the potential to be a lot better more than once over the last 20 years, but they generally shot down any progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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