Arab Spring Looking More like Islamic Revolution [View All]

By Simon Nguyen | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 1 hr 55 mins ago

COMMENTARY | The Arab Spring movement has brought about more than just democracy. Even as the American media is still debating how much credit President Barack Obama should get for the successful dethronement of Moammar Gadhafi, recent developments in Libya paint a worrisome picture. Immediately after his declaration of Libya's liberation, the leader of the National Transitional Council boldly called for Islam's Sharia Law to be the basis for the country's new constitution.

How bold was this move by the NTC head? While most Muslim countries incorporate elements of Sharia into their laws, few countries use Sharia Law as the exclusive source of their constitution. While it remains to be seen how much of the Islamic law will be present in the new Libyan constitution, any hope the country will become the next Turkey has surely vanished.

Then there is Tunisia -- the birthplace of the Arab Spring. The North African country recently held its first fully democratic election in decades. The election was unsurprisingly won by Ennahda -- an Islamist party that had previously been barred from participating in the country's politics.

While the victorious Islamists have pledged moderation in their management of the country, it is hard to believe this new political force won't attempt to impose traditional Islamic values on the previously secular state. After spending decades exiled from the country's politics, Tunisian Islamists are unlikely to let this golden opportunity slipping away from their grasp.

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