I'm so glad Zarif and the 5+1 ministers did not win the Nobel Peace Prize for their nuclear agreement. It was not outside the realm of possibilities. The Nobel committee has been ridiculous in the past, giving the Peace Prize to the likes of Henry Kissiner, Yasser Arafat and, more recently, Barack Obama. It just doesn't sound right.
Instead the prize went to "Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for helping the country's transition to democracy".
The fact that Tunisians have chosen the democratic rout instead of violence and bloodshed is downright miraculous in a region where guns dominate, where Islamic radicals have taken savagery to new heights, where military men in Algeria, Egypt and Syria crush secular democrats as ruthlessly as Islamists.
Naturally, the chances of Tunisia surviving the Arab Spring was seen as close to zero. But somehow they pulled through.
After the fall of the old dictatorship, the country voted for an Islamist government while a new constitution was being drafted. The representatives, Islamists and secular, settled with a document that is one the most progressive among Muslim countries, minimizing the role of religion and emphasizing democratic principles. New elections were then held and this time the Islamists lost. The government was handed over to the secular winners - peacefully. Absolutely amazing, for a country stuck between a military-backed regime (Algeria) and an Islamist hell (Libya).
Tunisians still have a long way to go and remaining on a peaceful path to democracy will require hard work and lots of luck. But democracy is a process and they have started it. Good for them. Hope for the rest us.
You are right about the Nobel committee's past mistake in giving it to people like Shirin Ebadi...!
This prize should hd gone to:
the Mehatma Ghandi of the 21st Century.
The Nelson Mandela of Middle East.
The man through his tireless effort, at least one small corner of that of hatred filled trash can of Universe ruled by crazy terrorist muslim dictators, otherwise known as Middle East is converted to an island of civilization, progress, peace, democracy and stability in which people can enjoy a life of peace and equal rights under the rule of law, regardless of their race, creed, religion or political beliefs.
This prize should had gone to this great man.
Shirin Ebadi bad. Netanyahu good. Interesting.
One out of 55 Islamic countries. Does the exception prove the rule?
Why can't the muslim countires come up with their own version of Noble peace prize concept and award it to themselves? Of course, the first thing they would have to figure out is to define "peace" in the islamic terms! I guess that's a relative term in islam! Cutting hands may be more peaceful than chopping heads! Hanging folks from cranes may be more peaceful than stoning one to death or vice versa depending on your perspectives! I bet these countires would soon run out of prizes since they are so many peaceful candidates in them countires!
One cannot have democracy when the nation's laws are either Sharia law (such as Saudi and Iran) or the foundation of laws are based on Sharia law (i.e., alost all other Muslim countries). The starting point should be the adoption of a secular legal code.
But the more imprtant factor IMO is not relgion per se, but rather the fact that Eastern cultures (including Eastern European and Asian cultures) do not have a tradition of liberal democracy. It will take centuries for that school of thought to take root on those places--unless of course, you nuke them and start from scratch (Japan). That's the "express option," but one that is not a plausible or advisable. Seriously though, some cultures are just not made, ready, or willing to accept Western style representative democracy. We just have to accept that and move on.
It should also be noted that Tunisians have more pride, self-respect and generally "gheyrat" than Iranians. Remember when two women were arrested there for having revealing skirts recently? Rmember how people mobilized and protested until the charges were dropped? Now contrast that with Iran and Iranians, where for the past 36 years women have been beaten, harassed, arrested, and generally abused for violating the Islamic dress code? What have Iranians done about it? Jack s**t! What has Shirn Ebadi done about it? Jack s**t. She's been too busy advocating, along with NIAC, for the lifting of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. What have foreign residing Iranian women like Leila Zand and Soraya Sepahpour Ulrich have done about it? They have been busy talking about Palestine.
JJ, a better title would’ve been “Democracy in a Middle Eastern Muslim Country”.
There are several Muslim democracies around the world, like Indonesia, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, etc. There are also many central Asian, African, far eastern Muslim countries that are making progress towards democracy. Even Turkey was becoming a secular democracy until Erdogan decided that he wanted to be an Ottoman Khalifeh!
I believe that the problem is in the implementation of the religion and not the religion itself. Most cultures have learned to “water-down” their religions and keep them out of the government. The Middle Eastern countries in the 1000-mile radius of Mecca are still struggling with that.
Just search for "terrorism in Indonesia" on line and learn a thing or two so you can make informed statements about the Muslim democracies around the world and the implementation options...! When Allah and his book Qor'an teach you cut hands, chop heads, hang necks, rape 9 year old girls, lie, cheat, etc.....it doesn't leave much room for the social engineers to pick and choose civilized kind of algorithms to implement from...!
What's your problem with Kissinger ? ...
He even sent a signed copy of his book "diplomacy' to Javad Zarif ...
Also Tunisia a "dictatorship" ... rather an autocracy at worst ...
never heard any Liberal Tourist complain prior to to the Arab Spring only to advocate "revolution" after the Arab Spring while sipping cocktails under the coconut tree next to the 3 Star Hotels on the beach ...
And besides Nobody was "oppressed" in Ben Ali's Tunisia except in their imagination ...
Q&A: Tunisian policewoman who "slapped" Bouazizi says "I was scapegoated by Ben Ali"
Thank you for selecting BiBi Netanyahu to receive a Nobel peace prize, hamal jaan!
I wish Nobel community offered prizes in the Courage and Love of Country categories! I would nominate Netanyahu for both and he sure would win them both heads and shoulders above everyone else!
God I love that man!
I wish there was a button called: "Report Offensive Comments" :). Your hero NUTENYABOO is even disliked among majority good people of Israel, except for Ultra Rightwing Zionist Nuts. Remember the last elections he barely squeaked by a tiny slim margin, there were even some reports which indicated he cheated.
Democracy is a form of government while terrorism is an act of violence against innocent civilians for whatever reason. So let's not confuse the issue.
If there is terrorism in a country like Indonesia, it is not state-sponsored, the same way that the terrorism in the US by mass-shooters in schools is not state-sponsored.
Ok class, next lecture will be on anger-management!
http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/477609830-catherine-zeta-jones-sarah-netanyahu-michael-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=GkZZ8bf5zL1ZiijUmxa7QTG0Yh4Z9K4XPwqC1GG5vTzLgIaFp1Qz7JboWINvIcgS8wO4XREN9nNvu8o6KSYRMA%3D%3D
masoudak!
Take the advise of your fellow NIACi here. and attend anger management classes! And next time you come here to comment first wash your potty mouth, then take a deep breath and just dont breathe out!!
This is an independent internet forum. Not your Rouh_Ani/Zarif/rafsanjani funded NIAC's friday night "death to joos" meetings , or IRI funded iranian.com or indeed the tevileh you were brought up in!! Here we are (apart from your NIACi friend suffering from MPD) a civilized bunch. So you can not start making"arbadeh" each time you hear somebody saying something Trita joon or hoomi joon didnt teach you and your peanut sized brain finds difficult to understand!
now, pa bezan :)))))
I was just thinking...if only our people had the same degree of zeal and the same level of "gheyrat" about our own people and our own country that they do about Palestine....if their blood only boiled as quickly when they heard the name Khamenei--the enemy of everything Iran and Iranian--as it does when they hear Netanyahoo's name. We would be in a much better place today. What a shame...
Dear AO, your perfectly valid plea should be addressed to the Palestine Groupies at Iranian.com
Dear Amir- I gave up on that bunch a while back. iranian.com: Palestine news 24/7 :-)