From the London Review:
What all this means is that there is a genuinely liberatory potential
in Islam: we don’t have to go back to the tenth century to find a
‘good’ Islam, we have it right here, in front of us. The future is
uncertain – the popular explosion has been contained, and the regime
will regain ground. However, it will no longer be seen the same way: it
will be just one more corrupt authoritarian government. Ayatollah
Khamenei will lose whatever remained of his status as a principled
spiritual leader elevated above the fray and appear as what he is – one
opportunistic politician among many. But whatever the outcome, it is
vital to keep in mind that we have witnessed a great emancipatory event
which doesn’t fit within the frame of a struggle between pro-Western
liberals and anti-Western fundamentalists. If we don’t see this, if as
a consequence of our cynical pragmatism, we have lost the capacity to
recognise the promise of emancipation, we in the West will have entered
a post-democratic era, ready for our own Ahmadinejads. Italians already
know his name: Berlusconi. Others are waiting in line.
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