"Arab Youth Steps in Where Islamism Failed"
David Gardner, Financial Times | July 11, 2011
The Arab spring has slid into a long, hot summer. After toppling their autocratic regimes, Tunisia and Egypt have yet to show their movement toward democracy is sustainable, while the violent conflicts in Syria and Libya drag on. ++ Some fear Islamists could emerge triumphant from these messy conflicts. But a host of young, dynamic reform groups are also beginning to show a pulse. ++ These democratic movements have yet to prove they can perform, but they offer a better alternative to the region’s despotic past than the Islamists ever did.
