.... Each time a major Muslim country has reasonably free elections, much of the world braces for the worst. When secularist and temperate Islamist parties do well and militant Islamist parties show poorly, many observers show surprise and relief. This issue arises yet again in the wake of the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
.... Islamists have sometimes gained power by the ballot. The impressive performance of Hamas in the Palestinian elections of 2006 provides an example.
.... More typical are outcomes that bring secularists or temperate Islamists to power. Most elections in Muslim countries where contests are free, as in Turkey in 2007, Indonesia in 2008 and 2009, and Pakistan in 2008, bring secularists or moderate Islamists to power, and parties representing militant Islamist tendencies perform abysmally. [Mercury News] Read more [via National Secular Society]
