Word: rulings
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...fact that the mutaween have long acted with this kind of impunity makes many Saudis skeptical that the ruling al-Saud clan will hold them accountable to the rule of law. Such a move would entail taking on the overall religious establishment, which controls the mosques, the judiciary and various education departments as well as the morality police. That would be difficult to do, says Saudi political analyst and author Mai Yamani, because the religious establishment, led by the descendants of the founder of Wahhabism, is effectively a partner in ruling Saudi Arabia. Yet Yamani is encouraged by the escalating...
...over as King of Afghanistan when he was just 19, forced into the role by the 1933 assassination of his father. Though Mohammed Zahir Shah, left, the country's last monarch, was not exactly dynamic--he ceded power to his uncles in the early part of his 40-year rule--he presided over an era of relative peace and is now regarded as the "father of the nation." Among the reforms he introduced before being ousted in a 1973 coup: mandated primary education for all children and voting rights for women...
There are no good dictators. But some are better than others. The best dictators permit freedom of expression, rule of law and economic growth, creating a democratic-minded middle class that eventually pushes them aside. Think South Korea. The worst dictators, by contrast, grind down civil society, breeding poverty and sectarian hatred and pulverizing all the institutions from which liberalism might grow. The worst dictators eventually leave too, but when they do, all hell breaks lose. Think Iraq...
...Parliament. Such an arrangement still wouldn't be democratic, and Bhutto's previous stint as Prime Minister hardly inspires confidence in her management skills. But it would make Musharraf's government more accountable and strengthen the secular parties that are Pakistan's best long-term bulwark against Islamist rule. What's more, an alliance with the more progressive Bhutto might bring the domestic reforms Pakistan needs, like improving its disastrous educational system and strengthening the rights of women...
...best-case scenario, Pakistan would gradually become more like Turkey, whose powerful military meddles in politics but so far has tolerated the emergence of a moderately Islamic but fairly liberal ruling party, re-elected on July 22, which has strengthened civil liberties and the rule of law. Nothing would be worse for al-Qaeda and better...