Two years ago, desperate Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest his totalitarian regime.
His death spurred a celebrated Arab Spring, as oppressed, dirt-poor Muslims looked to boot their own brutal, filthy-rich rulers.
But Bouazizi died in vain because the Middle East is still a cauldron for thugs.
The cradle of civilization has become an adept multi-tasker, waging a virulent holy war against the west while terrorizing its own citizens for no other reason than it despises them.
The cost has been grave for Muslims whose Koran calls for unity.
Al Qaeda has resurfaced, brutal regimes have increased their inhumanities, alleged new democracies have imposed a closet version of shariah law, and assorted religious factions still can’t let go of their feuds.
The cataclysms are exploding under our politically correct noses, yet Europe remains in its comfort zone by wagging a finger at Israel as if it is the problem child, while the U.S. is busy mollifying Muslims ad nauseam.
All efforts towards peace and reconciliation have been derailed by the incessant warmongering between Islam’s assorted sub-divisions whose mutual animosity transcends their ability to co-exist, let alone respect one another.
Critics still hold out for hope, while apologists continue to sink further into the abyss of denial.
The solution cannot come from the free world, which isn’t psychologically equipped or ideologically inclined to deal with the Muslim psyche.
The fix must come from Muslims.
A good start is not to choose misogynist extremists with terror ties for leaders — as in Egypt.
New President Mohamed Morsi, an American-trained engineer, was elected in June by an Egyptian majority familiar with his shariah-loving Muslim Brotherhood party, which birthed such thugs as al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Six months along, Morsi stands accused of using tear gas to quell opposition to his pro-Islamist constitution, while bankrolling thugs to rape women in public.
Another measure is to address the plague of terrorists seeking cover by aligning with popular causes — as in Syria, where a new strain of al Qaeda is a fatal tier of the opposition to despot Bashar al-Assad.
The British-trained former ophthalmologist — with his balletic frame, metrodork dress code, and shy gaze of a deer caught in headlights — defies the glowering countenance, the hoodlum’s brawn, and the public ravings of a traditional tyrant. But he is among history’s worst serial killers.
Assad has signed off on the murder of more than 40,000 Syrians in a bloody civil war during the last 18 months, displaced hundreds of thousands of his country-folk, left millions more requiring humanitarian aid, and raised global alarms that he might use chemical weapons against his surviving dead-duck masses.
The last chemical attack in the region happened 24 years ago when Saddam Hussein gassed to death up to 100,000 of his Kurds for being Muslims of a different feather.
Muslims can learn a lesson from the Jews who have saved themselves from extinction simply by sticking together.
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Read Shavana Abruzzo's column every Friday on BrooklynDaily.com. E-mail her at sabruzzo@cnglocal.com.
