In his article “Confronting Gadhafi Is Not Enough” (Wall Street Journal, March 19-20, 2011), Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair writes that the reason why Islamic countries have not achieved democratic status is “because cultural and social modernization has not taken place in these countries and proper religion has been perverted to breed fanatics, not democrats.” This answer although correct does not go far enough and it underestimates the enormous depth of social problems confronting Islamic countries.
My book “The Emotional Plague, The Root Of Human Evil” identifies the steps that must be taken before any legitimate form of democracy can develop in Muslim countries. These steps which must originate from within the people themselves are the following:
1) Identifying and social sequestering of emotional plague characters on the political Left and Right.
2) Discouraging tribalism.
3) Emancipating women.
4) Separating the Islamic religion from the State.
5) Eliminating sex-negative practices in child rearing and the hateful mystical indoctrination of young people in principles of Islamic Fundamentalism.
These are monumental tasks that will take generations to accomplish even under the best of circumstances. Despite the revolutions that are currently taking place throughout the Muslim world, it is illusory to think that any legitimate form of democracy can ever be established in Muslim countries. Having lived under severe authoritarian repression for centuries, Muslims have no experience in democratic self-governance. The present tyrants will be replaced by others who are likely to be more repressive that the current ones. Iran is an example. Following Iran, Turkey, one of the few secular Islamic countries, is rapidly moving toward re-Islamization.
It must be generally recognized that the energy source of the emotional plague – human destructiveness toward others- and the formation of every kind of totalitarian state ultimately resides in the helplessness of the masses, their mystical longing to be cared for by those in power and their thwarted sexual frustration that can quickly turn into social rebellion through Western-style political causes.
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Neither Left Nor Right
The Emotional Plague
Charles Konia, M.D. 
It may be true that it might take generations to turn the Middl East around, indeed the whole world (IF one sees any promising trends, and I do not mostly). But assuming some progress is being made, one cound point to Germany as having gone from the Nazis to democracy in only one generation. Of course, Germany was totally destroyed, and it is perhaps such massive shocks which allowed at least some progress.As far as the Middle East, some of the opposition in Libya and Egypt seems to be democratic, especially the young demonstrators in Egypt. But the Islamic fundamentalists seem to be in the background and they might take over in many places, as the Right continually harps on. But what can one do? Reinforce existing sadistic corrupt authoritarian governments? Or take a chance that existing strata of the population in some countries are numerous enough to create some space for dmocracy and some hunam rights.If I were deciding, I would opt for the latter, especially in Egypt, where a real struggle is now going on. Let the best of the West contribute to helping the most democratic and humane elements of the rising oppositions, as they are doing in Libya!
Marco