Another victory for the political Islamists was scored this week when the Islamist parties in Bahrain swept to victory in their all but meaningless elections. The long-oppressed Shi’a were represented, as well as a Sunni party, led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

For many western liberals, the very idea of an Islamist or Muslim political party seems dangerous. An Islamic government must necessarily become the Taliban in their eyes. Women must be oppressed, hands must be chopped off, and all other countries must shiver in horror as terrorists camps train thousands of new recruits from all over the world. But is this the reality? Do organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood even have the wherewithal to start a jihad in their own backyard (Egypt) let alone a global jihadist movement?

U.S. President George W. Bush has made it his business to see that “democracy” spreads throughout the Arab and Muslim world, and indeed it has. But the results are not to his liking, which is evident in each new wrinkle that appears on his face, every time a new election swings in favor of “Islamists”. These people cringe when they hear more and more of the Muslims around the world, given the “free choice” to elect their representatives, choosing instead to elect new “oppressors.”

Allow me to offer an alternative explanation. Perhaps Islam and politics are meant to be together. Unlike Christianity, which had an unnatural marriage with politics, Islam has influenced politics since the first community in Madinah, over 1,000 years ago. After colonialism was toppled in the Middle East, many Muslims, Arabs especially, turned to nationalism, socialism, and many other “isms” that promised to cure their ills. They wanted equality, rights, modernization, and, most importantly, peace. What they received were modern secular dictators who crushed all resistance and, most devastatingly of all, suppressed the practice and spread of Islam.

The people have grown weary of old hardened and heartless dictators. At least under an Islamic government, a petitioner can resort to the Qur’an. “Such-and-such an act violates Islam,” they could say. “It must be stopped. The people will not stand for it.” But their secular rulers mocked them, “Islam means nothing to us.”

No, there will never be a perfect Islamic government, but at least it will be Islamic. Why should Muslims pretend to be indifferent towards morality, ethics, and social justice? The moral relativism of secularization has proved itself to be faulty. There is no higher law for the secular man. Whatever whim he establishes for himself becomes the rule of law for his unfortunate subjects. The few of us who enjoy safety and security under secularism bask in our own material ecstasy, while those who are under our oppressive government’s feet know the real story. They have chosen a different path, not one that leads to terrorism, but one that leads to true freedom, the freedom to believe, to turn that belief into action, and to submit to a higher power, the only power worthy of worship.

So, I thank you, Mr. Bush, and all other secularists who have promoted democracy in the Muslim world. You have wakened a sleeping giant from its lull. The Islamic empire was already on the decline when the British Empire dismantled it. The Muslims were in need of revival, and it seemed doubtful that it would ever arrive. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran started the trend towards revival, but it was ruthlessly opposed, not only by secularists, but by well-fed wahhabi collaborators.

When the dust settled, the Islamic Republic still stood, and the Muslim world was in awe. But it was not quite “arab” enough. This new democratic political-islamic movement is, and it has changed the atmosphere of the Middle East forever, good or bad. The reality is that the very thing the so-called “war on terror” intended to suppress is the realization of Islam that now echoes throughout the streets of the Muslim world.

No, it was not a war against Islam itself, but a war against the marriage of Islam and politics. “Practice your religion,” they would say, “but not in public. Look at Turkey. They are so modern and efficient.” (Yet, their people are miserable and restless — take a look at the protests over the Pope’s visit). Do not let the media mislead you. It was the mental oppression of secularism and amoral monarchies that bred terrorism. Saudi Arabia was “wahhabi” for many years without a 9/11. It was only when the economic situation declined and the people realized their own pathetic situation that they turned to terrorism.

But none of those terrorists were from Iran. And for the past 27 years, no one from the “theocracy” has attacked the United States. Why? If Islam+politics = terrorism, why have we seen the exact opposite in the Muslim world? The more political that Hezbollah has become, the less prone to violence. The same is true of Hamas and other similar groups. It would seem that the message to America is clear: force secular western-style democracy on the Muslim world, and you will create resistance (in the form of legitimate fighting as well as illegitimate terrorism). Leave them alone, let them establish Islam, and they will leave us alone. Perhaps it is about time we in the western world listen.