[Article] A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to #MuslimRage

http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/09/21/a_funny_thing_happened_on_the_way_to_muslimrage


Interesting article. The author, Marc Lynch, points out that the anti-blasphemy protests have petered out for the most part this weekend (except in Pakistan and Lebanon), contrasts this with the much longer-lasting Danish cartoon protests in 2006 and offers some explanations.

His point is that the protests have been rather small and decreased quickly in size in light of all the apocalyptic opinion columns that they spawned. The reason for this is, in part, is that in a less authoritarian political environment, there are more things for governments and political actors to worry about (for ex. The Muslim Brotherhood now has to balance their desire on the ideological front with need to maintain international relations) and other stuff that people are allowed to protest over. Back in 2006, we have authoritarian regimes more or less eager to direct popular anger outward and religious parties who have not responsibility to govern.

We will see how things move forward, but if the trend continues, it looks like the US has made the right call navigating "Arab Spring."