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Arab Spring. Then Arab Summer. Then Arab Winter?

I believe it was Peter Sellars in his last film role as Chauncey Gardner in Being There who taught the US president that after Spring comes Summer and after Summer comes Winter. For many months, we have been subjected to gushing reports from journalists – particularly those from the politically-correct BBC – about how Arabs are really jolly nice, tolerant, peace-loving people. All the Arabs needed, we were told, was to get rid of the ghastly Mubarak, Gaddafi and a few other leaders of their ilk and then the Middle East would be a paradise of happy, broad-minded, politically-progressive, Guardian-reading�folk – a bit like Islington and Kensington where many of these journalists live. Of course, this was all tosh. As the Muslim Brotherhood look like being the winners in Egypt’s elections, there is a very good chance of renewed persecution of Egypt’s Coptic Christians, the probability of oppression of women, and the likelihood of Egypt moving closer to that other paragon of freedom and tolerance, Iran. Moreover, there is�the almost certainty of Egypt tearing up its peace agreement with Israel and once again dedicating itself to the destruction of Israel and the death of all Jews.

We’ll probably see a similar scenario in the other ‘Arab Spring’ countries – intolerance, corruption, stupidity, oppression of women and minorities and governments using the supposed�’enemy’ Israel to divert public attention from their own inability to create a free tolerant society. After Spring comes Summer and after Summer comes Winter. As Islamists take over country after country, we should be preparing for the Arab Winter – and it won’t be pretty.

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