An Op/Ed column by Russyan Gary Kasparov has put world leaders on notice that its time to step up and lead. Lead the West by making it clear that the muslim world must change and adapt if it wants to advance and grow along with the modern world.
Mr. Kasparov is chairman of new York-based Human Rights Foundation. He has gained fame as an international chess champion and an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his government, and his kleptocracy. He wrote in the WSJ, as other journalists have, that the West cannot sit on its hands and wait for someone else to protect freedoms in the Middle East. He cites ample evidence that mullahs, dictators, and radical islamists want nothing more than a return to the Dark Ages, when information/education was thwarted by disbelieving skeptics and religious zealots.
The West, then, went through a period of transition from rule by theologians to rule by secularists( with the help of scientists and philosophers). Thus was launched the Age of Enlightenment- the basis for progress on human rights and humanism. Combined with literary efforts to spread intellectual progress, mankind and its culture(s) advanced. What is known today is that repression of ideas by autocrats and religious zealots serves to stifle the progress of those ideas which serve to advance mankind by pulling back the curtain on ignorance and repression.
Mr. Kasparov is unceasing in his efforts to call attention to conditions as they exist in some Middle East countries lead by autocrats, dictators, and religious fanatics. He is to be commended for these efforts.
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