Democracy is un-Islamic

Skiing season is over, and my handyman season has started.  Living in a 100 year old house, there’s always plenty to do.

Yes, I can.  Now I’m refurbishing the attic, insulating the floor and ceiling and stuff like that.

I always listen to the radio while I’m working. It’s a very old radio. I bought it when I was in highschool. 

I can’t stand the chit-chat-and-pop-music stations, so my radio is tuned into the national broadcasting’s news station.  Most of the time they just switch in the BBC World Service, which is very good.  You get to learn a lot, not only about Europe and America, but the entire world (or at least the Commonwealth).

This weekend there was two main happenings: The resign of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after 26 years in charge, and the election in Pakistan.

I found the latter to be the most interesting.  And so did BBC World.

There was in-depth presentation of Pakistan’s political system. Reports from the big cities, and from rural areas, where politics, bribes and loyalty to local landowners are intertwined.

The campaign was very violent, with frequent bombings taking place. The Taliban did their best to undermine the election, claiming that “democracy is un-Islamic”.  Still voter turnout was 60%, including many women (provided their family allowed them to vote).  

It’s encouraging if Muslim countries start to move away from religious fundamentalism.

The election was won by the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was kicked out of office and exiled in the military coup in 1999.

The runner up was the former cricket star Imran Khan. His slogan was obvious:  “Yes we Khan”.

(I've never been to Pakistan. In fact, I've been to a Muslim country only once, at the World Petroleum Congress in Doha, Qatar, a couple of years ago. The picture above was taken inside the congress center, by the women's prayer room. Maybe I should build one in my attic?)