In Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain autocratic leaders are no longer caught by surprise; their departure no longer seems inevitable as it did two months ago. Is a counter-liberation tide beginning to favor the "autocrats" of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) , whose regimes appeared a couple of months ago to be faltering under the impact of the disenchanted regional youth and the global public media?

From Bahrain to Libya and Yemen to Syria, autocrats are still clinging on to power despite intense pressure from pro-democracy movements. The counter-liberation has had thus far one undoubted and unfortunate success: the Bahrain’s monarch, supported by troops from Gulf States, Saudi Arabia and even the West, has brutally and effectively crushed the protesters in the island kingdom. Pro-democracy leaders are in jails or have fled the Island. The majority population is being harassed by arbitrary arrests, torture, killings, disappearances, sackings and the destruction. While the fundamentals of the emergency in Bahrain are not dissimilar from what is taking place in Libya. And yet whereas Gaddafi's brutal assault on his own civilians last month galvanized the international community into protective action, the situation in Bahrain has gone totally ignored in Western capitals .There has been no United Nations Security Council discussion of the situation in Bahrain, no trenchant Western demands for the regime in the capital, Manama, to acquiesce to the legitimate and universal democratic demands of the masses. No sorties by NATO jets to protect the civilians from the regime's terror are even mentioned seriously in the West.

In other three countries despotic leadership under heavy assault have varying chances of temporary survival. A month ago in Yemen it seemed likely that President Ali Abdullah Saleh was on his way out, but he still has not gone and has mobilized his own protestors, gunmen and security forces. The army in Yemen has however, publicly split and the probability is that he will have to finally depart probably sooner than later.

Public protests in Syria are continuing across the nation despite frequent shootings, but it will take President Bashar al-Assad a lot of displacing because of his wanting to stay, the strength of his security apparatus, and his tight grip on power by the minority Allawi community over the decades. As long as winds of change continue to blow in MENA, Bashar and even Saudi monarchy will have to leave eventually. It is difficult to predict exact timing. The Western self-interests remain a major obstacle to not only to spread of popular democracy in MENA but also to the rest of world.

In Libya Gaddafi was teetering and on the verge of defeat two months ago when rebels had seized the east of the country and there were demonstrations in Tripoli. Since then he has rallied a core of support and the rebels in Benghazi would have certainly collapsed but for the backing of NATO’s airpower. Nevertheless he is most likely to go eventually because Britain, France and the US are committed to his departure for their own greed .

This is all very different from how it began and what had happened in Tunisia and Egypt, where the military and political establishments backed by the masses believed they could get rid of the regime but keep the rest of the state intact. This could not be done in Libya or Syria because the regime and the state are too intertwined and different from Egypt and Tunisia.

In Yemen the state has been too weak to get rid of the dictator still being backed by the West, while in Bahrain democracy means a revolutionary transfer of power from the minority rule to the majority popular democratic rule. The counter-liberation has had other advantages. Its leaders are no longer being caught by surprise. Defenders of the status quo no longer think their defeat is inevitable and have recovered their nerves somewhat temporarily. They can draw on the loyalty and self-interest of state employees and on sectarian allegiances for a little longer.

The double standard of outside powers to the overthrow of the status quo differs from country to country. The US was in two split minds over support for Mubarak, but did not condemn the Saudi armed intervention in Bahrain or the subsequent terrorizing of the Bahraini public. Washington has had a very different attitude to Arab autocracies in North Africa and far more strategically important Gulf oil states allied to the US. Unspoken also as a factor in US thinking is the degree to which liberation or counter-liberation will help or hamper America's traditional enemy in Iran.

Only in Libya has the struggle between rebellion and the state turned into outright civil war. The rebels have plenty of support, but they still only control a quarter of the population and they remain weak militarily. Their most important card is NATO air strikes and even these have not enabled the anti-Gaddafi forces to advance beyond Ajdabiya or break the siege of Misrata.

The counter-liberation is showing that it has more going for it than seemed likely two months ago. This only appears surprising because well-established authoritarian regimes went down so swiftly in Tunisia and Egypt. The authoritarian states have had time to rally their formidable forces of repression for now, but even this may not be enough in the long run to quell newly politicized populations in the region and globally over a period of time that believe they can and will end autocratic rule and tyranny sooner or later not only in MENA but the entire globe.

The regional and Global autocrats are addicted to controlling and ruling our entire world and want everyone to stay aloof and afraid that you and masses will never dare to take a stand against their national/ multinational corporate greed , relentless loss of your dignity, your rights and freedoms, , and their endless wars and conflicts.

We, the people of the world, must stop believing the lies that we are too small and weak to make any difference. In truth, a global understanding of our natural unity and integrity (Tawhid) empowers us to save our humanity, our planet, renew popular and spiritual democracy and create global civilization of peace and tolerance.

Can a few millions of thinkers from around the globe reawaken over six billion of us still asleep to the power of our global oneness? That certainly depends on us the masses and GLOBAL unity and oneness can help us tremendously.
We must overcome our fear, anger, and despair by seeing how we can change the world by transforming individually what we think, feel, say, and do.

We can mindfully reawaken the power of our inborn self-rule and thus personal and spiritual democracy as an innovative path for personal and social transformation.

We must CHALLENGE the way certain alpha-omega exclusivist masculine rule and authority addiction has been driving us to sacrifice our freedoms for the illusion of security.

We must EXPLORE our many options for healing our wounded world, ending the oil and other wars, and restoring our lost dignity, civil liberties and our integrity as humans.

By discovering how masses of people worldwide are joining forces to uphold
Social justice while building peace with dignity and through unity and prosperity. By Uniting spiritual transformation and bottom up politics to become effective global citizens in the 21st century.

Tawhid is a GLOBAL SENSE that very much makes common sense; Global unity calls the masses of the world to a vision of inner peace, self-rule and tolerance. Tawhid makes the strongest case that in this time of global chaos and turmoil, we the people of the entire globe must begin a new way of thinking and acting.

Many intellectuals from around the world are proposing a social/political Big Bang. Here I will argue that we can best empower each other by empowering ourselves individually. The breakthrough idea is that with personal and collective evolution and global integrative thinking, we can have safety, freedom, dignity, prosperity and above all global peace with unity.

To intellectuals and thinkers like Fethullah Gulen, Global civilization is about personal and social transformation, starting with the inner feelings and self-recognition of our rights and responsibilities...based on the worldview of Tawhid of human autonomy and dignity rooted in principles of personal integrity and sovereignty.

Tawhid based idea of unity presents practical ideas for changing the global political Landscape and reviving prophetic dreams of popular, spiritual and genuine democracy.

What would the prophet have done if present today?

We are reminded of the continuing relevance of compact of Medina and while transforming prophetic message of peace, democracy and human rights into the spiritually-rich and psychologically-informed discourse of the 21st century.


As our modern world struggles at the crossroads of reckless and our duty to uncover the spirit on which the healing of mankind rests .Our global unity will help us choose the path of healing. It makes a great deal of sense to create a global civilization of love and tolerance in thought and practice mindfully to make a difference everywhere in the world.