More Muslim Cartoon Thoughts

As I was laying in bed last night, I was thinking about the status of the world today, particularly the middle east situation, and a few thoughts gelled into reality.

First, I feel vindicated.  No, I was never wrong--just upheld.  Yes, I feel upheld.  Today Pres. Bush and the white house said exactly what I (and common sense) said the other day: We need to stop the fighting and stop the running of the cartoons.  Both sides have done wrong.

In fact, Syria and Iran have gone so far as to purposely fan the flames of anger, the story says, which is definitely NOT what Mohammed taught.

The pride issue is also outlined in today's International Herald Tribune.  It says

"...calming statements seemed to have no effect. 

...President Jacques Chirac of France condemned "all manifest provocation that might dangerously fan passions."

But none of that was my thought last night.  It was again, how absurd this all should be.  Look at the west.  The west is a culture based predominantly on Christianity, although not everyone is Christian nor every Christian a practicing one.  Christianity believes not in a democracy, but that Christ will come again and establish a 1000 year long Theocracy with Him as the head.  So, any believing Christian should identify with the IDEAL government being not a democracy but a theocracy.

On the other hand, Muslims believe also in the ideal of a theocracy, and the middle east lives, more or less, under these theocracies today.  Although many countries have monarchs, dictators, or "presidents" elected by only one party, they have laws based on Islam and fatwahs issued by clerics are extremely important in shaping and directing people's actions in politics as well as other aspects of life.  However, Muslims in the middle east need to realize that such a government is IDEAL only when the leaders are unwaveringly, 100% charitable, loving, and humble--which obviously is not the case.  In the event of an imperfect theocracy, then democracy provides the best way to stem corruption and insure human rights.

Yet neither side looks at the whole picture.  They just pout about the toy they lost on the playground--the toy neither of them really own in the first place.  My question then is, If the west and the middle east are two children on a playground who are fighting over a toy they don't really own, then who is the parent that steps in to restore order and teach proper values of love and sharing??