For years the strongmen of north Africa and the Middle East told their Western supporters that they were all that stood between the Arab world and an Islamist takeover. In fact Islam did not inspire the Arab spring-not even in Egypt, where the Muslim Brothers had long been the main opposition to the autocracy of Hosni Mubarak. But were the autocrats right all along? In the wake of revolution, Islamist movements have been gaining ground. Political parties under the banner of Islam may well emerge after genuine elections later this year as the biggest in rejuvenated Tunisian and Egyptian parliaments. This makes many secular liberals across the Arab world nervous lest the Islamists hijack the revolutions, turning them into vehicles for repressive and intolerant regimes.
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