ISIS does not represent Islam no matter what anyone thinks.

[Act_of_Reparation]

10. It would be too little, too late. The damage is done.

Even if liberal democracy were to appear in Saudi Arabia tomorrow, it wouldn't help. Because then you'd have a significant portion of the population throwing their lot behind Islamist candidates, who have no intention of upholding the foundational tenets of liberal democracy. This is exactly why the Arab Spring failed in Egypt. The Egyptians came together, ousted the Mubarak government, and then promptly empowered Islamists whose agenda included legitimizing Islamic law, across the board.

There's no easy solution to this problem. The road ahead is so bumpy and ill-defined, I can't even begin to speculate as to what the correct course would be. Each country is different, each country's problems are different, and each country's religious climate is different. While secularism is -- I would argue obviously -- the only truly fair relationship between government and religion, there's no certain path to getting there with things as they stand today. The Islamists are certain they are correct; it is absolutely foolish to think they can be rationalized out of their positions. Any attempt to liberalize the countries in which they hold significant sway -- even if they are a minority -- will be met with hostility.

In an event, I don't think the situation is hopeless. The Middle East will have no choice but to secularize at some point. But don't expect an easy fix, much less a peaceful one. Things are probably going to get a lot worse before they get better.