In Tunisia, Is 'Freedom' Just Another Word For 'Islamization'?

Yes, an Arab despot was chased out of office (chased all the way to Saudi Arabia, in fact) over the weekend. So is that, as much of the media claiming, a good thing for the people of Tunisia (the NYT calls it "An Arab Gdansk") who will now be "free" for the first time in 23 years? Maybe--but that prediction would definitely full under the heading of "best case scenario." Realist-pessimist Robert Spencer warns that the end of the Tunisian dictatorship could mean that Islam and sharia will now have a green light to rush in and fill the power vacuum. And a sagacious observer on FrontPage seconds Spencer adds to the grim forecast:

Robert Spencer is right, this revolution doesn't bode well for the West. Tunisia was - until now - a close ally in the war against extremism, a secular beacon where the Ramadan fast was routinely broken, where women couldn't cover their heads in public buildings, and where Muslim tourists and visitors from Europe were profiled, getting much more scrutiny than native Europeans.

Yes, it was a corrupt autocracy, but no more so than any other Arab country. Economic problems notwithstanding, Tunisia attracted European businesses and tourists and in spite of having almost no domestic oil sources, it was not considered in any way impoverished like most of the non-oil producing countries of the region.

Now, the most secular regime in the Muslim world is gone. What will replace it? Why do I suspect that - like Turkey - Tunisia's secular experiment is/was anomalous to its essence...and depended upon the suppression of the popular will. Turkey's was overturned via the ballot box. Tunisia's has now been overturned via the street.

My best guess is that the Tunisians will embrace their historical/theological traditions...and - after an initial period of flux - the country's institutions will be re-Islamized. The reverberations will be felt around the region, particularly in Rabat, Algiers and Cairo.

More Islam is bad for Israel--and the rest of the West, too.

Update: Theodore Dalrymple thinks the rioting could break out in Western Europe.