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Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki disputes growing fears of an ominous “Salafi Winter,” arguing that the Arab revolution has not failed, but will continue to flourish in his op-edfor the New York Times. The Arab spring has “definitively refuted the myth that democracy and Islam are incompatible,” he argues.

The democratization countries like Tunisia and Egypt has “allowed a number of extremist free riders into the political system.” President Marzouki, argues that while the danger of these extremists cannot be “dismissed,” the violence in response to the anti-Islam video, “The Innocence of Muslims,” is not representative of the entire Arab population nor reflective of the Arab Spring’s outcome.

The president asserts that most Tunisians “firmly condemn the violence,” and are frustrated “by how this unnecessary uproar has made the struggle for what matters most to them [building new democratic institutions] more arduous.” Given Tunisia’s firm commitment to democratization, Marzouki, writes that “at this crucial moment, the West must not abandon us.”