> ... but Islamic fundamentalism typically comes to the forefront only when these freedoms are clamped down on.

That probably describes Tunisia and Lebanon - I find it very unlikely that it's an accurate description of the average Middle-Eastern country, even of Egypt. Never mind elections, even freedoms can be almost irrelevant when, by and large, people have never even come close to knowing a free society and what the basic values of one look like. A truly free people doesn't elect the frickin' Muslim Brotherhood to run their country!