Democracy building remains an uphill struggle in most Muslim countries. Worldwide democratic trends have failed to transform authoritarian, patriarchal Muslim political culture. But is it true that democracy is fundamentally at odds with the values and principles of Islam? And if not, how can democracy be promoted in Muslim countries?
A report for the United States Institute for Peace examines these issues, which have taken on a new significance since September 11th and the Iraq war. Conservative Muslim activists, using broad and over simplistic notions of secularism and sovereignty, consider democracy to be the rule of people, as opposed to Islam, which is the rule of God. Such activists regard the West’s advocacy of human rights as an attempt to assert its hegemony over the Muslim world. Reformist Muslims believe Islamic law (Sharia) is historically conditioned and needs to be reinterpreted to enable development and democracy. Scholars of Islam agree that the principle of Shura, consultative decision- making, is the source of democratic ethics in Islam. In establishing the compact of Medina, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) demonstrated a democratic spirit very different to the authoritarian tendencies of many Muslim political leaders today.
The report found that the explanation of why so many Muslim countries are not democratic has more to do with political, historical, economic and cultural factors rather than religion. Islam is only one element in the history and culture of the 55 Muslim nations in more than eight distinct regions. There is hope for the future because in the modern world Muslim states can no longer function without structural reform and developing partnerships between government and citizens.
Other conclusions are:
- There are misconceptions in the west about Islam that lead to the conception of Islam as fundamentally anti-democratic, with values inferior to western liberalism, and hindering the global progress of development
- Therefore western policy has supported authoritarian regimes that suppress Islamic movements, regarding such regimes as a lesser evil than Islamism. This has created hostility towards the US and its allies
- Such authoritarian regimes have weak civil society structures, records of human rights abuses, and are a fertile breeding ground for terrorism
- Grass-roots women’s and youth movements are actively struggling to bring greater freedom to Muslim countries.
Western countries must foster civil society and support grass-roots movements that bolster democratic trends in repressive regimes if they are to combat terrorism. Repression of the Islamism is counter-productive. Policy pointers relevant to DFID on how to do this are:
- Increase aid and technical assistance targeted at promoting democracy in the Muslim world
- Link this and other assistance to progress in strengthening accountability, namely a free press, independent judiciary, and freedom of action for civil society organisations
- The experience of Turkey in preparing for EU membership shows that business elites are largely untapped resources for democratic change
- Promote regional accountability mechanisms, which the Muslim world is lacking in. The European Court is one example of such a mechanism. Turkey has made strides in democratisation partly because it agrees to be bound by European law, which has strengthened domestic human rights advocacy.
