There are two main definitions of what constitutes an Islamic democracy:
- A democratic state where the majority of the population is Muslim.
- A democratic state which endeavours to institute Sharia (traditional Islamic law).
For example, Turkey falls into the first category, being mainly Muslim, but with a separation of religion and state as attempted by Kemal Atatürk and his followers. A list of other such democracies is given below.
The compatibility of Islam and democracy
Most Islamic democracies fall under the first definition, leading many analysts to dismiss the compatibility of Islam with democracy. The arguments for this position include: Islam and secularism are opposite forces; theocracy is incompatible with democracy; and Muslim culture lacks the liberal social attitudes of democratic societies. For example, Ausuf Ali, a former professor of business at the University of Karachi writing on Beliefnet, argues that the case of Pakistan (where democratically elected governments have been regularly overthrown by the military) shows that: "Islam and the Sharia, or Islamic law, simply do not have the conceptual resources, flexibility, and dynamism to suffice for the governance of a modern state and operation of a rational economy and an expanding civil society." However, it should be noted that Ali is only arguing that "fundamentalist Islam and democracy are not compatible".
Furthermore, counter arguments to these points assert that this attitude presuppose democracy as a static system which only embraces a particular type of social and cultural system, namely that of the post-Christian West.
Muslim democrats, including Ahmad Moussalli (professor of Political science at the American University of Beirut), argue that concepts in the Qur'an point towards some form of democracy, or at least away from despotism. These concepts include shura (consultation), ijma' (consensus), al-hurriyya (freedom), al-huqquq al-shar'iyya (legitimate rights). For example shura (Aal `Imran 3:159, Ash-Shura 42:38) may include electing leaders to represent and govern on the community’s behalf. Government by the people is not therefore necessarily incompatible with the rule of Islam, whilst it has also been argued that rule by a religious authority is not the same as rule by a representative of Allah. This viewpoint, however, is disputed by more traditional Muslims.
Prof Moussalli argues that despotic Islamic governments have abused the Qur'anic concepts for their own ends: "For instance, shura, a doctrine that demands the participation of society in running the affairs of its government, became in reality a doctrine that was manipulated by political and religious elites to secure their economic, social and political interests at the expense of other segments of society," (In Progressive Muslims 2003).
A further argument against Islamic democracy in practice is that some democratic governments in Islamic states are not homegrown, but imposed by the west, such as Afghanistan, and the nascent post-Baathist regime in Iraq.
Sunni and Shia traditions
The Sunni tradition, as opposed to the Shia, has tended away from Ayatollah type religious leaders, and the establishment of a religious class that is believed to have special access to divine will. Sunnis argue the Qur'an warns against the establishment of a religious class. Furthermore, Sunnis believe that after the Prophet Muhammad there is no one who has direct access to God’s will, and therefore no one person or group has the legitimacy or authority to claim a pope- or priesthood-like status in the Muslim community.
Other issues
Islamic democratic regimes have the same human rights issues as any other democracies, but some matters which may cause friction include appeasing anti-democratic Islamic radicals, non-Muslim religious minorities, the role of Islam in state education (especially with regard to Sunni and Shia traditions), women's rights, and similar matters. Nontheless, Islamic feminism does exist.
In addition, while some Islamic democracies ban alcohol outright, as it is against the religion, other governments allow the individual to choose whether to trangress Islam themselves. In these instances, while the act will be considered wrong by strict Muslims, the penalty is seen to be a spiritual not a worldly one.
Islamic democracy in the Middle East
See also: Democracy in the Middle East
Writing on The Guardian website [1], Brian Whitaker, the paper's Middle East editor, argued that there were four major obstacles to democracy in the region: the Imperial legacy, oil wealth, the Arab-Israeli conflict and militant or "backward-looking" Islam.
The imperial legacy includes the borders of the modern states themselves and the existance of significant minorities within the states. Acknowledgement of these differences are frequently suppressed usually in the cause of "national unity" and sometimes to obscure the fact that a minority elite is controlling the country. Brian Whitaker argues that this leads to the formation of policitical parties on ethnic, religious or regional divisions, rather than over policy differences. Voting therefore becomes an assertion of one's identity rather than a real choice.
The problem with oil and the wealth it generates is that the states rulers have the wealth to remain in power, as they can pay off or repress most potential opponents. Brian Whitaker argues that as there is no need for taxation there is less pressure for representation. Furthermore, Western governments require a stable source of oil and are therefore more prone to maintain the status quo, rather than push for reforms which may lead to periods of instability.
The Arab-Israeli conflict serves as a unifying factor for the countries of the Arab League, and also serves as an excuse for repression by Middle Eastern governments. For example, in March 2004 Sheikh Mohammed Fadlallah , Lebanon's leading Shia cleric, is reported as saying "We have emergency laws, we have control by the security agencies, we have stagnation of opposition parties, we have the appropriation of political rights - all this in the name of the Arab-Israeli conflict". The West, especially the USA, is also seen as a supporter of Israel, and so it and its institutions, including democracy, are seen by many Muslims as suspect. Khaled abu el-Fadl, a lecturer in Islamic law at the University of California comments "modernity, despite its many scientific advancements, reached Muslims packaged in the ugliness of disempowerment and alienation."
This repression by Arab rulers has led to the growth of radical Islamic movements, as they believe that the institution of an Islamic theocracy will lead to a more just society. However, these groups tend to be very intolerant of alternative views, including the ideas of democracy. Many Muslims who argue that Islam and democracy are compatible live in the West, and are therefore seen as "contaminated" by non-Islamic ideas.
Islamic democracy in the former Soviet Union
Many of the states of the former Soviet Union, including Russia have significant Muslim populations. They are mainly concentrated in the south of the region, to the east of the Black Sea. The democratic status of many of these states, such as Ukraine and those in Central Asia, is very controversial, and the Soviet Union itself was also officially an atheist state (although it made some concessions in Central Asia after the Basmachi rebellion). The resurgence of Islam, the break up of the Soviet Union and the attempts to introduce democracy all occurred within the same few years, and represented a huge, and not always peaceful, upheaval.
Russia's wars in majority Muslim Chechnya and Afghanistan have also strained relations in both Russia, and the other former Soviet states where there are significant Russian minorities. In some of the states, democracy has been seen as a western import, and has fallen to the same post-Soviet backlash as Communism has.
Examples of Islamic democracies
The following list indicates those countries which have a majority Islamic population and are either generally considered to be democratic or have substantial democratic elements in their system of government. For example, Iran has popular elections, but the candidates are selected by the Council of Guardians and the Assembly of Experts. Furthermore, the political climate in some of these countries has varied greatly in recent years, while in some of the countries there have been accusations of vote-rigging.
Until the recent Coups d'état, Pakistan and the Gambia were also considered democracies, and there are significant Islamic minorities in many other democratic countries as diverse as Benin, France, Germany, and India.
At present it is thought that only 38% of the world's countries are electoral democracies, with many non-Islamic democracies, especially those in Latin America, also going through times of upheaval.
Bibliography
- Mahmoud Sadri and Ahmad Sadri (eds.) 2002 Reason, Freedom, and Democracy in Islam: Essential Writings of Abdolkarim Soroush, Oxford University Press
- Omid Safi (ed.) 2003 Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender and Pluralism, Oneworld
- Azzam S. Tamimi 2001 Rachid Ghannouchi: A Democrat within Islamism, Oxford University Press
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