Islam and Democracy: Can They Coincide?

Larry Diamond's presentation explores the question of why there are no Arab democracies in the Middle East and North Africa. He shows us the relatively stagnant levels of democratic freedoms that have been the norm in the region for the past several decades. Diamond gives us a multitude of potential explanations for the absence of a sustainable democracy.

Chapter 14 in the book Traditions and Encounters: A Global Perspective of the Past by Herrry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler is mainly about Muhammad, the prophet, and his world, the expansion of Islam, economy and society of the early Islamic world, and its values and cultural exchanges.

One of the paramount purposes of western government is to protect the individual rights of every citizen. This means that each citizen is allowed to lawfully practice their beliefs. That being said it is very difficult to satisfy everyone’s political agendas (nearly impossible on the large scale of national politics), this is where elections come into play. Western government is constructed on the foundation that the masses should choose who represents them in government by voting for who they align with politically. However the electoral process is often disputed because creating a completely impartial system that treats all votes equally and also manages to divide power in a responsible way is extremely difficult. This is where you can see

The original Islamic sources, the Quran and the Hadith, had very little information about the formation of government. Therefore, after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims were left to improvise and form a governmental structure. This structure was based on a hierarchy system that delegated more power to the caliphate. In other words, the Islamic State was ruled by a series of caliphs based on the divination of power from the Muhammad lineage, which allowed each successor to be chosen by the previous ruler. This system of structure greatly benefited the Muslim community who received economic and political rewards, such as, guaranteed financial incomes and military/administration positions. Non-Muslims, who remained from conquered lands, were not treated so justly. The Islamic State placed a poll tax (jizya) on Non-Muslims which lent benefits to the Muslim community. Having a ruler placed into power by divination, such as in the case of the Islamic State, leads to general persecution and exploitation of the people who do not follow the religious beliefs of the ruler. This is seen with the Non-Muslims, who were exploited to provide benefits to the Muslim community. Therefore, the problem with divination of power in a political religion is that the voice of the religious is commonly expressed while those who have opposing ideals are subjected to

For centuries, religion has been an undetachable part of the political life in the Middle East. After the Arab spring, the situation in the region and especially Syria and Iraq raises the question regarding the relation between religion and politics. The role of religion, particularly Islam, remains evident in most aspects of the social and political life in the region. Even in the secular states, such as Syria, a large amount of the society practice religion and Islam is an integral part of the state constitution (1973) and political culture. Accordingly, the strong role of religion in the conflicts in the Middle East should not be surprising but at the same time, it does not mean that religion is the source of violence. The hypothesis suggests

Americans tend to believe that writing an essay is so easy and fast. Have you ever thought about the list of components that go into a good essay? In fact a good essay addresses the main point and tells the reader what he or she will discuss and where they are going with it. An essay will also state the main ideas clearly. As writers we tend to sometimes use or leave out these important factors. Two authors by the names of Julius Nyerere and Benazir Bhutto; wrote two essays based on the topic of democracy and the struggles that go along with it. Nyerere’s essay titled One-Party Government emphasizes that a democracy can also be represented in a one-party government. On the other hand Bhutto’s essay Islam and Democracy focuses on the illusion that the west is the reason Muslim countries lack democracy. Bhutto’s essay was better in many ways. She convinces me that her essay was the best by providing relatable background information, and expressing both sides of the Western and Islamic beliefs on democracy and equality.

They also taken put into context the difference between African diaspora Muslims and these still living at home. In doing so, they are able to present different political beliefs and values of different kinds of Muslims based on different social factors. This gives the reader a general understanding on the different ways the religion is politicized within its own members. However, in chapter ten, the politicization of Islam is not seen as a cause of conflict or influence rather it is seen as a means. The stability of the democracy of these nations has been dependent on the governance of these, other than the implication of Islam governance on a national level. Using examples of Libya, Nigeria, Congo and South Africa, they look at their current state of affairs and backtrack to the history of the countries. A historic emphasis is made on the political growth of these nations, independent of religious rulings or not. The authors take into account the fact that these countries were rich in terms of natural resources and its politicization was used as a form of

For approximately two thousand five hundred years, democracy, a government ruled by the vote of citizens, has played a vital role in world politics. The preferred political system of free peoples throughout the world, democracy originated on the streets of Athens and became ingrained in Greek society. In five hundred and eight B.C., Cleisthenes, an Athenian ruler, had reformed a government ruled by the people; thus, he established the world's first democracy. Since the time of Cleisthenes, democracy evolved into a powerful political system and influenced western political thought through the various stages of Greco/Roman philosophies, ethical Judeo/Christian teachings, and reforms in Feudalist England

Islamism : Islam is a political ideology that guides the political and social aspects within a society. It had embodied a secular nations states and related with Western values. This belief was used in the 20th century that had ultimately led to political terrorism.

Citizens would not like Theocracy. One reason citizens would not like this government is that they would be forced to practice one religion. This is bad because people should be able to choose the religion they practice and this type of government takes that freedom away from them. A second reason is that their laws are all based off the religion the government is based off. This is bad because if the people want new laws they can’t establish any if they are against the laws or teaching is of the religion.

Modernists claimed these institutions were not foreign to Islam and could coexist within an Islamic state. Rashid al Rida argued Islam was democratic and representative because Islamic leadership is determined through consensus of the community. According to Rida, an Islamic state requires Islamic legal systems, where the uluma are representatives of the people.

The September 11th terrorist attacks unleashed unimaginable devastation upon the United States and subsequently upon the Arab-Islamic world. While the government of the United States scrambled jets and prepared soldiers for war, there was another battle, arguably more important than the war the United States was preparing to wage. This battle was waged not on battlefields but in classrooms, between scholars who struggled to define and rectify the democratic deficit in the Muslim world. Theories have been offered ranging from Islam and democracy being diametrically opposed, all the way to Islam considering democracy, or democratic principles, as essential. Lurking in the midst of these two extreme theories are the more moderate and

Theocracy is the best government, because it is the only government that will work. No person can achieve what God can for society and that is bringing peace, affluence, and advancement to the nation. The government should have as little power as possible if they have too much power that does not make individuals totally free. Citizens are connected in the three divisions of government by voting, working on campaigns, keeping the legislators informed, and making their views understood. Individuals that have ethics, integrity, and dignity to do what’s right on and off the record are the one’s to be in power.

The implication that the principles of Islam clash with the principles of democracy is very apparent in the Western world, especially after the Jihadist terrorist attacks that took place on September 1st, 2001. Americans tend to view Islam as a violent, savage religion that cannot go along with democratic values. Because Islam is related to terrorism and much of the Arab world is non-democratic, it seems like Islam is the reason. Is this view of Islam accurate, or is it distorted? Some argue that Islam places political power in the hands of God, so when it comes down to it, Islam must be represented in a totalitarian regime. Others argue that in reality, the Islam is not antidemocratic; rather, historical and economic factors are the reason behind the lack of democratic regimes in the Arab world. Accordingly, proponents of this view suggest that it really depends on how the Islamic text is interpreted. By contrast, I suggest that the text is not the important factor; what really matters are Muslims ' opinions of democracy. Through the analysis of secondary sources and public opinion surveys, I argue that Islam is not the main obstacle that hinders the Arab world from democratization.

By the end of 2005 Freedom House had recorded strong improvements in the political and civil rights of countries like Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Over a year later, the democratic prospects in the Middle East did not look as prosperous as before. Struggles between the regimes, the United States, and Europe started to diminish the democratic reform. People in the Middle East wanted a change because what they had before did not serve for their best interests. Elections began in many of these Middle Eastern nations like Palestine where Hammas won, in Lebanon where Hezbollah won, in Iraq where the Islamists got the majority, and in Egypt where many members of the Muslim Brotherhood won seats in parliament. Although the electoral process began in some of these Middle Eastern states, it was not the greatest thing in the world since people were not voting based off the political platforms on which these parties stand on but rather the personalities of the leaders. There was also a lot of corruption in these elections that swayed votes to these Islamist parties.