Peace Watch

Islam and Democracy

August 2002

Top to bottom: Mahmood Monshipouri, Muqtedar Khan, Neil Hicks and Laith Kubba.

What are the relationships between Islam, human rights, and democracy, and how can the United States and the West promote democracy in the Muslim world? The U.S. Institute of Peace and the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy sponsored a symposium at the Institute on June 18 to explore these issues.

The session was co-chaired by David Smock, director of the Religion and Peacemaking Initiative at the Institute, and Radwan Masmoudi, executive director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. Featured speakers included Laith Kubba of the National Endowment for Democracy; Muqtedar Khan of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists; Mahmood Monshipouri of the Political Science Department at Quinnipiac University; and Neil Hicks of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and a former Institute senior fellow.

The Challenge of Democracy in the Muslim World

Democracy building remains an uphill battle in most Muslim countries, asserted Kubba. Progress in liberalizing society, modernizing institutions, and developing infrastructure is slow and limited.

In Kubba's view, the key to understanding the democracy predicament in Muslim countries does not lie in the texts or in the traditions of Islam but in the context of society, politics, and culture. In short, the basic problem is not about religion but about modernity.

Noting that many Muslim states are stuck in a dysfunctional "deadlock" of corruption and repression, Kubba warned that apathy and despair breed radicalism.

Assessing Islam's Compatibility with Democracy

According to Khan, "In the minds of nearly one billion Muslims who practice some form of democracy around the globe, there is no dispute between Islam and democracy." Pointing to the role that Muslims play in civil society in countries from the United States to Pakistan, Khan indicated that the international community is not confronted by a "clash of civilizations" or a clash of Islam versus democracy, but rather a "clash of myths." These myths are advanced by Islamists and Western ideologues alike. The greatest threats to human rights in the Muslim world, are not religious or theological but political.

To counter these myths, Khan stressed the importance of further examining three issues:

• The Koranic principle of Shura, a consultative decision-making process encouraged by the Koran, and its commonalities and differences with basic precepts of western democratic theory;
• The false dichotomy whereby the rule of law in a democratic state ("law of man") is portrayed as being inherently in conflict with the Sharia or Islamic law ("law of god"); and
• Democratic institutions and practices from ancient and modern Muslim history, such as the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan or the Constitution of Medina, that may provide useful lessons on how democratic principles can be woven effectively into a modern Islamic society.

A Look at Islam and Human Rights

Fifty-four years after the passage of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights remain a point of contention between the West and the Muslim world. Monshipouri argued that the core of the dispute is less a conflict of western versus Muslim values than it is the manifestation of an internal struggle within the Muslim world. This struggle pits Islamic conservatives, Islamic reformists, and Muslim secularists against one another. Monshipouri noted: "Muslim countries have increasingly become the site of an emerging cultural conflict over who controls the process of social change."

Monshipouri argued that efforts by Muslim women and youth to gain a greater role in civil society and development of public policies will be vital in shaping attitudes toward human rights. Monshipouri also stressed that western policymakers need to treat "Muslim masses as partners in the struggle against human rights abuses," while also actively assisting reformist voices.

Promoting Democracy in the Muslim World

According to Hicks, the U.S. record on promoting democracy in the Muslim world has been highly inconsistent and largely ineffective. Hicks noted that "the myth of cultural incompatibility between Islam and democracy has been a comfortable backdrop for a U.S. policy of inaction, leaving a legacy of low expectations and Orwellian doublespeak that will take years to overcome."

To overcome these inconsistencies, Hicks outlined several courses of action open to U.S. policymakers:

• Substantially increase the proportion and amount of U.S. foreign assistance spent on promoting democracy in the Muslim world.
• Provide governments and key interest groups in Muslim societies with economic, political, and other types of incentives to engage in democratic reforms.
• Make more effective use of existing multilateral agreements, international treaties, and international organizations to help overcome skepticism of the U.S. government's motives.
• Promote regional accountability mechanisms with existing regional institutions such as the League of Arab States.

Kubba added that assistance should have four foci:

• Helping dysfunctional states increase their ability to provide critical public services.
• Advocating legal and institutional reforms to enhance opportunities for greater political participation.
• Assisting civic education efforts.
• Finding techniques to contain the political abuse of religion.