Contemporary Middle East: Islam and Democracy.
The common notion that the Muslim world is not ideologically monolithic has yielded a lot of controversy in regard to compatibility of Islam and democracy. This perennial debate on whether Islam is compatible with democracy has become highly publicized in the recent past, due to the deteriorating relationship which exists between the Muslim world and most western countries. Some contemporary studies have shown that, the Western world which is believed to be highly democratic can not co-exist with the Muslim world due to a rise in the Islamic fundamentalism and an increase in the number of terrorist groups which are affiliated to the Islamic world.
Some Muslim extremists are quite skeptical about the co-existence of Islam and democracy and they have argued that, democracy reflects the will of man which goes against the will of Allah. These extremists add that, Muslims will have to compromise their religion in order to achieve democracy or vice versa, since the two can not coexist. However, a survey carried out by Gallup in ten countries where Islamic religion is predominant has shown that, most Muslims believe that both Islam and democracy can co-exist peacefully without having to choose either, since there is no inherent contradiction between democracy and Islam.
Can Islam co-exist with democracy?
The connection between the Islamic religion and democracy is quite complex. The increased number of Islamic movements have further heightened the controversy with many arguments on whether these movements are committed to bringing democracy to the Muslim world or they are inherently autocratic, just like most previous regimes which have ruled the Muslim world. According to Langour (591), some people have raised concerns over the move by Islamic movements to impose Sharia law which they argue is quite discriminatory. They further add that, since the Sharia law discriminates against women and people who are not of the Islamic religion, such Islamic movements are not likely to provide the much needed democracy for the Muslim world.
Despite this skepticism, some people are still optimistic that Islam and democracy can actually co-exist in a well structured government. According to Taylor and Horgan (37-71), the basic principles which guide Islam are more or less the same as those which govern political democracy. They further add that, the reason why many Muslim dominated countries are not democratic lies not in the religious context, but in the cultural, political and historical factors of these countries. In the midst of much skepticism, the number of Islamic movements in the political landscape of most Muslim dominated countries has sharply increased and this has served to stress the issue of democracy in countries like Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Algeria, among others.
Islamist parties and democracy.
Over the last 20 years or so, some major Islamic political movements have sought to become legitimate political parties and the breakthrough achieved by this parties has shown that democracy can actually co-exists with Islam (Zeghal 31). Some of these movements such as the Justice and Development Party of Turkey (AKP), the Party of Justice and Development in Morocco (PJD) and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (MB) have already been authorized to participate in democratic elections and though most Islamist parties are perennially confined in the opposition, their popularity and chances of gaining power over autocratic regimes has significantly increased.
The main goal of Islamic movements is to integrate the ideals of Islamic religion with those of political democracy. They also seek to move away from the common belief that democracy represents the will of man which is against the will of Allah. The fact that sovereignty belongs to God alone has been the basis of anti-democracy proposed by many Muslim activists who claim that a democratic system provides a platform on which the human whim acts as the sole source of law. What such activists fail to understand however is the fact that, democratic systems occur in many forms and are not only concerned with law.
There is a need to understand that sovereignty is always human whether in an Islamic state or in a democratic political system. For this reason, the question of democracy is not about God or human sovereignty but is about putting limits to the human sovereignty de facto in order to prevent tyranny. Khan (218) has argued that, the Muslim world which has for a long time been plagued by dictators, despots and selfish monarchism is in dire need for limitation of the human sovereign power.
The notion that Islam is not compatible with democracy according to al-Farabi (a great Muslim thinker) is a notion of the ignorant people who dwell on authenticity in order to exclude other people when making selfish decisions (Tibi 47). Some Islamist parties have geared their efforts against such authentic decisions with the aim of ensuring democracy novelty in the world of Islam. The liberal democracy of these Islamic movements has however been questioned as some critics argue that, such parties are bound to use force once their interests are not reflected at the ballot box. The democracy of the Muslim Brotherhood party of Egypt has especially been doubted due to its former violence history (Cleveland 92-114). However, the continued popularity and dominance of these Islamic movements in the political arena of most middle East countries is a clear indication that slam can actually co-exist with democracy.
Islamic movements in Middle East.
The recent upsurge of numerous political movements in most middle East countries which are largely Muslim dominated has been referred to as the Islamic revival or resurgence. This resurgence which began in the 1970s was initially attributed to the crushing defeats experienced by military troops and Israeli forces from the Arab countries in the year 1967 (Milton 32-50). This major defeat is believed to have brought to an end the pan-Arabism era which had previously dominated the Muslim world.
The roots of the Islamic revival date back to the year 1928 when a political party known as Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt was formed (Cleveland 190). This party founded by Hassan al-Banna has evolved to become one of the most powerful political and religious movement in the Islamic world. The main reason behind the party’s rapid popularity and success has been attributed to its overall appeal to the Muslims as an alternative to the wave of westernization and secularism which has been threatening most Islamic societies. This party wholly addresses the political ideals and at the same time, it advocates for a strict adherence to the old religious values of the Islamic religion.
The initial aim of MB was more religious than political in nature, with a principal goal of spreading the religious welfare and providing basic facilities to the Muslim communities. This movement has undergone some very difficult times in the past with the assassination of its founder in 1949, severe brutal crackdowns and imprisonment of some of its member in the 1950s among other things (Cleveland 381-384). In the last 20 years or so, the MB movement has experienced some major expansions and its appeal now extends beyond Egypt. Moreover, the MB movement has acted as a mentor for the Islamic politics which have gained a lot of momentum and it has also led to the establishment of other similar political parties in most middle East countries such as Jordan, Palestine and Syria.
Reasons for the dominance of Islamic movements.
The main reason for the rapid upsurge, growth and increased popularity of political movements in the Middle East is mainly as a result of military defeats, a decline in the economic status of most Islamic countries and wide spread social unrest among countries in the Muslim world. In addition, the wide spread prevalence of many autocratic regimes which have for a long time existed in the Muslim world and the overwhelming desire by most Muslims to experience democracy in their societies has also contributed to the great support shown towards Islamic parties in the political landscape (Moustafa 3-22).
Another main reason for the widespread popularity of the Islamic political movements has been attributed to the failure of the spirit of secularism and pan Arab nationalism in the early 1970s. Failure of secular politics to meet the increasing societal demands has led to the search for alternatives and this collapse of secularism in the Muslim countries has yielded political Islam which has been on a rise since 1991.
Political Islam.
The whole concept of political Islam presents a lot of controversy and complexity originating right from its definition. The most popular definition of political Islam refers to it as “a religion used to a political end” (Hirschkind 12). a lot of controversy is brought about by the common notion that, Islam is totally incompatible with democracy and that, the Muslim world is doomed to a life of dictatorship and autocracy. The diversity of the Islam prefixes which classify Muslims as radical, extremists, revolutionists, fundamentalists and militants is one major source of controversy in the issue of political Islam. Some people further argue that, the term political Islam does not capture the the infusion politics and religion which is found in Islam (din wa dawla).
Due to the complexity and shortcomings of the term political Islam, there has been an increased resort between the term Islamists and Islamism in relation to Islamic movements. Many political movements which have recently awakened in the Middle East are categorized as Islamic movements and their followers are referred to as Islamists. Most of these political movements are characterized by three common traits. For one, all the Islamic political parties identify themselves as Islamic movements. Secondly, these movements are governed by the Sharia law which they use as the fundamental basis of an Islamic rule which they propose should be used to govern all states in the Muslim world. Finally, all these Islamic movements are organized and focused towards a common goal of achieving the above mentioned goals (Utvik 201). Despite having some common traits, there are many faces of political Islamic parties. For instance, most Islamic movements in Turkey practice what is known as democratic Islamism, while those in Egypt practice Islamist opposition. Other faces of political Islam include Islamic revolution, Islamist terror, among others.
All Islamists adhere to independent reading, re-interpretation and reasoning (ijtehad) of the Holy scriptures contained in the Quran, which they apply in all situations in the real world. In this case, Islamists and Islamic movements embrace the concept of modernity in the sense of technological innovations and industrialization but on the other hand, they strongly reject modernism in the context of scientific advances and beliefs (Utvik 199-204). This forms the basis of most Islamic political movements which deploy a reconstitutive and programmatic political dimension in the translation and application of spiritual texts in their practical state policies. According to Khan (211-119), these Islamic movements have resulted into a general trend focused towards democracy in the modern Islamic societies. This democratic shift by people now known as the ‘2nd generation Islamists’ is evident in many Islamic parties in Middle East.
Conclusion.
For many years, most states in the Middle East have been governed by highly autocratic governments which have managed to keep Islamists and Islamic movements from ruling through acts of brutal suppression (like imprisonment and assassination), as well as denying them a popular vote. According to many political analysts, this use of excess power and suppression by the autocratic regimes is what has led to the rapid rise and popularity of Islamic movements in Middle East, which are seen as the only source of hope for democracy in the Muslim world. Despite constant efforts to suppress them, many Islamic movements have continued to fight for democracy and some have succeeded as it is seen in various democratic elections carried out recently. Islamic parties such as the MB in Egypt, Turkey’s AKP and the Salvation Front in Algeria have all embraced the use of peaceful and democratic ways of gaining power (Al Sayyid 178). It can thus be concluded that, despite the complexity of the concept of democracy in the Muslim world, Islam is not inherently incompatible with democracy. As indicated by most Islamic movements in Middle East, political Islam can at times be a program for religious democracy and not necessarily an agenda for Holy war and terrorism as it is commonly perceived.
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