Muslim countries declared ready for democracy<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite its shortcomings, democracy is the most suitable form of
\ngovernance in Muslim countries and should be implemented, even if
\nsome people are not ready, scholars say.<\/p>\n
International Muslim scholars gathering here for a two-day
\nseminar came to a conclusion on Tuesday that learning from the
\nsuccess stories of Muslim countries with a democratic system,
\nsuch as Indonesia, it was possible in Muslim societies albeiet
\nlimited to electoral democracy.<\/p>\n
\"Democracy means a process of wide public participation to
\ndecide what is best for the people...it enables the rule of law,
\n(equal) treatment of minorities, openness and tolerance of public
\nexpression,\" they explained at the conclusion of the seminar
\njointly organized by the International Center for Islam and
\nPluralism (ICIP) and the Asia Foundation.<\/p>\n
They stressed that electoral democracy was the foot-in-the-
\ndoor ahead of a full democracy.<\/p>\n
Rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University
\nAzyumardi Azra pointed out that if Indonesia could do it, others
\ncould also. \"Islam and democracy are not completely incompatible.
\nThe prospect of democracy is not really bleak in Muslim
\ncountries,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some of the scholars were concerned about the fact that very
\nfew Muslim countries were democratic and most were authoritarian.<\/p>\n
Amin Saikal of the Australian National University (ANU)
\ncriticized a number of countries in the Middle East such as Saudi
\nArabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman as
\nexamples of authoritarian regimes, which stymied democracy and
\ngave the impression that Muslim societies were not ready for
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
\"When prompted to democratic reforms, a majority of leaders
\nhave done so on a highly selective and exclusive basis and within
\nprocedural frameworks, which have not substantially affected
\ntheir personal, family or elite powers,\" Saikal said.<\/p>\n
Among the scholars taking part in the seminar was Patricia
\nMartinez of the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Muhammad
\nKhalid Masud of Allama Iqbal University in Pakistan and Khalid
\nAbou El Fadl of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).<\/p>\n
The scholars agreed that the key to the implementation of
\ndemocracy in Muslim countries was the existence of moderate
\norganizations, which could play important roles in giving an
\ninterpretation of Islam that was hospitable to democracy.<\/p>\n
Experts have credited Indonesia's two largest moderate Muslim
\norganizations Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah for their
\nindispensable role in promoting democratic values in the country,
\nwhich contributed significantly to the success of three
\nsuccessive elections earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Other preconditions for democracy to work in Muslim societies
\nis open, continuous dialog and the inclusion of the religious
\nestablishment in the reform of the political process.<\/p>\n
\"The example of Iran tells us that by suppressing and
\nmarginalizing the religious establishment -- as the only force
\ncapable of motivating the Iranian public -- the Shah's reform in
\nthe 1970s was bound to run into difficulties,\" Saikal said,
\nreferring to the final days of Shah Reza Pahlevi's rule before
\nbeing toppled in an Islamic revolution led by Ayatullah Khomeini.<\/p>\n
The scholars also blamed the United States for a lack of
\ndemocracy in Muslim countries.<\/p>\n
\"On the one hand, the U.S. supports some authoritarian
\nregimes, such as those that prevail in Egypt and Saudi Arabia,
\nbut on the other hand it opposes the struggling reformist regime
\nlike the one in Iran,\" one scholar explained.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/muslim-countries-declared-ready-for-democracy-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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