Islam compatible to democracy: Scholars

Islam compatible to democracy: Scholars

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The small number of Muslim countries practicing democracy has
nothing to do with the values of Islam, international scholars
say.

Instead, the crisis of democracy in predominantly Muslim
countries was more due to cultural backwardness and structural
deficiencies, they agreed at a conference here on Tuesday.

"In reality, there is no inherent incompatibility between
Islam and democracy," said Bahgat Korany, a professor of politics
at the Universite de Montreal, during an international conference
titled "The Challenge of Democracy in the Muslim World."

The scholars were voicing their concerns over the fact that
there were only 11 out of 47 predominantly Muslim countries which
were democratic.

In his paper, Bahgat explained that there were at least seven
pillars of Islam that were compatible with the universal values
of democracy.

Among them were the concepts that all believers were equal and
that the final decision-making prerogative was vested in the
ummah (community), which was the ultimate receptacle of
sovereignty.

The values of democracy were also widely recognized in the
Koran, such as in the Ar-Rum: Verse 22, which stated that "the
presence of the other is legitimate and should be respected."

If Islamic values were compatible with democracy, then what
had gone wrong in Muslim nations given that most of them were
undemocratic?

The scholars suspected that cultural deficiencies and
structural impediments were major stumbling blocks for Muslim
countries in embracing democratic institutions.

In Indonesia, the feudalistic and hierarchical Javanese
culture was characterized as a factor inhibiting democracy, as
had been shown during the period of the old Javanese kingdoms,
according to Indonesianist R. William Liddle.

"If a country is ruled by aristocratic regimes, as also is
currently the case in the Arab countries, antidemocratic culture
will grow on fertile soil," said Liddle, who is also a professor
of politics at Ohio State University in the U.S.

Besides cultural deficiencies, structural impediments were
also singled out as additional barriers to democracy.

In the Arab countries, which comprise some 30 percent of the
world's predominantly Muslim countries, there was a veil of
ignorance among the rulers about the building of democratic
institutions.

The rulers perceived that the legitimacy of their regimes did
not come from the democratic representation of the citizens, but
rather from their success in defending national security and
improving the people's welfare, said Lisa Anderson.

"This erroneous perception leads to regimes pouring all of
their resources into pursuing national security and the welfare
of the people, neglecting the good will needed to establish
democratic institutions," said Anderson, a professor of politics
at the U.S.-based Columbia University.

However, despite these inhibiting factors, the prospects of
democracy remained bright in the Muslim world.

Indonesian scholar Azyumardi Azra, who is the rector of the
State Institute of Islamic Studies, identified several exemplary
Muslim countries which could become locomotives for democracy in
the Muslim world, including Indonesia, Iran and Turkey.

"They are the bright spots among the Muslim countries, which
have shown that democracy can have a place in the Muslim world,"
he said in his keynote address on Monday night.

To follow the path blazed by these three nations, other
countries could enhance democracy through encouraging a free
press, discourses on human rights and plurality, freedom to
associate and a free civil society.