Democracy and Islam Essay

“The virtue of democracy is that it has found--in the course of its long struggle against unjust and oppressive rulers--forms and means that still comprise the best guarantees for protecting people from tyrants” . Democracy epitomizes the Western world and coincides with capitalism. According to the United States, it is the gold standard for governments. Conversely, political Islam is rising within majority Muslim nations as a counter to democracy. The rise fuels the debate within the academic sphere

century and continuing into the twenty-first, a leading question arose regarding Islam and its traditions. This question asked whether Islam can be compatible with democracy. Seemed as a simple question, such an inquiry requires an in-depth look at the matter at hand. When one asks whether Islam is compatible with democracy, one needs to analyze the definition of democracy. According to Webster’s Dictionary, democracy is “a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised

the article “Islam and Democracy” has a couple of weaknesses when it comes to explaining its arguments about the “key” relationship between Islam and democracy. The first weak argument in this article is that the authors suggest, “democracy is a foreign concept that has been imposed by Westernizers and secular reformers upon Muslim societies” (Esposito and Voll 2001, 1). The argument here suggested by Esposito and Voll is weak because it starts of discussing the topic of democracy is foreign and

Democracy is a form of government where the power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually following periodical elections. In the world today, most countries follow the democratic style of government like Canada, United States, Great Britain, etc. Historically, authoritative governments have been ruled by monarchs or dictators and had unlimited power. In today’s society, most Islamic states followed the authoritarian rule. In

Islam and Democracy: A Reflection In the essay entitled “Islam and Democracy”, Benazir Bhutto argues that democracy and Islam are not mutually exclusive ideas, but can coexist peacefully. She provides ample evidence to back up this theory, citing both the Quran and the Constitution of Pakistan. Bhutto also provides the reader with reasons she believes the two are so rarely seen together. She attributes this to both religious extremism and the hypocritical policies of western countries; in particular

Can Islam and a democracy coinside together? Democracy gives power to the people and in that power the people can elect and choose a politician to represent the people and not just Islam. Before one answers that question there are several factors into why it has been an uphill battle for Muslim countries to build a successful democratic government. History shows Muslim countries have lived in non democratic states, so democracy is completely unfilmilrue and the people can’t relate to democracy like

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

Can Democracy and Islam Go Together? 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

Islam is often spoken of, especially in the backdrop of the current prevalent terrorism of today’s world, as the religion of peace. In saying so, it is implied that Islam, as a religion, is opposed to warfare, extremism and terrorist activities. On the contrary, in the realm of political science, democracy is the system of government that is set up on a high pedestal. Democracy is not only portrayed as inherently virtuous, but is also a system that ensures peace and harmony in any region. Both democracy

scholars, both inside and outside the Islamic World, regarding Islam and its compatibility with democracy. Are Islam and democracy compatible? Support for democracy is just as frequent as resistance in these developing nations with both sides pitching adequate arguments but in all traditions there are intellectual and ideological resources that can provide justification for an absolute monarchy or for democracy. Many argue that Islam has all the ingredients of modern state and society and many Muslim