Is Islam compatible with democracy? Can Islam survive in a democratic state? Many think not and the evidence of the history of Muslim nations certainly seems to support that position. Others, however, argue forcefully that there is much in Islam that supports democracy; indeed, they argue that dictatorships contradict basic Muslim values.

This is an important discussion because the future of Muslims around the world will depend upon it. Will they be able to create vibrant democratic states in the Middle East, or will they continue to always be ruled by autocratic leaders?

One who argues that Islam is compatible with democracy is Khaled Abou El Fadl, the Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Fellow in Islamic Law at UCLA, who has written that:

"Although Muslim jurists debated political systems, the Qur’an itself did not specify a particular form of government. But it did identify a set of social and political values that are central to a Muslim polity. Three values are of particular importance: pursuing justice through social cooperation and mutual assistance (Qur’an 49:13; 11:119); establishing a non-autocratic, consultative method of governance; and institutionalizing mercy and compassion in social interactions (6:12, 54; 21:107; 27:77; 29:51; 45.20). So, all else equal, Muslims today ought to endorse the form of government that is most effective in helping them promote these values. ...Several considerations suggest that democracy - and especially a constitutional democracy that protects basic individual rights - is that form."

He also argues that it is impossible for any state to actually impose God's law on citizens, contradicting the intentions of many Islamic extremists:

"[I]f a legal opinion is adopted and enforced by the state, it cannot be said to be God’s law. By passing through the determinative and enforcement processes of the state, the legal opinion is no longer simply a potential - it has become an actual law, applied and enforced. But what has been applied and enforced is not God’s law - it is the state’s law. Effectively, a religious state law is a contradiction in terms. Either the law belongs to the state or it belongs to God, and as long as the law relies on the subjective agency of the state for its articulation and enforcement, any law enforced by the state is necessarily not God’s law."

I'm sure that many extremists will disageed with El Fadl's arguments - and he even anticipates some of their likely objections. Nevertheless, his position is well-argued and needs to be taken seriously - both by Muslims and by others trying to understand Islam.

More:

• Islam
• Islamic extremists
• The Place of Tolerance in Islam, by Khaled Abou El Fadl