Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis

This paper examines the impact of democracy and democratization on contemporary Muslim societies. The institutional and philosophical approaches to democracy and democratization are inseparable. The paper investigates the relationship between the philosophical dimension of Western democracy and the...

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Main Author:	Ra'ees, Wahabuddin
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Research Center, IIUM 2010
Subjects:	JA Political science (General) JC Political theory JF Political institutions (General)
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/3/Democracy_and_democratization_in_contemporary_Muslim_societies.pdf

id	iium-4780
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-47802012-05-08T08:30:28Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/ Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis Ra'ees, Wahabuddin JA Political science (General) JC Political theory JF Political institutions (General) This paper examines the impact of democracy and democratization on contemporary Muslim societies. The institutional and philosophical approaches to democracy and democratization are inseparable. The paper investigates the relationship between the philosophical dimension of Western democracy and the Muslim philosophy of life and concludes that the democratization of contemporary Muslim societies leads to serious and destabilizing ideological polarization and division of Muslim societies into supporters of secularism and political Islam. The Islamist-secularists relation radicalizes: (1) when the Islamists are prevented from capturing power through democratic institutions and (2) when the advanced Western democratic states cooperate with non-democratic secular elites of Muslim societies. The destabilizing role of democracy can be moderated if the Islamists are engaged in the democratic process, and the debate between the Islamists, the secularists and the West . based on the view that the West should conceive Islam as an alternative weltanschauung (worldview) . focuses on issues that are human properties, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or language. The institutional approach to democracy provides a common ground for cooperation and dialogue between the Islamists, the secularists and the West. Research Center, IIUM 2010 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/3/Democracy_and_democratization_in_contemporary_Muslim_societies.pdf Ra'ees, Wahabuddin (2010) Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis. Intellectual Discourse, 18 (2). pp. 235-259. ISSN 0128-4878 http://www.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	JA Political science (General) JC Political theory JF Political institutions (General)
spellingShingle	JA Political science (General) JC Political theory JF Political institutions (General) Ra'ees, Wahabuddin Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
description	This paper examines the impact of democracy and democratization on contemporary Muslim societies. The institutional and philosophical approaches to democracy and democratization are inseparable. The paper investigates the relationship between the philosophical dimension of Western democracy and the Muslim philosophy of life and concludes that the democratization of contemporary Muslim societies leads to serious and destabilizing ideological polarization and division of Muslim societies into supporters of secularism and political Islam. The Islamist-secularists relation radicalizes: (1) when the Islamists are prevented from capturing power through democratic institutions and (2) when the advanced Western democratic states cooperate with non-democratic secular elites of Muslim societies. The destabilizing role of democracy can be moderated if the Islamists are engaged in the democratic process, and the debate between the Islamists, the secularists and the West . based on the view that the West should conceive Islam as an alternative weltanschauung (worldview) . focuses on issues that are human properties, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or language. The institutional approach to democracy provides a common ground for cooperation and dialogue between the Islamists, the secularists and the West.
format	Article
author	Ra'ees, Wahabuddin
author_facet	Ra'ees, Wahabuddin
author_sort	Ra'ees, Wahabuddin
title	Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
title_short	Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
title_full	Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
title_fullStr	Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
title_full_unstemmed	Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
title_sort	democracy and democratization in contemporary muslim societies: a theoretical analysis
publisher	Research Center, IIUM
publishDate	2010
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/4780/3/Democracy_and_democratization_in_contemporary_Muslim_societies.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:13:08Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:13:08Z
_version_	1777407611067432960

Democracy and democratization in contemporary Muslim societies: a theoretical analysis

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