The presence of a parliament does not a democracy make.
Mernissi's assertion that the Third World has enabled much of Arab and Muslim societies to be cut off from the philosophical underpinnings of democracy can easily explain why Islam seems incompatible with secular humanism. Arabs, "like the rest of the citizens of the third World, have never had systematic access to the modern advances rooted in" the Enlighenment (Mernissi 46-47). Mistrust of colonial overlords has fueled an anti-Western sentiment. This also prevents democracy as a worldview from taking root, let alone democracy as a reality. The result is that people in the Muslim world are experiencing "modernity without understanding its foundations, its basic concepts," (Mernissi 47).
In the Arab world "the state and its public schools...remain the only means of creating and propagating democratic culture and educating tolerant citizens," (Mernissi 47). The goal is to interject democratic principles into teachings of Western civilization. This might help minimize the misunderstandings of what democracy is and thereby prove that Islam is absolutely compatible with it. After all, Islam has spearheaded scientific inquiry even when Christianity was in the Dark Ages. The fact that there is no Arab word for "democracy" is meaningless in a world in which societies learn and grow from and with each other (Mernissi).
Berman's analysis of Sayyid Qutb also shows that Al Qaeda does not speak for the entire Muslim world. Eikelmann agrees. "Muslim religious scholars, both in the Middle East and in the West, have already soken out against Al Qaeda's claim to act in the name of Islam," (p. 39) Al Qaeda is like the Tea Party in the United States, only more overtly violent; Al Qaeda is a core group of fundamentalists who cling to a religious conservatism by blinding followers...
Islam is every bit as compatible with democracy, but just not in the way at Qutb conceives of either one.
Therefore, fundamentalism prevents Islam from seeming -- or even being -- compatible with democracy. Democracy is certainly not compatible with the Islam of Bin Laden or Sayyid Qutb. However, democracy is compatible with Muslims who view religion as an integral part of personal and cultural identity. It is possible to value the history, traditions, and theology of Islam without creating a theocracy that thwarts individual freedoms. As Eikelmann notes, the best way to prevent terrorism is "to encourage Middle Eastern states to be more responsive to participatory demands, and to aid local nongovernmental organizations working toward this goal," (p. 39). This goal seems distant and in some ways also seems "subversive" (Eikelmann p. 39). However, Islam has historically embraced reason and truth-seeking in conjunction with faith in God. Because the modern world is "increasing levels of education, greater ease of travel, and the rise of new communications media," the tide may already be turning. Eikelmann's vision of Arab street as "a public sphere in which greater numbers of people, and not just a political and economic elite, will have a say in governance and public issues" may not be a pipe dream (p. 39).
Works Cited
Berman, Paul. "The Philosopher of Islamic Terror." The New York Times. March 23, 2003.
Eickelman, Dale F. Bin Laden, the Arab "Street," and the Middle East's Democracy Deficit."
Klausen, Jytte. Faith and politics. Chapter 3 in the Islamic Challenge. Oxford, 2005.
Mernissi, Fatema. "Fear of Democracy" Chapter 3 in Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World. 2002.
