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May 21, 2006
Some Advice From A Muslim Friend Of Democracy: On Democracy As A Goal In The Muslim World And The Necessity For Education And Economic Reform First
Topics: Understanding IslamSudanese Thinker now lives in Malaysia, dreams of his home in Sudan, and supports democracy. However, he feels that America is going about spreading democracy in the wrong way. With the possible exception of Iraq, which is a moot point since we are already there (he says in a PS: Fix Iraq as soon as possible!), he strongly believes what other liberal Muslims have told me in direct conversations: Other than the liberal Muslims who support democracy, the majority want no democracy, no secularism and most certainly no Western ideology being "forced on them", and the key to democracy is education and by extrapolation (from his post), economic reforms ("the word "democracy" means something very different to the average Arab Muslim citizen who is too busy struggling daily to make ends meet"):
(...) If they want something then it's two and two things only... the Khilafa system which is an Islamic system with similarities to democracy to return and for a great Muslim Ummah to rise once again.Read more...... However Arab Muslims are without a doubt divided ... This divide amongst us can be attributed to simply one thing... education or the lack of it. America can continue its war in the same way but the final outcome will be the exact opposite of what it has planned for. A change is therefore necessary for such an outcome to be avoided. If Americans are to win, the perception towards democracy in the Muslim world must be fixed. That is something Americans are not in control of but can help in.
Education in the Arab Muslim world is the key which must be focused on and we Muslims must try our best to continue our efforts in pursuing that goal as this is in our interests and those of the West. This war to "liberate" will only truly liberate if it is accompanied by education. So far all America has been doing is focusing on the former which is "liberate". I don't blame the Americans for this, but I so desperately hope they start to realize the word "democracy" means something very different to the average Arab Muslim citizen who is too busy struggling daily to make ends meet. Philosophizing about this word is out of question. Therefore I stress again the need for education. I also stress the continuation of peace efforts in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so that anti-Israeli sentiments in the region can at least start decreasing.
SudaneseThinker links to a February post at Egyptian Observer that offers a similar opinion, but puts it in the context of Arab countries not having yet deciphered how to integrate Islam in to the 21st century:
Arab countries have not yet deciphered how to integrate Islam in to the 21st century. For the time being, it has been regime survival which has led to economic development in the region. The Gulf countries are prime examples: the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are healthy economies with most of them producing oil for exporting. Monarchic regimes have kept the countries intact both politically and economically.However, what do the Islamists have to say about democracy? In September 2003 Amir Taheri discussed a book published by al Qaeda and released in the Arab world that calls "American democracy" the greatest threat to Islam.In essence, Arab countries could easily look to the Newly Industrialized Countries of Far East Asia and see that US-backed democracy was not their key to success.
If it is in their interest, Arab countries need to lay the foundations suitable for democracy. The respective governments should invest in the literacy of their populations first before anything else. Until then, people will vote in oblivion, to the lesser of two evils and to simply, someone different - all in the hope for the better change; an idea which at this point, is an utter illusion.
(...) The author of "The Future of Iraq and The Arabian Peninsula After The Fall of Baghdad" is Yussuf al-Ayyeri, one of Osama bin Laden's closest associates since the early '90s. A Saudi citizen also known by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad, he was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Riyadh last June.Obviously, Democracy is anathema to the al-Qaeda types and their Islamist friends. And of course by inference, educating the Islamic world and taking away the poverty and hopelessness so prevalent in the culture is the very last thing they want to see happen. "Economic prosperity, which, in turn, would make Muslims "reluctant to die in martyrdom" in defense of their faith" - golly gee, that wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?(...) The goal of democracy, according to Al-Ayyeri, is to "make Muslims love this world, forget the next world and abandon jihad." If established in any Muslim country for a reasonably long time, democracy could lead to economic prosperity, which, in turn, would make Muslims "reluctant to die in martyrdom" in defense of their faith.
Just imagine, a little education - through in a little economic prosperity and hope for the future, and before you know it, over time, blowing yourself to hell wouldn't sound like such a great idea! Democracy yes, but before the Islamic world can get there, they have to learn both what it is and what it means in their day to day lives.
We've got a lot of work to do. If we can only keep the Islamists from blowing up the world in the meantime, there's always hope.
Related: U.S. Strategy in the Muslim World After 9/11
Posted by Richard at May 21, 2006 7:34 PM
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