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Islam, Muslim polities and democracy

2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 11; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1351034042000234549

1743-890X

Anoushiravan Ehteshami,

Islamic Studies and History

Abstract Since 11 September 2001 (‘9/11’) the international spotlight has been more firmly than ever on the Muslim world, and its Middle East heartland in particular. All aspects of life in Muslim societies – history, educational system, attitudes towards the West, gender relations, cultural underpinnings, political and economic systems, demography, foreign relations – have been pored over by policy commentators and analysts in attempts to unearth the root causes of Islamist militancy against the West. Using the tools of political economy and social movement theories this analysis will debate the complex set of issues underlining many aspects of the ‘Islam and democracy’ debate, which today is very much about the relationship between Islam and governance. Indeed, as the debate itself since ‘9/11’ has been increasingly shaped by priorities of western actors, whose traditional interests in the Muslim Middle East are now being driven by concerns about international stability, Muslims have tended to adopt an even more sceptical posture. Whether forced democratization can be effectively administered adds a new and interesting twist to the debates surrounding Islam and democracy, adding new dimensions to the already tangible impact of geopolitical factors on Muslim polities. Keywords: democracyIslamcivil society Notes Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response (London: Phoenix, 2002). Samuel P. Huntington, ‘The Age of Muslim Wars’, Newsweek, 17 December 2001. Mohammed M. Hafez, Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the Islamic World (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2003). Muqtedar Khan, ‘Prospects for Muslim Democracy: The Role of U.S. Policy’, Middle East Policy, Fall 2003, pp.1–19. For the salient features of the political economy debates appropriate to the Muslim Middle East and North Africa see Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Emma C. Murphy, ‘Transformation of the Corporatist State in the Middle East’, Third World Quarterly, Vol.17, No.4 (1996), pp.753–72; Nazih N. Ayubi, Over-Stating the Arab State: Politics and Society in the Middle East (London: I.B. Tauris, 1995). Quintan Wiktorowicz, ‘Islamic Activism and Social Movement Theory: A New Direction for Research’, Mediterranean Politics, Vol.7, No.3 (2002), pp.187–211. John L. Esposito and James P. Piscatori, ‘Democratization and Islam’, Middle East Journal, Vol.45, No.3 (1991), pp.427–40. Abubaker A. Bagader, ‘Contemporary Islamic Movements in the Arab World’, in Akbar S. Ahmed and Hastings Donnan (eds), Islam, Globalization and Postmodernity (London: Routledge, 1994), pp.114–26. I am reminded of El-Awa's remark that the ‘scholar of the political system of the Islamic state is always surprised to find that most aspects of this subject are shrouded in vagueness, contradiction and conflicting views’. Muhamed S. El-Awa, On the Political System of the Islamic State (Indianapolis, IN: American Trust Publications, 1980), p.iii. Akbar S. Ahmed, Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise (London: Routledge, 1992). Abdul Rashid Moten, ‘Democratic and Shūrā-Based Systems: A Comparative Analysis’, Encounters: Journal of Inter-Cultural Perspectives, Vol.3, No.1 (1997), pp.3–20; John L. Esposito, The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992). Quoted in Timothy D. Sick, Islam and Democracy: Religion, Politics, and Power in the Middle East (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 1992), p.18. Such personalities as Rachid al-Ghannouchi of Tunisia, Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, and Abdel Karim Suroush of Iran can be regarded as vanguards of Islamic liberalism. Elie Kedourie has been a strong proponent of this line of argument. See his Democracy and Arab Political Culture (London: Frank Cass, 1994). Said Hawwa is quoted in Azzam Tamimi, ‘Democracy in Islamic Political Thought’, Encounters: Journal of Inter-Cultural Perspectives, Vol.3, No.1 (1997), p.35. Daniel Pipes, In the Path of God: Islam and Political Power (New York, NY: Basic Books, 1983). Ali Reza Abootalebi, Islam and Democracy: State-Society Relations in Developing Countries, 1980–1994 (New York, NY: Garland Publishing, 2000), p.221. For the full text see BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 8 January 1988. Golam W. Choudhury, Islam and the Modern Muslim World (London: Scorpion Publishing, 1993), p.47. Ibid, pp.50–52. But even he acknowledges that the same divine messages and the Prophet's brief period as leader of the faithful can be interpreted in ways that produce a rigid, authoritarian and closed political system. Emmanuel Sivan, ‘The Clash within Islam’, Survival, Vol.45, No.1 (2003), p.38. See Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom (New York: W.W. Norton, 2003). Zakaria argues that a clear distinction should be drawn between constitutional liberty and democracy. While the former includes such issues as protection of individual rights (of speech, property and religion) through an independent judiciary and system of law which is free of government manipulation, checks and balances in the political system, the latter is defined as a popular political system based on open, free and fair elections. In the Muslim Middle East, he argues, the introduction of electoral democracy without the existence of constitutional liberties will mean electoral victories for illiberal Islamists who would (ab)use their new institutionally-recognized political powers to destroy the most basic civil liberties, even eliminating elections themselves. Henkin's list of elements of constitutionalism fits the bill rather well. His list comprises: sovereignty of the people, government and leaders subservient to the constitution and the parameters therein defined, governments to be formed through elections and accountable to the electorate, respect for and adherence to all human rights principles, existence of the mechanisms for ensuring the implementation of the constitution, preclusion of extra-constitutional government. See Louis Henkin, Elements of Constitutionalism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994). Ann Elizabeth Mayer, ‘Islamic Law as a Core for Political Law: The Withering of an Islamist Illusion’, Mediterranean Politics, Vol.7, No.3 (2002), pp.117–42. She observes that in the Middle East there is a ‘tendency for law to be subordinated to politics’ (p.120). Ibid. The Iranian constitution and its peculiarities are expertly discussed in Asghar Schirazi, The Constitution of Iran: Politics and the State in the Islamic Republic (London: I.B. Tauris, 1997). Schirazi notes that although the constitution provides for the separation of powers, in the wake of the revolution the clerical establishment systematically curtailed the constitutional powers of the people in favour of the political clergy dominated by Ayatollah Khomeini himself. See Robert L. Maddex, Constitutions of the World (London: Routledge, 1996). Extracts from King Fahd's speech at the inaugural ceremony of the country's consultative council in May 2003. Saudi Press Agency, 17 May 2003. It should be noted that the king's pronouncements have taken place in the context of agitation by prominent personalities for the rapid introduction of ‘islahat’ (reforms). The first petition of note was presented to the Saudi monarch in the throes of the Kuwait crisis of 1990/91, which resulted in the establishment of the Majlis al-Shura in 1993. In more recent times, two significant petitions for democratization were presented to Crown Prince Abdullah in January and September 2003, calling for the establishment of a constitutional system of government, an elected legislature, working alongside an independent judiciary, respect for free speech, freedom of association and an expanded role for women in public life. That these petitions are being taken seriously is reflected in the crown prince's decision to meet with the petitioners to discuss their demands. See also Jean-François Seznec, ‘Stirrings in Saudi Arabia’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.13, No.4 (2002), pp.33–40. Ray Takeyh, ‘Iran at Crossroads’, Middle East Journal, Vol.57, No.1 (2003), pp.42–56. The following report captures the mood in Iran rather well: ‘On university campuses, in corner shops, in tree-filled parks, and wherever else Iranians gather, a blistering cynicism infects the air. “All those mullahs are the same”, huffed one elderly shopkeeper in a small supermarket on Tehran's busy Shariati Street. “They are all corrupt thieves”. A shopper disagreed: “I don't think the reformists are thieves. I think they tried, but clearly the conservatives have all the power and don't want to give it up. So, why should we back the reformists?” Another shopper pipes in: “This system needs to be uprooted entirely. We need an entirely new regime”. Such exchanges and talk of “regime change” have become common among a people who are also frustrated by a stagnant economy, double-digit inflation, and chronic unemployment’. See Afshin Molavi, ‘Iran's “Crisis of Legitimacy” could Prompt Authoritarian Political Alternative’, Eurasianet.org, 29 August 2003. See also Mustafa El-Labbad ‘The Black Turbans’ “Counterrevolution”’, Al-Ahram Weekly, 14–20 August 2003. ‘Democratization in the Middle East: Solution or Mirage?’ Middle East Review of International Affairs Journal, Vol.7, No.1 (March 2003). For a detailed analysis see Anoushiravan Ehteshami, ‘Is the Middle East Democratizing?’, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.26, No.2 (1999), pp.199–217. For an interesting analysis of the ‘electoral gap’ in the Muslim world see Alfred Stepan (with Graeme B. Robertson), ‘An “Arab” More Than “Muslim” Electoral Gap’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.14, No.3 (July 2003), pp.30–44. Regarding Pakistan's October 2002 elections, see ‘Pakistan's Election: Oh what a Lovely Ally’, The Economist, 19 October 2002. Even here elections do take place in some countries, but are rarely free or fair. A case in point is Azerbaijan's presidential elections of October 2003. See Eurasia Insight, 21 October 2003. Thomas Carothers, ‘The End of the Transition Paradigm’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.13, No.1 (January 2002), p.8. Daniel Brumberg, Liberalization Versus Democracy: Understanding Arab Political Reform, Working Paper No.37 (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2003). As Sater notes, however, due to the peculiarities of the process the result was an increase in the monarch's position in the political process. His further cautionary observation that the September 2002 elections showed ‘the increasing insignificance of political parties and the whole electoral process’ should not be overlooked. James Sater, ‘Morocco after the Parliamentary Elections of 2002’, Mediterranean Politics, Vol.8, No.1 (2003), pp.135–42. See Anoushiravan Ehteshami, ‘Reform From Above: The Politics of Participation in the Oil Monarchies’, International Affairs, Vol.79, No.1 (2003), pp.53–75. James A. Russell, ‘Political and Economic Transition on the Arabian Peninsula: Perils and Prospects’, GulfWire Perspectives, 15 May 2003. Saudi Press Agency, 13 October 2003. An editorial in a leading Saudi newspaper noted that ‘only the cynical or the naïve can fail to acknowledge that what is taking place in Saudi Arabia is a very radical assessment of the social contract’. Arab News, 14 October 2003. Even the petition system in Saudi Arabia, discussed earlier, has its roots in Islamic traditions. Eberhard Kienle masterfully illustrates this point in a detailed study of Egypt. See A Grand Delusion: Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt (London: I.B. Tauris, 2001). Brumberg (note 36) p.9. Scott Greenwood, ‘Jordan's “New Bargain:” The Political Economy of Regime Security’, Middle East Journal, Vol.57, No.2 (2003), pp.248–68; International Crisis Group, ‘The Challenge of Political Reform: Jordanian Democratisation and Regional Instability’, Middle East Briefing, 8 October 2003. Frédéric Volpi, Islam and Democracy: The Failure of Dialogue in Algeria (London: Pluto Press, 2003), p.15. Marina Ottaway, Thomas Carothers, Amy Hawthorne and Daniel Brumberg, ‘Democratic Mirage in the Middle East’, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Policy Brief, No.20, October 2002, pp.1–8. Nadim Kawach, ‘Change in Iraq may Lead to Reforms in Gulf’, Gulf News, 2 February 2003. International Crisis Group, ‘Iran: Discontent and Disarray’, Middle East Briefing, 15 October 2003. Al-Quds al-Arabi, 9 April 2003; Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 10 April 2003. In Turkey the Islamist Justice and Development Party (JDP) swept to power in the aftermath of its victory in November 2002 general election, transforming the country's political landscape in ways that the previous rule of short-lived Refah Party had not. In securing 34.3 per cent of the vote it gained 363 of the 550 seats, forming the new parliament's largest bloc. See Gareth Jenkins, ‘Muslim Democrats in Turkey?’, Survival, Vol.45, No.1 (2003), pp.45–66. In Pakistan's October 2002 parliamentary and regional elections, the radical Islamist party, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), won 45 of the 272 contested seats. The MMA's control of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan since the October 2002 poll has led to rapid Islamization of civic and political life of the province. For an enlightening debate about Liberal Islam see the articles in the special section on this topic in the Journal of Democracy, Vol.14, No.2 (2003). Emma C. Murphy, ‘Governance and Development’, Internationale Politik, Vol.3, No.2 (2002), pp.69–76; Tom Pierre Najem, ‘Good Governance: The Definition and Application of the Concept’, in Tom Pierre Najem and Martin Hetherington (eds), Good Governance in the Middle East Oil Monarchies (London: Routledge Curzon, 2003), pp.1–28. Although it is beyond the remit of this paper to discuss the domestic barriers to the introduction of democracy in Iraq, it is quite obvious that much of the process will depend as much on the local conditions as on the role and length of the occupation itself. Here I am mindful of the fine distinctions that Sartori draws between vertical and horizontal dimensions of democracy. See Giovanni Sartori, Theory of Democracy Revisited (Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishing, 1987). Joshua Muravchik, ‘Democracy for Arabs, Too’, Washington Post, 2 September 2003; ‘America and the Middle East’, The Economist, 17 May 2003. Fred Halliday, ‘The Politics of Islamic Fundamentalism: Iran, Tunisia and the Challenge to the Secular State’, in Akbar S. Ahmed and Hastings Donnan (eds), Islam, Globalization and Postmodernity (London: Routledge, 1994), p.110. Robin Wright, ‘Islam, Democracy, and the West’, Foreign Affairs, Vol.71, No.3 (1992), p.145. Adam Przeworski, Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991), p.13. David Pool, ‘Staying at Home with the Wife: Democratization and its Limits in the Middle East’, in Geraint Parry and Michael Moran (eds), Democracy and Democratization (London: Routledge, 1994), p.197.