Democracy & Islam

Submitted by Ian Campbell (United Kingdom), Apr 17, 2008 at 05:56

An excellent analysis. It seems to me that history will conclude that these years of jihadist terror will be construed as Islam rubbing up against the modern world as part of its march toward accepting democracy. Because of gloablisation of trade, modern cross-border media, ease of travel and the demand for immigrant labour in the developed world, muslims have been forced to react to the presence of democratic values in their lives and the fight to sustain and expand them.

In the main those Muslims who want a better life for themselves and their children have adapted where they have been able or had to, but the interface has been an uncomfortable place to be, especially for second generation musilims either in or exposed to more developed societies. Integration of Islam with a modern western life is not easy and language and edcuational differences have been a real barrier, at least in Europe.

The extremist muslim reactions to this process will one day be seen as the catalyst that forced Islam to change, but without a central authority leading Islamic culture and religion in a broadly positive direction, it will be a very fragemented and an inevitably violent process at times, as was the transition of christianity to the acceptance of democracy.

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