With all due respect, I doubt it

Submitted by Kepha Hor (United States), May 23, 2014 at 23:11

A system of constitutional liberties (which I think more important than plebiscatory democracy, much as I like it) is fundamentally a Christian baby. It was slowly coaxed into existence not by sunny views of human perfectibility or how all would be well "if not for 'them'", but by Calvinists who believed that no one sinner or group of sinners could be entrusted with too much power.

An Islam that looks back to "rightly guided Caliphs" (who all seem to get murdered) and think it's possible again. But, given that Islamic ethics tend to bless all the sins of alpha males, I'm sure any conscientiously Islamic polity will invariably run up against the clash of hyper-inflated Great Leader egos.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".