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| Thread: Muslim countries and democracy | |
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xerox
Promising
Undefeatable Hero
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posted November 24, 2013 12:02 AM |
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Edited by xerox at 02:25, 24 Nov 2013.
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Muslim countries and democracy
Most muslim countries are not liberal democracies, or democracies at all. In Freedom House's democracy survey Saudi Arabia, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan rank at the absolute bottom of democracy. According to the study, there are only three liberal democracies with Muslim majorities: Senegal, Sierra Leone and Indonesia (the world's most populous Muslim country). Why are Muslim countries having a harder time achieving democracy (liberal, islamic or otherwise) and why have the three previously mentioned states succeded?
Potential factors for Senegal, Sierra Leone and Indonesia succeeding:
- Islam was introduced through trade instead of conquest.
- Their islam was and is mainly sufism, which is more individualistic than other schools.
- Evaded occupation by non-liberal regimes. I.e. the Ottomans, Soviet/Russia. Those great powers have done little to promote democracy. I wrote non-liberal regimes because there are plenty of post-colonial countries that democratically benefited from the ideals of their liberal rulers.
Green: Liberal democracy. Yellow: Democracy (many flawed). Purple: Non-democracy.
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Over himself, over his own
body and
mind, the individual is
sovereign.
- John Stuart Mill
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Fauch
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
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posted November 24, 2013 12:26 AM |
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democracy in europe? 
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idontcare
Known Hero
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posted November 24, 2013 12:32 AM |
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since when we call it democracy spieing our citizens?
IMO with today's knowledge there is nowhere democracy, at best the regimes are tarned as it.
I would rather live in a monarchy where the King's head gets chopped if he doesnt please his land, then in a land where politicians arent responsable for what they do.
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Lexxan
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Unimpressed by your logic
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posted November 24, 2013 02:02 AM |
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It is probably culturally linked. Many "authoritarian nations" on that map are countries that inherently have many different and (keyword incoming) individualistic ethnic minorities.
In countries where many different "tribes of people" exist and where one group is by far the dominant one (e.g.: The Russians in Russia, the muslims in the middle east, the arabs in Morocco, etc) and/or where a democratic system had not been implemented for long enough before independence (Egypt, Syria, basically all of Africa) are countries where whoever is in control is more likely to cling into the power that they have. There's more at stake AND more opportunity to commit foul play without getting punished for it.
Interesting exceptions to this, imo are Indonesia, South Africa and India, all three of which were adapted to an egalitarian and democratic government system before independence (Indonesia), or went through a peaceful revolution after (South-Africa) or during (India) their indepence.
As far as the muslim nations go: Why Senegal and Sierra Leone are the exceptions i can't tell for sure (they surely are non-entities in this universe, so who cares), but the Middle East and Northern Africa are both ethnic melting pots. Not just religiously (I think the title of this topic pins this on religion, (it's a Xerox topic, after all) but that is not necessarily true imo), but culturally as well.
Most of these countries have been formed on the back of colonization or being otherwise dominated by a Western Protectorate right before their independence. Before this, they were either engaged in tribal/feudal governments (north-africa) or were subjected to conquest on multiple occasions, leaving the region itself unstable (middle east) Not a healthy environment. Democracy as we know it in Western Society has not been rooted enough in those nation's culture at the time their National Sovereignity was established and therefore it is difficult, if not impossible, for them to have a democratic government except with HEAVY hand-holding policies from those they received their Sovereignity from.
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Coincidence? I think not!!!!
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mvassilev
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
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posted November 24, 2013 06:54 AM |
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I think it's more of a general poverty/culture thing, not directly related to Islam. Consider that countries like Zimbabwe and Vietnam aren't democratic, despite not being Muslim. Muslim countries are poor, and poor countries are undemocratic, but that doesn't mean there's a connection between Islam and lack of democracy.
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Eccentric Opinion
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Baklava
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Mostly harmless
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posted November 25, 2013 07:39 PM |
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I wonder what they fed the chimp they hired to color that map. That's some arbitrary shyte right there.
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"Let me tell you what the blues
is. When you ain't got no
money,
you got the blues."
Howlin Wolf
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GunFred
Supreme Hero
Sexy Manticore
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posted November 25, 2013 08:44 PM |
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Unlike christians, they actually believe in their own religion (not like they have a choice) and the Koran does not say much about democracy... 
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DagothGares
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
No gods or kings
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posted November 25, 2013 09:02 PM |
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No, you don't understand, Russia is incredibly democratic. More than 100% of the people go out to vote, there.
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artu
Promising
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My BS sensor is tingling again
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posted November 25, 2013 10:27 PM |
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At the risk of overgeneralizing I would say the problem of Islamic regimes would be basically the combination of
1- Being historically forced to catch up with a process that took 300 to 400 years in the West in such a short time.
2- Most muslim countries being in a region that is full of natural resources, gas and oil. So constantly living on a chess board the major forces of the world try to manipulate and claim power on.
3- The theology of Islam itself, being the least compatible of Abrahamic religions with modern era. The rest of the Abrahamic religions arent also your dreamwork about that. Unlike the thoughts of many, this would be much less important if the first two reasons werent there. People usually create wonders remodelling and re-interpreting their religion if a sociological pressure that demands it evolves.
4- Plain poverty and lack of education.
These are all interlinked among each other and their gravity among each other differs from country to country. But basically these are it.
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