POL201Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Vali Nasr, Islamic Democracy, Iranian Revolution
Document Summary
Islamists view democracy not as something deeply legitimate, but at best as a tool or tactic that may be useful in gaining the power to build an islamic state. Muslim democrats on the other hand, do not seek to enshrine islam in politics, though they do wish to harness its potential to help them win votes. The rise of muslim democracy has resulted in traditional muslim vales being integrated into political platforms designed to win regular democratic elections. As a result of this muslim majority countries tend to dominate all other political parties. In these muslim societies, the vital center of politics is likely to belong neither to secularist and leftist parties nor to islamists. Political parties that integrate muslim values and moderate islamic politics into broader right-of- center platforms that go beyond exclusively religious concerns will rule the strategic middle.