Publication

This report by the United States Institute of Peace is the product of a workshop on Islam and democracy and explores the "contradictions" that are assumed to exist between the two. The report states that participants from both the Muslim world and the West believed Islam and democracy to be incompatible. Others denied this assertion, arguing that some 750 million Muslims live in democratic societies. Other participants argued that with regard to human rights and democratization, US policy in the Muslim world has tended to support the status quo for fear of what might replace it and in the interests of regional stability. The report concludes with four recommendations to the US government to develop country-specific plans to promote democracy.