27th November 2007
The Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) and the Council for Arab British Understanding (CAABU) hosted a joint debate at Parliament, entitled “ ‘Islam and the Democratic Ideal’ - Respectful Co-existence or Acceptable Accommodation - What are the Options?” 

Islam and the Democratic Ideal - Respectful Co-existence or Acceptable Accommodation - What are the Options?

27th November 2007
The Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) and the Council for Arab British Understanding (CAABU) hosted a joint debate at Parliament, entitled “ ‘Islam and the Democratic Ideal’ - Respectful Co-existence or Acceptable Accommodation - What are the Options?”  The impetus for the event came from the launch of a report written by Amédee Turner QC, entitled “Muslim Grassroots in the West Discuss Democracy”, (which can be found at http://www.muslim-grass-roots-discuss-democracy.com).

To see a profile of the speakers please click here.

There has long been debate over whether Islam and democracy can coexist, either through mutual exclusion or through productive engagement. This debate has generated many questions and caveats, among which, perhaps the most intriguing is the view of the average Muslim living in the West. A comprehensive survey to gauge the sentiments of Muslims across the US and the UK was conducted in Turner’s report, and has produced some exceptional material for consideration.

“The Qur’an is the constitution” – This was the most widely accepted observation of the project known as “Muslim Grassroots in the West Discuss Democracy”.

The participants in the discussions were well-informed Muslims living in the West, but they had not previously engaged in any formal discussions on the subject of democracy. All responses were protected by guaranteed anonymity and obtained in face to face meetings primarily with Anglican/Episcopalian hosts.  350 to 400 Muslims took part in 38 groups in more than 250 hours of discussion across the United States and United Kingdom.

The first and major conclusion to be drawn from the Report is that democracy is acceptable to Muslims living in the West. It was accepted as a pragmatic form of government which despite its short-comings in practice could coexist with Muslim principles. There was, however, no support whatever for democracy as a principle, but no statement found democracy incompatible with Islam.

However there is a second but absolutely essential factor arising from the discussions that with the acceptance of democracy nothing shall be done contrary to the Qur’an. Thus there can be no expectation that secularism will be acceptable or that there are “moderates”, for whom strict adherence to the Qur’an is negotiable, who could be hived off from “extremists”.

A politically realistic response to this bedrock adherence to the Qur’an would be to look for the acceptance of democratic constitutions and legislation in Muslim countries, but tailored in each case to Islamic requirements as seen by their respective elected representatives.

If you would like to find out more
about the report please contact
Amedee Turner QC on
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