Islam and Democracy

by John O. Voll, John L. Esposito, John Obert Voll

Book Overview

Are Islam and democracy on a collision course? Do Islamic movements seek to "hijack democracy?" How have governments in the Muslim world responded to the many challenges of Islam and democracy today?

A global religious resurgence and calls for greater political participation have been major forces in the post-Cold War period. Across the Muslim world, governments and Islamic movements grapple with issues of democratization and civil society...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195108167
• ISBN13: 9780195108163
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful Overview

If you have ever wondered if there is a democratic future in countries declared to be Islamic, this book is good food for thought. Starting with a thoughtful discussion of different possible definitions of democracy, Eposito then reviews the history of six Islamic countries to review the record. The book is well written, and also a good primer for the political history of those countries; living in one of them, I feel the treatment was fair. Eposito leaves me wondering, "what next?", but this is perhaps because it is hard to determine, based on the cases, what may actually be the final end of Islamic democracy.