Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Muslim Secular Democracy pp 113–140Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Muslim Support for Secular Democracy

  • Chapter

Abstract

The Arab Uprising has been marked by the revolutionary downfall and removal of autocratic leaders in Tunisia (President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali), Egypt (President Hosni Mubarrak), and Libya (President Moamar Gaddafi). Major protests, strikes, and demonstrations have occurred throughout the region, destabilizing governments in Syria and Yemen. These events have renewed speculation about the type of regime most likely to replace traditional autocracies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). To explore this issue, this chapter compares the types of regimes currently governing Muslim-predominant societies with the types of regimes desired by the public in these countries. In particular, the chapter examines whether there is widespread support in Muslim-predominant societies for secular states, characterized by religious pluralism where no one type of faith is constitutionally privileged, diverse types of religious expression and practices are widely tolerated, and Islamism is one faith among many. Historically, Turkey has long provided a model for this type of state, following the Atatürk reforms establishing a modern, democratic, secular state, where the constitution neither recognizes nor promotes any official religion, religious parties are banned, and faith-based discrimination is prohibited.1

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Alamdari, Kazem. 2005. “The Power Structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Transition from Populism to Clientelism, and Militarization of the Government.” Third World Quarterly, 26 (8): 1285–1301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez, R. M., T E. Hall, and S.D. Hyde. 2008. Election Fraud: Detecting and Deterring Electoral Manipulation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barro. R J. 1999. “Determinants of Democracy.” Journal of Political Economy, 107(6): 158–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bickel, Robert. 2007. Multilevel Analysis for Applied Research: It’s Just Regression! New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, Kevin, and Juliet Sheen. 1997. Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bratton, Michael, and Robert Mattes. 2001. “Support for Democracy in Africa: Intrinsic or Instrumental?” British Journal of Political Science, 31 (3): 447–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bratton, Michael, Robert Mattes, and E. Gyimah-Boadi. 2004. Public Opinion, Democracy, and Market Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Camp, Roderic A. 2001. Citizen Views of Democracy in Latin America. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaves, Mark, and David E. Cann. 1992. “Regulation, Pluralism and Religious Market Structure.” Rationality and Society, 4: 272–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, Yun-han, Larry Diamond, Andrew J. Nathan, and Doh Chull Shin. 2008. How East Asians View Democracy. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, R A. 1989. Democracy and its Critics. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, p. 221.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 1971. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, Russell J., and Doh Chull Shin. 2006. Citizens, Democracy and Markets around the Pacific Rim Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davie, Grace. 1994. Religion in Britain since 1945: Believing without Belonging. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, Larry. 1996. Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, Larry, and Marc F. Plattner. 2008. How People View Democracy. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbelaere, Karel. 1981. “Secularization: A Multidimensional Concept.” Current Sociology, 29 (2): 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, John L. 2010. The Future of Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, John L., and Dalia Mogahed. 2007. Who Speaks for Islam? What A Billion Muslims Really Think. New York: Gallup Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito John. L., and R K. Ramazani. Eds. 2001. Iran at the Crossroads. New York: Palgrave,

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, John. L., and John O. Voll. 1996. Democracy and Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fattah, Moataz A. 2006. Democratic Values in the Muslim World. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fish M. S. 2011. Are Muslims Distinctive? New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fox, Jonathan. 2008. A World Survey of Religion and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Freedom House. 2010. Freedom in the World2010. Washington, DC: Freedom House, www.freedomhouse.org.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furia, P. A., and R. E. Lucas. 2008. “Arab Muslim Attitudes toward the West: Cultural, Social, and Political Explanations.” International Interactions, 34 (2): 186–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G. Kepel. 2002. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gurr, Ted. 2000. Peoples versus States. Washington, DC: US Institute for Peace Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, S. R. 2004. “Islam and Democracy: Mcro-Level Indications Of Compatibility.” Comparative Political Studies, 37: 652–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, S. 1997. “The Secularization Thesis: Talking at Cross Purposes.” Journal of Contemporary Religion, 12: 159–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Held, David. 2006. Models of Democracy. 3rd Edition. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, Samuel P. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, Ronald, and Christopher Welzel. 2005. Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy: The Human Development Sequence. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabuli. N. F. 1994. Democracy According to Islam. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keddie. Nikki R. 2003. Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepel, Gilles. 2002. Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuru, A. T. 2009. Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, Bernard. 2002. What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, Paul A. 2000. Religious Freedom in the World: A Global Report on Freedom and Persecution. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mdlarsky, Manus I. 1998. “Democracy and Islam: Implications for Civilizational Conflict and the Democratic Peace.” International Studies Quarterly, 42 (3): 485–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mishler, William, and Richard Rose. 1995. “Trajectories of Fear and Hope: Support for Democracy in Post-Communist Europe.” Comparative Political Studies, 28: 553–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moaddel, Mansour. 2007. Values and Perceptions of the Islamic and Middle Eastern Publics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Munck, Geraldo L., and Jay Verkuilen. 2002. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: Evaluating Alternative Indices.” Comparative Political Studies, 35 (1): 5–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolayenko, Olena. 2011. “Support for Democracy in Central Asia.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 23 (2): 191–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, Pippa. 2010. Democratic Deficit. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 2011. Democratic Deficit. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • —. 2009. Driving Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norris, Pippa, and Ronald Inglehart. 2004. Sacred and Secular: Politics and Religion Worldwide. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • —. 2011. Sacred and Secular: Politics and Religion Worldwide. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2nd edition.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., and Anthony S. Bryk. 2002. Hierarchical Linear Models, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, Richard, and William Mishler. 1996. “Testing the Churchill hypothesis: popular support for Democracy and Its Alternatives.” Journal of Public Policy, 16: 29–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, Richard, William Mshler, and Christian W Haerpfer. 1998. Democracy and Its Alternatives in Post-Communist Europe: Testing the Churchill Hypothesis. Cambridge: Polity Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Russet, B. M., J. R. O’Neal, and M. Cox. 2001. “Clash Of Civilizations, or Realism and Liberalism Dèjà Vu?: Some Evidence.” Peace Research Abstracts, October 1, 37 (5): 583–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Safran, W. 2003. The Secular and the Sacred: Nation, Religion, and Politics. London: Frank Cass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Said, Edward W 2001. “The Clash of Ignorance.” The Nation, October 22, 2001. .

    Google Scholar 

  • Secor, Anna. 2011. “Turkey’s Democracy: A Model for the Troubled Mddle East?” Eurasian Geography and Economics, 52 (2): 157–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shadid, Anthony. 2001. Legacy of the Prophet: Despots, Democrats, and the New Politics of Islam. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shafiq, M. N. 2010. “Do Education and Income Affect Support for Democracy in Muslim Countries? Evidence from the Pew Global Attitudes Project.” Economics of Education Review, 29 (3): 461–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiner, L. 1967. “The Concept of Secularization in Empirical Research.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, October 1, 6 (2): 207–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somer, Murat. 2007. “Moderate Islam and Secularist Opposition in Turkey: Implications for the World, Muslims and Secular Democracy.” Third World Quarterly, 28 (7): 1271–1289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swatos, W. H., and Christiano, K. J. 1999. “Secularization Theory: The Course of a Concept.” Sociology of Religion, October 1, 60 (3): 209–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tessler, Mark. 2002a. “Do Islamic Orientations Influence Attitudes toward Democracy in the Arab World? Evidence from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Algeria.” International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 43 (3–5): 229–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • —. 2002b. “Islam and Democracy in the Mddle East: The Impact of Religious Orientations on Attitudes toward Democracy in Four Arab Countries.” Comparative Politics, 34 (3): 337–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tessler, Mark, and E. Gao. 2005. “Gauging Arab Support for Democracy.” Journal of Democracy, 16 (3): 83–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tessler, Mark, and A. Jamal. 2006. “Political Attitude Research in the Arab World: Emerging Opportunities.” PS-Political Science & Politics, 39 (3): 433–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Pippa Norris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Lily Zubaidah Rahim

Copyright information

© 2013 Lily Zubaidah Rahim

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Norris, P. (2013). Muslim Support for Secular Democracy. In: Rahim, L.Z. (eds) Muslim Secular Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137282057_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation