# Is It Possible for Democracy to Exist in A Mid-East Muslim (Islam) Dominated Country?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-democracy-to-exist-in-a-mid-east-muslim-islam-dominated-country/304933>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 22, 2005, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-democracy-to-exist-in-a-mid-east-muslim-islam-dominated-country/304933 "2005-05-22T04:39:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-democracy-to-exist-in-a-mid-east-muslim-islam-dominated-country/304933/21 "2005-05-22T18:30:58Z")

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> [@John Mace](#):
>
> Yep. Turkey has it’s problems, for sure, but it’s a real democracy in a real Islamic country. **I don’t know why so many people seem to forget this when they talk about the incompatibility of demcracy with Islam**.

I had forgotten or more honestly forgot to do some basic checking before posting :smack:

Why the trouble in Iraq? Too many different factions - too much hatred and lack of trust between sects?

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-democracy-to-exist-in-a-mid-east-muslim-islam-dominated-country/304933/22 "2005-05-23T03:26:57Z")

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[http://www.ncpa.org/iss/int/2001/pd122601e.html](http://www.ncpa.org/iss/int/2001/pd122601e.html)

That is a good article on the subject showing there isn’t just a democracy gap, there is a freedom gap:

In fact, off the states with an Islamic majority, only one, Mali, is rated Free, 18 are rated Partly Free, and 28 are considered Not Free.

By contrast, in the non-Islamic world, 85 countries are Free, 40 are Partly Free and 20 are Not Free.

[Here](http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2003/methodology.htm) is a worksheet showing how Freedom House determines whether a country is free, partly free or not free.

Arguably Lebanon may soon be an electoral democracy soon, so will Iraq.

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**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-for-democracy-to-exist-in-a-mid-east-muslim-islam-dominated-country/304933/23 "2005-05-24T17:43:34Z")

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> [@Atticus Finch](#):
>
> India would have perhaps the second largest Muslim population in the world (~100 million, after Indonesia’s 200 million), and it’s a democracy.

Republic, actually.

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