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

[Waterman]

@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?

[Wesley_Clark]

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 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.

[Anaamika]

@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.