Tawhid: 06-Aug-07 ed.

Tawhid is a semi-weekly series on the Middle East, Islamic jurisprudence, and Islamic theology. The word "tawhid" (TAW-heed) roughly translates to "unity" or "oneness".

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We The People: The Democratic Dilemma in the Middle East, Part I

The democratic values of the United States of America start and end with the profound phrase "We the people." Our government receives its power to rule from the populace through the election process. The democratic model is supposed to produce a government elected by the people, for the people. Ergo, the democratic government of a pluralistic society should reflect the pluralism of its population; the majority groups control but minority groups are represented to provide a voice for their contingents as well. These elected officials work together despite their differences and govern with the best interest of the nation and its people in mind. E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one) is the motto on the United States seal.

Most Americans comprehend the basics of a democratic government: the people vote to elect officials that in turn represent them and their interests during the law making and governing process. Fortunately for the United States and the American people a foreign nation isn't going to step in and overthrow our officials and put in place a regime or "elected" officials that are mere puppets of the foreign nation behind the coup d'etat. Other nations and American citizens may be critical of our polices or the actions and words of our officials, but the American government will hold steadfast regardless of its imperfections. In other words, the will of the American people is not a global threat, or at least our form of government - and policies - aren't viewed as an inherent threat to regional and global security. (While a case may be made that the Neocon agenda is a threat to global security, for the purposes of this article we'll assume the Neocon Middle East policy has good intentions and a bright future.)

While Americans can remain secure in the belief that when they take to the polls that the winner of the election will be put in office without opposition from the current government, citizens of Middle Eastern countries are not afforded that security. In many Middle Eastern countries minority groups - religious, political, and social groups - are not even allowed a place on the ballot. In those countries that a fringe group is allowed on the ballot their members are often subject to frequent arrests and claims of ballot fixing in the event they are elected to the government - see the current tribulations of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt. The will of the people is rarely reflected in Middle Eastern countries that claim to be democratic. Justification for the repression of the populace's views by Middle Eastern governments tend to be rooted in a struggle against "terrorism." The large majority of the groups selected for repression - from Turkey to Pakistan - by the current governments are Islamist organizations; that is, groups that wish to create an Islamic state - a state subject to the divine Shari'a law.

Secularism is seen as a Western plot aimed at making the Islamic world more malleable for Western designers in their continuing oppression of the Islamic world. Democracy is a tool of the West to install puppet governments to purchase oil resources at bargain bin prices. More importantly, democracy and secularism place sovereignty with the people and its representative government, placing the will of man over the will of the divine. The current democratic model is undeniably Western. Concomitantly, the secular philosophy Americans proudly vaunt - or revile - is undeniably rooted in Western-Christian philosophy.

After decades of imperialist rule, corrupt kingdoms, and pseudo-democracies the Middle East is justifiably wary of cookie cutter Western ideals and paradigms. The West has been telling the Middle East how to live and think since the Enlightenment - a period of great achievement and thought based on Christian morals, philosophies, and doctrines. It's not hard to understand the apprehension and resentment of the Islamic world with respect to the West's assertion that democracy - as used in the West - is the acme of political models. Especially given that their most current experience with "democracy" is exemplifed by the governments of Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and the failing states of Palestine and Iraq. Hardly an outstanding resume for the greatness of democracy. Turkey's government is constantly under the threat of another coup by the secular military supporters of Ataturk. Egypt has been run under a state of emergency since the assassination of Sadat in 1981 and elections are regularly fixed. Pakistan is a military dictatorship under the guise of democracy. Iraq's government was almost completely hand-picked by the United States and is at the mercy of sectarian prejudice and strife. Palestine's government is completely unstable and powerless.

Democracy is the future of the Middle East and the global community. The questions are: How does it gain acceptance in the Middle East and what will it look like?


Part II will examine the recent expressions of the "will of the people" in the Middle East and the potential framework for a democratic government in the Islamic world.