Democracy and Islam in Modern State

28 February 2008
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Social Research Center at the
American University of Central Asia Roundtable: Democracy and Islam in Modern State: How Are They Juxtaposed?

In recent years, religious revival in Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan in particular has been viewed as one of the main ways of spiritual and moral development in society. On the one hand,such religious boom has become possible due to democratic changes which provided freedom of faith to the public. On the other hand, it was stipulated by growing nihilism, not uncommon among nations in transition, marked by the renunciation of previous ideals, fostering new values and rejection of collectivist morals in favor of regional individualism.
Islam as a system of values has already gained significance, having filled the appropriate spiritual and moral niche in the post-Soviet Muslim societies of Central Asia. Furthermore, the sustainability of democratization and internal social stability have been increasingly determined by the relations between political Islam and secular state, as well as the degree to which they are settled. In this context, discussing the role of Islam within the integrated Central Asian region, juxtaposition of Islam and democracy and their harmonization is of great importance.

These and other relevant issues were discussed profusely at the roundtable on Democracy and Islam in Modern State: How Are They Juxtaposed? The meeting was organized by the Social Research
Center at the American University – Central Asia and attended by journalists, historians, political scientists, analysts, religious leaders and the academia from Kyrgyzstan.
According to Kadyr Malikov, PhD in Political Science and Islam Studies from the Madrid University, the relations between political Islam and secular state should be analyzed in light of the quest for common values in Islam and democracy and methods of their harmonization, as well as the secular-Islamic compromise reached in other countries (the Tajik experience was brought to light). Such measures may be effective in avoiding the collision of basic values of both ideologies. Notably, the participants agreed that Islam, first of all, sets a positive tone and its tenets in no way run counter to democracy and its institutions. In particular, it was mentioned that the legal system of Islam supports a number of fundamental principles pertaining to democracy and traditional Islam, including:

• the rule of law;
• freedom of faith, right to life, health, and private property;
• right to personal privacy;
• significance of public opinion and institutions for the public administration system and its regulatory mechanisms;
• elective nature of authorities which has been in place since the days of Islamic caliphate; and
• consultative nature of the executive branch of power.

When comparing the values of Islam and democracy, we should bear in mind that democracy is an ever-developing political system which varies from country to country depending on the historical context (e.g. previous political regimes) or types of democracy (liberal, sovereign, etc). Whereas, Islam is a consistent and static system of ideas, a structured and firm worldview. Similar to the absolute truth, its fundamental precepts remain intact under any social and political system, as well as in any ethnic or cultural environment, with Muslims following and adapting to them. However, this doesn’t mean that Islam should be perceived as unyielding dogma obstructing democratic development. For instance, in the Qur’an and Sunnah, the major Divine Scriptures on which Islam is based, there is great potential for intra-denominational democracy development and a religious community functioning under any social system, including democracy. There are plenty of practical examples proving the compatibility of Islam and democracy, such as European countries, United States, Canada, Malaysia, and Turkey. However, there are contradictions between those willing to become secular Muslims and those relying on religion too much. This also accounts for the three movements within Islam, which are moderate, radical, and loyal Muslims.
The impact of Islam in various Central Asian states is assessed differently. Some of the roundtable participants said that, despite the history behind Islam in Kyrgyzstan and the activities of various international religious organizations, quite disputable is the assumption that the Kyrgyz are vehemently committed to Islam. By virtue of mentality, traditional Islam for the Kyrgyz is, rather, a ritual practice and a historical and cultural factor. In their attempt to elucidate the
prospects of Islam development in Kyrgyzstan, some experts and scholars pointed out to the fact that, in light of their protracted isolation from Islam, the Kyrgyz people became most affected by it. Furthermore, the public does not view Islam as a tradition, which is the case in neighboring countries, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Rather, Islam is perceived as an ideology. This may lead to the intensification of Islamic revival and its stronger political and social influence in the country.
The participants also spoke about the idea of sovereign democracy, wherein the ethnic, cultural, and religious context is given careful consideration.
What we have seen at the global scale demonstrates that in those countries where religious institutions have been traditionally essential for social life and Islamic social and political process is used as political leverage, a clash of interests is generated between the two different political and ideological systems, secularism and Islam. Today, the Muslim states of Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, experience a trend toward social desecularization and politicization of religion. Therefore, the development of moderate Islam is threatened by the following factors:

1) distortion of its doctrine by various destructive forces from outside (first of all, the threat is posed by such radical religious movements as Hizb ut-Tahrir, Ahmadiyya, Wahhabiyah, etc);
2) conservative nature of clergymen and their inability to respond to contemporary challenges,e.g. religious extremism;
3) biased coverage of Islam in the media, which portray it as a threat; paucity of credible information about Islam;
4) authoritarian model of relations between the state and Islam; and
5) lack of effective preventive measures in combating religious extremism.

In this context, finding ways of bringing Islam and democracy into harmony is essential for humankind to adopt a new system of values based, first and foremost, on peace instead of opposition, social reforms, and cultures, and solidarity in lieu of competition and social injustice.
During the discussion, the participants came to agree that the most relevant issue was to find a new format of public policy regarding Islam, and ways in which both ideological systems could co-exist.
Firmly rooted in the public consciousness, obstacles related to notions and terms in understanding secularism and religiosity are hard to overcome. According to the participants, in order to ensure harmonious co-existence of secularity and Islam in a democratic society, the following measures need to be taken:

- recognizing religion as a key factor of the state resource in the national state building;
- legalization of moderate religious organizations;
- increasing the level of education among the clergy;
- establishing an informational and analytical basis and raising the Islamic intellectual elite as an alternative to clerical approaches;
- need for nationalizing the religious resource; and
- building its own harmonization model taking into account the national peculiarities and specific features of Kyrgyzstan, which could be characterized as an authoritarian-liberal model. Such a model would imply the development of political and legal mechanisms regulating the coexistence of secular and religious systems within one political and legal system. In other words, it would regulate the format of relations between the state and religion, implying the separation of religious organizations from public institutions, rather than total isolation of religion from the state.
Fortunately, the modern world community stresses the need for a dialog more often, striving to pay attention to single cases, wherein peace and accord become possible through compromises and concessions. The Tajik experience of constructing a special secular state model is one example of how to do it. What makes it unique is setting up all necessary political and legal frameworks to legalize the activities of political Islam and to ensure the participation of the religious party in politics. While gaining the right to act legally, Islamic political groups undergo constructive adaptation to the norms and requirements of the applicable law, as well as socialization and integration in the country’s social and political life, which strongly affects their essence and activities.
During the discussion, all participants came to concur that it is important to foster dialog between secular and religious communities. This approach will help shape the national ideology based on fundamental principles along the national lines. The state should view the rebirth of Islam as a factor contributing to the country’s stable development and perceive Islamic culture as an integral part of social life. This model also envisages a new vision of the place and role of Islam
in social life by the state, or attracting and employing the Islamic resource in state building. This seems to be the only way to solve the aforementioned problems. Although the degree of their relevance varies in different countries of the region, these issues remain and shouldn’t be neglected.