The need for foreign intervention - Islam's incompatibility with democratic principles

Submitted by Alex (Malaysia), Mar 11, 2010 at 22:11

I take issue with Dr. Khan's statement pertaining to Muslim democracies. "Today, many Muslim countries are in various stages of democratization, for example, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan." None of the countries above have been given a rating of 'Free' by Freedom House or any other like indices. All are plagued by issues of human rights abuse, suppression of press freedoms, religion-based discrimination, and violations of civil liberties. Take Malaysia as an example - the government has implemented stringent controls on press freedoms, an apartheid-esque system segregating Muslims and non-Muslims, state-sponsored discrimination of sexual minorities, and university admission quotas that disadvantage ethnic minorities.

To this date, there has yet to exist a bona-fide fully free Islamic democracy. Without intense and purposeful foreign intervention the Muslim world will not democratize by itself. I fully agree with Dr. Pipe and hope that Western governments take heed to his views and implement policy that reflects true democratic principles.

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