At the UH Law Center, panelists debated over whether an Islamic democracy can peacefully exist in the Middle East considering the region’s historical and political turmoil.
"The reason we are having this debate is because of people’s misperception of what the problem is," said panelist Mahmoud El-Gamal, chair of Islamic economies, finance and management at Rice University. "People think that if all these countries that are dysfunctional happen to have majorities of Muslims, then the problem must be with Islam."
The debate on why democracy is needed was brought to the forefront by the United States’ involvement in Iraq, said panel moderator Amir Mirabi, a strategic consultant for Horizon International Hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Democracy and the independent nation-state is still a relatively new concept in the Middle East, El-Gamal said. Because it was introduced in the middle of the 20th century during a time of brutal and corrupt leaders, it weakened the foundations of modern Islamic states, he said.
Regardless, democracy for the Middle East would still be a religious democracy, said panelist Samina Quddos, an attorney for Vinson ‘ Elkins LLP.
"There’s nothing inconsistent with democracy if a group of religious people say they want their laws to promote the values and interests of Islam – that’s just their choice," he said. "Instead of promoting life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness they are going to ensure that their constitution is consistent with Islamic principles."
Either way, a democracy should be a nation ruled by its people and their concepts, Quddos said.
"It doesn’t matter what set of core principles and values you are promoting as long as there is rule by the people. And for that primary reason, I believe that Islam and democracy are compatible,"- he said.
The debate was the third of a four-part lecture series hosted by the American Constitutional Society. The series, The Changing Face of the Church-State Divide, will continue at noon Wednesday in Room 209, Bates Law Building.
