Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Daniel Pipes: Islam and democracy can coexist


A true Pipe Dream.


There's an impression that Muslims suffer disproportionately from the rule of dictators, tyrants, unelected presidents, kings, emirs and various other strongmen - and it's accurate. A careful analysis by Frederic L. Pryor of Swarthmore College in the Middle East Quarterly (Are Muslim Countries Less Democratic?) concludes, "In all but the poorest countries, Islam is associated with fewer political rights."

The fact that majority-Muslim countries are less democratic makes it tempting to conclude that the religion of Islam, their common factor, is itself incompatible with democracy.

1 comment:

  1. What we must do as a matter of urgency is to divide the world up into Muslim and non-Muslim. The Muslims should live in the Middle East, Indonesia, the Indian sub-continent and North Africa only. That is plenty of space for them to pursue their 7th century, barbaric, oppressive, misogynistic death cult.

    The rest of the world should be designated a Muslim-free zone. No Muslims should be allowed there as they have a detrimental effect on wherever they go. A bit like a plague of locusts.

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