Islam and Democracy: an Empirical Examiniation of Muslims' Political Culture
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2004 Islam and Democracy: An Empirical Examiniation of Muslims' Political Culture Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel Fattah Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Fattah, Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel, "Islam and Democracy: An Empirical Examiniation of Muslims' Political Culture" (2004). Dissertations. 1098. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1098 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINIATION OF MUSLIMS' POLITICAL CULTURE by Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel Fattah A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2004 ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF MUSLIMS' POLITICAL CULTURE Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel Fattah, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2004 This dissertation focuses on the following empirical puzzle: Do the attitudes of ordinary educated Muslims stand as an obstacle toward the adoption of democracy? This research question calls for empirical/behavioral methodological tools that bring into focus contemporary Muslims' attitudes rather than ancient jurists' contributions. In other words, the dissertation shifts attention from ancient Islamic texts to contemporary Muslims' mindsets through written and web-based surveys in 32 Muslim societies. At the aggregate level, Muslim societies perplex with two types of sub-cultures: the culture of "dictator, but…" and the culture of "democracy-as-a-must." The former is the sub-culture of two groups of Muslims: 1) Traditionalist Islamists who argue that a just autocratic ruler who abides by sharia/Islamic legislation and defends its tenets is the most legitimate ruler ever. 2) Autocratic secularists who argue in favor of a Hobbesenian ruler who maintains the state's sovereignty and defends it against its foreign enemies. In both cases, Muslims behave as rational actors who find that the advantages of having an autocratic ruler outweigh having a democratically elected one. The "democracy-as-a-must" sub-culture is the one that is adopted by modernist Islamists and liberal secularists. Modernist Islamists find democracy consummating Islamic teachings that fight dictatorship and ensure pluralism in society. Liberal secularists find democracy as the core component of modernity that should be adopted on secular grounds. At the individual level, the dissertation finds that Muslims are too heterogeneous to be studied in a lump-sum way of thinking. Not all secular Muslims are liberal and not all Islamists are anti-democracy. Some Muslim countries’ political cultures are compatible with democracy while others are clear obstacles to democratization. Seemingly unrelated regression models suggest that socio-economic, demographic and cultural factors have different types of impact on Muslims' attitudes toward democratic hardware and software across societies. UMI Number: 3142201 UMI Microform 3142201 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 Copyright by Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel Fattah 2004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people contributed hours of their time in my pursuit of the data, information, opinions, and experiences that form the central elements of this dissertation. I cannot, unfortunately, mention the names of some people and research centers that have been extremely helpful in discussing and/or facilitating the access to some of the material and respondents of this project. I have to thank Dr. Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, Dr. Kamal al-Monouffi, Dr. Saif El- deen Abdlefattah, Dr. Hassan Nafa'a, Dr. Nazli Mou'awad, Dr. Hazem Hussni, and Dr. Nadia Mostapha of Cairo University; Dr. Ahmad Yossef Ahmad and Nevin Moussa'd of the Arab League's Institute of Arab Studies contributed their times and efforts to this project. I am also highly thankful to the great intellectuals and scholars who were generous enough to dedicate some of their time to respond to my questions and examine my work such as Mohamed Omara, Tareq al-Bishri, Mohamed Salim al-'Awa, Ref'at al-Sa'eed, Sa'eed al-Ashmawi, Iqbal Baraka, and Hassan Hanafi. Moreover, I wish to acknowledge and give special thanks to the professors, intellectuals, researchers and employees of thirteen academic and Islamic research centers in Egypt, Iran, Turkey, the Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Pakistan and Bangladesh who have worked so hard to help me in administering the surveys, conduct the focus-group discussions, and interview the intellectual and religious elites. Most notably I have to thank the staff and researchers of the Middle East Research Council in Beirut, the Institute of Arab Studies of the Arab League, and the Center for the Study of Developing Countries for their generous financial and academic support. My special thanks to Dr. K. Radi and other five anonymous professors and researcher in Tehran University,; Mr. Fahd Mahrani, Mazyad al-Omair and eleven anonymous scholars and intellectual of Saudi Arabia; Mr. Abdulhaq al-Jundi and two Syrian intellectuals, Dr. Marawan Tabara of Lebanon, No'aman Rahim, Khaled Jamil and six anonymous scholars and intellectuals of Pakistan, Mohamd al-Ameen, Abu Bakr Sokkho and Jebreil Safair of Senegal, Safi Moeyn and Hamid Yassein of Morocco, Anees Sobah, Karim Galil and Sa'eed Salim of Algeria, for their extensive and detailed suggestions for improving the initial survey and reviewing the final versions. Many friends and colleagues deserve all the credit for their moral and logistical support such as Dr. Ahmad Shrief, Dr. Mohamed al-Mahdi, Dr. Ashraf Eid, and Dr. Mohamad Gaber. At the Department of Political Science, Western Michigan University, I found extremely helpful and healthy academic environment that enabled me to explore difficult questions and serious issues about the relationship between Islam and democracy. Methodologically, I have to acknowledge Dr. Kevin Corder who was the first to introduce me to quantitative analysis. Besides, I was honored to benefit from Dr. Corder's thorough and deep review of the methodological aspects of this project. In terms of the theoretical and philosophical discussions of democratic norms and praxes, I am speechlessly indebted to Dr. Emily Hauptmann's discussions and comments on my work. I really appreciate everything she does for all the graduate students at the Department of Political Science. ii Acknowledgments — Continued I am very thankful to Dr. Adam Sabra's acceptance of being a member of my dissertation committee. His comments gave me confidence and encouragement to carry on the research. Undoubtedly, I am most indebted to my mentor and the chairperson of my dissertation committee, Dr. Jim Butterfield, whose effort, guidance, patience and wealth of knowledge have contributed the most to complete this work. Dr. Butterfield, thank you very much. I am honored to have you as my main advisor. I have to finally thank my wife, Ghada, and my children, Zina and Adham, for allowing me the time to travel and work freely to complete this project. My wife, Ghada, deserves special thanks for her kind and generous support both emotionally and practically. I am most grateful to her allowing me to make the best use of her statistical skills. Last but not least, I am thankful to Allah for all the blessings He bestowed upon me, al- Hamd li-Allah. Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel Fattah iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................................................ii LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................................................................................vii List Of FIGURES ..........................................................................................................................................................viii Chapter I Theoretical and Methodoloigcal Considerations .....................................................................................1 1. Literature Review.................................................................................................................................................... 3 a. Islam and Autocracy: Causation or Correlation?.......................................................................................... 3 b. The Relevance of Political Culture.................................................................................................................. 9 2. Data, Operationalization, Hypotheses and Measures....................................................................................... 9 a. The Sample and its Limitations.....................................................................................................................