In the Huffington Post, Professor of Religion and International Affairs John L. Esposito argues for a more nuanced, inclusive, and even-handed strategy for democratization in the Arab world—and that means, in particular, acknowledging a legitimate role for non-violent political Islam:
Islamist parties are an integral part of Muslim politics and societies and they are not going away. Since the late 20th century Islamically-oriented candidates and political parties in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia have opted for reform through ballots, not bullets. They have successfully contested and won municipal and parliamentary seats, held cabinet positions, and served in senior positions such as prime minister of Turkey and Iraq and president of Indonesia. Elections since late 2001 in Pakistan, Turkey, Bahrain, and Morocco as well as in Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have reinforced the continued saliency of Islam in Muslim politics in the 21st century.
America and European governments that advocate self determination and democracy need to demonstrate by their statements and policies that they respect the right of any and all movements and political parties, religious as well as secular, to participate in the political process. Failure to respond to the subversion of the electoral process in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Musharraf’s Pakistan, the attempt “to manage” and determine the process of democratization in post-Saddam Iraq, and the refusal to recognize the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza must be avoided if the West, and America in particular, is to avoid the charge that it operates on a clear double standard. Respect and support for the democratic process and human rights have to be seen as truly universal.
Read the entire piece here.