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It\u2019s a buzz phrase that\u2019s been repeated like a mantra ever since \u2013 well, ever since the US and Britain needed a better reason to invade Iraq. When al-Qaida links<\/a> couldn\u2019t be found and the search for weapons of mass destruction<\/a> didn\u2019t move our allies into action, bringing democracy<\/a> to the suffering people to Iraq became the new raison d\u2019etre<\/i> for \u201cOperation Iraqi Freedom.\u201d But what does democracy<\/a> mean to a people who have never practiced it? How do you bring a society from tribal identifications with ethnic or religious groups into an arena where respect for the will of the majority forms the foundation of the state? While emerging Muslim democracies like Afghanistan have shown how problematic it can be to map a Western political system onto a post-colonial and post-war Muslim country, the fact is that most of the Muslim world practices democracy in some form or another. Half of the world\u2019s Muslims \u2013 around 500 million people \u2013 has even lived under the rule of an elected woman leader. But all that doesn\u2019t negate the special challenges faced by democracies where political Islam<\/a> is a factor. In promoting democracy in Iraq, the US has put itself in a bind: what if the people freely elect an Islamic government? \u201cWhy cannot an Islamic form of government\u2026 not also be democratic?\u201d asked<\/a> Secretary of State Colin Powell. \u201cDemocracy can coexist with any faith.\u201d But Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld counters, \u201cWe will not allow the Iraqi people\u2019s democratic transition to be hijacked by those who might wish to install another form of dictatorship.\u201d Both leaders see Turkey as an example of an Islamic democracy, but any country that goes into a tizzy<\/a> whenever a scarved woman walks onto the floor of Parliament couldn\u2019t possibly be an example for Iraq\u2019s deeply religious society. But Iraqis press on, meeting in Madrid for an Islamic democracy conference<\/a>, a US-sponsored conference<\/a> in Baghdad, and another one in Nasiriyah, Iraq next weekend<\/a>, and the general consensus is that Islam will play a role. \u201cIslam is supposed to unite people, said Stuart Charme<\/a>, a religion professor at Rutgers University. \u201cThe prophet wanted to give people an identity that would overcome their tribal divisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.\n<\/p>\n

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