Islamism och demokrati

Mycket intressant artikel i Foreign Policy om islamistiska partier och val i den muslimska världen,

Even if they don't win, Islamic parties often find themselves liberalized by the electoral process. We found that Islamic party platforms are less likely to focus on sharia law or armed jihad in freer elections and more likely to uphold democracy and women's rights. And even in more authoritarian countries, Islamic party platforms have shifted over the course of multiple elections toward more liberal positions: Morocco's Justice and Development Party and Jordan's Islamic Action Front both stripped sharia law from their platforms over the last several years.

Försiktig demokratisering leder till en marginell liberalisering av tidigare hårdföra islamister. Det är en välkommen utveckling, små myrsteg på väg mot en mindre religiöst fundamentalistisk värld. Vad kan vi då i väst göra för att påskynda detta? Främja demokrati på alla möjliga sätt.