Islam and Democracy in the 21st Century

This book examines, on theoretical grounds, the relationship between Islam and its socio-political concepts and institutions and the principles of (modern) democracy.

This book starts with the prevailing idea of a conflicting relationship between Islam and the Western concept of democracy, both in theory and in practice. With this backdrop, the author addresses the crucial question-Is Islam compatible with democracy? The book offers very useful discussions in framing the contemporary debates surrounding Islam and democracy, treads through diverse theoretical Islamic texts like the ''Quran'' and ''Sunnah'', discusses the historical evolution of the concept of Shura-the primary source of democratic ethics in Islam, provides an assessment of the views and visions of some selected Muslim scholars (from 19th to 21st centuries) on Islam-democracy compatibility, and examines the elements of compatibility between Islam and democracy without ignoring the basic differences that exist between the Western approach to democracy and Islamic political thought.