ABSTRACT

The exceptionalism of the Arab countries is based upon the contradiction between political modernisation as democracy and the religious traditions of Islam, which emerges in different ways. The great Islamic philosophers adhering to the Plato position rejected ancient democracy according to the city-state model. The moderate Islamic adherents often refer proudly to the agreement between shura and democracy. The notion of a theodemocracy is to be found in the present Iranian constitution: God is equally sovereign as the people, represented by an elected assembly that is controlled by the religious leaders. To radical Islamism Western democracy is an impiety or apostasy, as with the Sunnites Sayyid Qutb and Ali Belhaj, the Shiites Khomeiny and spiritual leader of Hezbollah Sheikh Fadhlallah. In a democracy liberty is pushed to its limits. Averroes speaks about the community where everyone is free of all constraints.