ABSTRACT
At the end of successful democratization, a society will possess a relatively unregulated economy, a political system that distributes power widely, and a free system of several religious denominations and movements. It will be interesting to follow the histories of the new religious movements of Ukraine, liberated by the wave of democratization that toppled the Soviet Union. But in the context of contemporary democratization debates, the focus tends to be on Islam and on the rules concerning treatment of women in the Koran and in the traditions associated with it. In fact there are many features of Islamic traditions that are conducive to democratization, and especially to the development of flourishing market economies upon which democracy can rest. The chief difference is that few of the Islamic nations possess the secular institutions that would be compatible with religious pluralism and with political democracy.
