ABSTRACT
In the twentieth century, the writings of Islamic intellectuals, such as Sayyid Qutb, and the activities of al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun in Egypt helped to develop the idea that a powerful and strong Islamic faith and related rules should constitute the dominant principles of social life and politics. Indeed, their original concept and aim, creating an Islamic state with Shari'a canons, principles and laws, was brought into existence by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. However later, Soroush and other Islamic thinkers such as Kadivar turned to be more in favour of a selective democracy which they named 'Islamic democracy'. Historically, Muslim societies of the Middle East have commonly been ruled by despotic elites. This way of governing has led some Western academics to hypothesise that Muslim societies are unable to establish or embody a democratic culture and to cultivate a strong autonomous public sphere or civil society.
