This article, written by Les Campbell for the National Democratic Institute's (NDI) latest newsletter, makes that assertion that democracy and Islam are not incompatible -- quite the opposite, in fact -- the majority of people throughout the Arab and broader Islamic world aspire to have input into the decisions that control their lives, in other words, they aspire to indigenous, often unique, forms of democracy. Foreign policy in the developed world should include financial assistance, encouragement and political support for democratic activists in Muslim countries because they represent the crucial middle ground between authoritarian dictators and religious extremists.

Unending and often sterile debates about the compatibility of democracy and Islam threaten to distract from the real democratization challenge - how can the international community support the development of indigenous forms of democracy throughout the Arab world and, in so doing, establish a foundation for cooperation in pursuit of peace and freedom from terror that will far outlast any current foreign policy imperatives?

The challenge is to create the freedom and political environment that forces any form of extremism, religious or otherwise, to retreat to the margins. The moderate political center, likely the majority of the population in most Arab countries, has long been deprived of a democratic middle ground that could offer a buffer between the extremes of autocratic regimes and religious fundamentalism.

With citizens lacking the normal venues for political participation, the religious alternative becomes increasingly attractive-not so much because the average Arab citizen rejects the principles of democracy, but because the embrace of more radical strains of Islam has become an assertion of identity and a cry of protest against corrupt and autocratic governments that provide little hope for a better life.

More radical Islamic political activists, recognizing the opportunities for organizing generated by created by autocratic and ineffective regimes, fill a political and economic vacuum by providing social services, promoting cultural purity and organizing clubs for the disaffected. With the mosque as a powerful political pulpit, religious leaders supply alternative political discourse; immune, it would seem, from the repressive machinery of government.

Moderate elements within Arab states, whose liberalizing messages are often feared by repressive officials - respected Egyptian academic Saad Eddin Ibrahim, jailed for mild criticisms of past Egyptian electoral practices, is a case in point - find themselves squeezed between the State and the religious extremists; both sides fearing that their power base is threatened by a more open political system.

Knowing that indigenous and independent democratic forces do exist throughout the Middle East and that religious extremism cannot prosper in an environment of greater freedom where political speech is encouraged and rulers are held accountable, a democratization strategy for the region emerges.

Such a strategy is based on identifying and strengthening the moderate middle-level professionals, academics, women, students, shopkeepers, who, if given a chance, would play a central role in a democratic system. Working with these and other indigenous democrats, including civil society leaders, human rights activists, reform-minded politicians and modernists within the Islamic movement, the international community can help provide the skills and linkages they need to counter the entrenched extremes.

Political transitions that force authoritarian structures to open, however temporarily, may provide a wedge to open further democratic opportunities. Elections, held regularly in many Arab states, could provide just such an opening. (Nor should concerns about elections perhaps resulting in the victory of candidates with undemocratic credentials get in the way - once elected, leaders must be held to democratic principles and actions.) Political parties can be strengthened, candidates trained and domestic election monitors mobilized. New parliaments and local councils may choose to challenge the status quo. The role of women, traditionally outsiders in the political process, can be strengthened. The fallout from political transitions and upheavals can also create openings for change -- witness the succession of modern, young monarchs in Jordan and Morocco, or calls by Palestinians for political reform after the recent Israeli military incursion.

Each situation naturally requires specific democratization strategies based on local needs and imperatives. For example, Morocco, with its trade linkages to the European Union, must modernize commercial law and root out petty corruption. Yemen, unable to exert central control over its hinterlands has formed a national parliament to provide voice to local sheiks and power brokers. The Palestinians, fed up with corruption, look for national leadership renewal and better local government. The ruling Bahraini Sunni minority, faced with increasing unrest among the Shiite majority, has chosen limited forms of democracy as part of the long-term solution.

There are several recent signs that this strategic approach can work. For example, in Bethlehem, faced with the task of restoring infrastructure and bringing social assistance to the beleaguered population after the recent standoff at the Church of the Nativity, an emergency committee was formed that includes local officials and municipal councilors but also representatives of business, labor, the church and community organizations. Working together, they hope to provide citizen assistance in an accountable and transparent manner and, by so doing, deny extremists a foothold in this traditionally tolerant municipality. The small amount of funding provided by the international community for this effort could pay huge dividends through the demonstration effect of what this model of democratic decision-making can offer the rest of the Palestinian territories.
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