Islam and Liberal Democracy: A Historical Overview

Issue Date April 1996
Volume 7
Issue 2
Page Numbers 52-63
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About the Author

Bernard Lewis is Cleveland E. Dodge Professor (emeritus) of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Formerly professor of history at the University of London, he is the author of many books, including The Political Language of Islam (1988) and The Arabs in History (1960). 

View all work by Bernard Lewis

Further Reading

Volume 17, Issue 3

Universal Values and Muslim Democracy

The desire for freedom and self-government is written in human hearts everywhere; in this there can be no "clash of civilizations." Claims that Islam is inherently hostile to democracy represent…

Volume 18, Issue 2

Toward Muslim Democracies

About two-thirds of the world's Muslims live under governments chosen through competitive elections. The remaining third lives mostly in the Arab world, a region that poses the hardest challenges for…

Volume 29, Issue 3

Islam and Democracy in Tunisia

The president of Tunisia’s Ennahdha party, Rached Ghannouchi, argues that the solution to extremism is more (not less) freedom and democracy, along with more moderate religious teachings.