May 28-29, 2004
Wyndham Washington D.C. Hotel
1400 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005

Session 1: Political Foundations of Justice

“Poverty of Islamist Thought as an Obstacle to Justice”
Kamran Asghar Bokhari: Howard University, Washington, DC
[Abstract] [Final Paper]

“Shari`ah, Natural Law and Institutional Governance”
Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad: Minaret of Freedom Institute, MD
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Islam, Justice and Democracy: A Theoretical and Comparative Study”
Abdel Fattah Mady: Claremont Graduate University, CA
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

Session 2: Economic Justice

“Adl, Mizan and the Peaceful Jihad for Human Development of the Arab World”
Paul Sullivan: National Defense University, VA
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Islamic Economics and Justice in Indonesian Democracy”
Bart J. Ryan: Harvard University, MA
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“The Just Third Way: Basic Principles of Economic and Social Justice”
Norman G. Kurland, J.D.: The Center for Economic and Social Justice, VA
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

Session 4: The Role of Social Organizations in Promoting Justice

“Between the Sacred and the Secular: the Emergence of ‘Islamic Democracy’ and the Search for Legitimate Authority”
Babak Rahimi: European University Institute, Italy
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Islamic Philanthropy: Reviving Traditional Forms for Building Social Justice”
Jennifer Bremer: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Fundamentalism and Islam in the 21st Century”
Orla Lynch: University College Cork, Ireland
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Muslims Were Born Free but Are Everywhere in Chains: An Empirical Examination of Muslims’ Democratic Culture”
Moataz A. Fattah: Central Michigan University, MI
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

Session 5: Justice for Women and Gender Equality

“Toward a Theory of Gender Equality in Muslim Societies”
Asma Barlas: Ithaca College, NY
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Narrowing the Divide: Deconstructing Muslim Women’s ‘Choice’ Between Culture and Gender Justice in India”
Sarah Mehta: Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, DC
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Lost between Rhetoric and Reality: Uncovering and Achieving True Gender Justice in Islamic Societies”
Sherien Sultan: International Center for Transitional Justice, NY
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“A Case Study of Morocco: How Have Women become Part of the Labor Market?”
Michelle Carla Morelli: Federal Government Contractor/Consultant, Washington, DC
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

Luncheon: Hesham Rida Memorial Lecture

Keynote Address: "Pax Islamica and the Pursuit of Justice: Between Force and Forgiveness"
Ali Mazrui: State University of New York, Binghamton
[Address (PDF)]

Session 7: Individual Rights and Responsibilities

“Individual Responsibility, the Qur’an, and Democracy”
Mary Knight: New York University, NY
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“The Primacy of Privacy within the Paradigm of Justice for an Effective Islamic Model of Democracy”
Saeed A. Khan: Institute for Social Policy & Understanding, MI
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Establishing Justice: The Role of the People”
Jack DuVall: International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, Washington, DC
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

“Exploring Shared Values: The Role of the Individual”
Irvin J. Borowsky: American Interfaith Institute at the National Liberty Museum, PA
[Abstract] [Final Paper (PDF)]

[back to top]

Abdel Fattah Mady (Claremont Graduate University, CA)
“Islam, Justice and Democracy: A Theoretical and Comparative Study”
The two main concerns of this paper are (1) to explicate the foundation of Islamic law (Shari’ah)’s goal in Muslim society, i.e., the establishment of justice (al-'Adl) among people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and (2) to examine whether this foundation accords with democracy. In Islam, the ultimate purpose of Islamic law (Maqasaid al-Shari’ah) is to fulfill and maintain people’s interests. The result of such action is the establishment of a just society, in which Islamic law provides the fundamentals or guidelines for a civilized life that secure justice, equity, and well-being for the individual and society and leaves the matters of detail to Muslims to determine how to implement these main principles with the purpose of meeting the increasing requirements of every time and age. Therefore, there is no fixed structure of government or permanent political system in Islam. A religion that affirms to be universal - therefore applicable and appropriate for all people - and covers the entire spectrum of human activities, spiritual and worldly, at various times and different places could not provide a fixed form of government.

Islam has its own set of principles of governance, which include consensus (ijma’a), mutual consultation (shura), enjoining all good virtues (Ma’ruf) and forbidding all kinds of evils (Munkarat), rational judgment (Ijtihad), the rule of law, rulers’ accountability and disobeying oppressors and their orders. These principles seek to establish a just society, and therefore, they oppose all characteristics of authoritarianism and theocracy and accord with most characteristics of democratic regimes. And, more importantly, what distinguishes Islam from liberal democracies is that the principles of rule, as well as the protection of human rights (al-Huquq al-Shar’iyya or Hoqooq Elebad), are all part of Islamic faith, i.e., they are not a matter of choice and, therefore provide authentic guarantees of justice and non-abusive use of governmental authority.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Asma Barlas (Ithaca College, NY)
“Toward a Theory of Gender Equality in Muslim Societies”
In this paper, I will define a Qur’anic hermeneutics of sexual equality and show why an egalitarian sexual praxis derived from the Qur’an’s teachings needs to be at the heart of struggles for democracy in Muslim societies. My basic assumption is that it is not the secular technologies of globalization that will transform Muslim women’s lives in meaningful ways, but a fundamental epistemic shift in how Muslims think about Islam, in particular, their willingness to read liberation from the same scripture that is abused to discriminate against women. In other words, I believe that theology - especially one that establishes equality between women and men - matters and, far from being extrinsic or inconsequential to social, political, and economic change in Muslim societies, is (or can potentially be) one of the most powerful internal impulses for democratic change. The paper will draw on my recent book, “Believing Women” in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’an (University of Texas, 2002), as well as several talks that I have given or will have given by the end of May, including one at the Library of Congress, titled “Globalizing Equality: Muslim Women, Theology, and Feminisms.”
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Babak Rahimi (European University Institute, Italy)
“Between the Sacred and the Secular: the Emergence of ‘Islamic Democracy’ and the Search for Legitimate Authority”
Respective to the rise of civic religious associational currents in contemporary Islamic societies, like Iran and Turkey, this paper offers a hypothetical explorative attempt to conceptualize the possibility of an “Islamic democracy” according to the agonistic model of democracy. Central to this conceptual paper is the claim that the construction of a “democratic Islamic polity,” which is the creative association between the sacralized transcendental and the secular mundane, is such that the legitimate authority can be recognized as the twin alliance (coexistence) between the constitutional sovereignty of the impersonal juridical order and the representative decision-making processes of the legislative sphere. In the spirit of Carl Schmitt’s notion of “complexio-oppositorum,” I argue that Islamic democracy conceived in juridical manner can be ingeniously juxtaposed with the autonomous decision-making authority, vis-à-vis the voters, in accommodating the Islamic notion of justice (‘Adl) with the democratic visions of liberty and equality. This means that the authority from above, in the form of moral juridical order, to coalesce with the authority from below, in the form of representation of plural organizations, is possible insofar as the two spheres coexist in consortium as two representative bodies confronting each other as partners; though political unity marks an agglomeration of changing alliances between competing mundane and transcendental ethos. Respectively, the consolidation of a legitimate Islamic democratic polity (I further argue) can be identified in terms of: (a) constitutional sovereignty; (b) state institutions; and (c) civil society. Here, I draw attention to barriers that can jeopardize the realization of a democratic Islamic polity. Identifying these drawbacks in terms of puritanical network associations that can be extended to governmental institutions, I claim that the prerequisite for the eventual realization of such illiberal polity lies in the bolstering of a democratic political culture, which would primarily include social intelligentsia/journalist urban networks and the autonomous cosmopolitan and rural associations. In a significant way, liberal secularism is criticized here as a serious obstacle to the realization of such polity, since it characteristically attempts to overcome the inherently conflictual nature of democratic politics on a global scale. The paper ends with a note on the inventive processes of democratization of Islam and the Islamization of democracy as an indication of the native demand for authenticity and autonomy in face of the onslaught of Euro-American modernity.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Bart J. Ryan (Harvard University, MA)
“Islamic Economics and Justice in Indonesian Democracy”
Since the unprecedented economic meltdown brought on by the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and the subsequent ouster of former president Suharto, Indonesia has embarked on the path toward creating a representative democratic government. In fact, the country’s first direct presidential elections in fifty years will take place in July 2004. The political role that Islam will play in this burgeoning democracy is a key issue in this election. Central to this is the question of how the different Islamic-based political parties propose to improve the economic situation in the country. Given the dramatic rise in the number of people living in poverty since the economic crisis first unfolded we can expect that this will be an important election issue, and will remain so in its aftermath.

Islamic approaches to economic development recently have been gaining in popularity. The dramatic rise in the number of Islamic banks throughout the archipelago attests to this. In fact, stringent restrictions on the establishment of free-standing Islamic banks were lifted only within the last five years. And as recently as December 2003, the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) issued a fatwa declaring interest charged by banks to be haram. This rejection of such a fundamental neoclassical financial tool represents not only the affirmation of certain Islamic moral principles but a larger discomfort with globalization and the increasingly deeper penetration of capitalist institutions into Indonesian society as well. This paper examines the role that Islamic economics can be expected to play in Indonesian democratic politics. Its stress on economic justice in a society that has huge disparities in wealth and deeply embedded forms of corruption make Islamic approaches to the economy potentially appealing to the Indonesian population as a whole. However, Islamic economics - just like Islam itself - is far from monolithic. This paper will examine this diversity and consider the role that it might play in the development of Indonesian democracy.

Justice is an absolute standard for the conduct of human relations while democracy is a formalism by which decisions are made. In modern times, western societies have had more success in establishing a degree of domestic justice within a democratic formalism than have Muslim societies. Assertions that this is because Islam is inherently unjust or undemocratic are fallacious. I shall argue instead that Muslims face two special challenges.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad (Minaret of Freedom Institute, MD)
“Shari`ah, Natural Law and Institutional Governance”
Democracy is a contentious term with conflicting definitions. Although attracted to the concept, Muslims have had insufficient familiarity with its nuances and insufficient experience with its practice. We may compare the turns and upheavals faced by the British in the centuries it took to establish their democracy with the difficult and painful progress of Iran in establishing an Islamic republican government. We may also compare the obstacles faced by the Americans in moving from the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution with the constitutional issues facing the Iraqis today. Muslims have preferred to take a personal rather than corporate approach to social issues. While this has certain advantages over the western approach, it has had the undesirable consequence that Muslims have paid insufficient attention to questions of sound institutional governance. The only serious modern corporate institution in the Muslim world has been the state, but because it has been unconstrained by sound institutional governance, the state has been neither just nor democratic. I argue that by viewing Shari`ah in the same manner that western jurists approached natural law, it is possible for Muslim legal scholars to accept a formal role for democratic processes and in a manner consistent with the original conception of Shari`ah. Finally, I shall show how such processes can protect rather than threaten the centrality of the traditional sources of Islamic law even as they offer hope to solve the problem of the inflexibility of Muslim jurisprudence in modern times. Sound governance must incorporate Shurah and ijma` while respecting justice as both a means and a goal.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Irvin J. Borowsky (The American Interfaith Institute at the National Liberty Museum, PA)
“Exploring Shared Values: The Role of the Individual”
Building on two decades of programming and research, the American Interfaith Institute and the National Liberty Museum have been creating meaningful dialogue between the children of Abraham. The violence in today’s world has taught us that for any hope of peace, we must face the following ultimate challenges: (a) support democratic governments; (b) be willing to leave the hatred of the past behind; (c) have the courage to bury tribal prejudices and politics; and (d) maintain an open mind to review without prejudice new information.

Our TENT OF ABRAHAM program follows in the spirit of the first president of the United States. George Washington declined an early invitation to become king of America, and instead challenged fellow leaders to make the United States a nation where people from different backgrounds and religious faiths share the same land, laws and values. America became known as the first nation to separate government and religion. Clearly, it has not always been a peaceful process. To protect our creative democracy we must be on guard against falling into our old prejudices, which we bring from our past lives, to stay true to the tolerance upon which this country was founded. The children of Abraham must join together to raise their voices to protect our democracy and to export the joys of raising families in complete freedom. It is appropriate that the American Interfaith Institute and the National Liberty Museum embrace the TENT OF ABRAHAM, just as the lessons of Abraham teach us to embrace one another. We have in common prophets, scriptures and good works. We share religious values: oneness, compassion, justice, peace, and text and commentary from the perspective of the three Abrahamic faiths. The TENT, like the American Interfaith Institute itself, is intended to be a work in progress for the ages; a beacon of hope as we discover the relationships that connect us, one to the other.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Jack DuVall (International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, Washington, DC)
“Establishing Justice: The Role of the People”
In the past thirty years, many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe have undergone democratization, establishing systems of justice based on the consent of the people. Where this occurred through nonviolent struggles based on civilian movements, political systems emerged that reflect international norms for justice and self-determination and that also express the people's aspirations. Many in the Islamic world are striving to establish equal justice under law and self-rule. What can they learn from civilian-based movements in countries such as the Philippines, Poland, Chile, South Africa and Serbia, where autocrats who suppressed human rights were supplanted by democratic governments, without external intervention, internal insurrection, or terror? Is there a relationship between the method of liberation and the sustainability of democracy? Some say that Muslim societies have features that limit the possibilities of civilian-based struggle. But that would place more confidence in external actors or elites, than in the people themselves, as agents of change. If the demand for change arises from ordinary people who are conscious of not having rights, shouldn’t their own capacities to engineer that change be strengthened? Is establishing justice only a “top-down” process, or can it also be a “bottom-up” process?

There are salient cases in which civilian-based struggle has succeeded in Muslim societies, suggesting that nonviolent strategies can be applied there. For example, in the 1920s and 1930s, Abdul Ghaffar Khan led a movement among his fellow Pashtuns that was instrumental in weakening British rule on the subcontinent, even though his work has been overlooked by media preoccupied with Gandhi. In 1987-88, ordinary Palestinians throughout the West Bank joined a nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation, in which boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience disrupted the status quo, strengthened Palestinian civil society, and split Israeli public opinion about their government's tactics. Defining justice in Muslim societies may be the work of those who best understand its foundations, but if establishing justice does not involve the active participation of the people in these societies, it may well not succeed.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Jennifer Bremer (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC)
“Islamic Philanthropy: Reviving Traditional Forms for Building Social Justice”
Development of strong civil society in the Islamic world requires parallel development in indigenous philanthropic institutions. For civil society to become sustainable, fully accountable to its parent society, and capable of supporting social justice, it cannot rely solely or even primarily on international donors and government funding. It needs the capacity to mobilize independent local resources. Development of Islamic societies’ charitable institutions can be facilitated by drawing on the rich heritage of philanthropic institutions that historically fostered social justice within Islamic societies. This heritage reflects the long tradition of philanthropy within Islam, beginning with identification of alms-giving (zakat) as a core obligation. Historically, Islamic societies developed charitable institutions to fulfill these mandates, including zakat boards, awqaf, and diverse local structures reflecting the richness of Islamic cultures “from Dakar to Davao.” However, these institutions were suppressed and marginalized during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, the colonial era, and the period of nationalization that followed. In many Islamic countries, the state seized Islamic charities and their considerable resources or assumed a heavy-handed management role. Under both models, transparency and stakeholder participation effectively disappeared. As Islamic societies emerge from dictatorship to more democratic systems of governance, state-dominated models are beginning to give way before a revival of older, private models, now often blending international experience, traditional structures, and modern forms. However, these institutions face a variety of governance challenges that must be addressed if they are to play a critically important role in sustaining civil society and building social justice. Business leadership, through participation in governing boards and personal or corporate philanthropy, plays a central role in managing this transition.

By summarizing charitable institutions’ history in the Islamic world and evolving state-private relations in charitable management, this paper argues that only through the engagement of the business sector in the revival of Islamic charities, can the resources and political-will to pursue social justice effectively be mobilized. The paper concludes by drawing implications for U.S. policy toward Islamic charities, and offering a broader perspective on the role of charities in achieving anti-terrorism objectives that can foster sustainable growth and social justice in the Islamic societies of the 21st Century.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Kamran Asghar Bokhari (Howard University, Washington, DC)
“Poverty of Islamist Thought as an Obstacle to Justice”
Muslims, as a matter of belief, understand the Islamic divine texts as providing the building blocks for a just political system. In principle, this concept seems fine - the problem though occurs when attempts are made to operationalize it. In fact, this has been one of the major dilemmas plaguing Islamist political thought, i.e., the inability to distill a just political order from the Islamic sources of legislation. One of the chief obstacles in this regard has been the attitude of privileging medieval jurisprudence, which is the de facto via media through which most modern Islamist thinkers approach the sources of legislation. This is why, despite the discursive and practical developments with respect to the notion of an “Islamic Democracy,” it has yet to emerge as a vehicle for dispensing justice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the correlation between the lack of an Islamic political system capable of dispensing justice and the (current) general state of poverty of thought among Islamists. This will be done by looking at the manner in which mainstream Islamist political thought views the constitutive elements of reason and revelation. It will also examine both modernist and traditionalist approaches, and how their competition is based on pitting authenticity against justice. I will argue that most Islamists to a great degree see justice as a function of authenticity (legitimacy). In other words, I will argue that most Islamists have thus far considered justice as secondary to the goal of Islamic validity. This paper will look at recent developments involving democratization and the role of Islamist actors in Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Turkey. The significance and relevance of this paper is that it underscores the intellectual discrepancies in Islamist thought, which are the critical impediments in the way of fashioning an Islamic democratic polity, capable of meting out justice. While the thrust of the focus of inquiry on this issue has been on exogenous factors contributing to the arrested state of justice in the Muslim world, there is not much examination of endogenous reasons, a lacuna, which this paper hopes to fill.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Mary Knight (New York University, NY)
“Individual Responsibility, the Qur’an, and Democracy”
One of the hallmarks of the concept of justice in modern democracies is individual responsibility - in both criminal and beneficial acts. This broad-spectrum capacity of individual responsibility to harm or help society is strongly associated in the popular imagination with democracy’s positive, human dimension, because acts are accorded punishment or merit based on individual choice. Many in the West suppose that the Islamic emphasis on the umma relegates the individual to a diminished status. Yet a reading of the Qur’an demonstrates the primacy of individual responsibility, not only in criminal and immoral acts, but also in the improvement of self and the umma. This paper investigates Qur’anic and democratic ideas of individual responsibility in light of recent events in Egypt (where the author conducted an informal survey of youth), Palestine, and Iraq. The Qur’anic idea of justice stands out perhaps most prominently at “crime scenes”: in the story told in “Yusuf,” for example, when a cup goes missing from the house of the ‘Aziz, it is only the one in whose rahl it is found who should pay the penalty for the theft (Qur’an 12:70-79). Likewise, a cardinal principle of democracy is that no one should be punished for a crime without evidence. This presumption of innocence is enshrined in the constitutions of democracies as well as those of Islamic states. Guilt by association, however, has driven several recent arrests and court proceedings in Egypt. The charge by western analysts that such arrests and subsequent trials are an intrinsic element of Islamic law and Muslim-majority states is specious. In an informal survey of Egyptian youth, western democracies are considered even more likely to implement collective punishment. Survey respondents envision a state that is both democratic and Islamic, where the political side of the state is tempered by religious values, and religious law is directed by individual responsibility and equal justice for all. That ideal state (whether conceived as a democracy, Islamic state, or a mixture) cannot be reached without individuals working toward it, exercising their responsibility for the benefit of society.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Michelle Carla Morelli (Federal Government Contractor/Consultant, Washington, DC)
“A Case Study of Morocco: How Have Women become Part of the Labor Market?”
Most westernized countries perceive women of Islamic faith as being in a subservient position to men. Historically, Moroccan women have been excluded from political office, higher education, and the workforce; their ascribed positions were those of housewives and mothers. Recent labor trends have reversed this history. According to statistics, 41.4% of Moroccan women are working outside the home to support themselves and add to their family’s income; of these women only 128,152 have sought education after high school. Traditional gender roles in Moroccan society are vanishing, and women are transitioning from their homes to the workplace. But the question still remains, how have these women become part of their country’s labor market? An analysis will be presented to demonstrate how over time these women have gained their role and status in the Moroccan workforce. To show how Moroccan women have taken an active role in the workforce, I will discuss the intricate role of women in the labor market; the barriers of gender discrimination; educational advantages and disadvantages for females; organizational and labor policies; and the dominant role of societal traditions and religious beliefs. Research presented will demonstrate the difficulties and cultural barriers. I chose the industrialization of Morocco’s manufacturing industry in the 1980s as the benchmark for discussion. The 1980s are my reference point for the following reasons: (1) the dramatic growth of the industry’s workforce, (2) the high percentage of female laborers, and (3) the realistic demonstration of traditional gender roles merging with an ever-changing global economy. It is my belief that by laying a foundation for discussion around the country’s manufacturing industry I can show how over time women’s opportunities shifted from the home to the workplace.

The idea for this paper stems from the article “Gender and Globalization” by Valentine Moghadam. After reading the article, I decided to conduct a secondary analysis on the following areas in relation to Moroccan women: gender roles, education, labor policies, and religion. I decided the best way to relate the ideas Moghadam presented regarding Moroccan women was to choose a case study to establish a time frame in which the secondary analysis could be focused. Thus, I chose the inception of Morocco’s manufacturing industry and concluded the discussion with the labor markets of the late 1990s to illustrate Moroccan women’s transition into the labor force. This paper will demonstrate how historically, Moroccan women have struggled to become active participants in their country’s labor force. Through hard work and perseverance these women have fought for their position in society. This transition from the home, to the factory, and now to the office did not come easily. Moroccan women face discrimination in the workplace and home; this discrimination hinders some women from being gainfully employed and fully accepted as true and equal employees in the labor market. However, these women have faced many problems in their fight for higher-paying employment and societal acceptance. In closing, this presentation will show that women in Morocco are participating in the labor force and becoming influential participants.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Moataz A. Fattah (Central Michigan University, MI)
“Muslims Were Born Free but Are Everywhere in Chains: An Empirical Examination of Muslims' Democratic Culture”
This paper focuses on the following empirical puzzle: Do the attitudes of ordinary educated Muslims stand as an obstacle toward the adoption of democracy? This research question calls for empirical/behavioral methodological tools that bring into focus contemporary Muslims” attitudes, rather than ancient and modern jurists’ contributions. In other words, the paper shifts attention from ancient Islamic texts to contemporary Muslims’ mindsets through written and web-based surveys in 32 Muslim societies. This particular survey was conducted by a group of researchers led by the researcher and funded by the Middle East Research Council in Beirut, Lebanon, and confirmed by data from the World Value Survey and Pew surveys in 2002. The paper will show that at the aggregate level, Muslim societies are perplexed with two types of sub-cultures: the culture of “dictator, but …” and the culture of “democracy-as-a-must.” The former is the sub-couture of two groups of Muslims: Traditionalist Islamists who argue that a just autocratic ruler who abides by shari’ah (Islamic legislation) and defends its tenets is the most legitimate ruler ever. Autocratic secularists argue in favor of a Hobbesenian ruler who maintains the states’ sovereignty and defends it against its foreign enemies. In both cases, Muslims behave as rational actors who find that the advantages of having an autocratic ruler outweigh having a democratically elected one. The “democracy-as-a-must” sub-culture is the one that is adopted by modernist Islamists and liberal secularists. Modernist Islamists find democracy consummating Islamic teachings that fight dictatorship and ensure pluralism in society. Liberal secularists find democracy as the core component of modernity that should be adopted on secular grounds.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Norman G. Kurland, J.D. (The Center for Economic and Social Justice, VA)
“The Just Third Way: Basic Principles of Economic and Social Justice”
This paper will challenge the conventional premise that economic democracy can be achieved without reexamining basic principles of economic and social justice that are consistent with Islam, Christianity and Judaism, and other spiritual belief systems. It will pose as a fundamental human right, universal access to such “social goods” as institutions that connect people to the power of money, capital credit and private property stakes in productive enterprises. A new paradigm, the “Just Third Way,” based principally on the binary economic theory of Louis Kelso, analyzes the systemic root causes of world poverty and widespread economic powerlessness and alienation. It presents a macroeconomic framework for restructuring basic economic institutions, particularly central banking and tax laws, for solving these problems. This paradigm offers a just free market system that economically empowers all individuals and families by lifting barriers to money and credit for new production. At the enterprise level, “Justice-Based Management” applies universal principles of social and economic justice for structuring “Just Third Way” enterprises. This paper will outline a logical “third alternative” to the two predominant socioeconomic paradigms today - capitalism and socialism/communism. In capitalism, economic power is concentrated in a small elite. In socialism/communism, the state owns and/or controls productive capital. The Just Third Way differs markedly from other versions of a “Third Way” that foster an inherently unstable blend of political democracy with economic plutocracy. In the “Just Third Way,” widespread dispersion of private property functions as the economic check against the potential for corruption and abuse by government and by corporate and financial elites, as well as the moral basis of a just and free form of economic democracy. The new paradigm views healthy self-interest as a virtue (i.e., where individual good is directed toward, or in harmony with, the common good). It views greed and envy, on the other hand, as vices, both destructive of a moral and just society. In contrast to capitalism, which institutionalizes greed; or socialism, which institutionalizes envy (in the form of coerced leveling and artificial barriers), the “Just Third Way” institutionalizes justice, tapping on the full creative potential of every human being.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Orla Lynch (University College Cork, Ireland)
“Fundamentalism and Islam in the 21st Century”
Islam in the twentieth century has been associated with reformation and revolution. Modern Islamic organizations have been the driving force behind the dynamic spread of the Islamic resurgence. This revival of Islam has yielded a variety of questions from the nature of Islamic law to pluralism and establishment and maintenance of justice in Islamic society. The current revivalist cycle incorporates groups that are modern, not traditional in their leadership, organization and ideology. If we speak of fundamentalism as a return to the foundation of Islam then these movements are neo-fundamentalist or neo-revivalist, for they look to the sources of Islam not simply to replicate the past but to respond to a new age. This developing form of social organization has been castigated on the international stage and cautiously embraced by many in Muslim societies. For many, these groups are a destabilizing force – demagogues who will employ any tactic to gain power. On the other hand, the social impact of the Islamic revival opens up alternatives for individuals, which is both modern and firmly rooted in the Islamic faith, identity and values. Muslim women have chosen to become primary participants in this revival, by redefining their identity and role in society. For others, the Islamic revival serves to subordinate much desired processes of social change to indigenous Islamic values and ideals. While fundamentalist groups have had the effect of orchestrating social change in Muslim countries, their doctrines along with modernity and globalization have not brought justice to all Muslim peoples. This paper will examine the role of fundamentalist groups in manipulating and transforming the traditional patterns of social organization and justice, or lack thereof, inherent in such activities. The actions of these groups as they set about securing a future for themselves will also be discussed in relation to the populace they influence and control, as well as the veracity of their aims.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Paul Sullivan (National Defense University, VA)
“Adl, Mizan and the Peaceful Jihad for Human Development of the Arab World”
This paper will look into the many economic problems, and economic justice problems that the Arabs face, such as: unemployment, underemployment, inequality, lack of a rule of law, corruption, wasta, koosa, lack of real economic development, lack of registration of property and land, economic abuses of the week by the powerful, seeming improper uses of resources, regulations and laws that seem to keep the Arabs back, market structures that may not be the best for development, and the inequities and constraints these present to true economic development and economic justice. Adel, mizan, and ihsan are important concepts related to economic justice and development for Arab countries. Greater economic justice and greater balance and compassion could add greatly to the overall development of the Arabs, as well as toward greater peace in the region. One could say that what is needed in the Arab world is a peaceful jihad (effort) toward much greater economic and human development in the Arab world. Jihad is often a misunderstood concept in the "West." There are many different forms of jihad, as Mohammed stated on his return from a battle: “Now we go from the small jihad (war) to the big jihad (the effort to be good Muslims). The economic development of the Arab peoples is an important jihad in the second sense – efforts to be good Muslim leaders at all levels involve being able to bring prosperity and peace to their people. Violent jihad has kept the Arabs back. It has damaged their abilities to have fuller human development for their people. It has also allowed some of the dictators and their corrupt hangers-on to retain their strangling grip on some Arab countries. The Arabs can regain their dignity, honor, and prestige not through war, but through economic and human development. War and other forms of violence have cost them dearly - much more than it has given back to them. Also, without greater adel, mizan, and ihsan in economic and human development, and without greater economic and human development, terrorism will remain a growing scourge in the region.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Saeed A. Khan (Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, MI)
“The Primacy of Privacy within the Paradigm of Justice For an Effective Islamic Model of Democracy”
The establishment of democracy within an Islamic framework requires justice as its cornerstone. The foundational aspects of justice must, however, be framed by clear lines of demarcation drawn between the public and the private spheres. The individual must be aware if his/her expectations of privacy as defined by the state. Similarly, the state must define the parameters that constitute its ability to encroach upon the individual’s rights and functionality in society. This paper seeks to provide analysis of historical precedent as well as an assessment of Islamic sources of juridical authority to illustrate the key factors involved in developing a functional democratic model. This paper shall set a study of various provisions in the Shari’ah, undertaking their historical application and significance. In addition, the underlying privacy considerations within such provisions - both explicit and implicit - shall be examined. Islam has the necessary tools to ensure the rights of the individual, but this is predicated upon an analysis at the correct level of abstraction of legal and political traditions within the Islamic paradigm. Islamic political thought places much emphasis on the need for social justice to be present for a functional, optimal society. Yet, a just society requires attention placed on the individual’s rights, especially in the realm of privacy, for social justice to have any relevance. Authoritarian regimes are able to oppress their citizenry by abrogating any expectations of privacy. This paper shall attempt to furnish the mechanisms to approach the subject of privacy and modes of implementation of the requisite safeguards and measures to develop a model of democracy that is feasible for Islamic countries.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Sarah Mehta (Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, DC)
“Narrowing the Divide: Deconstructing Muslim Women’s ‘Choice’ Between Culture and Gender Justice in India”
Muslim women in India constitute a “double minority,” experiencing discrimination as (1) Muslims in a Hindu-majority state, and (2) women subject to patriarchal religious traditions. With the intensification of religious hostilities in India and the consequent insecurity of the Muslim population, Muslim women are compelled to choose between their identity as Muslims and as citizens. Ironically, women’s religiosity is not safeguarded by Muslim religious elites, who consolidate their authority as community spokesmen first, by emphasizing the dichotomy between gender justice and Islamic tradition and second, by denying women’s input in the definition of Muslim tradition and identity. While gender-just provisions exist in Islam, these traditions are largely ignored by the politically active ‘ulama, who defend an exclusive mandate to represent the community and its traditions. Muslim women, then, must choose between abandoning their private faith and conceding to the dictates of religious authorities. On the other hand, the presence of a secular alternative to Islamic laws and community governance has not bolstered Muslim women’s bargaining position because the secular laws are equally evasive vis-à-vis gender justice. Abdullahi An-Na’im has argued for a discourse where both Islamic and secular perspectives are engaged and held accountable. Such a dialogue could be employed to achieve gender justice for Muslim women in India by erasing the perception of a choice between religion and rights. Up until now, community-state “interaction” in India has been limited to the establishment of an extremist and vocal elite as Muslim community representatives. With this endorsement, the state precipitately closes the door on debate and deliberation within the Muslim community and delegitimizes any concept Muslim women themselves may harbor of their cultural identity. Engaging with Islamic resources to create a more robust conception of gender justice will diminish some of the perceived costs on women for exercising their rights as citizens. But the difficulties of this approach should not be discounted: simply looking inside Islamic texts for supporting traditions will not challenge patriarchy and resistance from certain sectors of the ‘ulama. But such a discourse is imperative if the dichotomy between gender justice and religious identity is to be deconstructed.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

Sherien Sultan (International Center for Transitional Justice, NY)
“Lost Between Rhetoric and Reality: Uncovering and Achieving True Gender Justice in Islamic Societies”
Most, if not all, scholars and Muslims are in general agreement that the Qur’an greatly improved the status of women. At a time when tribes were readily practicing female infanticide and women were treated like mere chattel, Qur’anic revelations not only affirmed justice for women, but also greatly improved their social and legal status. The Qur’an freed woman from the whims of man, gave her rights within marriage and in matters of inheritance, granted her economic empowerment, and raised her status to one that is spiritually, legally, and intellectually equal to man. Throughout history, however, we have routinely seen women’s God-given rights severely restricted by discriminatory practices, customs, and legislations that have no basis in the Qur’an. Faulty and narrow scriptural interpretations, coupled with patriarchy’s hostility toward women, have long denied women the Islam of social justice and equality. Pioneering scholars have produced groundbreaking works in the fields of theology, history, and law that have dismantled the popular belief that Islam is inherently unequal toward women. A discourse, however, based solely on the concept of redressing widely held assumptions about Islam’s attitude toward women without taking into consideration the socioeconomic realities of women’s daily lives severely limits the potential of achieving true gender justice in Muslim societies. Freedoms for women based on Islam lose much of their meaning within a social and political system where women’s lives are constrained by institutionalized inequality. This paper will discuss the gap between the rhetoric of equality and the reality of the profound inequality that exists between men and women in Muslim societies. It will argue that this gap is a result of the socioeconomic impediments that prevent women from fully realizing their rights. It will look at the contemporary suppression of and discrimination against women, which is often justified in the name of Islam, and concluded by highlighting the mechanisms and strategies that can supply women with the necessary tools to participate as full agents in their societies.
[Final Paper (PDF)] [back to top]

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