Democracy in Islam: The Role of Religion in East Asia

Jeremy Ball
Class 2017

This semester, as a part of my McConnell class’ China course, we were required to attend two lectures from the Center for Asian Democracy. One of the events I attended detailed the democratic countries in Asia, and specifically, those that practiced Islam as their major religion. The speaker implored us to challenge the widely thought, but terribly misconceived notion that countries that practice Islam cannot be democratic. As a student who has spent a great deal of time studying the Middle East and its politics, I found this lecture to be very refreshing and intellectually valuable. As a society, an unfortunate amount of people have this notion that Islam and the conservative nature of that religion equates a totalitarian government. And while some countries do indeed fit this mold, one can look at a number of Asian nations to refute this claim.

Consider Indonesia, one of the world’s most populated country and a Muslim majority nation. This country’s government functions in a democratic way, and it remains a non-totalitarian regime. The population votes in democratic elections and the varying demographics all have the opportunity to participate politically. While the nature of Islam can be construed in a variety of ways, it seems that society sensationalizes the religion in an improper way, while blatantly ignoring the role it plays in a democratic nature. Indonesia is just one example of several nations that have proven that Islam can be a viable religion in the legislative population, without the political system resorting to a theocratic, totalitarian regime. I implore everyone to research how Islam plays a role in the politics of these east Asian countries, and use it as a framework to challenge what preconceived notions they have about the religion and politics.

Jeremy Ball is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville studying political science and economics.