What is global democracy as seen from the Muslim world? In recent times a so-called postcolonial critique has developed to challenge the long-standing dominance of Western thought in knowledge about world politics. It is important to contest modernist assumptions that global democracy can be understood in wholly secular terms. On the contrary, religion and culture more generally open up key insights for concepts and practices of democracy in global affairs.

For a long time the study of International Relations (IR) ignored questions of values, religion and culture. Meanwhile the field of Political Theory tended to look at questions of democracy only within the frame of the territorial nation state. Contemporary globalization has helpfully disrupted this situation. IR has become more open to normative concerns, and Political Theory has become more open to global concerns. It is therefore now more possible to study the issue of global democracy and to bring cultural, religious and civilizational approaches to bear on it.

This return of value dimensions is especially welcome for Islamic scholars of world politics. Marginalised in ‘scientific’ studies of IR, Muslim voices can join normative and philosophical debates with confidence. Instead of only reacting to theories and policies set by the West, Muslim thinkers – along with other critics of modernity and Western academic hegemony – can now actively participate in setting the agenda and defining the concepts.

Reconceptualisation of global democracy beyond Western notions is needed. If global democracy is to be truly global, then theoretical mapping of the idea cannot be limited to Western literature and Western experiences. Otherwise there is a unilateral hegemony, which is itself highly undemocratic. Building a concept of global democracy must therefore include non-Western others, including Muslim thought.

Islam offers a possible alternative frame of reference that sees global democracy from a different angle. It should be stressed that Islam and democracy are not in contradiction. On the contrary, Islam has a rich tradition of thinking about democracy, although it encompasses various schools of thought. Hence there is no more a single Islamic idea of democracy than there is a single Western approach. In addition, Islamic scholarship has long engaged with international dimensions and contexts of democracy. Thus the problem is not that Islam has no ideas to contribute to debates about global democracy, but that these notions have so far not spread beyond the narrow confines of Islamic studies to wider social enquiry.

An Islamic paradigm of global democracy could highlight six main points. First, the religion of Islam provides an account of the human condition that can underpin a commitment to global democracy. Islam posits that people everywhere on earth share common possibilities and challenges of being human, a shared experience that provides foundations for a global demos

Second, the Islamic notion of al-‘Umma (the community of faith) offers a nonterritorial alternative to the nation-state as a basis for collective identity and solidarity in global politics. The concept of the Umma underlines the principle that ‘the people’ in a democracy do not have to be bound to a particular country. Members of a demos can – as in the case of the Muslim community – be spread across the whole of the planet.

Indeed, third, Islam emphasises the notion of a global community of humanity, regardless of faith.The idea of the Umma could, on a certain reading of the Qur’an (the Islamic Holy Book) and the Sunnah (the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad) be stretched to encompass a unity of humankind.

Fourth, Islam contributes to conceptions of global democracy with its recognition of and respect for diversity in this global community. Islam regards diversity in humanity as a result of divine wisdom. Global democracy is tasked with providing a governance frame for the peaceful coexistence of difference.

Fifth, Islam highlights the interconnection of global democracy and global justice. Islamic ethics hold that only those who are capable of bringing about positive change towards social justice are entitled to power in global affairs. Peaceful coexistence of difference is not sustainable in a situation of intolerable global inequalities.

Sixth, where undemocratic global power works against global justice, Islam prescribes resistance by Jihad (‘struggle’). This struggle can take a wide range of forms, both peaceful and forceful. A major debate among Muslims in contemporary struggles for global democracy is how best to wage jihad in the defence of human rights and self-determination, particularly when powerful anti-democratic forces are so ready to employ violent coercion backed by talk of a ‘clash of civilizations’.

In sum, then, Islam can contribute to conceptions of global democracy with its concentration on the human condition, its ideas of nonterritorial community, its strivings for intercultural harmony, its insistence on social justice, and its recognition of the need for struggle to achieve a just global democracy. These ideas can combine with other visions from the global south to offer wider and richer conceptions of global democracy than those provided by western political thought alone.

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