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The West, Islam and Islamism: Is Ideological Islam Compatible With Liberal Democracy?

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Orthodox multiculturalists will dislike this short book, which poses the question, "Is ideological Islam compatible with liberal democracy?" and answers that it isn't. This is because traditional Islam, or "Islamism", constitutes a closed ideological system comparable to Marxism, but with the added fervor of religious conviction.

Though Cox and Marks are at pains to point out that there are many moderate Muslims living in "Islamic societies", they leave no doubt that Islamist conviction is far from peaceful. On the contrary, warlike aggression appears enshrined in the behavior of Islam's founder, Mohammed, who oversaw twenty-seven battles during his ten years in Medina and authorized twice that during the same time. Given this, it's unsurprising that the texts which originate with him and undergird Islam, sanction war.

Both the Koran and Hadith (canonical sayings of the prophet) instruct Muslims to make war and subjugate non-believers (Sura 9:5), that is, all those who live outside of Islam in "the House of War." This struggle, or "effort" (Jihad), to bring the world under the sway of Islam, is one of military aggression, that has continued from the foundation of the religion into the present. And those who die in the cause of Jihad are amply rewarded; Allah's judgement is waived for them, which goes some way towards describing the enthusiasm of today's suicide bombers.

So too does the absolute certainty of the revealed "truth" in question, this, along with the outworking of its law, Sharia, covers every aspect of life and countenances no opposition. However, it does permit its followers a certain laxity. These are allowed to practice deception (Taqiyah) in order to further the spread of Islam; Cox and Marks highlight several Islamist entities using this strategy today in the U.K. and the U.S. - masquerading as charitable institutions while funding and aiding terrorist actions.

The `West', Islam and Islamism questions the probity of this along with the apparent willingness of Islamists to use the democratic freedoms of the Western countries they live in to overthrow the tolerance that allows them expression. By the same token, the authors challenge Islamic scholarship to practice the same sort of openness to truth as upheld, at least in theory, by Western academia. As importantly, they call on Western governments to take the Islamist threat seriously, not least within their own borders.

In brief, this is a powerful, clear account of Islamist ideology and belief as contrasted with that of the liberal democracies. If you want to understand the nature of Islam's current clash with the West, to say nothing of the character of Islam per se, read this book.