AZZAM S. TAMIMI, Rachid Ghannouchi: A Democrat Within Islamism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001). Pp. 276. $49.95 cloth

Extract

The compatibility of political Islam with democracy is an enormously debated but slippery topic, often losing its balance over the definitions of the two elements. There are (at least) two ways to approach the topic—from the outside and from the inside. The usual approach is to stake out a definition of the two elements and then see whether they permit enough overlap to be compatible with each other. Variations are huge. If political Islam means consultation of the believers, and democracy is regular consultation of the governed, then they are compatible—at least, in a polity populated by Muslims. If political Islam means validation of rulers and their policies by vox Dei, and democracy means validation by vox populi, then they are not. In between are many variations.