Other Religions Have Successfully Embraced Democracy

Islam, like all pre-modern religions, is undemocratic in
spirit. No less than the others, however, it has the potential to evolve in a
democratic direction. Throughout the ages, many religions have been called upon
to modernize, and history demonstrates that such evolution often requires
hundreds of years to achieve its goal. Islam's problem is less its being anti-modern
than that its process of modernization has hardly begun.

In the Christian case, the battle to limit the Catholic
Church's political role lasted painfully long. If the transition began when
Marsiglio of Padua published Defensor pacis in the year 1324, it took
another six centuries for the Church fully to reconcile itself to democracy.
Why should Islam's transition be smoother or easier? However, moderate Muslims
can draw inspiration from the Christian example — such a massive structural
overhaul is, indeed, achievable.