Islam and Democracy

Abstract

Comparison of post-9/11 representations of Islam and democracy in the U.S. prestige press shows that despite differences in coverage in the Turkish, Iraqi, and Iranian contexts, fear of political Islam persisted in all three discursive environments. While a political role for Islam was regarded as a threat to democracy, the U.S. prestige press emphasized the need to secularize and modernize Islam according to Western standards to render it compatible with democracy. It highlighted human rights abuses in Iran and expressed concerns about the possibility of Iraq becoming another “Iran” if the power of religious parties went unchecked. Dominant discourses in the U.S. prestige press often assumed that any visibility of religious commitment in the public and political sphere automatically implied a lack of commitment to democracy, human rights, and women's rights. Discourses that contested dominant perspectives on Islam and democracy by questioning Western hegemonic definitions were limited.