Political Islam and democracy: the case of Algeria

Abstract

The majority of political scientists studying democratization in the Third World avoid Muslim countries due to the difficulty posed by Islam religion which is intricately linked to politics. Indeed, analysis of the relationship between Islam and democracy is only speculative when separated from historical experience. As a religion, Islam does not take sides for or against democracy. The importance for this discussion is the human interpretation of religion in relation to political conflicts. I will deal with the issue of Islam and democracy throughout the Algerian experience from this perspective.