Partners, Resources, and Strategies Cheryl Benard
Supported by the Smith Richardson Foundation
R
National Security Research Division
The research described in this report was sponsored by the Smith Richardson Foundation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Benard, Cheryl, 1953Civil democratic Islam, partners, resources, and strategies / Cheryl Benard. p. cm. “MR-1716.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3438-3 (pbk.) 1. Islam and civil society. 2. Islamic modernism. 3. Democracy—Religious aspects—Islam. 4. Islam—University. 5. Islam—21st century. I.Title. BP173.63 .B46 2003 320.5'5'0917671—dc21 2003012442
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PREFACE
The Islamic world is involved in a struggle to determine its own nature and values, with serious implications for the future. What role can the rest of the world, threatened and affected as it is by this struggle, play in bringing about a more peaceful and positive outcome? Devising a judicious approach requires a finely grained understanding of the ongoing ideological struggle within Islam, to identify appropriate partners and set realistic goals and means to encourage its evolution in a positive way. The United States has three goals in regard to politicized Islam. First, it wants to prevent the spread of extremism and violence. Second, in doing so, it needs to avoid the impression that the United States is “opposed to Islam.” And third, in the longer run, it must find ways to help address the deeper economic, social, and political causes feeding Islamic radicalism and to encourage a move toward development and democratization. The debates and conflicts that mark the current Islamic world can make the picture seem confusing. It becomes easier to sort the actors if one thinks of them not as belonging to distinct categories but as falling along a spectrum. Their views on certain critical marker issues help to locate them correctly on this spectrum. It is then possible to see which part of the spectrum is generally compatible with our values, and which is fundamentally inimical. On this basis, this report identifies components of a specific strategy. This report should be of interest to scholars, policymakers, students, and all others interested in the Middle East, Islam, and political Islam.
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CONTENTS
Preface ..................................................
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