Islam & Democracy: Theory, Perception and Practice
Where: Dialogue Society, London
Index
Panellists
- Prof Jeffrey Haynes, Governance and International Relations at London Metropolitan University (Chair)
- Amedee Turner QC, Honourary MEP
- Dr Kirsten Schulze, Lecturer in International History, LSE
- Ebru Ilhan, King's College
Abstract
Is Islam compatible with democracy? Is a democratic polity possible in a Muslim country? Is an Islamic society also a democratic society? There are countless more questions to pose to reveal and myriad ways to study the relationship between Islam and democracy. The panel, Islam & Democracy: Theory, Perception and Practice, attempts to address at once several dimensions of the debate on Islam and democracy. Chaired by Prof. Jeffrey Haines from London Metropolitan University, the panel will begin with a discussion on the teachings of Islam that pertain to democratic theory and governance. Next, the panel will host Amedee Turner, Barrister, QC and Honourary MEP, who will unveil the perceptions in Europe on Islam and democracy by presenting the findings of a survey he conducted with 400 Muslims throughout Europe. This will be followed by an evaluation by Dr Kirsten Schulze, Lecturer in International History at the London School of Economics, of the practice of democracy in countries like Turkey and Indonesia with predominantly Muslim populations to demonstrate the different degrees and forms of compatibility between Islam and democracy.
Biography of Amedee Turner QC
Queen’s Counsel, Honorary Member of the European Parliament. Chairman of Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs Committee (Organised Crime, Europol, Immigration and Terrorism). Rapporteur of 40 European Parliament Reports. Chief Whip European Democratic Group. Member of Advisory Council of Anglican Observer to the United Nations 2002-2006. Publications- The Law of Trade Secrets 1964,1967, The Law of the European Patent 1979, Manuals for the Macedonian Parliament Democratic Procedures 2002. Muslim Grassroots in the West Discuss Democracy 2007. Speaking engagements on Islam and Democracy in Washington DC, Boston, San Diego, California, Dearborn, and at Harvard, with the religious NGOs at the UN, in New York, Dover Delaware, University of Chicago, Louisville University, London School of Economics, the Grand Committee Room of the Houses of Parliament, Heythrop College London, the Foreign Press Association London, the London Interfaith Centre, and Edinburgh, Bradford, Bristol, Westminster and Cardiff Universities, Istanbul and the House of Lords (the UN Association).
Biography of Prof Jeffrey Haynes
Professor Haynes is recognised as an international authority in five separate areas: religion and politics; religion and international relations; comparative politics and globalisation; democracy and democratisation; and development issues. He has written many books, journal articles and book chapters, totalling more than 120 such publications since 1986. They include a 17,000-word discussion paper for the Geneva-based United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, ‘Religion, Fundamentalism and Identity: A Global Perspective’ (1995).
Between 1993 and 2008, Professor Haynes produced 17 books (12 single authored and five edited). His most recent books are: Comparative Politics in a Globalizing World (Polity 2005); The Politics of Religion. A Survey (editor and contributor of two-thirds of the book’s content) (Routledge, 2006); An Introduction to Religion and International Relations (Pearson, 2007); Religion and Development: Conflict or Cooperation? (Palgrave, 2007); Development Studies: A Short Introduction (Polity, 2008) and The Handbook of Religion and Politics (Routledge, 2008).
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Institute for Dialogue Studies
Centre for Community Engagement
Centre for Policy Outreach [Forthcoming]
