Islam, U.S. democracy, and Iraq

The central objective of this research was to determine if a U.S. style democracy is compatible with a predominantly Muslim society given the cultural, social, and religious differences that may exist between the two cultures. Scholars have argued that no one democracy can be applied to different countries, yet many Muslims now living in the U.S., originally from Iraq and beyond, believe that a U.S. style democratic system would benefit their native countries. Since Iraqis living in the U.S. are in a unique position to understand the cultures of both Iraq and the U.S., an ethnographic research method was used to examine their views regarding the implementation of a U.S. style democracy in Iraq. Structured questions addressing social beliefs, cultural differences and democratic governance were presented to 80 Iraqis living near the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area via surveys and face-to-face interviews. Triangulation was used to synthesize data from multiple sources including the research literature, surveys and interviews. Interviews were coded into significant information and statements aligned to the three research questions and reduced into themes that captured key cultural perspectives. Quantifiable data was tabulated to validate key concepts that were compared to existing literature. The majority of Iraqi respondents viewed democracy as highly favorable for Iraq, however, did not believe that it could be imposed by any external force including the U.S., and insisted that an Iraqi democracy must be consistent with Iraqi culture and Islam. This research offers those interested in social change an opportunity to improve the human condition in predominantly Muslim countries like Iraq by providing additional knowledge of how to best promote more effective governance through an understanding of how democracy is encapsulated by history, cultural tradition and Islam.