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The Influence of Islamic Orientations on Democratic Support and Tolerance in five Arab Countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2014

Niels Spierings
Niels Spierings*
Affiliation:
Radboud University Nijmegen and London School of Economics and Political Science
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Niels Spierings, Radboud University, Department of Sociology and Nijmegen Institute for Social and Cultural Research, Comeniuslaan 4, Nijmegen 6525 HP, The Netherlands, and London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Sociology and Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion. E-mail: n.spierings@maw.ru.nl
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Abstract

Conclusions from empirical analyses on how Islam influences democratic attitudes in Arab countries differ widely, and the field suffers from conceptual ambiguity and largely focuses on “superficial” democratic support. Based on the non-Middle Eastern literature, this study provides a more systematic theoretical and empirical assessment of the linkages between Islamic attitudes and the popular support for democracy. I link belonging (affiliation), commitment (religiosity), orthodoxy, Muslim political attitudes, and individual-level political Islamism to the support for democracy and politico-religious tolerance. Statistical analyses on seven WVS surveys for Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia show that tolerance levels are remarkably lower than “democratic support”; the influence of being (committed or orthodox) Muslim and Muslim political attitudes are negligible however. Political Islamist views strongly affect tolerance negatively. They also influence “support for democracy,” but if the opposition in an authoritarian country is Islamic, these attitudes actually strengthen this support.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 706 - 733
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2014 

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