Abdulwahab Alkebsi

The following viewpoint by Abdulwahab Alkebsi was written during the 2003 war on Iraq. American president George W. Bush justified that war in part as a way of bringing democracy to the Middle East—the region where Islam began and where it remains a vital force. Alkebsi argues that Islam values freedom, justice, and equality—principles that are essential to democracy. The fact that most Muslim nations in the Middle East and elsewhere have nondemocratic governments is not because of Islam, but in spite of it. He describes what he considers to be encouraging signs that Muslim nations are evolving toward democracy without jettisoning their Islamic values and heritage. Alkebsi is the executive director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, a Washington, D.C...