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Abstract
This article examines the complex relationship between state, religion and democratization in Turkey, Egypt and Israel. It demonstrates that binary and static models of separation and integration between state and religion are not sufficient to understanding the complex relationship between them and chances of democratization. Based on examining the democratization processes in the three Middle Eastern countries, the article argues that separation or integration between state and religion, although different, does not precondition democratic transformation and democratization. It is the form, the measure and the direction of separation or integration that makes the difference. The article demonstrates that democratization is not a one dimensional linear model, but rather can take two opposing directions when it comes to religion and state relations. Whereas in some cases the public return of religion and the subsequent representation of religious groups reflect democratization, in other cases, where state and religion are tightly integrated, democratization means the decoupling of state and religion and the downgrading of religious control of public institutions and individual personal status. Moreover, the examination of the three Middle Eastern countries demonstrates that democratization could involve the return of religion to the public sphere, as part of the basic democratic right of social groups to be represented and their right to participate in determining their cultural and ideological environment. It could also involve the deinstitutionalization of religion as exclusive authority and identity in the public sphere and in the private life of individuals. Based on such understanding the article claims that dynamic models of state–religion relations are necessary in order to anticipate the chances of democratization and consolidation.
Notes
Grigoriadis, ‘Islam and Democratization in Turkey: Secularism and Trust in a Divided Society’.
Baumgart-Ochse, ‘Democratization in Israel, Politicized Religion and the Failure of the Oslo Peace Process’.
Brumberg and Diamond, ‘Introduction’.
Barras, ‘A Rights-Based Discourse to Contest the Boundaries of State Secularism? The Case of the Headscarf Bans in France and Turkey’.
Sartori, The Theory of Democracy; Locke, Two Treatise of Government.
Yates, ‘Rawls and Habermas’.
Al-Azmeh, Secularism.
Diamond, Plattner and Costopoulos, World Religions; Marquand and Nettler, Religion and Democracy.
Philpott, ‘Explaining the Political Ambivalence of Religion’; Stepan, ‘Religion’; Zubaida, ‘Trajectories’; Hadiz, ‘The Rise of Neo-Third Worldism’.
Hadiz, ‘The Rise of Neo-Third Worldism?’.
The paradigm was instigated by Huntington's theory of clash of civilizations. See: Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations.
Stepan, ‘Religion’.
Ibid.
Linz and Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition; Diamond, Plattner and Costopoulos, World Religions.
Mikenberg, ‘Democracy and Religion’.
Philpott, ‘Explaining the Political Ambivalence of Religion’.
Ibid.
Ibid., 522.
Cudworth, Hall and McGovern, The Modern State; Giddens, The Nation State; Tilly, Coercion.
Al-Azmeh, Islams and Modernities.
Grigoriadis, ‘Islam and Democratization in Turkey: Secularism and Trust in a Divided Society’; Gozaydin, ‘The Fethullah Gülen Movement and Politics in Turkey: A Chance for Democratization or a Trojan Horse?’.
Keyman, ‘Modernity, Secularism and Islam’.
Yilmaz, ‘Islam’.
Keyman, ‘Modernity, Secularism and Islam’, 219.
Kazancigil and Ozbudun, eds., Ataturk, Founder of a Modern State.
Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, 10–80.
Casanova, Public Religions in the Modern World; Yilmaz, ‘Islam’; Keyman, ‘Modernity, Secularism and Islam’; Kadioglu, ‘The Pathologies of Turkish Republican Laicism’.
Keyman, ‘Modernity, Secularism and Islam’, 225.
Casanova, ‘Civil Society and Religion’, 1064.
Ibid., 1065.
Gole, The New Public Faces of Islam.
Yilmaz, ‘Islam’, 491.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Keyman, ‘Modernity, Secularism and Islam’.
Kadioglu, ‘Denationalization of Citizenship?’, 284.
Somer, ‘Moderate Islam and Secularist Opposition in Turkey’, 1286.
Mousseau, ‘Democracy, Human Rights and Market Development in Turkey’.
El-Safty, ‘Women in Egypt’.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2008 (accessed July 3, 2009).
Balqis, The State.
Gasper, The Power of Representation.
Dar al-Ifta', is the official agency that issues fatwas, which is a committing religious decision, issued by the Mufti, which means religious preacher.
Mustafa and Norton, ‘Stalled Reform’, 40.
Hedeymann, Upgrading Authoritarianism.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2008 (accessed July 3, 2009).
Mustafa and Norton, ‘Stalled Reform’.
Hala, ‘Egyptian Parliamentary Elections’.
Dillman, ‘Parliamentary Elections’.
Hala, ‘Egyptian Parliamentary Elections’.
Al-Awadi, In Pursuit of Legitimacy.
Hamzawy and Brown, ‘A Boon or a Bane for Democracy?’, 53.
Ibid., 53.
Korany, ‘Egypt's Overdue Reform’, 88.
Haqqani and Fradkin, ‘Going Back to the Origins’, 15.
Ibid., 14.
Jamal, ‘Reassessing Support for Islam and Democracy’; Hala, ‘Egyptian Parliamentary Elections’.
Hamzawy and Brown, ‘A Boon or a Bane for Democracy?’.
Dillman, ‘Parliamentary Elections’.
Abdelhadi, ‘Egypt May Allow First Islamist Party’.
Stacher, ‘Post-Islamist Rumblings in Egypt’.
Stark, ‘Beyond “Terrorism” and “State Hegemony”’.
Ibid.
Hamzawi, ‘Opposition in Egypt’.
Korany, ‘Egypt's Overdue Reform’.
Mashhour, ‘Islamic Law and Gender Equality’; El-Safty, ‘Women in Egypt’.
Don-Yehiya, ‘Conflict Management of Religious Issues’.
Liebman and Don-Yehiya, ‘The Dilemma of Reconciling Traditional’.
Cohen and Rynhold, ‘Social Covenants’; Elazar, Israel.
Cohen, ‘Changes in the Orthodox Camp’; Cohen and Liebman, ‘The Struggle Among Religious Zionists’.
Ottolenghi, ‘Religion and Democracy in Israel’, 39–40.
Masalha, The Bible and Zionism.
Jamal, ‘The Hardships of Racialized Time’; Chowers, ‘Time in Zionism’; Eisenstadt and Lissak, Zionism and the Return to History.
Jamal, ‘Contradictions of State-Minority Relations in Israel’; Jamal, ‘Nationalizing State’; Ghanem, The Palestinian-Arab Minority in Israel; Rouhana, Palestinian Citizens in an Ethnic Jewish State.
There are around 300,000 Israeli residents that are not Jews according to the state and there is deep political controversy concerning their future status. Many of them are not willing to convert according to religious law and therefore face problems when they decide to get married or divorced.
The Israeli government established a new emigration unit in the Population Registrar Office of the Ministry of Interior in order to discover non-Jewish illegal emigrants, whose number is estimated to reach 300,000 people and deport them. See: Azoulai, ‘MKs Criticized Emigration Agency’; Wieler-Folk and Koshrek, ‘The New Unit of the Emigration Authority Began Operating’; Camp and Reichman, Foreigner Workers.
Boaz, Status Quo.
Corinaldi, ‘Protecting Minority Cultures’.
See, HCJ 1000/92, Bavli v. Supreme Rabbinical Courts.
Aloni, Democracy in Chains; Haaretz, May 21, 2009, 4.
Boaz, Status Quo.
Shafir and Peled, Being Israeli.
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3735607,00.html (accessed July 3, 2009).
Ravitzky, Religion and State.
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3537893,00.html (accessed July 3, 2009).
Corinaldi, ‘Protecting Minority Cultures’.
Whereas scholars of the phenomenon indicate that there are thousands of women, who are misuravot get, official sources from the rabbinical courts claim that there are about 200 women only. For more information see: Lutan, ‘Misuravot Get in Israel’.
In some buses that connect major cities in Israel there is a clear separation between men and women. The women are asked to sit at the back side of the bus and wear ‘decent’ clothing. Fisher, ‘Fully Kosher Busses’.
Yona, In Virtue of Difference.
See, HCJ 721/94, El Al v. Denilovitz.
See the discussion of this issue in the Knesset: http://portal.knesset.gov.il/Com10bikoret/he-IL/Messages/H260208.htm (accessed July 10, 2009); see also examples of municipalities that issued fines: http://local1.gns.co.il/kfar-saba/45480/article.htm (accessed July 10, 2009); http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000434696&fid=821 (accessed July 3, 2009); see the policy of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment: http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/1/1244833 (accessed July 10, 2009).
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/973423.html (accessed July 3, 2009); on the public debate on this topic and its implications for the stability of the governmental coalition in 2008, see: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-3530966,00.html (accessed July 3, 2009).
Levi, ‘The Dark Religious’.
See on the struggle against this separation led by the well-known non-governmental organization Kolech: http://www.kolech.org (accessed July 3, 2009).
Levi, ‘The Dark Religious’.
See, HCJ 240/98, Adalah and others v. Minister of Religion and others.
Karayanni, ‘Living in a Group of Ones Own’.
Baumgart-Ochse, ‘Democratization in Israel, Politicized Religion and the Failure of the Oslo Peace Process’; Zertal and Eldar, Lords of the Land.
Ibid.; Taub, The Settlers: The Struggle on the Meaning of Zionism.
Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations.
Elazar, Israel; Cohen and Rynhold, ‘Social Covenants’.