Scholars of the Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths came
together in Royce Hall on Monday, forming a panel to discuss their
respective religions’ influence on the formation of modern
democracy.
Panel moderator Scott Bartchy, director of the Center for the
Study of Religion at UCLA, said the discussion was designed for the
religious communities to “utilize each other’s
resources” at a time when the nation could be getting into a
war with various religious elements involved.
The panel spoke before an audience of about 50 in the backdrop
of Congress’ decision last week to grant President Bush the
authority to use force against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
They opened conversation by pointing out the numerous theocratic
influences on the present form of democracy.
Rev. George Grose, president of the panel-sponsoring Academy for
Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies, said the roots of the
federal government are derived from Biblical covenants, pointing
out the similarities in their Latin meanings.
“Covenant and federalism can be used
interchangeably,” he said.
Muzammil Siddiqi, past president of the Islamic Society of North
America, said Islamic tradition nurtures democracy though he
admitted it was “ironic how most Islamic countries are not
good examples of democracy” in today’s world.
He explained that early Islamic leaders were chosen
democratically before the system became hereditary and led to
several ruling dynasties.
University of Judaism Provost Elliot Dorff offered the theory
that Jewish focus on law structure, an emphasis on majority rule
and a strong sense of pluralism laid the foundation for what became
western democracy.
“The United States is history’s greatest experiment
in pluralism,” Dorff said, adding that because of this
quality “other democracies are not as democratic as we
are.”
The democracy theories then converged on the issue of the U.S.
Constitution, with Dorff asserting Judaism’s flexibility in
reinterpreting the Torah, the text outlining the founding history
of Judaism, according to each changing generation.
“The law has continuity (with reinterpretation),”
Dorff said.
Siddiqi said Islamic tradition was similarly accommodating in
this respect, supporting people’s right to govern themselves
and also saying all law-based values were
“changeable.”
He also said a compromise between theocracy and democracy can be
reached within the Islamic tradition, which he dubbed a
“theodemocratic state.”
Grose referred back to the arrival of English settlers in 1620,
who by making the Mayflower Compact “in the name of
God,” cast the climate for the American experience with
democracy, he said.
This idea combined with the influence of Enlightenment
philosophers such as Jean Jacques Rousseau led to the reasoning
behind the Constitution, Grose said.