Book Review: Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West

Book Review: Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. Benazir Bhutto. Harper Collins, New York, New York, 2008.

Finished Just Before Her Assassination

This book was finished days before Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan last December.  With the publication of this book we can now honor the contribution she made in leaving it to the world.  It is an important work and forwards the reconciliation and democracy building she was engaged in as she lived.

I have never read anything as comprehensive as this about the Muslim world.  Bhutto’s vision is knowledgeable and scholarly, and throbs with a love for the Islamic faith which formed her and for democracy which inspired her.  You will be awe struck by who she was and her courage as a woman and as a leader.

A New Vision of the Islamic Faith

She begins with a review of Islam as a religion. It is altogether refreshing to read these words: “Islam condones neither cruelty nor dictatorship. It is committed not only to tolerance and equality but to principles of democracy”. Islam is an open and tolerant religion she asserts.  It is about consent and peoples’ participation and hence, she insists that Islam and democracy are totally compatible. That is a message we have not heard before.

Western World Blocked Democracy in Muslim World

Bhutto then goes on to examine the conduct of the Western world in the 19^th and 20^th centuries and how the West deliberately blocked any realistic chance for democratic development in Muslim majority countries.  Why would that be so? The Western powers historically were far more concerned with guarding their financial investments in these countries (e.g. oil) as well as using them as pawns in the struggle against communism during the Cold War.  The West was not interested in the people of the developing Muslim world or in what they needed. Too bad –those earlier decisions, wise as they seemed at the time, have come back to bite us.

Bhutto then takes each Islamic country around the world and analyzes it for how free it is right now. She reminds us that democracy is about a lot more than free elections. It evolves slowly over time and has to do with establishing reliable democratic processes such as protection of political rights for those in opposition,  a free press, political parties and an independent judiciary.

Pakistan and Its Complex, Troubled History

The longest section of the book is a detailed analysis of the history and politics of her  own country, Pakistan. Given how the US has befriended Pakistan’s military dictator Pervez Musharraf throughout the War on Terror, it’s interesting to find out what a complex and disturbing history the country has and how riddled with corruption it is. Bhutto experienced the deaths of her father and two brothers at the hands of political thugs and lived in exile many years before her triumphal return home in October 2007.

An Extraordinary Vision for Democracy in the Islamic World

The crowning achievement of this book is the compelling picture she paints of how democracy could be created in the Islamic world. She lists specific steps that could be taken to effect sweeping change in that part of the world. She envisions a Marshall plan for the Muslim world. One of her ideas is to create targeted economic development through the planned investment of income from the major oil producing countries. Another idea is to create a Reconciliation Corps in which Muslims who live in the West would return to Islamic countries to do service projects similar to the Peace Corps.  Finally she asks the Western world  to formally acknowledge the residual damage of colonialism.

Please read this book.  It is a major achievement.