This book examines the principal puzzle that confronts many Muslim and non-Muslim countries: is it possible for religiously inspired (Islamic) political movements to become agents of democratization and even of liberalization? Or is the adaptation of secular ideas (ideology) and institutions through a process of internal reform and secularization necessary to establish a liberal and democratic system in Muslim societies? In other words this puzzle is closely related to one central question that has been of primary concern to social scientists: what is the connection between religious movements and democracy, on the one hand, and democracy and secularism, on the other? Do prevailing Islamic ideas and norms pose an obstacle to the transition to democracy, as most prominently argued by Daniel Lerner, Bernard Lewis and Samuel Huntington?

My general contention is that radical religious groups moderate their practices and ideologies when they enter into a competitive and rule-based participatory political system. The political openness characterizing this kind of system leads to reflexivity and a gradual moderation of the interpretation of the religious dogma and of political platforms on the part of religious groups. This process, in turn, allows the log-jam between polarized secular and religious forces to be broken discursively, as each side is now able to engage directly with the other along multiple channels of interaction in political and public spheres, eroding monolithic and homogeneous socio-political blocs.