By and large, Muslims today seem divided in their attitudes towards Democracy. The different meanings and ways by which many -- both Muslims and non-Muslims -- perceive Democracy and Islam, exacerbate this division and dilemma. In recent years, greater consensus has increasingly emerged among Muslim scholars that, if approached appropriately, some of the fundamental Islamic ideas about statecraft and politics, bears semblance to the basic tenets and philosophical underpinnings of Western democracy. These include: the insistence on individual freedom and equality, the emphasis on justice, the acceptance of diversity and pluralism, and the preference for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

As to be expected, this democratic experiment takes on different forms and pathways in different parts of the world, including in the Southeast Asia region. Here, while Muslims are in the majority in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, they constitute a minority in the rest of the region. As such, while contemporary trends show that many Muslims are more concerned about their Islamic identity, the approaches they adopt towards such a quest vary from one country to another. Factors such as their relative socio-economic strength, majority-minority status, extent of the secular-capitalist foundation of the society, and the policies and politics of the State, play a part in explaining the Muslim plight. - from Amzon