Roger Scruton is a conservative British philosopher. He published an article called “Limits to Democracy”, which depicts the primitive basis of democracy and he relates it to Protestantism in Britain. He said that Protestant culture is more than Islamic culture with democracy match. Roger’s speech has many interpretations and it can be applied on Iraqi community. Principles of democracy can be fixed when we have a secular state. Democracy is a vital branch taken out from secular ideas, as Francis Robert Kamo said “you cannot make one law for a group of citizens inside one state without separating religion from a state”.

Theocracy and Democracy are two terms, which cannot be put together in one form and in the ruling of state, and become the system of arranging. Theocracy means rule of religion back with elements of religion rule-- Sharia and religion texts. It cannot be changed. These bases become the goal of a state. Here, in religion, rules are covered with truth, which leads others, and to their thinking philosophers are the right science. In theocracy, people are under probation and shadows of regulation of God. Yet, rules of religion back with absolute faith, that is, from past, future and now. They put religion as a key solution for arranging the world. Democracies as main principles are secular and are important parts of secularity. One of the stipulations of democracy is secularity, but this does not mean that all secularities are democracy like communism and Fascism.

We cannot fulfill this system in the society in which the persuasions and religions are red lines. Here one has to discuss the failure of democracy in Scruton’s analysis. Thus, in the premier conclusion of political process in Iraq’s community after the collapse of dictator, democracy system has been created. Democracy in an Iraqi community is a huge machine of producing “Mafias, thieves, bandits and killers; the failure of democracy in Iraqi community is an unsavory form and inhumane which breaks all credential limitations to conceptual democracy. This form in democracy becomes causes of this circumstance. If in the west, democracy is a system of service, conservative, preserving human dignity, and open, here, as Scruton said, democracy becomes the reason of protestant culture, but in Iraqi community it came out with new terms.

Democracy becomes a smaller thing; it is just used among politicians’ debates and speeches, and for making groups of armed forces, and showing their forces and speeches for controlling a group over the other, and telling such bad words to each other and frightening people by their speeches and destruction and devastation. There is nothing left meaningful for the community and citizenship and conservatives making service for human beings. If democracy means what is made by the force of clergy in the west, in Iraqi community, it means propaganda by the force of persuasion.

As it is mentioned above, it is a conflict between the characters of theocracy and system of democracy. However, the crisis of clergy in itself with the owner make the circumstance that affects the failure of democracy in the Iraqi community; men of persuasion want a circumstance that conflicts with culture, and they want to become the owner of the new democracy in Iraqi community, it is impossible. Democracies encounter bankruptcy. Talking on democracy in the religious society is impossible and not logical. How does one mention and describe democracy in the society that is under the man of persuasion and politician?

Most leaders of Iraq are made by persuasion. They are under the rule of masses, and they are under probation’s pressure of dogma and religion, as the process of production is single in Iraqi community and continuous on the same form and circumstance. They cannot adjust the circumstance and are ineffective, because a persuasion character in community that tied up with religious basis cannot take a system of democracy. For example, Nuri Al-Maliki, a man of persuasion and dedication, become a manual creation of persuasion. So how can he rule a system of democracy? Of course he cannot. In such a community, like Iraq, theocracy has a dramatic role in running the community. Here, the movements for progressing community are facing paralysis and failure. Yet, otherwise movements like feudalism is healthy and progress.

This violence in religion and persuasion in Iraq is a cause of conflict for authority among persuasion of theocracy that works for their special interests. They move and use religion for strengthening political website and eventually they cause the emergence of several political persuasion parties and various blocks that are hugely dangerous on the process of democracy.


Shawnm Yahya
Doctorant en deuxième année, en philosophie à l'Université de la Sorbonne