As literature suggests there is a large gap in democratic implementation between the non-Islamic and Islamic states. Most of the authors point out that this gap has been brought up by cultural differences. Literature about conflict and value differences has generated much debate on whether Muslim nations have lower public support for democratic values. In this paper I argue based on the analysis of survey data that support for some aspects of democracy among those living in the Islamic countries was not weaker than in Western countries.

Millions of the world's Islamic¹ population live in democracies and are fully integrated in democratic practices, suggesting that there is no inherent discord between the two sets of principles. However, the rules of Islam, just like the procedural rules in a democracy, can be specified in different ways. Some branches of Islam (as well as branches and sects in other religious traditions), can come into conflict with specific aspects of democratic governance. In this research, I sub-divide the notion of a country being a democracy into three aspects of being “democratic” – upholding the full complement of human rights, maintaining economic competitiveness and market capitalism, and utilizing procedural democracy in selecting government and choosing policies. Based on the survey data covering (The World Value Survey), I show the impact that Islamic culture has on the value that the public places on these democratic “dimensions” varies across the dimensions, as well as across the branches of Islam. But, notably, procedural democracy emerges as comparably strongly supported by the citizens of Islamic states compared to those in non-Islamic states.

¹Terms “Muslim” and “Islamic” are used in this paper interchangeably as what is meant here by both these terms refers rather to Islamic tradition.