Olav Elgvin

Secularists, Democratic Islamists and Utopian Dreamers: How Muslim Religious Leaders in Norway Fit Islam into the Norwegian Political System Olav Elgvin

How do Muslim religious leaders in the West theologically and ideologically fit Islamic teachings into a liberal and democratic political system? This study investigates this question through a case study on 14 leaders in the largest mosques of Norway. They all regard the Norwegian political system as a good system, and view the current situation in most of the Muslim world as bad. Nevertheless they relate to the Norwegian political system in different ways. Some are universalists and claim that a Norwegian-like political system would be good in Muslim countries as well. Others make a conceptual distinction between Muslim and non-Muslim countries, and claim that different political systems are suitable for Muslim and non-Muslim land: liberal democracy in the West, and non-liberal Islamic democracy in Muslim countries.