In the Review of Faith & International Affairs, Thomas Farr writes that the forces of electoral democracy have been loosed in the Middle East, and long-term American policy had better adjust to the reality that Islamists, not secular autocrats, are going to determine the future of politics and of extremism. America’s long-term national security will increasingly turn on its ability to move religious actors toward peaceful and productive public purposes and away from extremism. The goal should be stable, liberal, religion-friendly regimes that are at peace with their neighbors and that defuse the kind of faith-based rage that threatens civilization itself. To accomplish this, U.S. policymakers will need a better understanding of Islam and its variants, as well as a vocabulary to address the relationship between religious and civil authority and the benefits of liberal norms to Islam as a religion.
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