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View the PDF File: Democratic Islamists? A Case Study on the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) (opens in a new window)

Abstract: Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Abstract: This study seeks to contribute to a heightened understanding of Islamism as it relates to political parties functioning within democratic or democratizing countries. To begin, it will very briefly examine theoretical Islamist approaches to participation in democratic systems to establish that many Islamists do believe that Islam and democracy are compatible and that the participation of Islamist political parties in democratic systems is permissible and, indeed, desirable. With this basis established, the core contribution of this study follows with an in-depth analysis of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), its evolution, and its political agenda in the areas of Islamic law and governance, democracy and domestic politics, foreign policy and security, and economics. The experience of PAS, which has peacefully participated in Malaysia's quasi-democratic system since the period before independence from Britain in 1957, may challenge many of the assumptions commonly held about Islamist parties, while at the same time reinforcing others. It finds that PAS is a politically savvy actor that has demonstrated its adaptability to electoral conditions and challenges. Despite this adaptability, it is unlikely that the group -- even in the face of complete liberalization of the Malaysia political process -- will ever achieve national political power given Malaysia's demographics, cleavages within the Malay-Muslim community, and institutional challenges that favor the incumbents. Yet, this assessment shows that presently PAS can be called a party of democratic Islamists and that its position as the most powerful opposition party in the country serves the cause of greater democratization within the Malaysian political system.