More than fifty political party practitioners and other political actors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines came together in early September for a three-day conference entitled "Beyond Elections: Islam and Political Parties in the Islamic World." Alongside this core group were participants and resource people from eleven other countries, including representatives from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Morocco and Turkey. The event was co-sponsored by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (IMD) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS).

The event convened as a follow-up to the Congress of Democrats from the Islamic World (CDIW), originally held in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2004. Following consultations with the Indonesian participants from the original CDIW Istanbul process and recognizing the active election calendar in Asia over the past year, the follow-up meeting was planned in Jakarta as a regional event to provide a chance for Istanbul participants to come together with a wider range of political actors in Southeast Asia, promote inter-regional exchanges with colleagues in other parts of the Muslim world and further focus discussion on pressing issues that political parties face.

Conference Program

Much of the tone of the meeting was set by a keynote address from Dr. H.M. Hidayat Nur Wahid, the Speaker of Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly and past president of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). At the opening of the conference, he noted:

Islam rejects all extremes, whether in the form of consumerism or terrorism. At the same time, Islam encourages a democracy that can protect the weak and poor as well as it produces economic growth. The moderation of Islam and its promise of a more spiritual society can contribute to an alternative future in the 21st century that balances social welfare with economic prosperity.

Read Hidayat Nur Wahid's full keynote address here. (PDF)

Using the Platform for Democratic Governance in the Islamic World issued at the conclusion of the Congress in Istanbul as the basis for discussion and further action, participants debated issues as diverse as the impact of a Muslim electorate on political parties, democratic practices internal to political parties in the Islamic world, interpretations of civil liberty policies and the need to further increase women's political participation. As concluded in the Platform, the debate in Southeast Asia has clearly moved beyond one of the compatibility of Islam and democracy to tackle more substantive issues related to democratic consolidation.

Read the full Platform for Democratic Governance in the Islamic World here.

While the connection between Islam and civil society in democratic development has received increased attention in recent times, there has been relatively little study of the role of political parties and Islam. The program therefore focused on political parties, their relationships with Islam and the effects they have on public policy. In addition, the conference explored how the structure of political parties affects their responsiveness to the needs of citizens. Discussions at the conference reflected the broad range of Islamic viewpoints and looked at Islamic political parties as well as the effects of Islam on secular political parties.

During the conference, NDI presented an analysis of comparative research conducted in various Muslim majority countries-including Afghanistan, Indonesia and Pakistan-to shed further light on how citizens view the relationship between democracy and religion as well as between Islam and different systems of government.

Read the program agenda here. (PDF)

Next Steps

Participants pointed to a number of recommendations for concrete follow-on steps to move beyond the informal continuation of discussions. These included:

• Developing networking and information-sharing tools to build links between political parties in the Islamic World;
• Continuing to gather in bilateral and multi-lateral settings to enhance cross-regional dialogue; further focus discussion on aspects of political party development and electoral reform in the Muslim world; and further engage women and youth in political parties;
• Working towards the establishment of an independent association of political parties of member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC) to serve as an advocacy body on issues related to political parties.

For more information on the conference or further CDIW developments, please contact the Congress Secretariat at info@cdiw.org.