Assistant Secretary Cramer's Remarks to The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.

Thank you Radwan. It's a pleasure to address the annual conference of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. Dr. Masmoudi and his team at CSID are doing extremely important work to lay the foundation for the spread of democracy in the Muslim world. I cannot stress enough how much I respect and support their work.

It is a particular honor to share the keynote role tonight with Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Few need to be reminded of Dr. Ibrahmin’s courage and integrity. His work to advance democratic values in Egypt is an inspiration to all of us. We are fortunate he is with us tonight instead of languishing in his prison cell. And we look forward to his renewed efforts on behalf of the issues we have all come here to discuss.

U.S. Policy

• Let me state plainly to you the policy of the United States regarding democracy in the Muslim world. For we have turned an important corner in our thinking and I can assure you that from the President on down support for democratic reform in the Muslim world has moved to the very top of our agenda.
  
• This approach is not simply a result of September 11. There have been voices calling for such a policy for years and their numbers were increasing even before the tragic events a year and a half ago.
  
• September 11th completed the process, however, removed the doubters, convinced everyone that a status quo approach to the Middle East specifically and the Muslim world in general was no longer tenable. As President Bush made clear in his speech last Friday at the University of South Carolina, the United States is committed to seeing democracy and freedom flourish in the Muslim world. He said, “the men and women of the Muslim world, one-fifth of all humanity, share this hope of liberty. Freedom has advanced because it is a way to lift millions out of poverty and improve their lives. Where freedom is denied, people live in isolation and stagnation. Where freedom is welcome, people in every culture can flourish. And freedom is advanced in our time because at crucial moments brave men and women have worked and sacrificed for it. And the United States has taken their side. This is how dissidents and political prisoners became the leaders of newly free countries. And this is how former enemies became loyal friends of the United States.”
  
• I have been in the business of promoting democracy for a long time, well before I took on my current job, and I know how complex and difficult a task it is. The United States is under no illusion about how long it can take to build democracy, how many setbacks one can encounter along the path. How much of a commitment it requires.
  
• But I want to assure you that the U.S. has made that commitment and we will stick to it.

• I know that there are many skeptics – some are in the West, including the U.S., and they abound in the Muslim world. They are skeptical both about the U.S. commitment to democracy in the Muslim world, and about whether the Muslim world is capable of building democracy. All of them point to the history of the past several decades to justify such skepticism.
  
• But I believe that if you look at those same recent decades in other parts of the world, the skepticism may begin to transform into optimism.
  
• In the 1980's, when the U.S. decided to support the forces of democratic change in Latin America, the skeptics didn't believe we were sincere and didn't believe the region could ever become democratic.
  
• The same thing was said about the countries of Asia over the past two decades. I ask the skeptics to look at where those two regions are now and to reconsider their skepticism about democracy and Islam.
  
• I am under no illusions that work remains to be done in Latin America and Asia to ensure that democracy is complete, but I hope that there is no longer any doubt about either the commitment of the United States to supporting democracy there or those regions’ ability to flower into functioning democracies.
  
• All of us at this conference, and others who support building democracy are caught between skeptics in the U.S. and in the Muslim world. We need to work together to overcome their skepticism, to show them that democracy can thrive in the Muslim world and can improve the lives of the people there.
  
• There are some very positive recent developments around the Muslim world. Again, I quote from President Bush’s speech last week. He stated, “For all the challenges, we also see hopeful signs of change. About half of all the Muslim people live under democratic rule in nations from Turkey to Indonesia. The governments of Bahrain and Morocco have recently held free elections. Jordan will hold elections next month. The people of Qatar have approved a new constitution guaranteeing basic freedoms. And Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has proposed a new Arab charter calling for internal reform and enhanced political participation in nations of that region.”

• Three decades ago, there were a couple of dozen democracies in the world. And with the exception of a few countries like India and Japan, democracy was essentially a Western phenomenon.
  
• Last fall, I attended the ministerial meeting of the Community of Democracies in Seoul, attended by 107 countries considered either fully democratic or on the path towards democracy.
  
• Participants included Africans, Asians, Arabs, Latin Americans, South Asians and others. Each had crafted a democratic system that worked for their country, their culture.
  
• Seoul illustrated once again that not only is democracy simply a Western phenomenon, but for it to work and be sustainable, it must be homegrown.
  
• That is why when I hear people accusing the U.S. of wanting to impose our model of democracy on Iraq or other countries, I laugh. Such an approach would be doomed to failure. Democracy cannot be imposed from the outside. It must come from within.
  
• That is why it is up to you to help craft a democratic model that is compatible with your culture, your religion, your society.
  
• The U.S. can and will help. Last fall, Secretary Powell unveiled the Middle East Partnership Initiative, designed to support economic, education and political reform. The budget of this initiative was nearly quadrupled this year. My Bureau’s Human Rights and Democracy Fund is increasing its focus on the Muslim world, more than doubling our programming there.
• But I repeat that we can only help. The hardest part of the job belongs to you.

• This conference is an important contribution to the work of finding a model of democracy for the Muslim world.
  
• You are looking at some of the underlying issues that must be resolved for democracy to flourish alongside Islam.
  
• The recurring question is whether Islam is compatible with democracy. I believe it is, but you need to discover not just how the two can be compatible, but rather how democracy and Islam can thrive together. Most importantly, you must show your Muslim brethren that democracy does not threaten their religion, but improves their lives.
  
• This is a monumental task, but we are at a historic crossroads. The moment has never been more conducive to democracy-building, not only in the Middle East, but around the world.
  
• So I wish you the best in this conference and with this historic task. The United States stands with you and will let our actions speak for our sincerity.

Thank you.