Anwar Ibrahim in an interview with Time magazine in June 1996

Notable & Quotable

FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
July 28, 2008

Anwar Ibrahim in an interview with Time magazine in June 1996:

Democracy is a gradual process that comes when society matures. We have to reach a stage where people must be given the rights and confidence that come with democracy. . . . It is not fair to insist that we mature in a few years. So you ask me, are we a complete democracy as understood by some countries in the West? Then I would say no. But if you say therefore that democracy is alien to Asia, I would certainly say no. Because the issue of human rights -- fundamental differences, freedom -- is very much in our religious teaching, be it Islam, Christianity or Confucianism. So to consider democracy as something alien to us is in my mind unacceptable. . . .

I think Islam teaches enough tolerance and understanding. But one problem with Islam is the prejudice of the West against it: anybody who practices Islam is a fundamentalist. Islam in Southeast Asia is a unique experience. If you are a good practicing Muslim in Malaysia, you are a democrat, you are tolerant, you try to learn and understand other cultures and religions. You don't need to force Islamic laws on others.