Bernard Lewis Quotes

Democracy in the Middle East has to be front-loaded. You have to have elections first and then try and build democratic institutions. You are not going to have the dictators and clerics of the Middle East allow you to build up democratic institutions slowly.

Elections alone will never be enough to ensure good governance.

There exists an unmistakable demand in the Middle East and in the wider Muslim world for democratization.

The problem with the West is that they start with political reform going towards democracy. If you want to go towards democracy, the first thing is to involve the people in decision making, not to make it.

Democratic societies with established institutions must help those societies that do not yet have established institutions.

Democracy is a slow and complex process …. Democracy is counter-intuitive. Democracy takes time to learn. It takes years or even decades to take on the habits of democracy…. If you jump too fast, the wrong people come to power…. Yes democracy, but democracy slow.

We are talking about an issue with fundamental significance to how democracies work. One can safely say it is now an even bigger issue.

Ignorant and illiterate people cannot understand democracy. They are prey to religious extremists.

Don't expect that we can have democracy overnight ... democracy should be taken on a gradual basis until the people understand each step.

In Russia we are not fighting to win elections. We are fighting to have elections.

Free integral elections should be guaranteed, where values of justice and rule of law also prevail.

Democracy and freedom … are based on democratic institutions, the rule of law, and a civil society. None of these Arab states have any of these to any significant degree.

We had a revolution 2 years ago, and we see a people moving from a completely authoritarian system into a democracy. They don’t know how democracy works. They don’t know the ingredients of a democracy.

The value of democracy lies in the fact that good or bad government has its roots in the localities where people know each other and where they account for their actions to their neighbors.

Al Qaeda's message that violence, terrorism and extremism are the only answer for Arabs seeking dignity and hope is being rejected each day in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and throughout the Arab lands.

Democracy cannot be a plaything for the capital cities. It has to infiltrate every nook and cranny in the country, including the village.

Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they've told you what you think it is you want to hear.

I have not met, in Afghanistan, in even the most remote community, anybody who does not want a say in who governs them. Most remote community, I have never met a villager who does not want a vote.

Arabs and Muslims have no political heritage to draw upon in administering their affairs today. Politics for them was a way to rule, not a science or a political doctrine.

Democratic reform, depends less on legislative amendments than on creating a climate of democracy.

History suggests that the main obstacles facing Muslims in their attempts to achieve open political systems and democratic governments are 1) a deeply rooted authoritarian political culture, and 2) manipulated interpretations of the Koran.

I hold the opinion that it is lawful [for a Muslim] to participate in elections [in non-Islamic countries], as this may reduce suffering, and it is a way to choose the better among the available candidates. I believe participating in elections will, in any event, contribute to the reduction of evil and be a forum for countering bad policies and exposing their deficiencies, as well as being an opportunity to present proposals of a different kind that may help people.

Democratization is not necessarily the best way to fight Islamic extremism, because the transition to democracy has been found to be an especially vulnerable period for states across the board.

In a new democracy, the most important election is the second election.

Democracy is about aggregating the collective power of citizens to speak in their behalf.