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528andreas christmann (2007)ally replace you in government through elections. People here inthe Arab world don’t know this. They think that once you are inpower you have the right to ban and censor everyone who speaksout against your government. This is why I say that we have tolearn from America and Great Britain what democracy means.Democracy is measured by the freedom that the oppositionalparties enjoy. In this, both countries are truly democratic states—whatever their other faults are.AC: Quite often one hears from Arabs in the Middle East that the democraciesin the West are as flawed as their own. For them, the censorship on Holocaustdebates is just proof of the fact that each society has its taboos and won’tallow freedom of speech [on them] whatever the state of democracy. Do youagree with that?MS: No, I don"t, because there is a difference of scale. There mightbe some issue where even the most democratic societies feel acertain sensibility and constrain an open debate. But this cannotbe compared to the autocracy and lack of freedom we have here[in the Arab world]. I think Muslims and Arabs have no right tocriticize Western democracy. The man riding a donkey, does hehave the right to criticize airplanes [laughter]? Whatever he maycriticize…, maybe the engines are too noisy or the seats are alittle bit uncomfortable, but look at him, look what he is travellingon! No, really, we have to be realistic. Because some democraciesare not without flaws does not mean that we should throw thebaby out with the bathwater and demand the abolition of democracy.Flawed democracies are better than no democracy, don’tyou think?!!AC: Do you believe it is worth thinking about different types of democracy thatdevelop naturally from within the Arab-Muslim world rather than beingimposed by force and imported from the West?MS: Only insofar as it allows different types of political systems, butdemocracy is the same everywhere. It means the freedom ofpolitical opposition—as long as this is done peacefully. Whichparty you form and whether you have a monarchy or a parliamentarysystem or both—that may differ from country to country.But no one should be allowed, under whatever name orslogan, to suppress freedom of speech and your personal freedomto speak out against the ruling party. Democracy does not mean