ne's fellows was adherence to the Law of Islam. The Imam, working in the tradition of the Prophet, provided the necessary link with the way of guidance and served as the only jurists needed in the Islamic state.
Over time, however, Islam and Islamic states have undergone internal modifications and in many instances, has begun to adopt elements of Western democratic traditions. Sachedina (2001) sees the Islamic roots of democratic pluralism as reflected in the systems of governance now being developed and modified in many Islamic states. This analyst argues that unlike Western nations, the Islamic countries of the world refuse to exclude religion as a source of democratic pluralism. At the same time, Islam believes that God is the principle of unity which must serve as the basis of all Islamic states. Sachedina (2001) sees Islam as capable of providing a comprehensive social-spiritual system that embraces aspects of democracy and respects an ethics of self-determination.
Graham Fuller (2002) recently published an insightful as
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