The idea that democracy is bent on converting the world is a very interesting notion that I have not much considered. So, excellent point. We, in the West, have developed this notion that democracy is the end-all and be-all of human achievement; that somehow once the world is universally democratic peace will break out all over the globe and as Francis Fukuyama thought, we will reach “the end of history.” I do not subscribe to this theory and think that the United States’ policy, in particular, of pushing democratic government is ill advised. Democracy does not have the ideological appeal it once enjoyed and the world is decidedly disenchanted with the West’s pretension to global leadership. But, on to the point. I feel that although there may be similarities between Islam’s desire for global hegemony and democracy’s push for universal adherence, there are also significant differences. For one democracy, as an abstract concept, cannot fanatically hold the allegiance of its pundits. Islam, by way of comparison, can. Islamic devotees believe that God is watching them, and guiding their path. If you believe that a God so inclined will be the arbiter of your final resting place for all eternity, it tends to strengthen your conviction. I do not believe that democracy can muster anything like that. I am also fairly convinced that democracy will be unable to provide the requisite motivation for further “wars of expansion,” if you will. Men do not die to expand an abstract philosophy that cannot be reckoned beyond the here and now. In the past democracy was championed for different reasons, I believe. Previously men fought and died for democracy as a means, not an end. Democracy was the mode by which we achieved freedom, justice, the ability to worship God, the pursuit of happiness, etc. It was these higher, transcendent ideals that tugged at men’s heartstrings, not necessarily democracy itself. Of late, however, it would seem that democracy has been detached from its defining teleology. We promulgate democracy irrespective of its ends. In Iraq we push for a democracy that will, in all likelihood, engender civil strife or Islamic fanaticism, both of which are counter to the real goals of our erstwhile political system. Because of this it seems likely that democracy will lose its hold over men, even in the West. And in that respect, it is weaker than Islam. Islam is both ends and means. Its underlying teleology is necessarily advanced by its growing ubiquity. This is not the case with democracy. The spread of desultory democracy may, in fact, be its undoing.