Whereas political reforms are needed and necessary, no Arab country is ready for rapid and comprehensive democratic reforms without an orderly and purposeful transitional period that would be accompanied (if not preceded) by economic development programs. Indeed, instead of producing the desired outcome of a free and vibrant new social and political order, rapid political reforms without economic development could usher in a period of continued instability. Potentially, this would pave the way for the re-emergence of totalitarian regimes that will assume power under the pretext of maintaining order and stability. 

Few Muslims would dispute the notion that Islam should guide their private as well as public lives, since the Quran and the Sunna – the tradition of Prophet Muhammad – which the two primary sources of Islam’s religious law, or Shari’a, provide instructions on virtually every aspect of life.