WASHINGTON, Jan 23: Muslims worldwide believe Islamic law is compatible with democracy and most admire values championed by the US, but doubt Washington is serious about implementing them overseas, according to a poll released on Tuesday . The Gallup poll, conducted in Pakistan, eight other Muslim countries and the Palestinian territories, showed that majorities believe Shariat and democracy can coexist in a government and that Islamic law should be at least a source of legislation. In Pakistan, for example, 60 per cent of those polled said Shariat must be the only source of legislation while in Egypt 66 per cent felt that way, in Iran 17 per cent and in Turkey nine per cent.

Interestingly, Gallup posed the same question to Americans -- 55 per cent of whom felt that the Bible must play a role in legislation.

Dalia Mogahed, a senior analyst at Gallup and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, said she was surprised at the findings which send a message to the US administration that it should rethink its policies when dealing with the Muslim world.

“This poll tells the United States that the rise of Islamic parties and their wins in elections are something that is not going to go away and that continuing to work on creating a secular alternative might not necessarily result in the kinds of electoral wins that they expect,” Mogahed said.

She added that the votes cast for Islamic parties should also not be viewed by Washington as simply protest votes as they reflect people’s political values which cannot be ignored.

“If democracy is a stabilising force that the US hopes to foster in the Middle East, that will mean engaging those people that the public is saying they want,” Mogahed said. “There will have to be a greater openness to religiously oriented parties as long as they stay within the political process and don't resort to violence.” The poll found that though religion plays an important part in the daily lives of most of those questioned, they did not believe religious leaders should directly be in charge of drafting legislation.—AFP