What justifies, further, the adoption of a democratic procedure for determining the appropriate rules of social cooperation lies in some benefits achievable by following this procedure. The benefits of the democratic explication include the development of some human virtues, such as justice of the procedure, advancement of reasoning ability, sympathy with each other, respecting others' dignity, and attainment of a sense of usefulness. Moreover, the laws coming out of the democratic explication, expectedly, manifest more strongly the common good, as defined by Islamic basic laws, and thus should be considered as more legitimate than other alternatives. What is more, the very element of popular participation increases in practice the degree of loyalty of the members to the outcome, which contributes to the stability and solidarity of society. In addition, there are some other benefits achievable by the democratic legislation, ranging from the satisfaction of individual interests, through the promotion of the character of compromise necessary in modem diverse society, to reinforcement of the need to develop Islamic society, and finally to strengthening the grounds for peace in social cooperation.

Rights and Liberties in Religious Democracy

As was discussed above, our minimalist definition of democracy embodies a collection of rights and liberties. According to Mason, there is considerable controversy as what these rights and liberties are.

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On one side stands Rawls by providing a list of ten rights and liberties as follows: political liberties, such as( ١ )the right to vote and) ٢ (the right to stand for elections, as well as) ٣ (liberty of political speech and) ٤ (liberty of association; civil liberties, such as) ٥ (liberty of conscience and thought, as well as) ٦ (liberty of non- political speech and) ٧ (liberty of association; and finally, the rights, which derive from the integrity of the person and the rule of law, such as) ٨ (freedom from psychological oppression and physical assault and dismemberment,) ٩ (freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure, as well as) ٠١ (the right to hold private property

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On a minimalist side stands Kukathas by supporting only two fundamental rights, including

[١] -، ،(.)،،(:، ١٩٩٩)،. ٩٩

[٢] -/،، ٢،(:، ١٩٩٩)،. ٥٣؛/،،. ١٣٤