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Islamic terrorism may only be abated through political reconciliation and a "proper" amount of political representation. This research paper focuses on whether and to what extent Muslim citizens serve on various federal legislative bodies throughout the western world. Is it fair to say, for example, that Muslim communities are well assimilated in the U.S. when there is only one Congressman currently serving out of 435 who holds that particular faith? While, conversely, there are four Muslim members of the British House of Commons? In this multicase comparative analysis, I have counted all Muslim politicians serving at the federal legislative level in 2007, in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and Israel. My initial findings point to a nation's acculturation/immigration policies, as well as its electoral procedures, as being major factors in determining the proportion of Muslim federal legislators. Are Muslims in these countries actively involved in nonviolent political exploration as advocated by theorist Hannah Arendt, or is the anti-democratic impulse currently present in many Islamic countries too culturally imbedded, as hinted by Seymour M. Lipset? Political scientists need to answer questions like these and conduct this type of research if we ever hope to solve religious conflict through the channel of representative democracy, at home and abroad. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on devolution in Great Britain and how it has been regarded as a victory for representation of women in regions such as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. She analyzes the competencies of the devolved legislature of the three regions. She presents insights on original data set that tracks membership and activity in the National Executive Committees of political parties in the regions. She believes that even though women have made an increase in descriptive representation in the regions, their access to power has been limited.