From the foregoing, it becomes clear that democracy, defined as a process of consultation, is the central principle of an islamic system of government. A recent indepth gallup survey in 10 predominantly muslim countries, representing more than 80% of the global muslim population, shows that when asked what they admire most about the west, muslims frequently mention political freedom, liberty, fair judicial systems, and freedom. To call islam antidemocracy by citing a brief verse noncontextually is odd. The first weak argument in this article is that the authors suggest, democracy is a foreign concept that has been imposed by westernizers and secular reformers upon muslim. Democracy, as it exists today is not compatible with islam for the very reasons stated in the article. There has been a surge of debate throughout the world on this issue, but no consensus. Ismaeilian 2006 agrees that consensus plays an instrumental role in ensuring fundamental rights and freedoms of. Excluding the period of the rightly guided caliphs which consisted of a democratic system of governance, the rest of the time it was dynasties that ruled muslim lands.
Islamise democracy nineteenth century reformers tried to reconcile islam with modernity using flexible principles of reason and public good to reinterpret shari. By doing so, it encompasses the wide range of arguments that scholars have made on the issue and shows clearly what makes it possible for islam and democracy to be. The implicit explanation for this delay, for some, is that most arabs are muslim and islam is not compatible with democracy. According to most recent rankings by freedom house, a respected nongovernmental organization that monitors global democratic development, over half of the global muslim population about 800 million is located in countries that are listed as free or partly. The question raised by the ouster of egypts president morsi is whether islam is compatible with democracy or any form of government that empowers the people and limits the power of leaders to hold merely representative offices with limited terms of public service. Reformminded muslims who prefer to ignore all of this instead point to quran 42. Islam and democracy serves as a guide to the players moving the pieces on the rather grim muslim chessboard, to illuminate what seems to be a battle from another age a battle the gulf war revealed as having a very modern technological component.
Where islam and democracy part ways harvard university. Can islam, a religion revealed in 6 th century arabia, be compatible with democracy, a product of the modern west. Beside this there is a free press, which operates as a. Islam is the most recent of the abrahamic religions to emerge on the world stage.
Pdf for more than a century a question discussion has been whether democracy is. The imperialist powers, firstly of europe and then those of united states also play their own role. The above perception of islamist ideas might be one of the biases that prevents the general public and some scholars from seeing islam and democracy as being compatible. Jul 15, 2003 an islamic democracy in iraq will signal to the muslim world that the u. American policymakers and western governments would be wiser to promote the strengthening of democratic institutions, rather than forcing new. Abduh2 and other reformers tried to make islam compatible with modernity by reinterpreting.
Based on that, in democracy legislative authority is given to someone other than allah, may he be exalted. Islam altogether repudiates the philosophy of popular sovereignty and rears its polity on the foundations of the sovereignty of god and the vicegerency khilafah of man. Muslim societies had monarchs ruling them for a very long period, stretching about a thousand years. There are some major misconceptions about this issue. Upfront is political islam compatible with democracy.
Therefore, their system of government was based on monarchy. By simple definition, democracy is a system of government by the people rather than a single individual or elite group. Thus the absence of democracy in muslim countries is by means on account of islamic teachings or incompatibility of democracy with islam but due to host of factors political, historical and cultural. Although this unit was designed for advanced high school students, it can easily be modified for lower level high school or middle school. Some extend the argument to affirm that under the conditions of the contemporary world, democracy can be considered a requirement of islam.
The compatibility of islam and democracy has become one of the main questions of concern in contemporary islamic political and social thought. Pdf on nov 29, 2015, robert brym and others published are islam and democracy. The compatibility of islam and democracy has become one of the main questions of. To call islam anti democracy by citing a brief verse noncontextually is odd. Reexamining the debate on islam and democracy, the authors look at the relationship between competitive elections and levels of economic development in both arab muslim majority countries and non. Jun 20, 2017 shadi hamid, author of islamic exceptionalism, argues many muslims support a religiousdominated government, but that doesnt equal violence. Analysing the compatibility of islam and democracy politics essay. Analysing the compatibility of islam and democracy. In considering the compatibility of islam and democracy, muqtedar khan. The debate about the compatibility between the two has been a major issue and a popular topic of serious discussion that has swept through the media and political and scholarly circles worldwide, in the. Jun 05, 2011 in order to assess whether islam is compatible with democracy it is essential to clarify what exactly this term denotes. In principle by simple definition, democracy is a system of government by the people rather than a single individual or elite group. In these discussions, muslim scholars bring historically important concepts from within the islamic. Political islam and democracy in the muslim world lynne rienner.
Sunday 4 th and monday 5 november, 2007 oriental hall, auc main campus 9. A critical reexamination of existing theory to establish renewed potential, georgia political science association annual conference savannah. May 28, 2016 two facts point to islam not being compatible with democracy. It focuses on his work about islam and the fundamentals of power, published in 1925. However, within islam there are ideas held by some that believe islam and democracy in some form are indeed compatible due to the existence of the concept of shura meaning consultation in the quran. The question, therefore, is not whether liberal democracy is compatible with islamic fundamentalismclearly it is notbut whether it is compatible with islam itself. Is islam compatible with democracy institute for cultural diplomacy. In islam, god is sovereign, and his will is expressed in the sharia, the divinely revealed law of islam.
Free elections do not necessarily equate a democracy. Ismaeilian 2006 agrees that consensus plays an instrumental role in ensuring fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals are upheld appropriately within the state. First, there is no country where islam is dominant that can be considered a democracy with freedom of speech and equal justice under law. Many prominent islamic intellectuals and groups, however, argue that islam and democracy are compatible. Our economic program is a free market society in order to pursue social justice, says sameh al.
God, gods religion islam and gods law sharia, must rule. Islam, democracy, and social movements the prevailing media and intellectual circles in the west perceive islam at the root of the authoritarian polity in the muslim middle east. It is in the interest of the world, capitalists and the poor to invest. Both islamists and islamophobes find islam and democracy incongruent.
Views such as this have been expressed by various thinkers and political activists in the middle east. Secular islam was created by the center for inquiry to collect the writings, thoughts, and speeches of secular muslims, exmuslims, believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the west and islam, but between the free and the unfree. This question generally arises among the muslim community. What is the reality behind the democratic form of government, and what islam has to say about such manmade systems. Free custom is islam and democracy compatible essay paper. Sep 16, 2016 is political islam compatible with democracy. These questions are frequently debated in the context of the study of the relationship between the western and islamic civilization. Islam and democracy eliane ursula ettmueller abstract. In other words, the democracy that western nations have enjoyed is now appearing in the middle east.
Even the notorious muslim brotherhood is on board with capitalism. Democracy is a system that is contrary to islam, because it gives the power of legislation to the people or to those who represent them such as members of parliament. According to some commentators, these protests reflect a relatively new push for democracy by the arab peoples. A lebanese former presidential candidate has insisted that democracy and islam are compatible in society at a national level. Reexamining the debate on islam and democracy, the authors look at the relationship between competitive elections and levels of economic development. The debate has gained momentum since the last decade of the twentieth century, especially after the collapse of the former soviet union and the subsequent transition of socialist states. Before we do this, let us quickly throw some light on the concepts of political islam and democracy, as well as, constitutional provisions for sharia in nigeria. Islam and modernity some scholars have argued that christianity and judaism have essentially come to terms with modernity, as represented by western pluralistic societies such as the united states, and dont view modernity as a. Speaking on bbc world news television, the human rights lawyer chibli. Also recruited to this end is an oftrepeated hadith that has muhammad saying, my community will never agree on an. Pdf for more than a century a question discussion has been whether democracy is compatible with islam or not.
Steve inskeep talks to hamid about islam and democracy. Is islam compatible with democracy and human rights. Jun 15, 2016 given the wests exposure to the middle east over the past decade and a half, there has been a lot of dialogue over whether or not islam is compatible with democracy. Many critics in the west decry the humans rights abuses and autocratic government of many gulf countries as the result of islam s precepts. Must fundamentalism win out in the middle east, or will democracy ever be possible. Therefore, islam and democracy are contradictory and absolutely incompatible, because islam forbids mankind from legislating laws in the place of the creator, even if the overwhelming. Many have put forward the example of turkey as the most successful implementation of what islam can entail in a secular democratic polity. In this nowclassic book, islamic sociologist fatima mernissi explores the ways in which progressive muslimsdefenders of democracy, feminists, and others trying to resist fundamentalismmust use the same sacred texts as muslims who use them for violent. Islamic political thought suppli es another argument that can support our general claim of the compati bility of islam with democracy. Essay about islam and democracy 2214 words bartleby.
Parliament being sovereign does not permit it free rein. This paper proposes a short apprehension of the reflections of one of the most important progressive islamic scholars, the egyptian theologian ali abderraziq. If it is to be accepted that islam and democracy are incompatible entities, it is not enough. The question whether democracy is compatible with islam has a direct impact on. Islam and democracy united states institute of peace. We want a normal country, which means free enterprise and democracy, said one of their leaders, amr salah of the cairo institute for human rights, in paris this april. Hundreds of millions of muslims live in democracies of some shape or form, yet a narrative persists that islam and democracy are incompatible. In this view, the fatal flaw of democracy is that it rests upon the sovereignty of the people.
Where, for example, has islam proven to be compatible with democracy. Islam and democracy are most definitely compatible. Nov 16, 2018 presented is an extensive look into islam and democracy from ibn warraqs book, why i am not a muslim. Islam is highly compatible to democracy because it allows for consensus and does not provide for the imposition of these decisions against citizens.
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