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. Although attracted to the concept, the muslim world has had insufficient familiarity with its nuances. Pdf islam and democracy in iran ebooks includes pdf. There has been a surge of debate throughout the world on this issue, but no consensus. Islam as a religion is founded on the quran the text of highest authority followed by the hadeeth the text of second highest authority. In fact, talking about democracy in the middle east today makes more sense than ever considering it has been through all sorts of violence and conflict. Jun 20, 2017 shadi hamid, author of islamic exceptionalism, argues many muslims support a religiousdominated government, but that doesnt equal violence. The word sovereignty is derived from the latin word superanus which means the supremacy of one over the other. Key dimensions of democracy are freedom, equality and control. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Pdf it is frequently argued that because many muslim states are monarchies or dictatorships. So, basic sources of concept of good governance in islam are two.
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. Looking solely at authentic islamic doctrine, it is clear that islam is not only compatible with democracy but is one of its strongest proponents. Many muslims may perceive democracy to be unbelief kufr, and abhor the word democracy itself. Another crucial concept for the articulation of an islamic democracy would be the baya or pledge of allegiance. However, the main idea of democracy is widely accepted to have originated from athens in the 5 th century bc. Indeed, many scholars actually equate democracy with shura. Therefore, scholars of political islam have reconciled islam and democracy with the evolving concept of islamic democracy esposito and voll 1996 or spiritual democracy. While, in bangladesh, marginalized islamic groups promote the idea that democracy is antithetical to islam, mainstream islamic scholars argue. But going one step further, they argue that democracy and islam are fundamentally incompatible because of the difference in the concept of sovereignty. It needs to carry out a literary research to ascertain the actual political concept of islam. Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused at a time when dictators, singleparty regimes, and military coup leaders alike assert popular support by claiming the mantle of democracy. I argue that islam and islamic fundamentalism are not the same, and that while islamic fundamentalism is not compatible with democracy, islam itself most certainly is. Concept of sovereignty in islam islamic encyclopedia.
In this paper, dedicated to islam and democracy, we will give voice to the early islamic. Since the final decades of 20 century ce and especially in post 911 world, the question of th compatibility between islam and democracya hotly debated and discussed issuehas gained an impetus and has highly intensified. Muslim views article pdf available in politics 271. In this article one wonders if the union between democracy and islam is possible and in what form. Democracy is a contentious term with conflicting definitions. Part of theinternational law commons this article is brought to you for free and open access by the student journals at case western reserve university school of law scholarly commons. Direct democracy, in which every person represents himself or herself, involves decisions made by the majority and applied by all muslims. Islam and democracy muslim world residents see no conflict between religious principles and democratic values by dalia mogahed, executive director, the gallup center for muslim studies islam in politics has been asserted in many countries in the muslim world through democratic elections. It is shown by i islamic history of the days of the holy prophet and of the four pious caliphs khulfaerashideen, ii by the teachings of islam, iii by the theory of khalifa and iv by the theory of sharia. The term democracy comes from the greek language and means rule by the simple people. I think the basic difference between islamic governance and secular democracy begins with the presumptions about the concept of equality. Every person in an islamic society enjoys the rights and powers of the caliphate of god and in this respect all individuals are equal.
Qualityofdemocracy models commonly emphasize a democracy understanding. If we consider democracy as a system inspired by the universalism of values typical of the west, can this be compatible with the values professed by islam. Islamic constitutionalism and the concept of democracy azizah y. This must be borne in mind that islam does not constitute of a few actions brought together or of disintegrate ideas but it is a regular system based on solid principles. Most scholars say no, and point to a mix of historical, cultural, economic, and political factorsand not islam as a religionto explain.
We cannot guarantee that islam and democracy in iran book is in the library, but if you are still not sure with the service, you can choose free trial service. The concept of democracy in islam jammu and kashmir. Concept of democracy in islam the education of islam. When one asks whether islam is compatible with democracy, one needs to analyze the definition of democracy. Islam and democracy in indonesia by jeremy menchik. Shadi hamid, author of islamic exceptionalism, argues many muslims support a religiousdominated government, but that doesnt equal violence. Islam is the solution, islam is religion and government and islam is the constitution and the law. Whats the difference between an islamic state and secular. To call islam antidemocracy by citing a brief verse noncontextually is odd. Pdf islam and democracy in indonesia download read. This position is more common among lay intellectuals than among clerics.
The tyrant acts like god, making the people submit to him and punishing them if they do not. Consultation shura can only be used for permissible actions. Liberal democracy, however far it may have traveled. Yes, political islam and democracy can work, but not by pushing for early elections. Some western analysts contend that islam is the reason. The notion of democracy in islam can be best defined as functioning at two levels. The soverignty being for none but allah means that the rules are established upon the people whether the majority or minority want it or not. Evidently, the concept shura or consultation is valued in islam and democracy alike.
Democracy is one interrested topic of discussions especially in relation to islam. In actual practice the results have been less encouraging. Ddeemmooccrraaccyy iinn iissllaamm by hassan taha the aware center is a nonprofit ngo that offers facilities and services related to kuwaiti, gulf, arab and islamic culture. Drawing on archival documents, ethnographic observation, comparative political theory, and an original survey, islam and democracy in indonesia demonstrates that indonesias muslim leaders favor a democracy in which individual rights and groupdifferentiated rights converge within a system of legal pluralism, a vision at odds with american. There are certain important points to remember as one searches democracy in the history of islam. Sep 25, 2014 another crucial concept for the articulation of an islamic democracy would be the baya or pledge of allegiance. Concept of good governance in islam alquranclasses. The quran explicitly describes god as almalik meaning sovereign and almalikulmulk the eternal possessor of sovereignty. A transitional government, led by a respected leader who is not shackled by a strong ideology and who can cultivate consensus and has wide public appeal, must take at least two years to allow secular and islamic parties to develop their political platforms and make the public fully aware of their socio. Models of good governance in islam are pragmatic, which ensure purpose of serving masses being governed. This paper proposes a short apprehension of the reflections of one of the most important progressive islamic scholars, the egyptian theologian ali abderraziq. Can islam, a religion revealed in 6 th century arabia, be compatible with democracy, a product of the modern west.
Political islam and democracy in the muslim world lynne rienner. Most scholars say no, and point to a mix of historical, cultural, economic, and political factorsand not islam as a religionto explain why democracy has failed to take root in many muslim. Liberal democracy, however far it may have traveled, however much it may have been transformed. The islamic state, built by the holy prophet at medina and preserved by the four pious caliphs khulfae. Views such as this have been expressed by various thinkers and political activists in the middle east. Is islam compatible with democracy and human rights. The theo democracy concept of maulana maududi looks very similar to.
Is it true, as some claim, that democracy is basically a western concept and ideology and therefore fundamentally at odds with the values and principles of islam. A democratic state which recognizes islam as state religion, such as malaysia, algeria, or maldives are examples of islamic democracy. This must be borne in mind that islam does not constitute of a few actions brought together or of disintegrate. It focuses on his work about islam and the fundamentals of power, published in 1925. Sep 30, 2016 before going to the concept of good governance in islam, we must know what governance is. The principal questions addressed were why the majority of muslim countries are not democratic and whether there is an inherent contradiction or incompatibility between islam and democratic principles. Democracy, islam, islamic law, way of life, shura, caliph, the mid. Sep 10, 2019 democracy is an aspect of islam, while dictatorship contradicts it. The concept of democracy it is difficult to reach a consensus on the definition of democracy. According to encyclopedia britannica, democracy literally. The muslims who agree with the above group that islam and democracy are incompatible have a different reason. Through some authors we have tried to understand if there can be compatibility and by virtue of this compatibility to establish a. Islam upholds democracy as the only rightful form of state and government.
Governance is regulation and delivery of duties and rights as per policies and thus good governance implies to deliverance if these duties in best manner. Jan 07, 2015 this is a very widely known concept, and many islamic scholars have advanced the islamic concept of shura as evidence for islams democratic credentials. Islam and democracy eliane ursula ettmueller abstract. Jan 27, 2012 democracy and the concept of shura democracy among modern ideologies the term ideology has become dominant during the last two centuries, starting in france with the philosopher a. The debate over the relationship between democracy and islam and its sociopolitical concepts and institutions, values, positive features and notions has continued for a long time and has gained an impetus from the final decades of 20th century.
Yet the power of the democratic idea has prevailed through a long and turbulent history, and democratic government. The islamic political order is based on the concept of tawhid and seeks it flowering in the form of popular vicegerency khilafa operating through a mechanism of shura, supported by the principles of equality of humankind, rule of law, protection of human rights including those of minorities, accountability of rulers, transparency of political processes and an overriding concern for justice. It is the worlds secondlargest religion with over 1. In this minimal definition of democracy, the variable takes on the value one for democracies and zero otherwise. Islamic democracy refers to two kinds of democratic states that can be recognized in the islamic countries. Islam and democracy united states institute of peace. But opening up the doors of ijtihad, which conservative scholars had believed were closed since the middle ages, has already produced its own spectrum. Democracy in islam focuses on government and rulers. The relationship between islam and democracy in the contemporary world is complex. It presents a broad spectrum of perspectives ranging from the extremes of those who deny a connection between islam and democracy to those who argue that islam requires a democratic system. Introduction to islam the word islam is derived from arabic word s l m and its mean surrender, obedient and as well as peace and this mean that a person. The fanatic religious trend is active and effective, but its mighty power by invoking the name of islam, whereas, in fact, its.
The islamic political order is based on the concept of tawhid and seeks it flowering in the form of popular vicegerency khilafa operating through a mechanism of shura, supported by the principles of equality of humankind, rule of law, protection of human rights including those of minorities, accountability of rulers, transparency of political processes and an overriding. Democracy is a means that cannot be used to bring islam to the people because democracy in origin is forbidden. In islam all principles begin from tawheedwhich presumes that god, who is unique, uncreated. Key words, democracy, politics, dissent, mass media, democratization process. The concept of democracy is present in the quran as the quran covers everyday life, including the political structure. The basis of this distinction has to do with how comprehensively islam is incorporated into the affairs of the state. Nov 16, 2018 presented is an extensive look into islam and democracy from ibn warraqs book, why i am not a muslim. At the individual level, a person is free to adopt the manner of worship he likes etc. For alaqqad 1952, this too was a precedent for particular democratic procedural mechanisms, since the idea of some. Steve inskeep talks to hamid about islam and democracy. 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. Of special importance among these is the classical islamic concept of supreme sovereigntyelective, contractual, in a sense even consensual and revocable. Models of good governance of rightly guided caliphs.
The basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality of. 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. It has provided guidance in every sphere of life, from individual cleanliness, rules of trade, to the structure and politics of the society. According to encyclopedia britannica, democracy literally means. This is a very widely known concept, and many islamic scholars have advanced the islamic concept of shura as evidence for islams democratic credentials. According to websters dictionary, democracy is a form of government in which supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or their elected agents under a free electoral system. It looks at the events of 1998, when indonesias military government collapsed, igniting fears that. In this volume, political scientists, religious scholars, legal theorists, and anthropologists examine the theory and practice of indonesias democratic transition and consider whether it can serve as a model for other muslim countries. Presented is an extensive look into islam and democracy from ibn warraqs book, why i am not a muslim. The third camp advocates ijtihad, or reinterpreting islam to make it compatible with the universal concept of democracy. Democracy is an aspect of islam, while dictatorship contradicts it. The author argues that since the positive aspects of democracy are part of islam, thereby undermining the case that islam is incompatible with democracy, it will be islam that will ultimately challenge and triumph over liberal democracy as we know it.
According to islam, sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to allah and allah alone. Pdf democracy from islamic law perspective researchgate. Since the final decades of 20 century ce and especially in post 911 world, the question of th compatibility between islam and democracy a hotly debated and discussed issuehas gained an impetus and has highly intensified. The first is the definition of islam as an absolutely. The following paper presents the basic concept for the democracy ranking of the quality of democracy and positions this approach in context of academic discourses about democracy and the quality of democracy. Quality of democracy models commonly emphasize a democracy understanding.
They basically find any idea or institution of western origin to be unpalatable. Based on this and other concepts, islam would be closer to democratic values than huntington suggests. Many questions emerge associated with islam and democracy such as. Based on that, in democracy legislative authority is given to someone other than allah, may he be exalted. 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. The concept of democracy in islam is best understood that islam is practised at two levels the infaradiindividual level and the lslamayee collective level. Islamic constitutionalism and the concept of democracy.
326 1373 770 322 1328 1597 785 1515 1375 1460 390 687 118 660 555 131 1368 1325 1313 800 1106 1654 134 1195 364 401 979 856 866 4 237 8 568 446 282 1079 237 907 1067 1430 805 1152