The question of whether democracy is compatible with arab or islam is ultimately answered by the fact that democracy is. The politically correct revisionist liberal narrative insisting that islam is a religion like any other can only exist in subjective reality. A democracy is a system in which all people are equal before the law, regardless of race, religion or gender. In opposition to scholars who are sceptical about the democratic transformation of islamic societies and political institutions, there is a group of authorsin truth, much less numerouswho are convinced not only that there is compatibility between islam and democracy, but also, rejecting the hypothesis of an original conflict between islam and the west, that islamic radicalism, far from constituting the essence of muslim religious tradition, actually is a deviation caused by history.
Islam is highly compatible to democracy because it allows for consensus and does not provide for the imposition of these decisions against citizens. 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. Islamic law is absolutely incompatible with true democracy. Muslims, that are constantly interpreting and reinterpreting their religion, i.
The vote of every individual counts as much as the vote of any other. This paper proposes a short apprehension of the reflections of one of the most important progressive islamic scholars, the egyptian theologian ali abderraziq. Is islam compatible with democracy and human rights. Islam does not exist in a vacuum there are human agents, i. Analysing the compatibility of islam and democracy. A historical discussion focuses on the religion of islam and the theories of democracy. Muslims, meanwhile, ar gue that islam is deliberately misinterpr eted and slander ed in the west. Secular islam was created by the center for inquiry to collect the writings, thoughts, and speeches of secular muslims, exmuslims, believers, doubters, and unbelievers. The results are consistent when assessing similar variables measuring property rights and government ownership of the economy collected by the varieties of democracy project. Where islam and democracy part ways harvard university. Pdf for more than a century a question discussion has been whether democracy is compatible with islam or not. The question of the compatibility of islam and democracy has persisted for generations.
However, such an assumption is false due to the fact that the quran and the sunna would only provide general principles and guidelines. An abundance of information about terrifying terrorist attacks committed by muslims can be found across the media. It focuses on his work about islam and the fundamentals of power, published in 1925. 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. 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. Must fundamentalism win out in the middle east, or will democracy ever be possible. There are some major misconceptions about this issue.
Since so much of the shariah is based directly on the koran and the hadith, that is what must be rejected in order to make islam compatible with democracy in our sense of the term. In this volume, political scientists, religious scholars, legal theorists, and anthropologists examine the theory and practice of indonesias democratic transition and its ability to serve as a model. The issue came into focus again after the recent phenomena of war on terrorism. Reformminded muslims who prefer to ignore all of this instead point to quran 42. The serious nature of the september 11, 2001 attacks prompted the united states and some international actors to embark on a war on terrorism. Abduh2 and other reformers tried to make islam compatible with modernity by reinterpreting. This question turns out to be more striking when one takes into account the reality that the greater part of the muslimmajority countries are either unstable democracies or nondemocratic regimes. This is a baffling claim that does not consider the conditions and. Many argue that islam is not compatible with democracy, because an islamic democratic system will eventually fail to the strict following of the quran and the sunna. The implicit explanation for this delay, for some, is that most arabs are muslim and islam is not compatible with democracy. Islam and democracy it is election season in america and time to look at one the of the dhimmis favorite mythsthe democratization read more. A lebanese former presidential candidate has insisted that democracy and islam are compatible in society at a national level.
The past 10 to 15 years have been characterized by the rise of islamic radicalism and extremism. 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. The question whether democracy is compatible with islam has a direct impact on almost one fourth of the worlds populace. This thesis examines the compatibility of islam and democracy. Also recruited to this end is an oftrepeated hadith that has muhammad saying, my community will never agree on an. Ismaeilian 2006 agrees that consensus plays an instrumental role in ensuring fundamental rights and freedoms of. Therefore, their system of government was based on monarchy. Professor suleiman stated that the confer ence was not. It is a theocratic system with allah alone at its head.
Where, for example, has islam proven to be compatible with democracy. The question whether democracy is compatible with islam has a direct impact on almost one fourth. Where islam and democracy part ways martin kramer my purpose is to consider and critique the argument which has emerged as conventional wisdom about islamic fundamentalism, and which has been echoed here in the presentation by graham fuller, that is that islamic fundamentalist movements are, in reality, democracy movements and reform movements. Islam, democracy, and the west is the last book by former pakistani prime minister benazir bhutto. Islam and democracy ali reza abootalebi 2000 islam and democracy originally the ph. In principle the state was gods state, ruling over gods people. Capitalistic policies and institutions, it seems, may travel across religions more easily than culturalists claim. But, islam, by its nature, cannot reject even one passage of the koran. Both islamists and islamophobes find islam and democracy incongruent. 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. Political islam and democracy in the muslim world lynne rienner.
Democracy was introduced in greece in the 5th century bc. There is no room for a secular political system in which all people are treated as equals. The perception that it is mainly the peculiarities of indonesian islam that make it compatible with democracy is reflected in a growing number of surveys and studies. According to abraham lincoln, democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Many prominent islamic intellectuals and groups, however, argue that islam and democracy are compatible.
It is in the interest of the world, capitalists and the poor to invest. Views such as this have been expressed by various thinkers and political activists in the middle east. In this article one wonders if the union between democracy and islam is possible and in what form. Islam as a religion is founded on the quran the text of highest authority followed by. In the book bhutto argued that democracy and islam are completely compatible and the reason behind terrorism is. Islam is compatible with democracy only if some of its principles and followers are not sidelined in the process of democracy. Yet in every year since 2006, the worlds most populous muslim country has received high marks from international democracyranking organizations. 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. In these discussions, muslim scholars bring historically important concepts from within the islamic. February 12, 2016 admin article, law and social policy, middle east. According to some commentators, these protests reflect a relatively new push for democracy by the arab peoples. An islamic democracy in iraq will signal to the muslim world that the u. The compatibility of islam and democracy has become one of the main questions of concern in contemporary islamic political and social. Shadi hamid, author of islamic exceptionalism, argues many muslims support a religiousdominated government, but that doesnt equal violence.
Speaking on bbc world news television, the human rights lawyer chibli. Thus, the proper question is not what islam is but under what social conditions can islam be compatible with democracy. In her groundbreaking new book, moroccan sociologist fatima mernissi explores the ways in which people on dramatically opposing sides feminists and defenders of democracy versus violent fundamentalists must use the same. Allahs law is interpreted by a ruling body of clerics. American policymakers and western governments would be wiser to promote the strengthening of. Read is islam and democracy compatible essay sample for. American policymakers and western governments would be wiser to promote the strengthening of democratic institutions, rather than forcing new democracies to welcome the toxic islamists. Presented is an extensive look into islam and democracy from ibn warraqs book, why i am not a muslim. 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. Muslim world residents see no conflict between religious principles and democratic values.
Pdf is democracy compatible with islam drfarhat rahman. Through some authors we have tried to understand if there can be compatibility and by virtue of this compatibility to establish a possible. However, women and slaves were not allowed to vote. Without legislative or any other kind of corporate bodies, there was no need for any principle of representation or any procedure for choosing representatives. 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.
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 question, therefore, is not whether liberal democracy is compatible with islamic fundamentalismclearly it is notbut whether it is compatible with islam itself. Islam and democracy united states institute of peace. The imperialist powers, firstly of europe and then those of united states also play their own role. Common w estern perceptions of islam are that it is backward, violent, and not compatible with democracy. Islamise democracy nineteenth century reformers tried to reconcile islam with modernity using flexible principles of reason and public good to reinterpret shari. In other words, the democracy that western nations have enjoyed is now appearing in the middle east. The national interest at the dawn of the socalled arab spring in 2011, diplomats, politicians, and intellectuals debated a fresh question. The hypothesis is that in the wake of the terrorist act is a. Islam and democracy eliane ursula ettmueller abstract. Clearly, political islam cannot be tamed by democracy, but it can devour and destroy democracies.
One of the many paradoxes of iranian politics is the role of the clergy as both a supporter and an opponent of social movements. 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. Muslim societies had monarchs ruling them for a very long period, stretching about a thousand years. For more than a century a question discussion has been whether democracy is compatible with islam or not. Some extend the argument to affirm that under the conditions of the contemporary world, democracy can be considered a requirement of islam. To call islam antidemocracy by citing a brief verse noncontextually is odd. Islam in politics has been asserted in many countries in the muslim world through democratic elections.
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