AN ARTICLE TITLED:
THE BATTLE:
“DEMOCRACY VS ISLAMOCRACY”
Written on 3rd/05/2009
By
Salim Ishaq Hassan
Education Department Bayero University Kano.
Salimanology@yahoo.comwww.salimullah1.blogspot.com©S. Salimullah (2009).
The original version of this article was first posted at Islamicity.com/discussion board. Below is the link:
(
http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14887.)
INTRODUCTION
Brief Historical Note On Democracy
They say that Democracy begins in ancient Athens of Greece where all the entire matured members of the society have the right to elect their leaders, make decision-making, serve the Juries, and establish Justice (1). These aspects and others constitute the components of modern Western Democracy. It is not only that, most of the English words have their root in Greek language. Western way of life, thought, building, and philosophy were Greek in nature. This portrays the extent of impact that Greek culture has upon Europe and West in general. The fact that our religion has come to establish such acts of good governance, human right, rule of law, justice and freedom on earth, it makes the Muslim independent of Western democracy which has its root in Athens. But, some of the Muslims fail to take heed of this fact as they hastily chasing the West to borrow their system of democracy.............................. (omission)
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Globally speaking, Democracy today means American hegemony upon other nations. The American power still exerts pressure upon the world nations especially the Muslim ones that to must accept Democracy willy-nilly. And by imposing democracy on other nations, American has been enforcing their cultures, civilization, and evilization upon other world communities.
From the brief introduction we have just presented one can realize that democracy tries to incorporate some basic essential and inherent messages of Islam such as good governance, Justice to people, ensure of people’s right and freedom. However, it views these aspects from atomistic view of point and in a reductionist manner when it separates them from spiritual faith and belief in God as such it fails to establish them truly on the earth. All such kind of democratic aspects are just secondary in human life which could not be established truly unless the primary aspect is established. And this primary aspect is the question of faith and belief in God whose laws and orders must be the basis of human constitutional way of life. In fact this is the first right to be established prior to human right. The fact that Western democracy deliberately or ignorantly fails to address the question of spirituality as a primary focus in human life makes all its ideas to become fallacious, deceptive, and reductionist. But, Islam as a most perfect and most comprehensive political way of life, a fully-detailed and all-encompassing principle upon which all the nations can found their system of social, economic, and political life. Islam does address both the spiritual and material aspect of human life; thus creating balance between the soul and the body, and between this world and the hereafter. Hence, we can realize that democracy tries to re-interpret the basic messages of Islam pertaining to good governance and Justice, meanwhile distorting them via introducing secularism which has never existed in Islam. Islamocracy comes as an alternative to Western reductionist Islamocracy seeks to eliminate all the negative sides of Democracy; thus Islamizing it and re-defined it to Islamocracy. While Democracy is an agent of the global order of ‘Kufr’ (Secularism) Islamocracy is an agent of the global order of Islam. While Democracy is an agent of the global order of war, economic conflict, and political hegemony and invasion Islamocracy is an agent of the global order peace, unity, and model political emancipation of the world nations. ...............(omission)
CONCEPTUALIZATION OF ISLAMOCRACY
Anagrammatically, the word ‘ISLAMOCRACY’ is composed of two words i.e. (Islam and Democracy). The conception of this word came to be when I became anxious to see that Shari’ah system of government should rule the Muslim nations. I used to meditate very carefully over why some secular-minded Muslims do not will to be ruled by Shari’ah even though all what they admire in democracy such as good governance, right to vote and elect leaders, Justice, Rule of Law are therein the Shari’ah also; and they are even more truly and practically established in Islam than in deceptive democracy. Such fact disappointed me a great deal. I took a long mull to realize the reason that causes this unwanted attitude in the mind of some Muslims. At last, God unveiled the secret of the matter. Soon, I realized such people do so just because they were captured by the admiration of pronouncing the word ‘Democracy’. Such people if they hear the word ‘democracy’ is pronounced you will find them vibrantly and happily appreciating and admiring it; but when the word ‘Shari’ah’ is mentioned they shrink and feel disappointed as if the word seems to be odd and démodé to them. So, in order to avoid such problem and to resurrect the defeated mind of such people we decided to develop this new technical English word (Islamocracy) in an anagrammatic form to mean a System of Shari’ah government which is more effective, comprehensive, fully-detailed, and all-encompassing than Western democracy. Therefore, to cut it short, the political worldview of government is what we called Shari’ah Government System and in technical sense is called “ISLAMOCRACY. This word aims to fight and to diminish the evil side of democracy; it comes to rectify and eradicate some of the mistakes, errors, and deceits of democracy which rendered it evil and bad system of government. It comes to emancipate the Muslim nations from the political hegemony of U.S power. It comes to restore the vibrant spirit of religion in the world politics and economy. It comes to grant man his full right and freedom which has been for long an illusionary in Western democracy. We ought to know that human right or freedom in Western democracy is only a deception as the founding fathers (Jews) of democracy proclaim: “We have included in the constitution such rights as to masses appear fictitious and not actual rights. All these so-called “people’s rights” can exist only in idea, an idea which can never be realized in practical life” (Jewish Protocols: p.36). Hence, Democracy is a fallacy and all its principles and components are illusion. We are now beyond the question of Democracy; we now speak vehemently of “ISLAMOCRACY”. We are indeed ‘ISLAMOCRATS’ and not Democrats. This is what we proposed to all our members of ‘Ummatul Islam’ to adopt and to advocate for it for the whole humanity………. Should Islam be repulsed? In normal worldview of social life all people want peace, justice, good governance and security, while repelling tyranny, injustice, conflicts, and war. Hence, Islam should be accepted universally because it has come to establish the aforementioned fundamental aspects in all dimension of human life. Islam is not only a religion of mosque but also a fundamental way of life as such it is not only for the Muslims but the entire humankind of all races, religions, continents, and nations. Presumably, Islam as a religion of mosque, only the ritual aspects of worship is preserved exclusively for the Muslims; as such, other people out of it are not enforced to accept it as their religion of worship. But, the universal concept of Islam as a fundamental and complete ideology and a way of life is for all humankind. In this way, Islam should be accepted, supported, endorsed, and advocated wholeheartedly by the universal men. Therefore, non-Muslims should not be bothered or anxious when they hear us proclaiming this religion as a social and political ideology of human life. Nor should they oppose us when they hear that Islam is the only solution to current world predicaments, political malaises and instabilities…………….
ISLAMOCRACY: The Revived System of Government
“All sovereignty and Authority belongs to Allah Alone,
The supreme legislator and the law-giver;
And that Man is entrusted with temporal power to govern.”
The above basis is the universal political concept of Islamocracy. Islamocracy! What does it mean?
Islamocracy means an independent system of Shari’ah government that governs the social, political and economic life of the people. Islamocracy is the government of peace for the people whose values, norms, honours, nobility, rights and freedom must be granted and protected to ensure the development of their peculiar socio-political and spiritual well-being. Islamocracy is a government of God formed by the people to serve the interest and right of the people as bounded by Shari’ah. Islamocracy negates the split of the religion and the state politics; both are one and the same. In fact, the religion (Islam) is the mover of the state politics under Islamocracy. We now preserve the right to speak about ‘Political Islam’. By Political Islam we mean that Islam is not only a religion of mosque but also a political ideology that interprets and addresses the problems, goals, and developmental needs of the state and society; it organizes and orders the state political affairs and administrations. Thus, there must be a conspicuous disparity between the concept of religion in democracy and the concept of religion in Islamocracy. Hence, the difference between democracy and Islamocracy becomes succinctly conceivable. While democracy asserts sovereignty of man Islamocracy strongly asserts sovereignty of God – the creator of man – and that man has a temporal power and will as prescribed for him by Allah. Islamocracy challenges the world that if the people are unable to take control of their lives and deaths, then they most recognize the sovereignty of God in all aspects of life. It also argues that if the laws of God (Shari’ah) are to be suspended from human life then there would be no any human to impose his man-made laws on other men since man is not the creator of man. This fact renders man ineligible to be the master, legislator and law-giver of himself. And therefore, he could not be the legislator and law-giver of other men. As democracy tries to detach human beings from God by assigning sovereignty to man Islamocracy comes to re-attach man to God by explaining to him (man) that sovereignty belongs to God alone and that he (man) is entrusted with temporal power to govern through a systematic machinery of leadership popularly called the Government. And this government can be positive or negative. Positive government is that aims at establishing laws and orders based on belief in God. In other word, it is a government that recognizes the sovereignty of God in the state politics. ............(omission). In Islamic Juristic terminology is called ‘Al-Ijtihad or Al-Ijma’ This is a process by which prominent jurists, judges and lawyers of the Islamic state interpret the original divine eternal laws of Shari’ah in order to arrive at a credible and acceptable conclusion in deriving new laws as it is required by the changes of times and modernity. This is an inherent nature of Islam and Shari’ah in essence. In fact, in the Qur’an Allah confirms the dynamic nature of His religion (Islam) and Islamic Law (Shari’ah) by proclaiming the Qur’an as all-encompassing and dynamic book of inspiration, information, and instruction. We therefore, ought to know that Qur’an which constitutes the bases of all Islamic laws, is a guidance at all time (Q2:2); it is an explanation for all things and affairs (Q3:138); it is an reminder to mankind (Q43:1-2); it is an exhortation to whole mankind (Q10:57); it is a complete and succinct message (Q14:52); nothing left unmentioned in it i.e. it addresses all aspect of human life and affairs (Q6:38); it contains all the records of past, present, and future events (Q11:6); nor human invention of falsehood that can penetrate it (Q41:42); it is free from flaw (Q18:1-2); it never cast aspersion on the believers’ mind (Q2:2); it leads to what is best and effective for human life (Q17:19); and finally, it remains valid forever (Q15:9) (
. All such was the divine nature of the Qur’an and therefore we should not hesitate to uphold it as our basis of doctrinal and political constitution.
Back to subject matter, in Islamocracy only God is the sovereign and the supreme legislator and law-giver. Hence, all new matters on the table of legislation should be in conformity with the will of Shari’ah. Islamocracy seeks to create a strong egalitarian Islamic society and state for the development of righteous individuals within it. It further seeks to create an Islamic state where social justice and welfare service prevails – a state where wealthy and powerful leader could not use his authority to exploit or victimize the masses and weak among the people. All men are born equal and noble. The basic aim of this Islamocratic government is to develop, in its all political implementation, legislation, and decision-making, the manifestation of the divine guidance and laws for all men to flourish. Such an Islamocratic government is responsible for maintaining social justice and provision of social welfare for all the citizens. It should be emphasized here that each and every citizen under Islamocratic government must attain the level of ‘Three Goals Satisfaction’ and i.e. nourishment, shelter and basic education for his family. This is the most obligatory duty of an Islamocratic government. This is the meaning of social welfare provision and this is indeed, the meaning of social justice though the basis of social justice is equality before the law. The state is responsible for its economic and social development. It is responsible for security of the public lives and properties. In Islamocratic state also, the private ownership has some limitations under certain conditions especially when the owner of such properties or wealth monopolizes the public commodities; or when he exploits the poor and weak among the citizens. In Islamocratic state the annual payment of Zakat share is enforced emphatically by the law and the entire rich individuals must adhere to this law. It should be noted that the ultimate objective of Shari’ah is the maximization of the betterment of man’s material and spiritual well-being and his development in all aspects of life. Hence, any new laws and legislation aims at accomplishing these objectives is part and parcel of Shari’ah and therefore, should be held by the Islamocratic state or government and should be incorporated in the Islamocratic state laws and constitution. The noble Qur’an has outlined the basic functions of Islamic state or government (Q16:90). And that any government or leader that assumes power must take oath in God and enter into covenant with Him that he shall work to advocate justice and rule of law; and he must fulfill this covenant (Q16:91).
This is a summarized version of this article. To Read the article in full follow the link below:
(
http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14887.)
Submitted By Salimullah
