The question:
“Why has
democracy not taken root in most Muslim countries?”
is the topic
of the debate.
It is a
single sentence direct question and its answer should be also
simple and direct. For that, we have to define the “democracy”
and the “Muslim countries” and then see what is the common
factor among these Muslim countries which is an obstacle to
establish the democracy.
The word
“democracy” stands for the system of government proposed by
Greek philosophers around 300 BC and practiced in Greek
city-states where each citizen participated in the state
affair. At this time there was no Islam and no Quran. In the
present time “the government of the people, by the people, for
the people” has been established in the West and also in some
countries in the East without any guidance of any religion.
So, in any democracy, it is the sovereign people which governs
itself without any intervention of a religion or any aid from
God.
By “Muslim
countries” we mean all those nation-states where the majority
of the population is comprised of people (Muslims) who believe
in one God (Allah), and Muhammad, His messenger (Rasool) and
they follow the teachings of Islam according the Holy Book (Quran).
We will
consider “most Muslim countries” as a single ensemble. We can
find many factors among these Muslim countries which may
explain the absence of democracy in some of them but not for
all of them. The foremost single factor is “Islam”. The answer
to the above question is straightforward:
“The reason
that democracy has not taken root in most Muslim countries is
Islam”.
Many
FOTH members will be
shocked by this straightforward but realistic statement. They
may try to put the blame on the Muslims themselves or to some
wrong interpretation of the Holy Book; but the fact remains
that the Muslims and the Holy Book are the integral part of
the religion. Without Islam neither of the two will exist. A
tree is known by the fruit it bears.
The old Greek
democracy already existed before Islam and the modern
democracy in the West has been established without Islam. So,
the Muslim countries will be well advised to keep Islam out of
the state affair.
The Muslim
states are trying to establish Islamic or Muslim democracies
and for that they are looking in the Holy Book for the
guidance. The words “jamhoor” and “jamhooriyat” are Arabic
words, but (according to my knowledge), they have never been
used in the Quran. So how can there be a guidance when the
notion of democracy is altogether absent from Islam.
There are
some Muslim scholars who are very keen to find democracy in
the interpretation of some Holy messages. For that they cite
2:256; 2:30; 8:22; 42:38;...All these Ayets are out of context
and none gives any definition of democracy nor its
application.
In proof of
Islamic Democracy, the argument is also advanced that : The
model of the early Caliphate was Republican and Democratic. As
far as we know none of the first four Caliphs was elected by
the people. It is true that they were accepted through
allegiance by the Muslim community of the time; but to
accept a nominated or selected ruler by allegiance is not a
democratic election.
So, the
Muslim countries will either establish democracy without Islam
(in state affair) or they will not.
-
Muhammad Ahsan Khan
-
Strasbourg, France.