Islam and Democracy: Can They Coincide?

· The political, military, and economic weaknesses of the world of Islam are due to having strayed from Islam and followed western, secular and materialistic ideologies and values. Both western liberal nationalism and Marxist socialism have failed, because they are antithetical to Islam. · Islam as found in the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and in the example of the early Islamic community/state provides the true alternative ideology for Muslims. · Muslims must re-establish God's rule, the sovereignty of God on earth by re-instituting Islamic Law, the blueprint for society for all time. · The new Islamic order does not reject science and technology.

In fact, a large literature and media publications have developed over the last century on this heated discourse of democracy versus Islam. While many argue that Islam has all the ingredients of modern state and democratic society, many other reject the phenomena “modernism” and “democracy” as a whole because of their “foreign nature”—alien to “Islamic values”. For Islamists and modernists, the motivation for such effort to either embrace or reject democracy often is to remove suspicion about the nature and goals of Islamic movements and Islamic revivalism or resurgence. But before diving into this discourse, one needs to understand the definition and origins of “democracy.” Although purely a Western ideology in its origin, there is no consensus on the definition of “democracy” as a political system. The Oxford English Dictionary describes democracy as: “A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives” (“democracy, n.”).

Those who are part of the Islamic community are required to embrace and maintain God’s law. As Bernard Lewis asserts, “In the experience of the first Muslims, as preserved and recorded for later generations, religious truth political power were indissolubly associated: the first sanctified the send, the second sustained the first. The Ayatollah Khomeini remarked that ‘Islam is politics or it is nothing.’” (Lewis pg. 6) Furthermore, “most would agree that God is concerned... ... middle of paper ... ... John Kelsay Journal of Church and State; Winter 2011; 53, 1; ProQuest Direct Complete pg. 5 http://listserv.ccp.edu:2192/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.44 http://www.cfr.org/religion/islam-governing-under-sharia/p8034 http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=774 http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html Islamic Law and American Courts.

There has been argument that democracy does not work in Muslim country 's due to religious beliefs in Islam. The world has seen democracy not work in a number of Muslim populated countries. However, the spotlight has not shined enough on country 's that have built and maintained a democratic political system in countries that are majority Muslim. Malaysia and Indonesia have been able to successfully incorporate Islam into their national identity and have a successful version of the democratic system in their countries. Pakistan provides a nice parallel as a country that explicitly announces itself as an Islamic Republic, but still has a democratic system.

Bernard Lewis approaches it on a limited scale as he shows the democratic system as wh... ... middle of paper ... ...er, I also believe that this would result in an unjust Islamic state. I personally believe that one cannot measure how religious a person is. It is between them and their God, and be it politicians or leaders, we are unable to do justice to what the Qur’an regulates are right and wrong. We are flawed, thus any system we create will have those flaws within. It would simply be a secular political system in which all people are treated as equals, which is unjust as each individual has their own relationship with Allah.

Shia a) They had argument on the truth of the al-Quran and accused that al-Quran have devia... ... middle of paper ... ...ussion concluded whereas faith practiced by the Shia obviously been in conflict with the faith that underpinned by Sunni. It is not only against the consensus of “the scholars, even worse, it has been inverting the texts that have been handed down by God as understood by the majority of scholars to mankind. Based on this differences, there is no way to achieve unity and strengthen them to adopt beliefs or withholding resources unless one of the parties to leave their positions and recognized source of resources. Although there is a meeting point between the two parties, but much dispute on the ground that creates a gap in the far east and far west. In the case, there is no better shield strong in facing the challenges of this movement effectively unless Muslims should return adheres to the belief that authentic knowledge legacy of the Prophet and his companions R.A.

Across the world there are countless religions, new and old, each having their own unique traditions and laws that believers abide by. As defined by World History, Sharia, the Arabic word meaning “the path” or “the way”, alludes to traditional Islamic law. (Ellis, Esler, and Beers, 255) Sharia originates within the Koran, the holy book of Islam, which Muslims consider the unaltered word of God. Along with the Koran, Sharia is derived from the teachings and examples set by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, who Muslims view as the perfect man of faith. Muslims believe that God revealed his true conviction to Muhammad, who in turn was to spread the commands of God through the Koran.

He was born in Mahmudiyya, Egypt and raised in a home shaped by his father’s “clas... ... middle of paper ... ...his claim was proved untrue during the protests in August 2013. They have lied to the Egyptian citizens multiple times. The Muslim Brotherhood did attempt a democracy; the people voted for them and ended up helping taking the Muslim Brotherhood out of power. Egypt as a whole needs to find a more effective leader who does not tie their religion into their politics. If Egypt wants to rise out of their political darkness they must not be afraid of change and willing to work together as a nation and not against one another.

However, Islam has certain factors that seem harsh and rigid towards the viewpoints of the West. Islam is a very strict monotheistic religion because it requires its followers to practice the Five Pillars of Faith, it requires Muslims to perform rigorous rituals, and it imposes a set of radical laws call Sharia. Even though it is strict, Islam is not practiced the same way in all Muslim countries. Some Muslim countries are secular, which are not strict at all. However the countries that have theocracies are the ones that are extremist and rigid.

By exploring various subtopics presented in each article, the compatibility paradigm can be justified. In doing so, I will address the democratic and Islamic conceptual overlap, the difference in matters of perspective with regards to philosophy, and democracy as seen in the world today, specifically, how it continues to impact the Muslim community. While both articles exhibit the com... ... middle of paper ... ...ocracy are compatible with each other. Both Ahmad and Lewis emphasize the endless possibilities awaiting the Muslims if they were to adopt this system of government. If the Muslims of this generation are able to accept the true, fair nature of democracy, then many of the Islamic countries facing destruction, poverty, crime, and fraud can resurface with a new identity.