Published in Pakistan Observer:

Islam and Democracy:

Democracy whether compatible with Islam or not has always been a moot point, heatedly debated in every decade, rattling controversial opinion points, notwithstanding. With the different Islamic states, having espoused various models of polities, specifically the hereditary monarchy assumed by Saudi Arabia, the Islamic stronghold, that went to even re-brand itself as ‘Saudi’ after the family name of its rulers, the Muslim scholars, political scientists and researchers have been preoccupied by the point as what Islam says about the system of governance.

Today, every other person raving about democracy, in point of fact, relegates the reality that the current Western democracy owes it origin to Islamic political thought as the former came into sight around a few centuries back, after the emergence of nation-state system in the wake of French Revolution, while the holy Prophet (PBUH) hundreds of years back, planted the seed of this democracy, or rather even a better, unique, and pristine one, by establishing a state at Medina, basing it upon the perfect ideals of Islam, of consultation, justice, equality and rule of law. Islam being the complete code of life, extends a comprehensive roadmap to people, covering and regulating in all inclusive manner, their socio-economic and political fabric of life, a perfect model of governance included. Now that Saudi Arabia has turned out to be a kingdom, being ruled by familial chain of monarchs, the democratic institutions and values, spirited up by Islam, being taken away and people being deprived of the fundamental privileges accorded to by God, (of choosing their ruler by vote or consensus) doesn’t mean Islam condoning such despotic tendencies as demonstrated by the ones that look down upon all except themselves as inferior ‘Ajamis’ and even lesser Muslims. Islam has upheld democracy since its very advent, in matters relating to not only the politico-economic sphere but also the religious one, (Lakum deen’ kum walideen) indeed reflects very much that religious democracy. if it is taken in terms of immunity from arbitrary exercise or imposition) The surah “Ash Shura” of Quran reads:

“They govern with mutual consultation”. Consultation, which manifests equality, is bedrock of democracy. After the demise of the Holy Prophet, his pious companions carried on the business of polity with the same ideals and principles of governance passed on to them by him, without budging even an inch from them, and the way they ascended to the caliphate, they governed and the lived, is a clear manifestation of a real and viable democracy, all and sundry shared equal stake in, and the beneficiaries of which were but all within the realm, where rule of law, and accountability ruled supreme. This was the reason that people used to have the courage to threaten their rulers publicly and bluntly to chop their heads off if they went astray, and also that Caliph Ali was dragged in to the court by a Jew. Contrary to that democracy based upon justice, and equality of all, including the rulers, in the eyes if law, what democracy it is today that the ones that should have been duly disqualified, and charged for the treason-like serious crimes of storming dignified institution of Supreme Court, slaying over 14 people in Lahore, and then in Islamabad, and for laundering billions of national capital illegally to foreign banks, are ironically lording over the state! When their land cruisers, Mercedes and Chryslers pass along the roads, the entire transport and mobility of people are held hostage for hours by the escort of the so-called VIPs.

Do the British public and other Westerners also have to pay through the nose for democracy, in the way we have been doing? Sadly, the extent, to which the poor democracy in Pakistan, has been made mess of, and to which it has been blemished, is enough to impel one to conclude that the current democracy or at least the one jabbered about by so-called Parliamentarians and politicians is and would be compatible with neither Pakistan nor Islam.

Farrukh Aziz Ansari--
—Islamabad