Islam and Democracy
 

[B][SIZE="4"]There is No Concept of Democracy in Islam[/SIZE][/B]
Islam is Divine in nature when it comes to governance .
democracy is just opposite to this concept , it is more inclined towards people .

What do the respected members of this forum think in this regard ?

[QUOTE]There is No Concept of Democracy in Islam[/QUOTE]

Please elaborate a bit more. I'd like to know how you arrived at this conclusion. The two-liner explanation does not tell much.

There is no such thing as[B] Islamic Democracy[/B] , there may be a thing called [B]Islamic Governance[/B] .
In Islam There is no politician because in Islam there is no playing of politics . Its Khalifa , who is [B]Selected by Few Selected people [/B], And Khalifa is selected on a certain criteria .
Where as in Democracy which is totally [B]worldly in nature [/B]and its configuration too , is totally opposed to what i have described about Islamic governance system .

Madiha the criteria you are talking about is prescribed in the constitution of Pakistan. Problem is in its implementation. Moreover islam says that rulers are the reflection of the society. Look around yourself do you see honest people or corrupt and dishonest. Every person is looking for ways to deceive others. We don't like the things for others which we like for ourselves.
The khilafat you are talking about has failed to deliver in the modern world because the so called khalifa becomes a dictator. In the end I want to quote Gaddafi when the foreign forces attacked Libya: "The crusades have started".

P.S. The people who claim democracy to be unislamic also term worldly knowledge as haram despite the fact that the prisoners of a Ghazwa were asked to educate the muslims in order to be released.

[QUOTE=Maidah shaikh;701622][B][SIZE="4"]There is No Concept of Democracy in Islam[/SIZE][/B]
Islam is Divine in nature when it comes to governance .
democracy is just opposite to this concept , it is more inclined towards people .

What do the respected members of this forum think in this regard ?[/QUOTE]
democracy has stemmed from ISlamic law. STATE OF Madina was the most liberal with the moST secular constitution. The Holy Prophet SAW used to consult with the council of Ashabas, before making a decision.Moreover,the election of pious vicegerent caliphs, speaks volumes of the importance of democracy in Islam.

[B]After Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was demised, when the period of khilafat began, a mandatory law was obeyed by everyone that 'any person who becomes khalifah, neither he nor his any kin will become khalifah in the future'. And in democracy, politicians are selected and rejected, and again selected. So democracy cannot come under the shadow of Islam or viceversa .[/B]

[QUOTE=sikander kalhoro;702204][B]After Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was demised, when the period of khilafat began, a mandatory law was obeyed by everyone that 'any person who becomes khalifah, neither he nor his any kin will become khalifah in the future'. And in democracy, politicians are selected and rejected, and again selected. So democracy cannot come under the shadow of Islam or viceversa .[/B][/QUOTE]

Great law. And guess how that law was agreed upon? By democratic consensus because Qur'an did not specifically order any such thing. The law was enacted keeping in view the best requirements for the leader of the community. This is just how laws are passed in democracies. Such laws, in one form or other, are already part of the constitutions of developed democracies. In the US, for instance, you can be elected only twice for the president. Similar laws exist in several other democracies which people can shape according to the requirements of their particular society. Unfortunately, no such law exists in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Can't blame democracy for that.

You are actually giving another evidence that the rhetoric of "Islam is against democracy" is a self-defeating argument.

[QUOTE=Gypsified;702246]Great law. And guess how that law was agreed upon? By democratic consensus because Qur'an did not specifically order any such thing. The law was enacted keeping in view the best requirements for the leader of the community. This is just how laws are passed in democracies. Such laws, in one form or other, are already part of the constitutions of developed democracies. In the US, for instance, you can be elected only twice for the president. Similar laws exist in several other democracies which people can shape according to the requirements of their particular society. Unfortunately, no such law exists in Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Can't blame democracy for that.

You are actually giving another evidence that the rhetoric of "Islam is against democracy" is a self-defeating argument.[/QUOTE]

[B]The laws and principles which are not mentioned in Qur'an, yet acted up and implemented, The Qur'an doesn't render everything. The laws spontaneously exist. And if we talk about present era's democracy, it doesn't come under the sheer islamic laws, rather it is sneaking away from Islam.[/B]

[QUOTE]And if we talk about present era's democracy, it doesn't come under the sheer islamic laws, rather it is sneaking away from Islam.[/QUOTE]

You can't just get away by insisting on this. You'll have to tell us HOW " it doesn't come under the sheer islamic laws" (whatever that means) and HOW is it "sneaking away from Islam".

Democracy and Islamic system of governance are two different things.
Democracy observes equality but islam positively discriminates on the basis of knowledge and piety. Quran says: those who have no knowledge are not equal to those who have. This is right approach because if person is hungry poor or ill educated then he is neither in a good position to vote nor he will reflect the collective benefits. This is why democracy has many ills.
Mind you the election of orthodox caliph was not on the basis of universal suffrage rather few pious companions were asked to advise.
In liberal democracy sovereignty lies with people but in Islam sovereignty lies with the Allah alone as He is Almight Allwise and Allknowing.
In contemporary world neither current face of democracy can assuage the woes of people nor the System of Caliphat can work. You know very well why democracy is a fallacy. Caliphat cannot work because it is almost impossible to find a rightly guided caliph in this world of sin and woe. That's why we need a beautiful blend of islamic system of governance and democracy. A question appeared in paper of islamiat this year with similar tone. Examiner wanted this blend as he rightly spotted the problem :)