Islam and the Challenge of Democracy Essay

Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl is the nigh masterlific of the Muslim thinkers of todays knowledge domain. He is a great Islamic jurist and scholar, and is now a prof of rightfulness at the UCLA School of Law giving the students screwledge of Islamic uprightness, Immigration, military personnel Rights, International and National Security Law. His Islam and the take exception to nation is the quest to find come out of the closet numerous questions and varied answers in establishing the comparison mingled with the principles so enshrined in province and Islamic semi semipolitical and religious tenants.To make kn profess the traffichip amid the Islam and state is not a straightforward as it involves the mystical and thorough sagacity of the religious and political structures of the Islamic world and Democracy in its entity. Dr Khaled enounces that issue of res publica in the Islamic world of today is being hotly debated and thither ar two pro and anti versions to this issue that compete with for each i other and the biggest challenge before the advocators is to agitate the visual sense of social justice and faith.The in truth first naval division only of his more than or less profile book Islam and the contest of Democracy straight forwardly says that he does not deal as what other Muslim advocators say that Islam has given birth to Democracy simply variant elements of Democracy are in truth substantially present in the Islam and we croup say that Islam too supports Democracy. In this endeavor, he defied the view of radical Islamists as well as hardened Islamophobes who say that as God is sovereign master of safe and sound Universe, therefore the principles of Democracy do not hold true for the Islamic world.El Fadl poises that there is no doubt of the occurrence that the God is the sovereign force play in the Universe yet this is God who has bestowed upon the kinds, the business office to envisage the right to fashion find oneselfs to rate themselves in the make for of deputies or khulafa. In- occurrence Islam as well as believes in a form of government, that gives agent to the nation, transparency in the decision making by dint of shura and there is a credence for any dis turn backments and disputes arising out of any rule and rules are accountable to his subjects for any turn of eventsions.El Fadl believes in the formulation of the basic respectable value, and rights for all human beings on this Earth. He focuses that Islam should formulate the laws through ijtihad on which shariah doesnt have any intimacy to say. He emphasized on the importance of formulating the maslaha or the public genuine and ahkam al-shariah or expediency laws to envisage late ordinary opinion process to develop the concord of giving sufficient rights to every one. He admits that any interpretation of Islamic tenets, which has been construed by Islamic religious heads or Islamic religious leaders firenot be hel d as mere pass on of the divine power or God.He vehemently opposes the organization of the Islamic state that has all the rights to form the Shariah, because he is skilfuly aware of the fact that no human being tush interpret the entrust of the God or divine power. If this is done, it will lead to error or very limited understanding of the link or relation between the Islam and will of God and this in do work would mean reaching to become comprise to God and thats the biggest sin. This will encourage lead to authoritative and oppressive state.He said that although Muslim jurists settled and hypothecate number of political systems, yet there is nothing specific mentioned in Quran active any form that Government wishes to take. exactly Quran does recognize social and political values which form the basis in an heavens of Muslim politics. Three values that are so enshrined in the Islamic testament Are pursuing justice through social cooperation and mutual assistance (Qu ran 4913 11119) establishing a non-autocratic, advisory method of governance and institutionalizing mercy and ruth in social interactions (612, 54 21107 2777 2951 45.20). (El Fadl, Democracy and Divine Sovereignty, 2) Overall Muslims should form the government that would help in endorsing these values. As he said, Quran says that God has bestowed all human beings a divine power by making them viceroys of God on this farming He says, Remember, when your Lord said to the angels I have to pull a vicegerent on earth, they said Will you place one there who will create infirmity and shed blood, while we intone Your litanies and throw up Your name? And God said I know what you do not know (230). (El Fadl, The Case for Democracy, 3) Institutionally it can be expressed out that the ulema, or Jurists can act as interpreters of the words of God and define what is moral and what acts are immoral for the humans. all word of them is the utterance of the God. But the law of the state dema nds that no religion can be imposed on the on the job(p) of the state because laws of the state have been speculate by the humans according to their throw whims and state itself.And therefore in his own words, Democracy is an appropriate system for Islam because it both expresses the special worth of human beingsthe place of vicegerencyand at the same time deprives the state of any pretense of divinity by locating ultimate agency in the hands of the people rather than the ulama. (El Fadl, Shariah and the Democratic State, 20) Finally he says that educators try to enthuse in the soul of the people the moral values of Quran and induce the hostelry to turn towards will of God.But in this world of today, if a person is morally strong tho cannot imbibe by full majesty of God but muted believes in the fundamental rights of individuals, still have to be answerable to the will of God. Its not just the mirage of the El Fadls views but also the vision of the several scholars on the to the highest degree life-and-death and complex subject, Islam and the contest of Democracy. The second section of the book consists of short responses to El Fadls essay by several scholars. Nader A.Hashemi says that the about prominent aspect to El Fadl is his smell that Democracy can be contingent in Islamic countries, with this he proved false, the wildly held belief that Islam is not matched to democracy. He further said that this predilection has gained immense popularity after September 11. He states that biggest challenge in front of the Islamic nations is the choice that they have to make between the modernization and fanaticism and the future of the pose East all depends on which of them will go for a longer period. john Esposito espoused that El Fadl indicates complex and multiple means by which Quran can be interpret by the religious fundamentalists, fanatics and politicians to fulfill their various social and political motives. Jeremy Waldron appreciates El Fadls study of the theory of the Islamic democracy. Jeremy says that El Fadl conceptualized in the most articulate bureau the issue of the Islamic tradition and the elan in which he poises about the politics and the rule of law in the surround of the medieval age and how these thoughts were so rife in the early modern thought in the Christian era.Also, how the moral and honourable values in the context of hot governance had to struggle to make its place in front of scriptural authority and theocratic rule. The most enduring thing was that these ideas not only grew out of the abased surroundings but also actually unplowed on presenting itself by religious ideas and ecclesiastical practices. Muqtedar Khan talks about the accordance of Medina, which was signed between the Prophet and Jews and the pagans of the town.This arrangement he said could be utilised to give the Islamic world the puzzle for democracy and pluralism. In this pact, all the parties were guaranteed equal rig hts and equal responsibilities. Echoing El Fadl, he pinpointed that Islam should be made a image of ethical values and moral principles and should settle all the paradoxs from the peeled outlook and new democratic perspective. But Saba Mahmood criticized Fadl on the point of liberalization. She says that very concept of liberalization is full of contradictions and the limitations that follow.She further says that he focused more on rights of individuals than on community as a whole. El Fadl also disregard the human rights violations that follow liberalization, which are most popular in the most liberalized states alike(p) United States of America. Even Kevin Reinhart revokes same voice as Saba Mahmood by saying that El Fadl ignored the vital point of what the western sandwich nations learned from their liberalized come out in their relations with the other countries including Islamic nations.The whole liberalized approach depends on polices of Westernized nations and the mili tary interventions of the USA in Islamic countries jeopardized whole concept of democracy and liberalization. William Quandt too said that the absence of democracy in the Islamic countries do not lie in their religion perspective but the problem lies in the figurehead of monarchical or dictatorial regimes in these countries, which partially or all are backed by the Western powers. In William Quandt views lie the whole thrust of the problem in the Islamic countries.The requirement is the political and structural changes in the Islamic world that would bring about social and stinting upliftment from the vision of democracy, which El Fadl, all the intellectuals and scholars agree wont be welcomed by either the ruling regime or the Western allies. All in all, Islam and the Challenge of Democracy is the most thought provoking book ready to be explored and pondered in every religious and political land of the Islamic world.WORKS CITEDEl Fadl, Abou Khaled. Islam and the Challenge of Dem ocracy Can individual rights and popular sovereignty take root in faith? Princeton Princeton University Press, 2004.