Islam and Democracy

Many people ask how Islam relates to democracy. A single report about the Prophet (s.a.w.) makes this clear:

Basically, this is easy to understand: someone who desires a leadership position cannot be conscious of the responsibility he thereby assumes, and that he will be held most strictly accountable for precisely this responsibility before Allah on the Day of Judgment. He therefore lacks God-consciousness.

Moreover, he also lacks humility. Someone who says: "Elect me, I am the best, the cleverest, the wisest and better than all others," is certainly not the best, but a braggart. He thereby follows Satan, who said: "I am better than he!" One must assume that he seeks the position in order to gain power and influence, and not in order to serve the people.

The people, in turn, unfortunately as a rule do not follow the right path in their majority; rather, the majority of people follow their ego. As in the Qur'an, so too the Bible, for example, makes clear that the path to Paradise is steep and stony and only few find it, while the path to Hell is broad and level, and many walk it. So if one lets the many choose, the direction is already clear.

Then one may also note that normally the one who comes across best in the media is elected, and there again one may ask who owns these media and is master over public opinion. In countries like Indonesia, for example, where election campaigns are privately financed, the one with the best resources usually wins anyway, resources he has very probably built up through corruption. In other countries it does not look much different.

Some Muslims really believe that Islam and democracy are compatible, since Islam indeed possesses democratic principles. There is a so-called Shura, a council to which the best of a people belong, measured not by material wealth and title, but by morality and religious knowledge. This council, in turn, advises the leader (Amir) and can also choose him from among its midst. The great difference here, however, is that no one is elected as Amir who has applied for this office. (There is also the appointment of an Amir by the still-incumbent Amir, as was the case with Abu Bakr (r.a.), who appointed Umar (r.a.) as his successor.)

Furthermore, it should be noted that an Amir cannot place himself above divine law (the Shariah), that is, for example, abolish laws that are prescribed and make laws that contradict the Shariah. This too is a blatant contradiction to democracy: there is no secularism in Islam.

Through the introduction of the people as "sovereign," i.e. democracy or any other form of state not built upon the law revealed by God, Allah (s.w.t.) is replaced as "Sovereign" (Al-Malik). This means that all who accept these forms of state have placed something other than Al-Hakam (the Lawgiver) as the supreme authority. This is Shirk, idolatry, and one of those sins that Allah (s.w.t.) will not forgive.

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