Campusalam

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Not all Muslims accept democracy as a political system. Some argue that democracy’s fundamental values are contradictory to Islam. For them, the ultimate decision makers in democratic theory are the people, whereas in Islam the sovereignty and the ultimate decision maker is God. Groups like al-Qaeda, some Salafis, as well as Hizb ut-Tahrir reject democracy. However, others accept concepts that might be close to the understanding of democracy but for them are purely and truly Islamic, such as consultation (shura), consensus (ijma’) and public interest (maslaha).

Many modern thinkers, however, believe that democracy is compatible with Islamic principles and teachings, and establish this by referring to concepts existing in Islamic teachings. From an analysis of concepts like shura, ijma’, maslaha and bay’a, and the teachings and practices of the Prophet in the Madinan city-state and the practice of the first four caliphs, they conclude that Islam does put forward its own version of democratic principles. For example, the Qur’anic practice of consulting with one another and the Prophet’s (pbuh) practice in the city-state suggests to scholars like Khaled Abou El Fadl that elections and voting are Islamic practices. Furthermore, the Qur’an’s teachings of tolerance and freedom are laid down clearly by forbidding compulsion in religion, which creates the foundation of plural and civic societies. This kind of thinking began with the Egyptian reformer Muhammad Abduh who believed that democratic principles have Islamic roots in respecting human dignity and freedom of choice.