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There has never been any doubt about political aspirations of Islam. As a worldview that seeks to codify a complete way of life, politics become an imminent consideration. However, moderate Muslims and strict interpretations have always differed as to the scope and preferred tools to that end.

Democracy has been embraced by the world and its rise remains a fact. Islam has joined the cause and there has been a rise of democratic parties propagating Islamic values. These parties continue to face criticism from the Shariah establishment. On the other hand, they have often been put under the radar for their violations of democracy and human rights.

Malaysia remains a God-fearing country with strong party establishments propagating Islamic values while maintaining its status as a constitutional democracy. It is also a very interesting case study of how political Islam can look like.

Islam and democracy - discussion on compatibility

Scholars are divided into two wide views on the issue of democracy and Islam. One group of scholars believe that democracy is akin to a religion and therefore not compatible with Islam. While another group of scholars believe that Islam has no opposition to democracy as long as the spirit of Islam is not violated.

Common attributes

Islam offers concepts such as shura (consultation), ba’ya ( allegiance), ijma (consensus), ijtihad (the exercise of discretion), maslaha (public interest), al-ta’addudiyyah (diversity), al-mas’uliyyah (public accountability and shafafiyah (transparency) (Hadad, 1995) and all these principles prove that Islam is equipped with norms and fundamentals which are compatible with the objective of democracy and good governance.

Popular frameworks

Three popular concepts outline the dominant philosophies behind political Islam. The concept of theo-democracy and popular vice regency was introduced by Maulana Al-Maududi. The concept of Faraghaat was coined by Rashid Ghannounchi, while the concept of ‘Islam as a semi-democratic religion’ was poised by Niaz Faizi Kabuli.

Theo-democracy and popular vice-regency

Abul A’la Al-Maududi (1903-1979) founded Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the most popular Islamist movements spanning across the Indian sub continent. He believed that democracy must be in compliance with Islamic norms as sanctioned by Allah in the Quran and in accordance to the teaching of the Prophet.

The concept of theo-democracy is his brainchild whereby he defined democracy as an institution that can be founded within shariah. (Israr,1998). Al-Maududi therefore believed that the concept of democracy should only be accepted on condition that it is in harmony with the syariah and in compliance with Islamic norms.

He was a proponent of the concept of sovereignty of Allah, the Almighty God whereby Allah must be the prime source of jurisprudence. He also propagated the concept of collective leadership. This was revolutionary because it argued that the responsibility for leadership does not belong to a special group or class of people.

Rather, leadership must be exercised collectively and it must accommodate the participation from the various stakeholders of the state affairs. He uses a piece of evidence used by many scholars to justify democracy.

Before the death of Prophet Muhammad saw, no particular person among his companions were named by him to be the successor to his leadership position in the event of his demise. After his death the Muslim community had to elect among themselves a leader, giving a space for everyone in the community to nominate the most able and credible.

Such a practice has given legitimacy to the concept of collective leadership responsibility where the role of providing leadership is not any longer the exclusive rights of certain individual or inherited by a particular class or group of people (Israr, 1998).

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