Democracy is known as the rule by the people. Democracy is one of the oldest known forms of government in the world having been invented in Greece 5th century before Christ. Democracy has been defined as the opposite of dictatorship, communism, and totalitarianism in all its different forms whether it’s constitutional, representative and other kinds of democracies. The Philippines has a democratic government in the form of a constitutional republic with a presidential system.
Islam, on the other hand, has its own form of governance and it is called the Shari’ah which is governed by following the Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Shari’ah has been tainted and misrepresented as a system of law where amputation of hands for thieves and the death penalty by decapitation is the rule of the land.
Shariah is the rule of law that seeks to protect the life, religion, property, honor, and intellect of its constituents. Amputation and decapitation exist only due to the gravity of the sins that warrant such punishment such as theft and plunder but these are imposed due to the gravity of the rights being protected too. Looking closely to what Shari’ah really is without bias and bigotry, Shari’ah indeed has many differences compared to democracy. Let us discuss some of them briefly one by one.
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
Separation of church and state is one of the most prominent features of a democratic government in order to guarantee that the church does not influence the political machinery and so that politics could not corrupt the church. This is sometimes referred to as the principle of state neutrality. In Islam however, this isn’t the case. The rule of law should be based on the rule of God and this makes things a lot simpler. A quick example of the complication caused by this separation is the moral conflict that arises in choosing whether you should follow the church or the state especially in a country like the Philippines. A great example is the church’s prohibition of homosexuality – supposing the church is following the Bible. This shall create great conflict in any government if they tolerate and protect the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) from any discrimination or marginalization, religious or otherwise. Some government would even go as far as allowing same-sex marriage. This is also the problem with the lack of regulation or punishment for the sins of drinking liquor, committing adultery and others. In Islam, this is a simple issue. Whatever Allah prohibits should be prohibited by human law.
This separation of church and state has been criticized by both secularists and religious groups. On the one hand, secularists have argued that government neutrality to religions leads to a “flawed democracy”. Other politicians believe that there should be a god-centered prosperity that is built upon a God-centered governance.
ELECTION OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Election is where democracy ensures a government by the people and for the people. This creates a problem because people are voting for people who they may not really know. Often they vote for those who come to mind on election day regardless whether he is known for his integrity or not. Sometimes they’d vote for the one with the fancy campaign or the one that gave them money or favors. But in Islam, rulers or officials are selected by the highest ruler of the land. This may seem crude but if the highest ruler is pious then everyone he appoints should also be known for the same level of piety.
CIVIL RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES
Democracy protects civil rights and liberties above all. This is what makes a government democratic and any form of assault against it renders that government anti-democracy. In Islam, there are civil rights and liberties much the same as democracy but with much more control. In democracy, much of these civil rights and liberties may be abused by anyone who could find loopholes in the law which leads to problems that arise due to too much democracy.
CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal law in democracy is rooted in the precept that every accused is innocent until proven guilty. Such is also true in Islam only that Islam has harsher punishments for heinous crimes. Islam also has a longer list of prohibited things as it prohibits everything that affects the life, religion, honor, property, and intellect of any individual. Normal things in democracy such as drinking liquor, pornography and slander that are detrimental to the public are criminal offenses in Islam. This harshness is only based on the sanctity of any rights that will be violated by these crimes. In Islam, there is a basic tenet that the prevention or removal of evil takes precedence over the achievement of good. The suppression of crime, for example, takes precedence than giving healthcare to the people because even if the people are healthy, the criminals may still prey upon them rendering healthcare almost useless to the helpless victims of drugs, alcohol and criminal activities in general.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE
Freedom of speech is the epitome of democracy. This is most beneficial when people who have no access to politicians or government bodies could assemble themselves in a rally and exercise their rights to express their grievances. However, this basic democratic right has been abused by people who have ulterior motives. This has been used by disruptive anti-government forces or by anyone to slander a person especially people in government positions as we see now. Transport strikes and other demonstrations disturb public safety and order and even end in violence sometimes.
Rallies and demonstrations are prohibited in Islam due to the following reasons but any grievances could be addressed directly to those involved like a government official or politician just like in democracy.
IS ISLAM ANTI-DEMOCRACY
There are things in democracy that Islam does not agree with because, in essence, Shari’ah is a form of enhanced democracy. It has every good thing that democracy has and less of the bad things. Also, if any Muslim is living in a non-Muslim society, he is expected to be a productive member of that society and abide by the laws that do not violate his religion. So I leave to you the conclusion, is Islam, anti-democracy or not?
