February 26, 2005
Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 3
Section: WRITINGS | 78 reads
Islamic Way:
Elections to me are the Islamic way. They are the path of Fitrah for human beings – the natural way.
For one simple reason: Short of utter slavery, bondage, degradation and dehumanization, there is no other right, proper and self-respecting way for human beings to govern themselves.
That means, at the most fundamental level, the way of Islam is not authoritarianism or totalitarianism or dictatorship – religious or secular.
Nor is it fascism, militarism, monarchy, oligarchy, plutocracy or feudalism. Nor is it rank commercialism and crass industrialism.
In the same manner, the Islamic way is not a form of religious, racial, ethnic, national, linguistic, cultural, tribal or territorial chauvinism or jingoism. Nor is it tyranny of one kind or another. Nor is it the enslavement of the body, mind or soul of any kind.
Nor is the Islamic way the way of brute force, coercion, intimidation, deceit, manipulation, falsehood, lies, trickery, mind control, propaganda, subliminization of the masses, bribery, hoodwinking, spin and confusion.
Islam is none of the above, no matter how you look at it.
On the other hand, Islam is full, free and truly informed, enlightened and willing participation on the part of everyone in the process of governing themselves and electing those who govern them. And thereafter holding the elected rulers accountable with regard to how they act in office.
That to me is what Islam is really all about, no matter who may try to distort or misrepresent it in what cynical, callous or horrible way.
Contribution to Civilization:
Therefore, the Islamic way to me is the way of freedom; of dignity; of integrity; of honesty; of honor; of consultation and participation; of free, willing and informed consent on the part of the governed; and of full responsibility, disclosure, transparency and accountability on the part of those in power.
And it is one of the greatest contributions that Islam made to human history and civilization. As such, it is part of Allah’s infinite mercy and grace upon us.
If you really insist – and I shudder to say this: for having to invoke the Qur’an directly at this point – that to me is also the way of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, as I have indicated earlier. It is a part of our Islamic heritage, culture and teaching that we Muslims, sadly, have lost sight of over the years, decades and centuries.
To state it even more clearly, it is the only Islamic way of doing business in society and in life at all levels – I mean voting and elections and modifications and offshoots thereof.
Frankly, we used to be pretty good at it at one time. In fact, it is one of those blessings that Allah conferred upon the world through us. But then things changed – we changed. Some of it was beaten out of our bones, blood, culture and societies through sheer barbaric brutality.
And now we stand at a point in history where we are being asked by all kinds of Johnnie-come-lately to show our credentials at the door and produce a floor-pass to watch the game of which we may have been among the original inventors.
Human Rights:
One of Islam’s greatest contributions to human civilization was to sensitize human beings to a wide range of human, civil and political rights they never in their wildest dreams thought they possessed.
And one of the natural outcomes of conferring basic human and political rights upon people is eventual full-fledged political participation, one of the most effective and natural forms of which is voting and elections.
Democracy and Political Freedom:
So, elections and voting is our thing and they are a monumental Islamic legacy in today’s world. They are not a secular British or American innovation, even though the British and the Americans have some major achievements to their credit in this regard.
Therefore, just because the West now practices a democratic political and cultural system based on broad-based political freedom for its people does not mean Muslims should be automatically opposed to it.
There are a lot of things we invented – well, Islam gave them to us and we gave them to the world – that the world now owns. More recently – over the past few centuries – the West has systematically stolen a march over us with regard to many of those things. So, what are we going to do? Give up everyone of those things and retire to the mountains?
Reading and Literacy:
Remember Iqra’? Well, we were the ones who preached reading – 1400 ago, when no one else did? And when reading was actually punishable by death in some places? The West now reads; does more of it; does it better than we do; and has much more sophisticated and plentiful reading material than we do.
What are we supposed to do, stop reading? Or declare reading Haram, because it is such a widely prevalent Western practice? And because some of what the West reads – and produces – is sheer garbage and filth?
The Pen:
Remember Allama Bil Qalam? Well, we were the ones who made “The Pen” the basis of human life — 1400 years ago. The West now owns the world of printing and computing. What are we suppose to do, stop writing or using computers?
Next Article: Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 4
Previous Article: Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 2
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- [Chapter 33] Are Elections Haram?
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 1
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 2
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 4
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 5
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 6
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 7
- Are Elections Haram? Says Who? And Based on What? Part 8
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