Islam VS Democracy
A great deal of news
concerning Islam, the West, and Muslim Fundamentalism has been in the
television, political magazines and newspapers lately. The hottest issue that
is being discussed in papers like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times,
Washington Post, and other renowned newspapers is the issue of incompatibility
between Islam and the West.
The critical question that is
being asked is:
Is there a
contradiction between Islam and the West, or is it falsely initiated by Muslim
fundamentalists ?
A quotation from George Melloan
in the Wall Street Journal (1/6/92) states:
"As with most
Islamic countries, there is a huge cohort of jobless men in their early 20's
with very little idea of what to do with their lives. Fundamentalism gives
them a mission, to purge the society of evil influences of Western culture, to
force women into purdah, to pray to Allah for relief from their poverty."
The implication here is that
the call for Islam to be brought back to the world scene is a reaction to the
miserable conditions in the Muslim World, and not because there is some
inherent incompatibility between the belief of the people, Islam, and the
system being forced down their throats, Democracy/Capitalism. A survey of the
concepts expounded by Islam and those by the Democratic/Capitalist ideology
will reveal the true nature of the Islamic revival movement:
Rasulallah (saw) struggled to
uproot all man made laws and systems in order to replace them with Islam,
while Democracy/Capitalism zealously pursues the establishment of man made
laws.
Democracy/Capitalism calls the
people to the creed of "Give what belongs to Caesar to Caesar and give what
belongs to God to God". Allah (swt) on the other hand says," ...His
are all things that are in the heavens and all that are on Earth..." (2:255),
including Caesar and his throne. This is what Rasulallah (saw) called
the people to, and it is in complete conflict with the creed of
Democracy/Capitalism.
Democracy/Capitalism is firmly
rooted in the concept of secularism, of separation of deen, and consequently
Allah (swa), from life. This is the cornerstone of their ideology and it is
the antithesis of the Islamic belief. Islam is based on guidance from Allah (swa)
to conduct all the affairs of the people. Deen is life; Allah (swa) is the
Creator and Rabb (Lord) and we are the slaves who are expected to live
according to his rules.
These fundamental differences
between Islam and the Democratic/Capitalist ideology of the West can lead to
no other conclusion than that there is definitely an inherent contradiction
between Islam, as Allah (swa) revealed it, and Democracy/Capitalism. These
differences were set down by Allah (swa), and not "jobless men in their
early 20's...pray[ing] to Allah for relief from their poverty". This is
the false notion that the Western media has been propagating in order to bring
support for those who compromise their deen at the behest of the kafirs.
Alhamdulillah, despite the
efforts of the media, the Muslim Ummah is beginning to reject the notion of
democracy/capitalism ruling over us, and this reaction should not surprise us.
The Ummah is finally healing from the poison of freedom, democracy,
capitalism, nationalism, and secular thought which the fangs of the
imperialist kafirs injected in our thinking. It is looking now to bring Islam
back as its deen in its comprehensive form, and carry its mercy to the rest of
the world.
The phenomenon of Muslims
rejecting the Western concepts in exchange for Islam is not limited to the
Muslim world. This historic event can be witnessed all around the world, even
in the western nations. This has greatly worried the policy makers in the
West; consequently they have initiated new attempts to contain the Muslims. A
brief survey of a few articles from the Western media reveals the techniques
and methods of this latest initiative against Islam and Muslims.
An article in the Wall Street
Journal suggested that:
"The U.S. must lend
support to the overwhelming vast majority of moderates in America's Muslim
community."
In other words, to back those
who have sold out this deen for fame, fortune, and servitude to the West.
Another article, "Time to Paint
U.S. - Islamic Relations on a Brand New Canvas", from The Baltimore Sun
(7/7/92) offers the following strategies:
"Stop talking about the
'world of Islam' as if it were a monolithic whole; instead, use 'Muslim
countries'."
"Emphasize the common
elements and values that unite Islam and Christianity and avoid divisive
factors."
These strategies are aimed at
diluting the power of this Ummah and this deen by first, dividing its people
based on artificial borders and then by trying to conceal those aspects of
Islam which do not serve the interest of the West.
According to another article in
the L.A. Times 1/8/92 & N.Y. Times 1/24/92 the plan is to build a school for
Muslims in Europe:
" Despite its modest start,
the institute's sponsors, including wealthy contributors from Saudi Arabia and
the Persian Gulf oil states, hope that eventually the school will have 200
elite students and serve as one of the main centers of learning for Europe's
25 million Muslims, including those living in such countries as Albania,
Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia...
The proposed solution is to
create a European form of Islam that can coexist comfortably with the Western
societies shaped by Christian traditions...
With the complexity of life
today, said Zuhair Mahmoud, 39, the institute's director, we need a place to
teach and explain Islam in a European context,... What we need is a modern and
moderate Islam... For example, the punishments mentioned in the Quran are not
relevant. We can accept secularity, monogamy,...
We admire the civil
traditions of Europe - its great principle of democracy, freedom, and
reason... We will give Islam as interpretation that is most adaptive to
European society. We feel that our Jewish friends once faced the same
intolerance we face today... Islam will be as accepted in France as
Judaism..."
All these plans are aimed at
deviating the Muslims from the true nature of Islam; Islam being a complete
system of life with its own unique political, social, and economic system.
They want Islam to play the role of Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism, a
passive creed which accepts to be overwhelmed by the creed of
Democracy/Capitalism. These plans are designed to prevent Muslims from
carrying Islam as a comprehensive way of life, and from bringing Islam back
into application.
What is truly sad is to witness
Muslim organizations playing a role in this disastrous effort. Muslim
organizations' and individuals' efforts are being utilized to have Islam
coexist with other systems. They have gotten Muslims involved in tasks which
will not bring Islam back to life, such as participating in Kufr systems with
the hope of gradually changing them.
We Muslims have to realize our
responsibility to bring Islam back into application. This should be Case #1
for the Muslim Ummah because the problems which the Muslims are facing have a
solution but there is no mechanism to apply the solution. Consequently, we
must establish this mechanism or slowly wither away under the authority of the
kafirs. In addition, our objective is not to have Islam accepted or recognized
by the West. The Kuffar of Quraysh went to the extent of offering the
Messenger of Allah (saw) to have Islam implemented for one year and their
system the other. Yet the Messenger of Allah (saw) refused their offer and
worked persistently to have Islam implemented alone, not alongside kufr.
Lastly, we should tell the world that Islam is a mercy from Allah (swt) which
is desperately needed today. It is the only solution to the problems of this
chaotic world. The only reason the policy makers in the West are fighting
against the return of Islam is because once people get a chance to live under
the Islamic system, they will abandon the corrupt Democratic/Capitalist
ideology and embrace the mercy of Allah (swa) as did the people of North
Africa, Spain, Indonesia, and other lands in the past