Democracy, not Theocracy

Many Muslims believe that both their personal and public lives should be governed by Islam. That is, that they believe that a theocratic system, by which laws are governed by shari’a, is the only government that is allowed or worthy. However, even secular democratic government may not only be allowed, but in line with shari’a.

The Prophet Muhammad’s message was for spiritual purposes and because of whom he was, he was a leader of the people, much as Moses was in his time. He may have seemed like a king, but there was no kingdom established. He left neither a successor nor instructions for future governance.  This not only allowed for the people to create their own form of government, but necessitated it. Thus, the door was left open to the possibility of even a secular and/or democratic government. What was required is that the system be just, as that concept was certainly Islamic.

In addition to justice, other concepts that were of great importance to include in whatever government was to be set up were: social cooperation and mutual assistance; establishing a non-autocratic, consultative method of governance; and institutionalizing mercy and compassion in social interactions. Democracy offers a great opportunity for promoting these ideals, as they naturally are co-aligned. A constitutional democracy further promotes and protects these ideals by setting to law some basic moral standards that hold both the rulers and the citizens equally accountable.

It is necessary for Muslims to be aware that although shari’a (as it literally means) is infallible, as Allah is infallible, humans are not. As such, the human interpretation of the Qur’an is subject to human experience and error. Any law written with Islamic intentions would still not reach the level of shari’a; rather, it would be fiqh, having the potential the potential to be in error. It is for this reason that consensus, or shura is such an important aspect to Islamic law, as what is best for the people is usually best determined by the people.

If we lived in a perfect world and if we were able to understand God’s word perfectly, then we would not need laws. In such an imperfect existence, laws provide some level of protections to human rights – some justice. Laws given in a constitutional democracy might be perhaps, a best-case scenario for upholding Islamic ideals.

This is a response paper that was originally written in reference to pages 3-46 of Islam and the Challenge of Democracy by Khaled Abou El Fadl for REL 432: Modern Muslim Thought at Michigan State University in September 2012.

Biblical Wisdom

Many people read the Bible in an effort to understand their life; to find answers to their questions about life and perhaps the problems they are facing.  Ancient holy books, like the Torah and the Bible, have been considered not only history books by their readers, but also guidebooks to life and how to live it.  They are instruction books to life and encourage the reader to remember that God is the one in control and that to revere God is the beginning of wisdom (Journey).

In the Hebrew Bible, there is a section of writings that are considered wisdom literature. They are Proverbs, the Book of Job, and Ecclesiastes.  All three writings try to tell the reader how he/she should live their life. Proverbs is a book of writings credited to Solomon. It is essentially an anthology of sayings and poems that make observations about life or instruct the reader in the forms of advice and admonitions (Journey).  Proverbs gives dual choices that are rather black and white to deal with most issues that come up in life. The dualistic nature of proverbs is evident not only in their meaning, but also in their structure, where wisdom and folly are often contrasted within the same short sentence: “Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention” (Proverbs 15:18).  The wise person follows the wise choice, and the fool goes astray.  Not only is choice in life simplified to two choices for every question, but it suggested that divine justice is always served.  The wise person is rewarded and the fool is punished; therefore, be wise (choose rightly): “Therefore walk in the way of the good, and keep to the paths of the just. For the upright will abide in the land, and the innocent will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be roosted out of it” (Proverbs 2:20-20).

Proverbs gives the reader the sense that God is control of all things and that the meaning of life is to be good, choose wisely, and you will be rewarded. The flip side of the idea is that any wrong against you will be meted out in punishment of the fool.  The wisdom to some might give the idea that if they do good deeds, they will always be rewarded; but one of the main concepts that is strung through Proverbs is that reverence of God is of the most importance. Without that you have no wisdom (Journey). The other wisdom writings, the book of Job and Ecclesiastes, are not as optimistic about life and divine justice.

The Book of Job is a writing that is structured as a poetic drama enveloped within a folk tale. This book might ultimately tell the reader to have faith in God, no matter what, because the reader cannot possibly understand the ways of God. Either God’s ways are outside comprehension or we are simply unable to know or understand all the facts. The story is roughly an account of what a righteous man, Job, is put through because God took up a wager with one of his court, the accuser. The accuser, or Satan, suggested that Job was only thankful and reverent to God because he had abundance in life. He wagered that if Job was afflicted, he would no longer remain so pious. So, taking Satan’s bet, God allowed Satan to afflict Job and bring suffering upon him in rapid succession.  Job knows that he has been wise and good and is perplexed with his sudden calamity. He knows that he is righteous, yet his suffering went against divine justice.  He essentially asks, “why me?” while lamenting.

Many people throughout the ages and into the future have and will identify with Job, asking the same, “why me?” when finding themselves in what they perceive as unjust situations. Stricken with cancer even though you lived a healthy life? You may ask, “why me?” Lost your job even though you were an exemplary employee? Again, “why me?” The Book of Job tries to explain to the reader that not only can we not begin to understand God, but that also, humanity is not the center of the universe. Human justice is not necessarily of God’s concern, but our own (Journey). It does give a bit of reflection to the idea of the righteous being rewarded, however, as Job is rewarded doubly after passing this test of his love for God. It gives hope to the sufferer that the reward will come as long as he/she is faithful and patient.  Again, we hear the idea that wisdom begins with reverence for God.

Ecclesiastes is yet another writing in the wisdom literature. It is perhaps less optimistic than Job in that it writes off life as essentially meaningless and the pursuit for wisdom is futile. There is no divine justice as it seems the wicked and the good both die in the end and in life the wicked are often treated well, and the good treated wickedly (Journey and Ecclesiastes). This writing is also attributed to Solomon, but may have been written by an old sage (perhaps an old disillusioned Solomon?). It gives the idea to the reader that it is best not to question the way of the world or the ways of God, as god is inscrutable and all else is vanity and emptiness. It suggests to the reader to essentially, eat drink and be merry, for life in this world is short, so enjoy it as it comes, moment by moment (Journey).

It doesn’t remove the reader from God, but basically reiterates the idea from Job that one should have faith in God that all is as it should be, and that he/she cannot possibly fathom the reasons. It suggests that we should try to find the good in every situation – for how else can one enjoy life moment by moment unless he/she looks for the good in that moment? It gives the reader the sense to persevere, not because we will be rewarded like Job, but because we can’t completely understand what God may be up to. The book finishes with a touch that may have been added by an editor to reign in the work to include God and retribution a bit more: “The end of the matter; all has been heard, fear God, and keep his commandments, for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Again we hear the echo of the reverence of God being the beginning of wisdom. 

Written 12/5/11 for my Intro to Biblical Literature class