Islamic
state
Q305 :Some of my non-Muslim friends question me
about the nature of Islamic government and whether democracy can be
accommodated in an Islamic system. Please clarify.
A305 : We can describe Islamic government as
consultative by nature. There is no absolute authority vested in a
person or an institution or even in a collective leadership. But when
consultation over a certain issue has taken place and the Muslim
community has had a chance to discuss that issue and make its feelings
known, a decision may be taken by the ruler. When that decision has
been taken, it is the duty of everyone in the Muslim community to
facilitate its implementation. We speak of consultative government,
but Islam does not lay down any form for how the consultation is to be
made. Every Muslim community may decide what institutions to establish
in order to achieve the requirement of consultation. If it opts for a
democratic system of the type which prevails in Europe, then that
system can certainly be accommodated within an Islamic government. On
the other hand, a Muslim community may find no need for having
different political parties. It tries to determine the course it wants
to follow on the basis of consensus. That is perfectly acceptable. In a
different set up, a Muslim country may decide to choose its overall
leader by elections or by a referendum or by some other means which
ensures that the feelings of the Muslim community are determined. Any
of these methods is acceptable. What is most important to remember is
that an Islamic government is an ideological government. It believes in
the Islamic faith and it seeks to implement the laws of Islam, sparing
no effort for the achievement of that goal.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News - Jeddah )