#  > Islam >  > Column Islam >  Islam VS Democracy

## Mujaahid

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.

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