IWF

Author(s):
Kamal-Deen Olawale Sulaiman, kamaldeen.sulaiman@eksu.edu.ng,

Abstract: The question of compatibility and incompatibility between Shari'ah and democracy has been persisted for decades. Many Muslim and western scholars have done a lot of research and expressed their opinions regarding either democracy is compatible with Islam or incompatibility. But presently the issue lasted unresolved. This article therefore, intends to attempt to cover all the reasonable arguments which encourage or discourage the compatibility between Islam and democracy. It will look at the definition of the concept of democracy Shari'ah. An enormous amount of literature has been devoted to this topic. The paper reveals that, Islam is not democracy, is neither just a religion, nor a fundamentalist political movement. It is a civilization and a way of life that varies from one Muslim country to another but is animated by a common spirit that is essentially more humane than most Westerners realize. Islamic doctrinal philosophy based on divine origin contrasts with Western discourses based on secular philosophical doctrine. Nevertheless, the basic ingredients of democracy, as a methodology to strive for a peaceful and harmonious society, resemble Islamic doctrinal philosophy. Islamic history has not always been marked by democratic ideals, yet, Islamic political philosophy is conducive to democratic processes in many compelling ways. The obligation of public allegiance (bay'a), the insistence on the equality of all believers, the emphasis on individual responsibility, the encouragement of consultative rule (shura), the stress on consensus (ijma), the open doors of independent reasoning (ijtihad), the requirement of establishing justice and pursuing public interest, and the persistence of tolerance toward other faiths are all strongly indicative of democracy and pluralism. Considering the democratic ideals pertaining to Islam, early modernist scholars, are all in agreement that Islam and democracy are not incompatible.