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Democracy in Islam Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page i Democracy In Islam Whether Islam can give rise to human rights and democracy is a deep concern for Western politicians and policy makers. Those who raise it fear that the hard-won human rights enjoyed by many citizens of Western democracies will be lost if Muslims are integrated into their societies. It is also easy for the concern about Islam’s capacity and inclination for human rights and democratic values to be characterised as a ‘clash of civilisations’. Thus, the issue of Islam and democracy is part of a global or larger contestation affecting nation states and political and religious stripes. Based on Islam’s authoritative sources, this book speaks about this global ferment by demonstrating that the political agendas promoting democracy and human values can be grounded in the Qur’an and the life of the Prophet. By exposing on Islamic politics of human rights and democracy grounded in the Qur’an, it demonstrates Islam’s compatibility with liberal democracy and its values in the realm of government and law, with special focus on what is already established concerning the political and sociological propensities upon which the democratic attitude towards the self – and the attitude towards the other – are based and regarding the assets upon which the democratic system in any society depends. Particular topics covered include: ● principles of Islam’s political theory and the notion of democracy therein; ● the notion of jihad and its qualification; ● Islam and human rights; ● the value and contribution of Islamic legal ideas to European legal philosophy and law. This concise and comprehensive study offers a balanced understanding of the debated issue of democracy and Islam in post-September 11 interreligious, intercultural and international relations. It will be suitable for scholars, political commentators, students and policy makers alike. Sayed Khatab is a Research Fellow in the School of Political and Social Inquiry and the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University, Australia. His recent publications include The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb: The Theory of Jahiliyyah (Routledge, 2006) and The Power of Sovereignty: The Political and Ideological Philosophy of Sayyid Qutb (Routledge, 2006). Gary D. Bouma is UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific and Director of the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University, Australia. His research examines the management of religious diversity in plural multiculturalist societies, postmodernity as a context for doing theology, and religion and public policy. Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page ii Routledge Studies in Political Islam 1. The Flourishing of Islamic Reformism in Iran Political Islamic groups in Iran (1941–61) Seyed Mohammad Ali Taghavi 2. The Political Thought of Sayyid Qutb The theory of Jahiliyyah Sayed Khatab 3. The Power of Sovereignty The political and ideological philosophy of Sayyid Qutb Sayed Khatab 4. Islam and Political Reform in Saudi Arabia The quest for political change and reform Mansoor Jassem Alshamsi 5. Democracy In Islam Sayed Khatab and Gary D. Bouma Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page iii Democracy In Islam Sayed Khatab and Gary D. Bouma Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page iv First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Sayed Khatab and Gary D. Bouma All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-96074-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 10: 0–415–42574–3 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0–203–96074–2 (ebk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–42574–2 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–203–96074–5 (ebk) Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page v Contents Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 Governance and law in Islam: a Western view 3 1 The political theory 7 Islam and polity 7 Sovereignty 12 Constitution 14 Form of government 16 Organs and functions of the state 17 Consultation and legislature 18 The chief executive 21 The authority of the state 23 2 The notion of democratic participation 28 Political principles 29 The modernists and democracy 41 The Muslim Brotherhood 58 The liberals 72 Concluding remarks 91 3 Democratic values in some basic Islamic legal ideas 93 Human relations: respect and compassion 93 Property: trusteeship and charitable trust 98 Ethical scope: universal and communal 100 Human life: privacy and human dignity 102 Work: labour and industrial relations 104 Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page vi vi Contents Economics: free market and commercial integrity 106 Gender: the status and rights of women 111 4 Contribution to European law and philosophy 129 Islamic philosophy and Law 129 Human reason and the revealed law 133 The link between civilisations 136 The spirit of science and modernity 143 The philosophy of liberty 150 Muslim thought and the age of reason 155 Concluding remarks 163 5 Islamic International Law 165 The nature of Islamic International Law 165 Constituents of Islamic International Law 176 The jihad: notion and qualification 176 The attitude of Islamic Law towards war 181 The value of Islamic Law to international relations 189 6 Historical reality in the light of the declared principles 192 7 Religion and the origins of violence and terrorism today 199 The resurgence of religion in public life 199 Misguided attempts to apply religious ethics 204 The nature of secularity – an open market 205 Conclusion 210 Notes 211 Bibliography 243 Index 256 Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page vii Acknowledgements This book would certainly not have been possible without the goodwill and enthusiasm of Professor Gary Bouma, the UNESCO Chair in Interreligious and Intercultural Relations – Asia Pacific; Chair, Standing Committee on Ethics in Research Involving Humans and Head of the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, the academic home for both of us. Over a cup of coffee and a beautiful, inspiring symphony by Beethoven in his office, he revealed to me the idea and provided me with the required facilities, even the use of his comprehensive library. His generosity was boundless and cannot be expressed in the limited mould of the word. Working together on this book, we have received great assistance from friends and colleagues, and now is the time to acknowledge our debt to all of them. Some of this debt is clearly visible in the notes that accompany each chapter; it is, in fact, not possible to mention by name all those, whether colleagues or fellow scholars, library or secretarial staff or other interested individuals, who have helped to locate the materials required for this work. We do, however, wish to mention a few people and certainly a number of institutions. Special thanks are due to the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, Australia, for its great support. We wish to extend our deepest gratitude to our colleagues, especially Dr David Wright-Neville and Dr Pete Lentini, for reading some of this manuscript. We are deeply grateful to the publisher, Routledge, and every staff member involved in the preparation of this book and in making it available to the readers in this present form. We would like to acknowledge our debt of grat- itude to them all, and particularly James (Joe) Whiting and John Clement, for their patience, the quality of their work and their meticulousness. Finally, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to our wives, Patricia and Kanal, for their energetic encouragement, required for such a project as this. Here, the young Mostafa Khatab’s inspirational grade-four words on filial rights are appo- site, touching as they do on one of the most important issues in social relations: On completing your books, I congratulating you, I hope that you’ll have time for me and time for you! You’re telling me what you want, And I’m telling you what I need Khatab-FM.qxd 23/5/07 4:44 PM Page viii viii Acknowledgements But what I say; it doesn’t matter to you, It doesn’t matter; doesn’t matter too. Oh daddy; I think there is time for me, And there is time for you. S. K. G. D. B. Melbourne, Australia Khatab-Intro.qxd 23/5/07 10:27 AM Page 1 Introduction The question of whether Islam is compatible with democracy has been a puzzle for some and a source of frustration for others, and this book sets out to resolve it. Religion has re-entered politics in many ways in most parts of the world. Historical markers for this resurgence include the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and the attempts to develop local responsible government in Algeria. Although politically active Islam has received the lion’s share of media and policy attention, it is not alone in experiencing renewed political engagement.
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