JANUARY 05 NEWSLETTER
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Political Reform is Compatible with Islam

In an interview conducted by Al Jazeera channel, Islamic scholar Dr. Yossef El Qaradawy maintains that democracy is defined as the people’s right to freely elect their leaders and the people’s right to hold them accountable.

The concept of democracy is inherent in Islam. Islamic thought considers opposition to a despotic ruler as one of the types of Jihad. Moreover, it is not within keeping with Islamic scholarship to consider the notion that Islam assumes divinity upon its rulers or leaders obliging their subject to pay allegiance to them. The unfounded notion of imposed divinity becomes especially problematic when used to subjugate peoples under oppressive regimes.

State leaders are delegated by its people to uphold the culture and religious traditions of their states and protect civil rights and freedom. Hence, people have an inherent civil right to question leaders should they turn to be oppressive and injust . Interestingly, it was Islamic reformers such as Gamal Eddin El Afaghany, Abdel Rahman El Kwakbi and Hassan El Banna who where the first not only to oppose injustice and oppression but also to mobilize public opinion against these regimes in modern time.

In regard to freedom, Islam embraces the principle of freedom however; absolute freedom could result in disorder when the individual rights of people are placed in direct conflict. Therefore, the notion of freedom should be carefully defined so as to construct the principles of freedom efficiently.

When considering the situation of Islam on the international level, Muslims living as a minority in the West could benefit through a process of societal integration. However, living as a segregated group does not provide Muslim with an opportunity to positively influence the society they live in and share their experiences of Islam.

It is recommended that Muslims living abroad remain politically active and affiliate themselves with moderate political parties that are knowledgeable regarding Muslim peoples and have tolerance towards Islamic traditions. They should also shun radical right political parties that discriminate against peoples of different cultures or countries. Additionally, Muslims living in the West should consider applying for the citizenship in order to protect themselves against deportation and register as eligible voters.

Finally, it is erroneously assumed that acquisition of other nationality could weaken Muslims' loyalty to their religion. However, the Jews had paid allegiance to the various states that granted them nationality, but their final allegiance was mainly directed to their religion. Hence, Muslims living in the West could acquire the citizenship of the hosting state and simultaneously preserve their loyalty towards Islam. .