Democracy in the Muslim World
English Essay on "Democracy in the Muslim World"
There are fifty-two nation states in the Muslim world. Indonesia, with a population of over 170 million, is the largest Muslim state in the world, followed by Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Muslim minority in India is larger than the Muslim majority in Pakistan. Of the 900 million Muslim who constitute the Muslim world, 250 million live in states which have a non-Muslim majority. Even among Muslim states which are members of the Islamic conference one comes across strange anomalies. In Gabon, for example, Muslim constitute hardly per cent of the population 3.nd yet the country is the member of OIC whose constitution lays down that the application for membership should be signed by a Muslim head of state. This is why Guinea Bissay which Las 35 per cent Muslim population, Cameroon which has 20 per cent, and Uganda which does not have a Muslim majority, are all members of the OIC while Nigeria, the largest Muslim country in Africa is not a member. Kazakhstan, the largest Central Asian state with an area of over a million square miles, has a 36 per cent Muslim population and non-Muslims constitute a majority.. In Kirghizia only 41 per cent are Muslims. Heads of all Central Asia states are former Communist bosses who repudiated and opposed Islam with all the strength at their disposal.
Democracy demands a climate of peace, tolerance, compromise and coexistence. Debate,, discussions, healthy difference of opinion, freedom of expression, plurality of political parties are some of the attributes of democracy. The participation of the people in the process of running the affairs of the state is a paramount prerequisite. And yet in the Muslim world today democratic institutions are an exception rather than a rule. One sees a melange of absolute monarchies; emirates, of feudal lords and military adventurers staging coup detats and seizing the reins of office. Usurpation of the power of the people by the power of the gun is a familiar feature of the scene. Usurpers use all kinds of weapons, including religion, to secure legitimacy for their ambitions. There is a multiplicity of unresolved border disputes between Arabs who were divided into nations states after the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. The Arab socialism of the Ba’ath party founded by Michel Aflaq, a Lebanese Christian, is pitted against the radical policies of the, Muslim brotherhood. Egypt, Syria and Iraq have sought unsuccessfully to crush the movement. The Ba’athist Iraq fought war for nearly a decade with Iran after the Pahalvi dynasty had been toppled. Iraq then attacked and annexed an Arab state but Kuwait was saved by the American military might which was paid for by Saudi oil wealth. The Saudis combine money bag diplomacy and Islamic leadership to maintain their influence within the Muslim world. With the defeat of Iraq the Persian Gulf has now become an American .lake and all Arabs states of the Gulf are entirely dependent for their security on a foreign power which is blatant in its neo-imperialism.
The role of democracy in the Muslim world is somewhat ambiguous. The Muslim countries which have emerged as sovereign entities in our day, have done so, mostly in consequences Gf anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist and national forces generated after World War II. These states have various forms of political organisation, different political structure, and disparate levels of economic development. They exhibit varying degrees of religious, ethnic and communal homogeneity. The only thing they have in common is that their population are overwhelmingly Muslim. The Muslim world is dependent on others for its own defence. The disparity of military might between the Muslim world and the industrial states persists despite the acquisition of new wealth and economic power. All efforts to build ‘up military arsenals, including nuclear weapons, without an adequate and independent technological base, can only be wasteful of resources. Muslims are extremely weak in their defence. They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no arsenal of their own. Israel, a small state, continues to defy the entire Muslim world. The Fahd Plan, aimed at creating an Arab consensus for a recognition of Israel in return for a Palestinian State was still-born. The Suramit convened in Fez for this purpose lasted no more than five hours -- the shortest summit in history. The Muslim world stretches over a vast expanse of nearly eleven million square miles. It embraces a fifth of the world’s total and land mass, and comprises almost a sixth of the world’s population. Its strategic significance lies in its inherent ability to control most of the land, sea and it routes linking the four continents of Asia, Africa Europe and Australia. The strategic advantage is backed by vast economic resources. The Muslim states only sustain the economies of the industrialized world, but are so located that they can either cripple or ensure the continued flow of oil to the industrial world where life without oil come to a grinding halt.
And yet, despite enormous advantages, the West holds a powerful grip over the economies of Muslim states which produce only about 4 per cent of the world’s GNP. One sees in the Muslim world the paradox of massive concentration of wealth existing side by side with gruelling poverty.
In food, although the majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, the Muslim world is still dependent on others for its essential requirement. The poverty in education is appalling. A vast majority is illiterate. The Muslim world spends less than 0.5 percent of GNP on science and technology and has only ten scientists or engineers per million inhabitants.
In the Muslim world of today there are plenty of manifestation of social tension, friction, frustration, scepticism and anxiety. It has not been able so far as to evolve any effective and acceptable political system. All experiments with parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship and a single-party state system seem to have failed. There is a tendency towards centralisation, and even despotism. The internal structure of almost all Muslim states is fragile, weak, lacking institutional framework, and is at best in transition. Practically all Muslim countries have a dependency status with an external alien power. Governments in Muslim states are largely unprecedented, and mostly unresponsive to public sentiment. Ruling cliques, in power with vested interests, exercise power without accountability.
But despite these problems one finds evidence of an awareness of Islamic identity in the entire Muslim world. The consciousness created by a common faith, a common history and a shared set of material and spiritual values finds expression, in one way or other, in the entire Muslim world. The main thrust of the Muslim revival centres around Islam as a focus of identity. This search coincides with the search for freedom and independence in which democracy, egalitarianism and social welfare are legitimising factors. Sympathy for the aspirations of Palestine are universal. The same applies to Kashmir, There is sentiment of solidarity. But the feelings, fears, hopes and aspirations of the people remain to be articulated by authentic spokesman who command credibility and integrity.
Islam is a message of continuity and permanent revolution. It is capable of enduring and evolving in perfect agreement with the dynamics of life. The world of Islam is on the move despite its leaders. The ma& of Muslims is poor, illiterate, ill-fed, ill-clad but they are hesitant, unsure of themselves, groping for a way out of their difficulties. There is a conscious effort at identifying themselves with the majority of mankind which suffers from hunger, deprivation and want. They appear determined to change the status quo and they are capable of suffering and sacrifice. Their struggle in Algeria, Palestine, the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iran gives some indication. Their fate in Bosnia provides some idea of the heavy odds that the Muslim common man faces in establishing his identity in a hostile world. Muslims are trying to discover higher norms of cooperation is minimal in most fields. But there is a consciousness of the crippling handicaps as well as the promising potential. The Muslim world produces primary products and is dismally dependent on the industrial world where both philosophies seem to have failed for various reasons. Ranging from the monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula to the modernist adaptations of Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, and the more radical experiments in Libya and Iran, Muslims everywhere are seeking to create societies which should be seen to be Islamic and at the same time remain active participant in the modern world.
Traditional Islam survived for more than a millennium in a harsh and uncertain environment because it was capable of converting constant tension and conflict into a force for constant political renewal and social survival. Modern Islam cannot hope to find a shortcut. It will have to meet the challenge of the modern world and prove in practice that it can do better than others in creating, developing and sustaining a climate in which modern man can live with dignity, honour and a reasonable hope in a society which is free from want, violence, fear and squalor. No ready made formulas, clichés or slogans will create the desired result. Democracy has been a constant casualty in the modern Muslims world which has a bleak future if it cannot find a way to strike the right equation with the mass of people the demos. Theologians, theorists, and ambitious politicians will have to came to terms with the people who are becoming increasingly defiant of authority because they consider it illegitimate. A democracy in which rights of the people are usurped by stuffing ballot boxes, rigging elections and staging fraudulent referendums has lost the respect and confidence of the people. Meanwhile, the mass of Muslims remains illiterate, ignorant and poor beyond description. Democracy is a deception which is used adroitly by the educated few to deprive the majority of their elementary rights of food, water and shelter. The bureaucracy, civil and military, rules without responsibility. They press all means at their disposal force, propaganda, religion to stifle and strangle public protest. People have no real stake in the future of their country in whose development they are denied due participation. The rich are becoming immensely more so. They use political power to amass wealth without any scruples. The legislatures are a pawn to drug-barons who dictates governments and control its’ sensitive branches.
No wonder, then, that those living in hell turn so fondly to hopes of heaven. Escape from pain and penury is the desperate need of a deprived community. Professional pir, gurus and clerics are extravagant in promises of a happy future. Solace is provided by dead men buried deep in their graves. Those are literally worshipped. Superstitions abound and easy solutions are prescribed for the, eradication poverty. The revolution in Iran, the radical movement in Algeria, the egalitarian image protected by Libya, provide a sharp contrast to Saudi Arabia, the custodian of the Ka’aba which stands for status quo. The oil rich countries show little concern for their poor brethren although they are generous in their praise of Islam which provides for equality, fraternity and an equitable distribution of wealth. Unless rulers learn to share power and wealth with the weak, they are in for a rude awakening which could well make them irrelevant to the world of modern Islam. The monarch, mystic and the mullah have been the bane of the Muslim world.
The massive explosion of information will now make it increasingly difficult for them to maintain, their monopoly the future lies with the people. And they are destined to play their rightful role in a world which needs the fire of faith to keep it afloat. Mere machines cannot save the soul of man.
Democracy demands a climate of peace, tolerance, compromise and coexistence. Debate,, discussions, healthy difference of opinion, freedom of expression, plurality of political parties are some of the attributes of democracy. The participation of the people in the process of running the affairs of the state is a paramount prerequisite. And yet in the Muslim world today democratic institutions are an exception rather than a rule. One sees a melange of absolute monarchies; emirates, of feudal lords and military adventurers staging coup detats and seizing the reins of office. Usurpation of the power of the people by the power of the gun is a familiar feature of the scene. Usurpers use all kinds of weapons, including religion, to secure legitimacy for their ambitions. There is a multiplicity of unresolved border disputes between Arabs who were divided into nations states after the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire. The Arab socialism of the Ba’ath party founded by Michel Aflaq, a Lebanese Christian, is pitted against the radical policies of the, Muslim brotherhood. Egypt, Syria and Iraq have sought unsuccessfully to crush the movement. The Ba’athist Iraq fought war for nearly a decade with Iran after the Pahalvi dynasty had been toppled. Iraq then attacked and annexed an Arab state but Kuwait was saved by the American military might which was paid for by Saudi oil wealth. The Saudis combine money bag diplomacy and Islamic leadership to maintain their influence within the Muslim world. With the defeat of Iraq the Persian Gulf has now become an American .lake and all Arabs states of the Gulf are entirely dependent for their security on a foreign power which is blatant in its neo-imperialism.
The role of democracy in the Muslim world is somewhat ambiguous. The Muslim countries which have emerged as sovereign entities in our day, have done so, mostly in consequences Gf anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist and national forces generated after World War II. These states have various forms of political organisation, different political structure, and disparate levels of economic development. They exhibit varying degrees of religious, ethnic and communal homogeneity. The only thing they have in common is that their population are overwhelmingly Muslim. The Muslim world is dependent on others for its own defence. The disparity of military might between the Muslim world and the industrial states persists despite the acquisition of new wealth and economic power. All efforts to build ‘up military arsenals, including nuclear weapons, without an adequate and independent technological base, can only be wasteful of resources. Muslims are extremely weak in their defence. They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no arsenal of their own. Israel, a small state, continues to defy the entire Muslim world. The Fahd Plan, aimed at creating an Arab consensus for a recognition of Israel in return for a Palestinian State was still-born. The Suramit convened in Fez for this purpose lasted no more than five hours -- the shortest summit in history. The Muslim world stretches over a vast expanse of nearly eleven million square miles. It embraces a fifth of the world’s total and land mass, and comprises almost a sixth of the world’s population. Its strategic significance lies in its inherent ability to control most of the land, sea and it routes linking the four continents of Asia, Africa Europe and Australia. The strategic advantage is backed by vast economic resources. The Muslim states only sustain the economies of the industrialized world, but are so located that they can either cripple or ensure the continued flow of oil to the industrial world where life without oil come to a grinding halt.
And yet, despite enormous advantages, the West holds a powerful grip over the economies of Muslim states which produce only about 4 per cent of the world’s GNP. One sees in the Muslim world the paradox of massive concentration of wealth existing side by side with gruelling poverty.
In food, although the majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, the Muslim world is still dependent on others for its essential requirement. The poverty in education is appalling. A vast majority is illiterate. The Muslim world spends less than 0.5 percent of GNP on science and technology and has only ten scientists or engineers per million inhabitants.
In the Muslim world of today there are plenty of manifestation of social tension, friction, frustration, scepticism and anxiety. It has not been able so far as to evolve any effective and acceptable political system. All experiments with parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship and a single-party state system seem to have failed. There is a tendency towards centralisation, and even despotism. The internal structure of almost all Muslim states is fragile, weak, lacking institutional framework, and is at best in transition. Practically all Muslim countries have a dependency status with an external alien power. Governments in Muslim states are largely unprecedented, and mostly unresponsive to public sentiment. Ruling cliques, in power with vested interests, exercise power without accountability.
But despite these problems one finds evidence of an awareness of Islamic identity in the entire Muslim world. The consciousness created by a common faith, a common history and a shared set of material and spiritual values finds expression, in one way or other, in the entire Muslim world. The main thrust of the Muslim revival centres around Islam as a focus of identity. This search coincides with the search for freedom and independence in which democracy, egalitarianism and social welfare are legitimising factors. Sympathy for the aspirations of Palestine are universal. The same applies to Kashmir, There is sentiment of solidarity. But the feelings, fears, hopes and aspirations of the people remain to be articulated by authentic spokesman who command credibility and integrity.
Islam is a message of continuity and permanent revolution. It is capable of enduring and evolving in perfect agreement with the dynamics of life. The world of Islam is on the move despite its leaders. The ma& of Muslims is poor, illiterate, ill-fed, ill-clad but they are hesitant, unsure of themselves, groping for a way out of their difficulties. There is a conscious effort at identifying themselves with the majority of mankind which suffers from hunger, deprivation and want. They appear determined to change the status quo and they are capable of suffering and sacrifice. Their struggle in Algeria, Palestine, the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iran gives some indication. Their fate in Bosnia provides some idea of the heavy odds that the Muslim common man faces in establishing his identity in a hostile world. Muslims are trying to discover higher norms of cooperation is minimal in most fields. But there is a consciousness of the crippling handicaps as well as the promising potential. The Muslim world produces primary products and is dismally dependent on the industrial world where both philosophies seem to have failed for various reasons. Ranging from the monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula to the modernist adaptations of Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, and the more radical experiments in Libya and Iran, Muslims everywhere are seeking to create societies which should be seen to be Islamic and at the same time remain active participant in the modern world.
Traditional Islam survived for more than a millennium in a harsh and uncertain environment because it was capable of converting constant tension and conflict into a force for constant political renewal and social survival. Modern Islam cannot hope to find a shortcut. It will have to meet the challenge of the modern world and prove in practice that it can do better than others in creating, developing and sustaining a climate in which modern man can live with dignity, honour and a reasonable hope in a society which is free from want, violence, fear and squalor. No ready made formulas, clichés or slogans will create the desired result. Democracy has been a constant casualty in the modern Muslims world which has a bleak future if it cannot find a way to strike the right equation with the mass of people the demos. Theologians, theorists, and ambitious politicians will have to came to terms with the people who are becoming increasingly defiant of authority because they consider it illegitimate. A democracy in which rights of the people are usurped by stuffing ballot boxes, rigging elections and staging fraudulent referendums has lost the respect and confidence of the people. Meanwhile, the mass of Muslims remains illiterate, ignorant and poor beyond description. Democracy is a deception which is used adroitly by the educated few to deprive the majority of their elementary rights of food, water and shelter. The bureaucracy, civil and military, rules without responsibility. They press all means at their disposal force, propaganda, religion to stifle and strangle public protest. People have no real stake in the future of their country in whose development they are denied due participation. The rich are becoming immensely more so. They use political power to amass wealth without any scruples. The legislatures are a pawn to drug-barons who dictates governments and control its’ sensitive branches.
No wonder, then, that those living in hell turn so fondly to hopes of heaven. Escape from pain and penury is the desperate need of a deprived community. Professional pir, gurus and clerics are extravagant in promises of a happy future. Solace is provided by dead men buried deep in their graves. Those are literally worshipped. Superstitions abound and easy solutions are prescribed for the, eradication poverty. The revolution in Iran, the radical movement in Algeria, the egalitarian image protected by Libya, provide a sharp contrast to Saudi Arabia, the custodian of the Ka’aba which stands for status quo. The oil rich countries show little concern for their poor brethren although they are generous in their praise of Islam which provides for equality, fraternity and an equitable distribution of wealth. Unless rulers learn to share power and wealth with the weak, they are in for a rude awakening which could well make them irrelevant to the world of modern Islam. The monarch, mystic and the mullah have been the bane of the Muslim world.
The massive explosion of information will now make it increasingly difficult for them to maintain, their monopoly the future lies with the people. And they are destined to play their rightful role in a world which needs the fire of faith to keep it afloat. Mere machines cannot save the soul of man.
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