This article was first published on the website of the NGO Islamic Foundation of the Maldives. Republished with permission.
Democracy is a system of infidelity which opposes the decree of the Creator and an evil that was born and raised in the lands of the West. Islam and democracy can not coexist in the religion of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
There is no such thing called ‘Islamic Democracy’ as some people put it because those people who adopt, implement or approve and agree to espouse democracy with its basic principles and fundamentals are openly hostile to the faith of monotheism.
When democracy is implanted in a Muslim society, it becomes a trial which sets apart the faithful Muslims from hypocrites and apostates. Those Muslims who take it upon themselves to fight and defend democracy without a religiously compelling reason hate to see Islam triumph over all other way of life. Most often they love to be in the company of the infidels, hypocrites or apostates and be praised by them while calling themselves ‘moderate Muslims’.
There is no such thing as ‘moderate Islam’ or ‘radical Islam’ in the revealed religion of the Almighty Allah. These are terms invented by the enemies of Islam to create divisions within the nation of Islam.
If someone deeply looks into democracy, he will realise its damaging aspects on any society. Democracy which emerged in the lands of the infidels demands the separation of powers: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary are to function as completely separate entities. Moreover, democracy aims to change the established Sharia and demands to keep separate the religion and the state, which is unacceptable in Islam. In a democracy, the secular majority wins and rules over the divine commandments. If an undesired group or party wins power through elections, then the election results are annulled and the constitution is amended to bar that party from competing in elections again. Such examples can be seen in Algeria, Turkey, Palestine and Kenya.
Democracy spurs sedition and discord by gathering people in parties and blocs, the consequences of which are hatred, fighting and bloodshed.
Huge sums of money are required for the working and functioning of political parties. In most democracies, the murky business of obtaining funds for political parties involves corruption, bribery and the selling of state secrets. The electoral campaigns are comprised of boasting, showing and presenting one’s deeds and withholding from others the deeds that they are due, as well as the use of falsehood and deceit in order to gain people’s votes.
Democracy makes the entire population equal, as there is no difference between a knowledgeable specialist and an ignorant person, an eminent scholar of Islamic theology and an illiterate drug addict, a monotheist and a polytheist, a believer and a hypocrite, an adulterer and a pious man, a child rapist and a holy person.
The proper functioning of democracy demands that most criminals have to be ‘rehabilitated’ and not punished for heinous crimes. The prisons in these countries include gyms and other sports or recreational facilities, swimming pools, libraries with internet services, the best food, medicals etc. To add more, there is a system of parole which allows the criminals to leave the ‘prison’ before the end of their sentences.
Democracy is a system that wastes the money and resources of the country in holding elections. These elections are filled with problems of intimidation, fraud, ballot rigging and other irregularities. No interim government is allowed to take over before fresh elections begin; instead the old leadership remains in power during and immediate aftermath of new elections, paving way for more social unrest.
Many times the opposition refuses to accept the election results with accusations of fraud, and calls on people to come out on streets to protest causing pandemonium and bloodshed. You will realize the deficiency of this democracy and its reprehensible failure to manage people’s affairs when those in the opposition constantly call for premature elections, along with its ensuing chaos and disorder.
Democracy leaves the door wide open for spoilers and all the undesired elements in the society to carry on with their work of spreading mischief in the land. Democracy also coexists with the oppressive regimes and the spoilers of social life with all its constituents: gay and lesbian rights movements, narcotics and other substance abuse groups spring up into action.
Therefore, homosexual marriages, selling of intoxicants and the right to renounce Islam have to be allowed under the guise of protecting human rights. Hence, a need for legislation to regulate all such cursed acts and behaviour which in turn produces deputies who pass on laws against those prescribed laws of Almighty God.
In a democracy, candidates jockey for positions of power with promises they do not keep after winning the election. The candidacy for elections is contrary to the guidance of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) who said that Muslims do not confer the command of an emirate on he who asks for it.
Less privileged or deprived people have no chance of being on the electoral lists because becoming a candidate requires spending huge amounts of money in order to get people’s votes, which apparently go to the one who pays out more for bribery or propaganda work by the media.
So, in a democracy money can buy positions of power, and as such, the seats of the legislature or parliament mainly consist of people from the upper class or people backed by them. It is absolutely impossible to enact any laws urging their businesses to spend money in a way that might benefit the poor. The reality is the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The most prominent people in a democracy are the politicians. The pious scholars of Islam, renowned scientists and men of knowledge have to follow the guidelines set by these politicians. Some of these so called politicians occupy seats in the cabinet, parliament and others work as party activists etc, but the truth is, they are ‘political prostitutes’. Most often they shift from one alliance to another or change parties and is devoid of any shame in behaving so for their worldly gains.
If you take a closer look at democracy, you will realise the deficiency and failure of that system to manage the people’s affairs and elect leaders capable of running the country in a way which benefits the masses. You will also undoubtedly ascertain the appropriateness of the Islamic way in generating the leaders and appointing rulers or emirs.
It is wrong to say that Muslim lands had been ruled by dictators or authoritarian rulers in the past centuries. The revealed Holy Scripture of the Muslims instructs the rulers to rule justly by obeying the commandments of Allah and with consultation (shura).
Throughout history the Muslims always had Consultative Assemblies comprised of learned men to advise those in power. The idea of dictatorship, authoritarianism, monarchy or royal dynasty rule began to creep into the Muslim lands when Muslim masses influenced by the West began to forget the proper method of statehood in Islam.
The Maldives has been ruled for quite a long period of time by authoritarian rulers with the power to enact draconian laws through the rubber stamp parliament. The Maldivian people were sick and tired of their ruling elites, their extravagant behaviour, nepotism and corruption etc.
The rampant moral degeneration, drunkenness and drug addiction made the Maldivian society plunge into chaos in the years between 2003-2008. The opportunity was ripe for the irreligious people who opposed the authoritarian regime to manipulate the situation by calling on the West to impose democracy on Maldives amid threats of economic sanctions.
There were many who thought that after democracy had been installed the problems created by the old authoritarian regime would disappear once and for all. However, in addition to those social problems that already remain, democracy has begun to create more problems in people’s lives by dividing the masses into parties or groups.
More often, rival factions compete for influence within the same party and today the so called political parties in Maldives are on the verge of bankruptcy or collapse and state funding is insufficient to keep them functioning. Soon the political parties in Maldives have to rely on foreign donations and grants of which the most likely consequence of this would be foreign control.
Money can buy power, so if the West decides to bring a certain opposition party into power, they increase funding for that particular party. In addition to all these problems, the party in power and the opposition parties are always at each other’s throats, as a result the ordinary people have to bear the brunt of the entire disharmony or disruptions within the community.
The so-called democrats in Maldives claim that they were the only ones who worked tirelessly to bring an end on nearly half a century of oppression. They say that these religious mullahs and bearded fundamentalists only acted like timid chickens and were unable put up a formidable resistance even to defend their ideals. They dare to say that these religion mongers kept hiding behind the backs of prodemocracy activists just to gain favours when everything happens to be over.
If so, then why for the past three decades did countless numbers of Muslim scholars – bearded men who offered five daily prayers and burqa clad women – continuously end up in jail or under house arrest? Where were the pro-democracy activists and human rights campaigners when breast feeding mothers were taken into police custody on the suspicion of trying to endanger religious harmony?
The so called prodemocracy activists only emerged during or after September 2003, when a violent drug addict was beaten to death by prison guards and the shooting incident there which killed a few other drug-related criminals.
It was so because the democrats became convinced that the authoritarian ruler faced pressure from the West to allow political parties to be formed in the Maldives.
The democrats might try to argue that they were in opposition since the early 1990’s. It is a wrong notion to say that they were campaigning for democracy then. The voices raised in those days were not for democracy but for reform or perhaps for change of power. Those voices disappeared into the wilderness because they were not backed by the West.
The spread of democracy in Muslim lands is a victory for diabolical forces of Jews and Christians who spend vast amounts of money and sacrifice much to keep Muslims divided.
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]
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Democracy works and Islam does not.
All the prosperous countries in the world are democratic because all people are respected and are not fearful and work to make the country prosperous.
In Islam there are dictates from a God who does not exist, people live in fear and the country slides into poverty- Somalia , Afghanistan , Sudan, Dafur etc.
But here's the thing. If the Maldivian democracy project fails, if justice is continually frustrated by a corrupt judiciary and liberal democracy is a big let down, most will lose hope in the capacity of democracy to deliver justice. Broke, enraged, many will take up Islamic extremism as it allows one to vent their frustration through Jihad, and it will be a new hope for justice as other forms of justice will be perceived as having been ineffective, uable to deliver. So, by hook or by crook, if the vampires in your parliament don't stop what they are doing, Ibrahim Nazim's thinking will be shared by possibly 70 percent of the population, and Ibrahim's dreams will be realised...
Hows this for a dark scenario. yamin becomes president, enraged, robbed, impoverished by Yamin the tyrant, the masses lose all belief that they could get justice through means other than pure Shariah, and next minute, Yamin gets killed by the Maldivian version of the Taliban and heads and arms start flying around the streets like it was raining limbs!
Get it together!
Can we take a vote of no confidence against the Islamists?
Democracy corrupted by money and power is the same problem as Islam corrupted by money and power... the ego of the human being unrestrained. The ego does not go away, but can be educated. An uneducated public practices the religion of secularism and worships the god of capitalism; "what's in it for me"? It is religion that gives us our foundation of values such as proper behavior, caring for our neighbors and our environment. If the people cannot express these things as universal truths, then they will not become law and practice. The author spends a bit too much energy declaring the evil of jews and christians, and fails to convince his own secular capitalist citizens that an Islamist overthrough of democracy will be kind and just. Perhaps it is time to live the values that people will vote for?
Extreme Democracy is the correct way...?
I have a funny feeling the word "extreme" is used to define Islam at any available opportunity as part of it. Which is not in anyway an extremist way of life. Allah rejects extremism in our way of life (Deen).Ask any learned person of Islam. OR do your own research objectively.
Is there anything such as a absolute and foolproof democracy in practice, anywhere in this world? Give me one real example and proof and I will do all it takes to promote it.
"Pure Islamic way of life is the only solution for the problems of the humanity"
Now,don't mistake this statement with so called Muslim's way of life who are just conveniently taking up a label for the causes of their own desires such as land, fame, power and wealth.
Jihad is a legitimate tenant of Islam.
Jihad means to strive, to struggle.The highest degree of Jihad is the struggle of a human against his/her own evil inclination. Jihad against enemies are allowed in cases of self defense. Not in offense.
Why do some people try to use double standards for Islam/Muslims? Doesn't the Countries have written constitutions where Treason is subject to capital punishments. And doesn't these Countries allow their Armies to fight against the enemies. 😉 Why are everyone after defaming ISLAM with such hate and illogical ideas? Islamophobia is the answer. Created by media frenzy all over the world and by the people of evil inclinations in order to legitimize their evils.
Even USA is accepting JIHAD as a legitimate tenant of Islam. Some are raging with anger due to this, but the stance of US is justified and reasonable(if anyone tries to understand Islam and it's tenets objectively,indiscriminately, with reasoning and logic)
Read the article:http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/05/obamas-counterterrorism-adviser-calls-jihad-legitimate-tenet-of-islam.html
May GOD bless us all
Minority ruling over majority never worked. The majority will always rule. Law of nature....and not all Jews and Christians are evil, and not all who claims to be Muslims just because they are born Muslims are practicing Islam! True Judaism, Christianity and Islam calls for monotheism, and truth will always prevail. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the democratic West. Peace!
@ Bismuth
"Why are everyone after defaming ISLAM with such hate and illogical ideas?
Islamophobia is the answer."
Absolutely agreed.
The reason for Islamophobia is I think, the fact that unlike many other religions of the West or the East, Islam can rationally prove that it is the true religion of God. Those Islamophobist governments and people are aware of this but this only increases their phobia.
The West thinks religion is useless for many reasons. So Islam or not, they do not want religion. In such a situation, one can often get away with ridiculing the believers. This may distract people from religion, but the few real seekers of truth sooner or later end up as Muslims. Why? Because as I said, when what is deliberately hidden about Islam in the West is revealed to a thinking mind, it becomes impossible to reject Islam.
Ibrahim Nazim, I think the real problem is not democracy itself.
There is not a single democracy in the world where everything is perfect.
Nor is there a single country under an Islamic regime that is perfect.
If you compare the two, for more than one reason, people are happier and freer in the democratic countries as compared to Islamic countries. So people tend to think everyone should be a democracy. In my mind this is a huge mistake.
Not every people is cut out for a democracy. Not every culture can be practiced comfortably under a democracy. It is not the people or their culture that is at fault here. Nor is it democracy itself at fault.
Every country or every people is unique. What suits for one may not suit the other. And this is what we are seeing when the West tries to force down democracy through people's throats.
Like any other country, Maldives too is a unique country. We are also a very young country. What was politically practiced when we were a kingdom is nothing close to what we are experiencing today.
We are still searching for what will make us happy and hopefully we will find this soon. It may not be a purely democratic way of governing. But it will have to be something that will take care of our values, our culture and our way of life.
Most of what Nazim has said here is true for maldives and other similar countries. Democracy would not have been successful in the West 2000 years ago. People and society has to evolve in a certain way BEFORE democracy becomes the desired form of government.
Democracy was not the SOURCE of west becoming rich and stable. It was the RESULT of being a rich and stable society. So as hard as it is to swallow, I don't believe all societies progress in the same speed and therefore different societies mature at different points in time. Unless you agree democracy would have been the correct form of government from the beginning of time, you have to accept of the possibility it is the state of the society that makes democracy a viable model.
This article is full of the stuff that makes the grass grow green: Horse shit.
but isn't it this secular democracy you so readily criticize that provides you with opportunity and freedom to spread your own religion? i guess you have confused and split your brain bit there.
However, either you mentioned it knowing it well or just because you were brainwashed to say so, there are points i whole heartedly agree with you in this article. All the points you have raised regarding money, corruption, power are valid reasons why democracy does not work and can not work.(neither does religion).
BUT i absolutely disagree with human aspects you have blindly blamed democracy for, such as freedom of religion, criminals are patients and they need to be rehabilitated.
If anything is true, that is what is physically testable, rest all are ideas will be changed as the time goes no matter how much you try to sustain it. the ideas of politics, religion, economics etc..
Doesn't he seem to be a pleasant and well rounded individual. I would gratefully love to know what Mr Nazim believes is an alternative to bring stability to the Maldives. I would suggest that like the West, many Islamic nations have significant challenges ahead. From my own narrow minded view, we Brits - including muslim friends and colleagues - will take an imperfect democracy other the perfect monotheist-system espoused here.
The writer hasn't suggested an alternative way of governance. In fact I was expecting that he would suggest a caliphate or a theocracy among others. As it is commonly agreed democracy has its advantages and disadvantages. Of the known and tested forms governance in the recorded history of humanity, there is no other system of governance that has delivered more benefits than democracy.
Democracy works best with affluent societies with elevated culture. Democratic values may differ from nation to nation. As for Maldives, although an expensive system, democracy is the best way to rule. However I feel that Maldives needs a highly customized form of democracy given the size of the population. If we try to replicate the democracy of USA by having every single institution that they have, it would not be feasible.
Nazim's article is also intended to create hatred to the West, which is usually the view held by puritanical Islam.
Nazim also fail to point out the happiest and wealthiest and the most advanced people live in countries governed under democracy.
The only alternative that I can think of is a benign dictator like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. But where do we find such a leader that we could trust 100%?
@arun
Islam uplifted desert-roaming Arabs and made them world leaders. You need to read more literature and appreciate Islam's contribution to world civilization.
Today there are no Islamic states; only Muslim states.
India is the largest democracy in the world. But after 50 years still the country is considered a functioning anarchy. Criminals and thugs get elected to the parliament and government posts.
We believe in the God (Allah) who is Eternal and Absolute
What a rubbish, this proves how Islam is trying to distort the reality in order to prove Islam is the perfect way of living. Democracy flourish but Islamic countries are limping behind the industrial revolution. Democracy is people power, it gives people to choose their leaders, to worship to any god the individual wishes. It gives freedom to use the individual person to use his brain. Smart people select smart leaders. If stupid people cannot use their brain for their interest it does not mean it is weakness in democracy.
Islam is surviving because west wants Islam to survive so that so called Islamic countries will not come to compete them.
Yes. Very true.
"In most democracies, the murky business of obtaining funds for political parties involves corruption, bribery and the selling of state secrets"
I call upon the people to send DEMOCRAZY to where it came from. To Roman war-mongers before Christ and give us an Islamic ruler.
We don't need these "GOOD FOR NOTHING" political parties! They are worse than monkeys playing with their own things!
"You will realize the deficiency of this democracy and its reprehensible failure to manage people’s affairs when those in the opposition constantly call for premature elections, along with its ensuing chaos and disorder."
Democrazy has failed us miserably. There is no big picture here like ANNI says. I think in ANNI's big picture Maldives gets SOLD-OFF to few foreigners with some "roaklha" and "bucks"!
We want an Islamic rule where people who commit murder in broad daylight are given the death penalty as per Islamic Sharia!
Not a system which gives them a PAID HOLIDAY behind bars at the expense of the state while there would still be poor innocent people who would deserve those state money more than those MURDERERS!
"Democracy" is not real people power. It is real power to a few ELITES!
Look at USA! First of all you can't even think of being a presidential candidate if you don't have millions of dollars to spend. Where do you all think those money comes from?
democracies fails because it's got no limit to the rights, gay marriages are fine example anybody in his sane mind couldn't justify these evils.. laws are made in self interest rather than the good of the nation, in islam there's a clear guide line which you are allowed and not allowed .. also the punishments are for the prevention, why does in islam it's says presidency is an inheritor, no .. so please read before you poke you big noses people
Gay is not a crime; it is natural tendency to sex orientation to same sex. It is mental issue. Do we kill mentally retards’, disables, or whoever the minority in the society who has different social behaviors than the majority mass? The people who are against gay are egoist who thinks anyone has different opinion are to be discarded.
The world is not on finger tip of an entity that has human feeling and emotion, anger, hatred, jealousy and vengeance. The world itself is the creator and creation. It has it own forces that keeps everything intact, it’s functioning is based on self acquired natural laws and rules throughout billion years of evolution.
In no time, from nothingness a vacuum started to compress and exploded which lead the stars and planets to evolve, the planets itself become their own master and started to mold favorable condition according to location where they are situated.
The mother earth our god was cold frozen planet for million years, when it came to a condition where the rays of sun started warming the planet, the frozen gases broken down to form seas and water molecules evaporated in to atmosphere. The weather system came to existence, plants grew and life was born as a single cell and transformed to multi cellular organism and we are here today with the help of our mother and god the earth.
We are not result of any hanky panky business of a god who was sitting in his throne, contemplating with his angles and the idea of creating human being came to his wild dreams. And one of his angle Iblis become a rebellion who took the part of freedom and the god took the part of oppression, slavery, where god has ordered to worship him and adhere strict rules otherwise will be burnt in the hell, contrary, Iblis gave his followers freedom, to dance, to drink and do whatever he wants to do. This is a fairy tale. This cannot be applied to complex system as we know today. Religions were part of our history now we are not in that age, Today is the age of democracy whether you like or not this is the reality.
Maldivians have tasted the freedom that democracy can bring. Most Maldivians, educated or not, knows that real world is not perfect, and we will always have to struggle to keep our institutions from being corrupted. This is true no matter what kind of political system a country has. At least now the common man and woman has a chance of making their opinions be heard. What have the Salafists got to offer in place of this? Why are the Salafists completely rejecting the concept of an Islamic democracy when many Islamic scholars support that concept?
Salafists want to return to the system at the time of the Prophet and the four Khulafa-e-Rashideen. What they don't realise is there is no one that can replace the Prophet. And there are no men who are direct disciples of the Prophet alive today to be a Caliph. They are also seem to forget the in-fighting that started shortly after the Prophets death that ultimately lead to the Sunni/Shia split. Does the author blames those fights also on America and the West?
So we have to accept that since the Prophet is no longer with us there will never again be a perfect ruler. Since all humans are corruptible we need a system that provides checks and balances and makes the rulers answerable to those they govern. Such systems are called "democracies".
We will have to fine tune our system and iron out the wrinkles over time. Jettisoning the whole system just after a few years when there is nothing to replace it but only the hope that there are "perfect and righteous" supreme rulers who will fix everything is hopelessly idealistic and naive.
@aj
what about pedophilia. Isn't that a mental issue as well.
@Akbar
"Today is the age of democracy whether you like or not this is the reality."
NO! It's not.
It only seems that this is the age of democracy because USA and UK is promoting it. The moment they stop promoting democracy, it's DEAD!
How dare you suggest that Allah favours people like Charles Darwin and Bertrand Russel over our beloved patriotic, Allah-adoring, five times praying, callus on the forehead politicians!
On the point that this 'Islam' and democracy cannot co-exist, we'll have to agree.
Democracy cannot co-exist with a system that doesn't recognize that there can be differences of opinion(intolerance). This so-called god-given brand of Islam cannot even recognize that there can be genuine religious differences even among the people of this peaceful faith of Islam. This Islam that these goons preach is Haram! These self-proclaimed Imams are actually Kafirs trying to put themselves above Allah.
The problem with this Anni-type of liberal democracy is that it thinks that we have to tolerance these intolerant forms of Islam. In fact, these self-proclaimed Imams are atheists trying to get the most benefit for themselves. We only have to see their private lives.
Democracy cannot tolerate this paranoid intolerance ideas.
Two contradictory political ideas cannot 'coexist' - it's an oxymoron. Get rid of the one that has proved it's failure after centuries of forced experimentation by the Arabs!
On this, check out my blog, the "Anti-Democracy Agenda":
www.anti-democracy.com
Cheers