Can you tell me what has Islam contributed to the development of democracy?

Question

http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1154235110645&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=launching&OVRAW=islam%20and%20democracy&OVKEY=islam%20and%20democracy&OVMTC=standard&OVADID=5918106521&OVKWID=62743510521


i also wonder why people bother asking questions if they are going to block people and prevent them from answering their questions!

i thought those very people who call them selves "patriots" and call others who disagree with their twisted logic "unpatriotic" and "Anti America" should recognize other people's right to speak freely.

isn't that in the constitution "patriots"?!!

eelfins (below)

"Leaving government in the hands of the people is very unIslamic."


well maybe you should read the article i posted. just click on the link and educate yourself.

Answer 1

Here's the deal.

While democracy is a great idea, and can work in so many places, it simply will not work in others.

Iraq is proof of that.
There is no way on earth that democracy will flourish there as envisioned by Bush and team, and the overwhelming majority of Americans.

Democracy demands that society be stable. It can not be so fractured, like Iraq is, for it to survive. As much as I hate authoritarian dictatorships, in the case of Iraq, that authority prevented the country from go to war with each other. In affect, forcing a truce through the power of force.

I really wish that our government and people would understand that democracy is not a one size fits all government style. It took both these wars for me to realize that.

I hope the American people can grow up to that fact as well.

Peace

Jim

.

Answer 2

Well, it's a well-known and popular fact that the writings of the ancient greeks were preserved in the islamic middle east through the dark ages, until the Renaisance. So that's a bit of a contribution.

Since that hand-off, though, nothing else leaps to mind.

Democracy might have had something to contribute to the development of Islam, though. Even the constitutional theocracy of Iran was being pulled, by it's democratic institutions, towards liberalization. That is, until 9/11 brought the division between the Ummah and the Dar el-Harb, back into sharp focus.

Answer 3

Democracy and Islam don't mix. Just like Communism and Islam don't mix. Islam is an ideology - a religion and social structure in and of itself.

Pick up a copy of "The Al-Qaeda Reader" by Raymond Ibrahim. Here you can read what men like Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri think about democracy and those who live under it in their own words. The reason radical Islam has such an influence on so many muslims is because the arguments of men like Bin Laden are taken directly from the Quran, hadiths, and jurisprudence of past muslim intellectuals. The ideas they spout are not their own.

That is not to say that muslims cannot live in a democracy and be a solid citizen like any one else. But the Jihadists believe that to be a true muslim, you have no need for governments like ours. Sharia is the law, there is no need or use for a govt that imposes its own laws, rights, taxes, etc. To the Jihadists, a muslim living in a democracy (or any other form of representative govt) by choice is an apostate. The only laws and rules are written in the Quran - Allahs Law. They cannot be superceded by any other power. To believe or pomote that idea makes you an infidel.

Answer 4

American strategy in the Middle East is the most daring in modern times. The goal is no less than to change the very fabric of Arab and Muslim culture. A secular government, unfettered by ties to the Mosque, based on democratic principles will spell the death knell to the Kings, Princes and despots who currently control the region using religion as their hammer. Europe moved forward when the power of the church was broken and so will the Middle East. The repressive and often brutal customs of Shia law will be broken and terrorism will fade just as Fascism, Nazism, and Communism did. The key is start the infection of democracy, human rights, independence from the Mosque and clerics, and equal rights for male and female, regardless of their tribe. Things haven't gone well, that's for sure because we frankly don't think in "medievel" terms nor is our culture so convoluted. If we can hang on long enough for the "bacteria-democrata" to multiply terrorism will consume itself. If that ain't a bold strategy i can't imagine one more ambitious. Why do you think that nearly every Arab government relishes at the Arab press when they lambast America? It's becuase they see their days are numbered. They can see the day when they, like the Shah of Iran, will have to flee their country with their loot and hide in Switzerland

Answer 5

Islamic law and western-style democracy are incompatible; and due to this fact, the protections America has set in place-- the very ones the leftists constantly chip away at (i.e. NSA intell gathering; the Patriot Act) are in large measure what stops some 8th century throwback from exploding himself on a bus in downtown Philly.

Answer 6

Sharia law is strictly undemocratic. Leaving government in the hands of the people is very unIslamic.

Freedom of speech does not imply the right to be heard.

Answer 7

I don't think they have contributed much to democracy. I also think that you have a twisted sense of freedom if you think someone shouldn't have the right to block you. You're so sensitive . . . geesh. Were you crying when you wrote that paragraph about "he said I'm unpatriotic and then she blocked me" Walk upstairs and tell your mommy!

Answer 8

[As far as Islam.They have not contributed one thing for democracy.They do not have democracy in their religion.]


strike two!

islam is more like protestant christianity than anything else. there are no authorities in islam. it therefore becomes religion by democracy.

Answer 9

very interesting propaganda.now, can you name one islamic democracy,that is a true government by the people?? hahahahaha!

Answer 10

Slavery,secret societies and black magic.

Or in other words;basically, what we falsely call secularism and liberalism in the west.