Isalm, the West, and Democracy - Essay Example

hammed, the Prophet of Islam, started his preachings of true and one God, ALLAH, almost 1400 years ago on a very small scale when he was called upon on the duty to be a Prophet by God. However, the subsequent battles, the increase in the strength of Muslims, the so called followers of Islam being called, provided enough manpower to start a spree of conquests and establish one of the largest empires of the world. However, due to its uniqueness, it failed to find a match with the governance styles prevalent in the world at that time.

Based on Khilafa, which is the system of governance where few good and pious men choose the Khalifa or King, does not match in its entirety with the democratic systems of government where collective self governance is done through a popular election. This compatibility of democracy and Islam is one of the most debated topics in academic as well as non-academic circles especially in the aftermath of 9/11 and the subsequent re-defining of world order and the war on terror. The history of Islam suggest that the concept of election was present but to a very limited level.

As discussed above that the Kalifa was chosen with the consent of the pious men of the society does indicate a certain level of crude electoral school present in the primitive Islamic society. It must also be noted that the earliest Islamic society was very limited and Medina, where the Islamic empire begun comprised only few thousands inhabitants. Islamic therefore necessarily do not advocate any particular form of governance therefore to argue that democracy and Islam are two incompatible issues is basically a flawed argument.

All the earliest evidence of Islamic society and its teachings do not point towards a single system of governance in the country. Caliphate does not mean an Islamic system of governance as it was not the chosen method of governance. The issue of democracy and Islam need to be traced back to its origin. As Feldman has started to trace the