the difference b/w democracy and Islam

3. Names of group A
 Abdi Ali Hassan (leader)
 Abdiwahab Hassan sh Ali
 Abdullahi isse Ollad
 Farhia Barre
 Fardowsa Hassan
 Mohamed Ali
 Abdalla Mohamed Osman

5. Democracy
 Democracy (Greek: δημοκρατία dēmokratía, literally
"rule by people"), in modern usage, has three senses -
all for a system of government where the citizens
exercise power by voting
 Democracy is a system of processing conflicts in which
outcomes depend on what participants do, but no
single force controls what occurs and its outcomes.

6.  According to American political scientist Larry
Diamond, democracy consists of four key elements: a
political system for choosing and replacing the
government through free and fair elections; the active
participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and
civic life; protection of the human rights of all citizens;
a rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply
equally to all citizens.[5]

7.  No consensus exists on how to define democracy,
but legal equality, political freedom and rule of
law have been identified as important
characteristics.[10][11]

8.  IT is said by some that democracy has no place in
the political system of Islam. Islam is not only a
religion, rather it is a complete code of life. All
aspects of Muslim society, individually or
collectively, are covered by the social structure of
Islam.

9. Islamic democracy
 Islamic democracy is a political ideology that seeks
to apply Islamic principles to public policy within
a democratic framework. Islamic political theory
specifies three basic features of an Islamic democracy:
leaders must be elected by the people, subject
tosharia, and committed to practicing "shura", which
is Arabic for "consultation". The expression of Islamic
democracy is different in different Muslim majority
countries, as sharia interpretations vary from country
to country, and the use of sharia is more
comprehensive in countries in which sharia forms the
basis for state laws.

10.  Hence a political system, an important aspect of
human society, also comes very much under the
banner of the Islamic hemisphere. The great Muslim
thinker and poet Allama Iqbal has rightly said, “Juda
ho deen siyasat se to reh jaati hai changezi” (take
religion [morality] away from politics and you have
despotism), for religion is the source of all morality,
individual and collective.

11.  The important manifestation of a political system is
vindicated through the establishment of a state and
the way of its governance. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH)
established a state at Medina, of a unique type, based
on consultation, justice, equality and accountability

12.  After his passing his righteous successors maintained
the same system of governance. The Holy Quran has
mentioned the word ‘shura’ for governance. “They
govern with mutual consultation.” The essence of a
true democracy is also consultation.

13.  The governing system of the Righteous Caliphs was the
manifestation of this democracy. Today there is much
talk about western democracy, but the aforesaid
democracy presented by Islam is more accomplished.
The basic pillars of a true democracy, i.e. consultation,
justice, equality and accountability, are found in the
governance of the Righteous Caliphs, Abu Bakar,
Umar, Usman and Ali.

14.  Presently, the UK and the US are regarded as the pioneers
of western democracy. Are their rulers questioned so
openly and bluntly by the common men in public places as
the aforesaid caliphs used to be? Nowadays in a democratic
system, the rulers are elected through votes and the
candidates offer themselves for their election, utilising all
kinds of sources for winning elections while none of the
rightful caliphs offered himself for election. Each was
selected by a majority of the people, after the proposal of
their names by other people. Neither did they display any
desire nor made an attempt to win their elections.

15.  Furthermore, their deeds verify the highest democratic
values in governance which are extinct today in the
governance of so-called democratic rulers. The day
after his election as the caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakar came
out with pieces of cloth on his shoulder to sell, because
before his caliphate, this had been his source of
income. Hazrat Umar met him on the way and asked,
“What are you doing?” He replied, “I have to support
my family.”

16.  Hazrat Usman had to face very severe criticism by the
people during his caliphate, but he did not attempt to
stop them by any means; rather, in reply to their
criticism he always clarified his position publicly.
Hazrat Ali as the caliph tolerated the extreme abuses
of the Khawarij.

17.  Once the caliph saw a Jew selling his lost chain armour
in the market. Being the ruler, he did not snatch his
armour from that person but submitted his complaint
in the court of a judge. The judge asked for the
evidence and Hazrat Ali produced the evidence of his
son, Hasan, but the judge did not accept this evidence
as the latter was the son of the caliph, and gave
judgment against the caliph. The Jew, observing this
rare example of justice, accepted Islam at Hazrat Ali’s
hands.

18.  Today, out of the aforesaid examples, can any ruler of a
democratic state present such an example? The
leading pioneer of India’s independence, Mahatma
Gandhi, had once said that he wanted such a
democratic state whose ruler followed in the footsteps
of Hazrat Umar. Famous jurist Armanus Von Marie
had confessed that Islam was the only religion among
the universal religions to have democracy for its
system of governance.

19.  It may be rightly said that the true democratic
government established during the early period of
Islam had been that of the Righteous Caliphs.
However, it has been a sad aspect of Muslim history
that such an ideal rule concluded after the martyrdom
of Hazrat Ali. It was succeeded by monarchy and
despotism with the exception of the three-year rule of
Umar Bin Abdul Aziz amongst the Umayyads, who
wanted to revive the same justice, equality and
accountability as found in the rule of the Righteous
Caliphs.

20.  Thereafter the system of governance prevailed on the
same track of the preceding Umayyad rulers,
subsequently succeeded by the Abbasids, and then
successive rulers in the Muslim world who were either
absolute monarchs or dictators, although a few of
them individually established justice and equity in
their governance. Nevertheless, the system remained
undemocratic, which the Muslim world at large still
has to contend with.

21.  In conclusion, it may be said that Islam had been the
pioneer of democracy, but its followers in general have
forgotten their own values along with the democratic
system of governance. Now vast swathes of Muslim
lands exist under absolute monarchies or despotic
rulers. It is an irony of history that contemporary
Muslim political thinkers and intellectuals, too, should
now begin to see western democracy as a model.