Moslem scholars and democracy

By Masykuri Abdillah

JAKARTA (JP): In accordance with the globalization trend, especially after the collapse of the Eastern European regimes, democracy is becoming an important factor of international relations as well as a subject of intensive debate in the Third World, including Moslem countries.

Almost all governments in the world, even authoritarian ones, characterize their regimes and their aspirations as "democratic". Yet not all governments in Moslem countries, and not all Moslem intellectuals and ulama (Moslem scholars), support democracy. Generally Moslem modernists support this system because it is compatible with Islamic doctrines, while Moslem fundamentalists and many Moslem traditionalists reject this system, because the concept means the negation of Allah's sovereignty.

Many observers, such as Samuel P. Huntington, recognize the compatibility of Islamic doctrines and democracy, but some of them, such as John L. Esposito and James P. Piscatori, argue that there are questions on the compatibility of Islam and democracy, because the former is a religion based on the belief of God, while the latter is based on secularism. Besides, there are also problems of inequality between believers and nonbelievers as well as between men and women.

There has also been an intensive discussion and several studies on democracy in Indonesia, but most of them have taken on a sociological and legal perspective. No special study has been carried out from a theological perspective. In Indonesia, where the majority of its population are Moslem (87 percent), a theological study is important because, according to Max Weber's theory, the structure and actions of a social group are derived from its commitment to a particular belief system, from which the goals, standards of behavior and legitimacy (and ultimately the power) of the authorities are derived.

This theological perspective is explored through the responses of Moslem intellectuals to the concept of democracy. The Moslem intellectuals referred to here are those who express systematic ideas in responding to social and societal problems, while being committed to Islamic values in the life of society and the nation, such as Amien Rais, Abdurrahman Wahid, Nurcholish Madjid, Deliar Noer, Munawar Sjadzali, Ali Yafie and others.

As committed Moslems in other Moslem countries, Moslem intellectuals in Indonesia believe that Islam is not only a theological system but also a way of life which contains a number of ethical and moral standards adopted in society and the nation.

Islam does not make a distinction between sacred and secular or between the "church" and the state. But most Moslem intellectuals argue that Islam does not encompass the social order at an operational level. It contains only the basic principles of social order oriented to the doctrine of tawhid (Oneness of God).

The basic principles of Islamic political order, according to them, are alshura (mutual consultation), al-adala (justice), musawa (equality) and al-ukhuwwa (brotherhood). The operational level of the Islamic political order is formulated through ijtihad (individual judgment or interpretation of Islamic doctrines). In fact, this ijtihad sometimes takes the form of responses to existing political systems or to foreign ideas modified with Islamic teachings. One such set of responses to a foreign idea are those expressed in relation to democracy, which is today becoming an important factor of international relations as well as a subject of intense debate in the Third World, especially following the collapse of the socialist regimes in Eastern Europe.

All Moslem intellectuals in Indonesia accept the term "democracy" and support it as a system which must be implemented in a Moslem society. Generally their support for democracy is based on two reasons. First, its values are in accordance with the Islamic values regarding society, especially the concept of shura (mutual consultation). Second, it is an appropriate way of articulating Moslems' aspirations and interests because the Moslem community in Indonesia constitutes the majority, while the democratic system is a system of majority rule.

Of course, their concept of democracy is not fully in line with the liberal's concept, from which the notion of democracy originated. They certainly agree with the basic concept of democ racy in its contemporary usage as introduced by Sidney Hook, Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, which consists of majority rules, political participation through voting, free elections and accountability.

Nevertheless, certain differences of opinion exist among Moslem intellectuals concerning the idea of popular sovereignty. Some of them deny such a sovereignty because the real sovereignty, according to them, is vested in God. But most of them have no problem with the idea of popular sovereignty, because they differentiate between the absolute sovereignty of God and the political sovereignty of a certain state. The latter translates the idea of popular sovereignty in a democratic system. But almost all of them recognize the supremacy of God's injunction (Shari'a) as the basic standard of Moslems' life in society and the nation.

In the discourse on democracy, Moslem intellectuals also discuss the question of human rights, from which the democratic ideas were derived. If the term "democracy" is still a subject of debate among Moslem intellectuals and ulama in Moslem countries, the term of human rights has been agreed by all of them.

In 1990, Moslem countries even declared a Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, although in fact this declaration does not cover all civil and political rights. Moslem intellectuals in Indonesia also understand democracy covers certain universal values, especially equality, freedom and pluralism. Their comprehension of the principle of equality is related to aspects of law, income and education. Yet most of them argue that equality only means equality before the law, and not factual equality, because this would remove natural differentiation within a society.

In this context, they are also concerned about the question of the status of non-Moslems and women in a Moslem society, considered by some observers as incompatible with the principles of democracy. Principally, most Moslem intellectuals argue in favor of equal rights for non-Moslems as for Moslems, although there are discussions among them regarding the possibility of a non-Moslem becoming the head-of-state in a Moslem society.

Yet most of them still maintain the Koranic stipulation regarding women's status, which in certain respects seems unequal compared to men's status, arguing that the duties of men and women are different. In the discourse on equality, Moslem intellectuals do not separate equality from the concept of justice, which is, according to them, the most fundamental concept in society. They support both procedural and social justice, which means that justice must be implemented not only in its legal aspect but also in its social and economic aspects.

Masykuri Abdillah is a lecturer at the State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), Jakarta. He received his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at the Department of Middle Eastern History and Culture, University of Hamburg, Germany (1995). This article is a summary of his dissertation, titled Responses of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals to the Concept of Democracy (1966-1993), published recently by Abera-Verlag, Hamburg, Germany (1997). This is the first of two parts.