Moslem scholars and democracy

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.