The Caliphate and Democracy

Democracy, one of the world’s oldest forms of government, has become the most common form, and its enactment has become the goal of less fortunate nations. From Ancient Greece’s and Rome’s aristocratic forms of democracy, through the famous presidential democracy of the United States and the parliamentary democracy of Turkey, democracy has had various shapes and forms, and various levels of tolerance and acceptance of the opinions and rights of people.

The caliphate, a currently nonexistent form of government, was the standard form of government that was applied to the Muslim world for over 12 centuries, from Abu Bakr in the mid-7th century AD, to the last Ottoman sultan, the Caliph Abdul Mejid II, whose reign ended in 1924. Even when coups and civil wars took place, the caliphate would be transferred to the surviving faction. After the reign of the 4 Righteous Caliphs, the caliphate was passed on to 5 dynasties: The Ommayads, The Abbasids, The Fatimids (the only Shiite caliphate), The Mamluks, and the Ottomans.

Citizenship:

Democracy’s purpose is to allow eligible citizens of a nation an equal opportunity to take part in decision-making, usually legislative decisions and the appointment of heads of state. As history proves, democracy left the questions of whom exactly is a citizen, and which citizens are eligible citizens, open to the founding members of any form of democracy. In Ancient Rome and Greece, women, slaves, and non-landowners were not considered to be citizens. In the United States, white men were the only individuals allowed to vote until 1870, when the criteria of race and color were abolished, and 1920, when the criteria of gender was abolished.

From the early days of Islam, the Quran and the Prophetic Traditions (the Sunna) laid out in stone the bases of citizenship in the Islamic state, and therefore, under any Islamic caliphate. In one Prophetic saying (hadith), the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said,

“There is no advantage for an Arab over a non-Arab, nor a white man over a black man, except by piousness (taqwa).”

The Quran also removes all racial and geographical differences between Muslims under the rule of Islam in the following verse:

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. (49:13) [Translation: Sahih International]

Legislation:

Democratic legislation has always been based on commonly accepted norms, mores, and traditions at a specified period of time. Homosexuality, for instance, was traditionally taboo, if not clearly forbidden, in many Judeo-Christian societies. However, today, we find many Western nations, and American states, legalizing homosexual marriages. Even substances that are illegal, such as marijuana, are being legalized in a number of American states within days. Even adultery, which was illegal throughout the United States, is currently being decriminalized in a number of states.

Legislation in the Islamic Caliphate is guided by two limits: That which the Quran and the Sunna clearly prohibit and forbid, and that which the Quran and the Sunna clearly obligate and command. The consumption of alcohol, being prohibited in Islam, cannot be legalized. Homosexuality must remain illegal in the Caliphate. Mandatory alms-giving cannot be abolished. All that which is obligatory in Islam cannot be abolished by man-made legislation in an Islamic state, and all that which is forbidden in Islam cannot be legalized by man-made legislation.

The Islamic Caliphate offers a level of tolerance that is almost nonexistent in modern democracies. Followers of non-Muslim religions are permitted to judge themselves by the laws of their books and traditions. They are allowed to do that which is permissible in their laws even if it is forbidden by Islamic law.

The Appointing the Head of State:

Given the variety of forms of democracy, the selection and appointment of the head of state varies from one democracy to another. In some nations, the people directly elect the president. In a number of parliamentary democracies, the elected members of parliament elect the prime minister. The head of state is appointed either by a direct election by the people, or indirectly by individuals entrusted by the people.

The appointment of the head of state in the Islamic Caliphate is done by two major steps. First, influential figures of public authority (ahl elhal w elaaqd) entrusted by the people select an individual they consider fulfilling the criteria of a proper Muslim ruler. They pledge allegiance (ba’iah) to the new ruler. Then, the ruler is obliged to receive pledges of allegiance by the people in order to gain legitimacy. In this process, the people ensure that the ruler is both qualified according to the opinion of those they trust, and are accepted by the people.

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