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Is Islam compatible with democracy?
Ann Althouse points to a lecture, "A Reconsideration of Presumptions: Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?"
I commented: First, from the Muslim Sunnah (An-Nawawi's Forty Hadeeth: No. 13) "None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." This is the principle of RECIPROCITY, commonly called the golden rule. This constitutional principle institutionalizes a single society, open to everyone, regardless of ethnic background, religion or gender.
Second, in the interpretations available to us, the Qur'an, the word of Allah, explains that God put mankind on earth to take charge of the physical world as vice regent, viceroy or khalif. [Al Baqara 2:30] Accordingly, ALL citizens forever retain the responsibility to fashion and improve the future. That responsibility is two-fold:
1) All citizens must permanently and regularly have the constitutional opportunity, based on new experience, to continuously and repeatedly correct how they are governed.
2) To learn how wisely to decide demands transparency and accountability in leadership and universal excellence in education.
That's compatibility with democracy. See Courage and Clarity.
Later on in the comment thread, I added: The better question turns focus around onto the western world before turning it back on Islam: "What are the minimum requirements for any society?"
I'll try to expand my opinion this weekend, but it seems there are two: 1) humility and 2) a sense that others live their life as acutely as you do.
Humility is the understanding that, because our minds only map reality, sometimes an individual or group thinks it is correct when it is not -- and that is codified in democracy, which continuously allows one individual to convince others there may be a better way. Therefore free speech, and tolerating offense is necessary.
Respect for others applies so long as respect is returned, and it means don't do to someone else what you don't want done to you. [This can moderate the tone offense can take.]
From these thin threads, shared because they can be deduced from personal experience, viable societies embracing different cultures can be produced. On the other side of the coin, if they are not shared, it is a race to convince others of the self-interest of adopting them before having to deal with differences through the law of the jungle.
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