Islam and Democracy in the 21st Century

Abstract This book attempts to analyse and examine, on theoretical grounds, the relationship between Islam and its socio-political concepts and institutions and the principles of (modern) democracy, in the views of (selected) prominent Muslim scholars of the last-two-and-half-centuries—of the Arab world and South Asia. A crucial question that has highly intensified since 1980s, gained momentum in the post-9/11 era, and again came to limelight with the inception of ‘Arab Spring’ is: Is Islam compatible with democracy? It seeks to address this very crucial question by highlighting key concepts and figures that have been essential in framing the contemporary debates surrounding Islam and democracy. It (i) attempts to tread through diverse theoretical Islamic texts like the Qur’an, Sunnah, and other more contemporary works by eminent scholars on Islam–democracy (in) compatibility; (ii) endeavours to create a discursive terrain for theorizing the notions of convergence vis-à-vis the notions of divergence inherent in the debates surrounding Islam and democracy; (iii) provides an assessment of some operational key concepts/institutions of democracy in Islam, including Shura (Mutual Consultation), Bay‘ah (Oath of Allegiance), and Mithaq al-Medina (the Constitution of Medina), etc.; (iv) provides an assessment of the views and visions of some selected modern Muslim scholars (on Islam–democracy compatibility, globally (proponents) (v) deliberates, very succinctly, on the objections of the ‘Opponents’ of Islam–democracy relation. It is a helpful source for the students and scholars of Islamic political thought, comparative politics, and Islamic studies and is equally fascinating for the readers interested in knowing the contemporary political dynamics of the Muslim world.