Fwd: Fw: Long Live the Egyptian People's Struggle! Join Demos in Solidaritywith the Egyptian People

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From: William Gladys <william.gladys@tiscali.co.uk>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 2:08 AM
Subject: Fw: Long Live the Egyptian People's Struggle! Join Demos in Solidaritywith the Egyptian People
To: world_Politics@googlegroups.com

 

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From: International Action Center

To: action.news@organizerweb.com

Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2011 1:49 PM

Subject: Long Live the Egyptian People's Struggle! Join Demos in Solidaritywith the Egyptian People

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International Action Center - iacenter.org

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U.S. hands off North Africa and the Middle East!

Long live the Egyptian people's struggle!

Join demonstrations in solidarity with the Egyptian people

SEE LISTING OF ACTIONS AT iacenter.org/actions/egyptdemos

International Action Center statement -- Jan. 28, 2011

A seemingly all-powerful military, police and media apparatus, that has had the support of the U.S. superpower for decades, is crumbling before the even greater strength of a united people who have first conquered fear and may now push the dictator's regime into the dustbin of history.
 
This struggle began in Tunisia in December when a young street vender chose to burn himself rather than face humiliation. It has spread to Algeria, to Yemen, to Jordan and now to the largest and most central state in the Arab world, Egypt. This country, with its rich ancient history and its impoverished population -- with more than 80 million people it is the largest of the North African states -- is now finding its way back into center stage of world events.
 
Ever since the Camp David agreements, Egypt has been a client state of U.S. imperialism. The U.S. has supplied Egypt with $1-2 billion in military aid over the years since the 1979, second only to the aid the U.S. gives to the Israeli settler state. This aid includes the tear gas, rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition supplied the Egyptian riot police.
 
In turn, Hosni Mubarak's Egypt supported the U.S. war against Iraq in 1991; it blocks the entrance to embattled Gaza today. Because Egypt is the lynchpin of U.S. imperialist foreign policy within the Arab countries, the current revolutionary crisis in Egypt raises the possibility -- even the likelihood -- that Washington will attempt to intervene in Egyptian internal affairs, with a good chance that this will mean military intervention.
 
Tonight (Jan. 28) President Barack Obama -- realizing the Mubarak dictatorship's days were numbered, made some statements distancing the U.S. from the 30-year-old regime in Egypt. We should remember, however, that in his State of the Union message, President Obama spoke of the U.S.'s alleged role spreading 'democracy,' but he pointedly avoided mentioning Egypt.
 
As an anti-war and anti-imperialist solidarity group working within the United States, the International Action Center pledges to help build actions in solidarity with the people of Egypt and of all of those countries where people are struggling for democracy and freedom from imperialist domination. Thus the IAC will join the actions of the Egyptian community in the United States protesting the Mubarak regime, and it will build actions to demand that the U.S. desist from intervening in Egyptian affairs and especially that there be no military intervention against the Egyptian people.
 
Over the next days there are demonstrations planned in cities around the U.S. to show solidarity with the Egyptian people's struggle. The IAC calls on its supporters to join these actions.
 
SEE LISTING OF ACTIONS AT iacenter.org/actions/egyptdemos

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Fwd: CC Issue 29, Jan - A Manifesto For Change In Egypt

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From: Countercurrents <editor@countercurrents.org>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 2:10 AM
Subject: CC Issue 29, Jan - A Manifesto For Change In Egypt
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com



Dear Friend,

If you think the content of this news letter is critical for the dignified living and survival of humanity and other species on earth, please forward it to your friends and spread the word.It's time humanity should come together as one family! You can subscribe to our news letter here http://www.countercurrents.org/subscribe.htm

In Solidarity
Binu Mathew


Thousands In Cairo Defy Curfew
By Aljazeera

http://www.countercurrents.org/aljazeera290111.htm

Regional ruling party headquarters is torched amid renewed protests, as death toll from unrest crosses 90. Protesters are calling for "regime change, not cabinet change"


A Manifesto For Change In Egypt
By Mohamed ElBaradei

http://www.countercurrents.org/elbaradei290111.htm

In Egypt, as in Tunisia, there are other forces than just the president and the people. The army has been quite neutral so far, and I would expect it to remain that way. The soldiers and officers are part of the Egyptian people. They know the frustrations. They want to protect the nation.. This week the Egyptian people broke the barrier of fear, and once that is broken, there is no stopping them


Egyptian Youth And New Dawn Hopes
By Firas Al-Atraqchi

http://www.countercurrents.org/atraqchi290111.htm

For young Egyptians, long-dormant patriotism and pride have been finally awakened


A People Defies Its Dictator, And A Nation's
Future Is In The Balance
By Robert Fisk

http://www.countercurrents.org/fisk290111.htm

It might be the end. It is certainly the beginning of the end. Across Egypt, tens of thousands of Arabs braved tear gas, water cannons, stun grenades and live fire yesterday to demand the removal of Hosni Mubarak after more than 30 years of dictatorship


As The Dominoes Flow Toward Israel
By William A. Cook

http://www.countercurrents.org/cook290111.htm

While the people of the mid-east rise in protest against their respective American supported dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, with the American-Israeli attempts to control Lebanon on the brink of chaos and collapse, and the "peace negotiations" between the Palestinians and the Israelis torpedoed by both Netanyahu and Abbas, the confusion at the State Department could be eased if it spent some time reviewing the United States' prior efforts to control the people of the mid-east, especially in Iran


Middle East Intifadas
By Stephen Lendman

http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman290111A.htm

Initially in Tunisia, popular revolt spread regionally across North Africa and the Middle East, erupting in Algeria, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen


Worsening Food Crisis Is Leading To Political Upheavals
By Devinder Sharma

http://www.countercurrents.org/dsharma290111.htm

In the midst of the chaos being witnessed across the Arab world -- Tunisia, Algeria and now Egypt -- what is being missed out is the role food inflation has played in triggering these protests


World Is One Poor Harvest Away From Chaos,
Book Warns, By Lester Brown
By The Independent

http://www.countercurrents.org/brown290111.htm

Like many environmentalists, Lester Brown is worried. In his new book "World on the Edge," released this week, Brown says mankind has pushed civilization to the brink of collapse by bleeding aquifers dry and overplowing land to feed an ever-growing population, while overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide


Oil And Food Prices
By Jason Bradford

http://www.countercurrents.org/bradford290111.htm

Agriculture was created as the primary way civilizations harness the energy that allows them to do work. Now, however, agriculture is simply another fossil fuel conversion system. While these fuels provide us with tremendous labor efficiency, we can no longer say we have an energy efficient way to make food since food production is now an energy sink


Four Reasons Why "Progress" Isn't Always Progress
By Margaret Emerson

http://www.countercurrents.org/emerson290111.htm

Progress should mean working within the Earth's limits to ensure that people aren't just well-off financially, but happy and healthy. It means closing the gap between the very rich and the desperately poor, because progress can't just mean the improvement of the lives of 5% of the population. Progress means peace, and cooperation, and more beauty in the world


What If We Stopped Fighting For Preservation?
By Tom Butler

http://www.countercurrents.org/butler290111.htm

A critique of Tim Murray's essay "What If We Stopped Fighting for Preservation and Fought Economic Growth Instead?"


Hezbollah Is The New Government Of Lebanon. Now What?
By Franklin Lamb

http://www.countercurrents.org/lamb290111.htm

Iran benefited with important political gains as it continues to rise and move in the region in the direction of Palestine. The United States' hegemony continues to recede in the region and is increasingly viewed, post Palestine Papers, as the enemy of Arabs and Muslim. Its pariah status grows because Washington continues to prop up, fund and arm the Zionist occupation of Palestine


The War - Did We Sacrifice A Million Lives
And A $Trillion Cash Just To Hand Our Jobs
To China? Part - II
By Nicholas C. Arguimbau

http://www.countercurrents.org/arguimbau290111.htm

The US and Europe aren't "the right markets."Does "Big Oil" have the resources to carry out your plan?


Transatlantic Initiatives For Installing Democracy
By Farooque Chowdhury

http://www.countercurrents.org/chowdhury290111.htm

In the face of the decadent reality of ruling system in peripheral societies, initiatives for installing "democracy" are there now. The initiatives are from both sides of the Atlantic


Deoband Power Struggle Could Change
The Face Of Muslim Society In India
By Yoginder Sikand

http://www.countercurrents.org/sikand290111.htm

Whether Vastanvi stays or is forced out remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: as the calumny he has had to face from fellow maulvis, sections of the Urdu press and scores of Muslim 'leaders' so tragically illustrates, the onerous task of promoting long overdue and desperately needed reforms in Indian Muslim society, particularly in the maulvi community, is by no means an easy one


Salah Hamouri: One Of Thousands Of
Israeli Political Prisoners
By Stephen Lendman

http://www.countercurrents.org/lendman290111.htm

In March 2005, French/Palestinian Hamouri was arrested, tortured and imprisoned for allegedly co-conspiring with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) members to assassinate Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ultra-Orthodox Shas party's spiritual leader and former Israeli Chief Rabbi. At age 91, he's very much alive as of January 25, 2011

Press Release

http://www.countercurrents.org/pressrelease.htm

Action Alert

http://www.countercurrents.org/actionalert.htm


Countercurrents And You !

Click here to find out
how you can support CC
http://www.countercurrents.org/subscription.htm


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Fwd: What Corruption Looks Like: 87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ShunkW <shunkw@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 6:10 AM
Subject: What Corruption Looks Like: 87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast
To: ShunkW <shunkw@sbcglobal.net>

What Corruption Looks Like: 87% Of Congressional Reps Supporting Comcast/NBC Merger Got Money From Comcast

from the how-government-work-gets-done dept

Let me start out by pointing out that I'm on the record thinking that people are severely overreacting to the Comcast/NBC merger. I think that it's likely to be a bad business decision, but I see no reason why the government should block it. If anything, it seems like it'll just be a modern updating of the AOL/Time Warner catastrophe, as management won't really know what to do and will just make things worse off. That said, the companies have been fighting hard against opposition to the merger, and one way to fight is with money. So it comes as little surprise to find out that 84 of the 97 Congressional Reps, who signed a letter urging that the FCC approve the merger without conditions, received campaign contributions from Comcast.

Now, this is not to say that those 84 are corrupt. But, as Larry Lessig has pointed out, whether or not there is actual corruption here obscures the point that it certainly looks corrupt, and certainly decreases citizens' willingness to trust that their government is acting in the interests of the people they're supposed to represent.

If anything, this brings more support to the idea that if our elected officials are going to accept large donations from companies and then legislate in their interests, it would make sense to require those elected officials to wear patches indicating who's funding them, a la Nascar uniforms.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110113/14141312658/what-corruption-looks-like-87-congressional-reps-supporting-comcastnbc-merger-got-money-comcast.shtml

Sw

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Fwd: Faith-Based Politics: Kinship Between National Socialism & Roman Catholicism

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ShunkW <shunkw@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 6:10 AM
Subject: Faith-Based Politics: Kinship Between National Socialism & Roman Catholicism
To: ShunkW <shunkw@sbcglobal.net>

Faith-Based Politics: Kinship Between National Socialism & Roman Catholicism

In Christian Nations, Christians Rationalize the Blending of Religion, Politics

By Austin Cline

It's common for Christians to assume that Christian churches resisted Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. The truth is that not only did few even go so far as to voice criticism, much less overtly and publicly resist, but some actually made serious arguments for the idea that Christianity and Nazi ideology were totally compatible. Such arguments for compatibility could either focus on the ideologies' specific teachings, on their general approaches to life and society, or both.  

Fusing Christianity & National Socialism

A focus on the "essence" of Christianity and National Socialism was probably more common, and Christians who did this also tended to discover that both were inherently more compatible with the German character. The idea that there was something essentially "German" about "true" Christianity might seem bizarre today, but it's not that different from Christians in America acting like Christianity is especially compatible with American politics, American market capitalism, the American character. Just how often do we see Americans behaving as though they believe their god singles out America for special blessings and favors?

Protestants in Nazi Germany, not unlike their counterparts in modern America, tried to fuse Christianity with their contemporary politics much more than Catholics, but Nazi Catholics were able to rely on the fact that their own church is so authoritarian. If authoritarian control is acceptable within the church, it's hard to argue that it's unacceptable for the government.

There were certainly Catholics who believed that Nazi ideology was contrary to and incompatible with their Catholicism, but there were also plenty who just as sincerely believed that Nazi ideology was compatible with their Catholicism. I'm not arguing that the latter were more right than the former, but rather that the latter were just as sincere as the former and could offer serious theological and historical arguments to back their case.  

Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany

In Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany¹, Robert A. Krieg describes the five points offered by Catholic theologian Joseph Lortz when he argued that "the basic kinship between National Socialism and Catholicism" was becoming evident to all Christians in Germany:

(1) like the church, "National Socialism is essentially an opponent of Bolshevism, liberalism, [and] relativism." It affirms what popes Gregory XVI, Pius IX, and Leo XIII explicitly taught: authentic civil authority is much more than the will of "the majority."

(2) like the church, "National Socialism is the declared opponent of the atheist movement and also of the lack of ethics in society." Building on this healthy formation, the church can address "the great task of the present age: the creation of a new 'Catholic human being' who will replace the Sunday Catholic." As Lortz saw it, this kind of cooperation between church and state occurred in Italy, where Pius XI and Mussolini initiated in 1931 collaboration between the Catholic youth organization and the state.

(3) National Socialism and Catholicism affirm "the natural order of creation." National Socialism is intent upon leading Germans back to their cultural and ethnic origins so that they may once again flourish as a people. Since Catholicism believes in the complementarity of nature and grace, it can endorse Nazi efforts in this regard and simultaneously build on this foundation while it focuses on the spiritual realm.

(4) National Socialism and Catholicism hold that a society is not merely an association of individuals but rather a social unity in which individuals participate. Pius XI himself called for a corporatist society in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno.

(5) National Socialism and Catholicism aim at overcoming modernity's "spiritless intellectualism." Both emphasize the "spiritual life" that undergirds intellectual inquiry.

Finally, these five points indicate at National Socialism and Catholicism share a "kinship of essence." For this reason, in relating to the Nazi state, the church should "work for the fulfillment of the genuine essence of National Socialism."

Many may be surprised at attempts to draw such detailed parallels between Nazi ideology and Catholicism, but this happens in many other cultures with many different political and economic systems. Everywhere you turn, you can find people trying to argue that "true" Christianity already anticipated or is most compatible with whatever political and economic systems they happen to be living in and we need to realize that neither will be entirely fulfilled until they are blended with other. We can find such arguments with communism and capitalism, democratic and authoritarian politics, liberalism, and conservatism, and so forth.

So Joseph Lortz wasn't doing anything unusual — it's just that he was doing it with a political and social ideology which everyone has come to realize is evil. No one who tries to blend Christianity with market capitalism or liberal politics wants to think that their project shares anything at all with what Christians like Lortz were doing, but ultimately they are all far more similar than they are different. Particularly significant here is the fact that as a professional theologian, Lortz can't be dismissed as not being a "real" Christian — a common response from Christians when faced with stories of fellow believers whose political and social beliefs led them in a different direction.

Naturally the lesson here is not limited to Catholicism alone, or even just Christianity alone. Protestants and adherents of other religions engage in very similar behavior, though in my experience it seems to happen more often in the context of Christianity than other religions. I've never read about anyone trying to blend capitalism with Hinduism, or democratic politics with Buddhism. The ability of Christianity to blend with a variety of cultures, politics, and social systems has been part of what has made it so successful.

At the same time, though, it has led Christians to forget the degree to which contingent political ideologies, cultural traditions, and other external factors have become enmeshed with their faith. It might be wise for them to care about this and avoid actions which could serve to embed aspects of contemporary politics or economics into their religion. That's one possible consequence of current faith-based politics which seeks to encourage greater political activism that is motivated by religious belief.

http://atheism.about.com/od/politicalliberation/a/NaziCatholic.htm?p=1

 

Sw

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Fwd: [Right to Education] India Protests Radio-Tagging Of Duped Indian...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rakesh Chander Agrawal <notification+kr4marbae4mn@facebookmail.com>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 6:20 AM
Subject: [Right to Education] India Protests Radio-Tagging Of Duped Indian...
To: Palash Biswas <palashbiswaskl@gmail.com>

Rakesh Chander Agrawal posted in Right to Education. Rakesh Chander Agrawal 6:20am Jan 30 India Protests Radio-Tagging Of Duped Indian Students In US NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON: India Saturday Said It Has Told United States That The Use Of Monitors On Some Duped Indian Students Of Closed American Tri-Valley University By Authorities Was "Unwarranted" And Demanded The Immediate Removal Of The Measure. The Tri-Valley University (TVU) In Pleasanton, A Suburb In San Francisco Bay Area, Was Raided Tuesday And Charged With Helping Foreign Nationals Illegally Acquire Immigration Status. Some 1,555 Students Of Tri-Valley University, 95 Percent Of Them From India, Mostly Andhra Pradesh Face The Prospect Of Deportation Following The Closure Of Tri Valley University . "We Have Conveyed To The US Authorities That The Students, Most Of Who Are Victims Themselves, Must Be Treated Fairly And Reasonably, And That The Use Of Monitors On A Group Of Students, Who Were Detained And Later Released With Monitors In Accordance With US Laws, Is Unwarranted And Should Be Removed," Said The External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Vishnu Prakash In New Delhi. Throughout Saturday, Indian Television Channels Had Displaying Visuals Of Indian Students With Radio Trackers Around One Ankle, Which Was Apparently Done To Monitor Their Movements. The Measure Is Reportedly Part Of US Immigration And Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Intense Supervision And Appearance Programme, Prior To Deportation, Under Which The Students Have To Wear A GPS Device. A Number Of Students Have Already Been Interviewed By ICE Agents, Most Have Been Questioned And Released, According To Jayaram Komati Of The Telugu Association Of North America (TANA). But He Said A Few Have Been Required To Wear Ankle Bracelets. Expressing Concern About Indan Students Enrolled At The Closed University, He Said That While About 100 Students Had Obtained Visas From The US Embassy, The Majority Of Indian Students Had Transferred From Other Universities And There Was Another Group Who Were In US As Dependents Of Their Spouses. Prakash Said That MEA And Indian Consulate General In San Francisco Are In Touch With The Indian Students And US Authorities, Adding That "Everything Possible" Will Be Done To Safeguard The Students' "Legitimate Interests". "The Students Should Be Given Ample Opportunity To Clarify Their Position And Present Their Case; Those Who Wish To Return To India Should Be Allowed To Do So Voluntarily; Those Students Who Have Not Violated Any Visa Or Immigration Laws Should Be Given Opportunity To Adjust Their Status; And, Those Who Are Eligible To Seek Transfer To Other Universities Should Be Given Adequate Opportunity And Time To Do So," He Said. India Has Also Asked US Authorities For Provide Full Information About The Students And Keep It In The Loop About Investigations And Prosecution Against The Tri-Valley University. Next Week, The US Immigration And Customs Enforcement Will Issue A Detailed Advisory For All TVU Students, Which Will Provide Guidance On The Process To Seek Admission In Other Schools. Besides, All TVU Students Have Been Asked To Report To The Nearest ICE Office For Instructions. "Those Students Who Are Presently In India With TVU Sponsored Visas Should Not Travel To The US With That Visa. They Can Apply To Other Universities And, If Admitted, Could Apply Afresh For New Visas," Said Prakash. Meanwhile, US Authorities Have Opened A Helpline For The Indian Students At Tvu. ""We Have Set Up An Email Address And Voicemail That Tri-Valley Students Can Use To Contact ICE Homeland Security Investigations Directly With Their Questions," Said Lari K. Haley, An Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) Spokesman. Haley Said Any Affected Student Can Call The US Number 415-844-5320 And Leave A Voice Message. An ICE Representative Will Return The Call. Students Can Also Write To 'Sfrhsifraud@Dhs.Gov', Seeking Help. Earlier, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi Said: "We Requested The (US) State Department To Take A Lenient View Because All The Students Are Innocent". On Jan 20, ICE Agents Raided The Tri-Valley University And Executed Search Warrants At Three Other Properties Owned By School Founder Susan Su . A Day Earlier, The US Attorney General's Office Filed A Civil Complaint Against Su, Claiming She Was Part Of A Scheme To Defraud, Using False Statements And Misrepresentations To The Department Of Homeland Security. The Complaint Says Su Had Made Millions Of Dollars In Tuition Fees For Issuing Visa-Related Documents That Enabled Foreign Nationals To Obtain Illegal Student Immigration Status. School Offices Are Closed And Classes That Were To Begin After The Holidays Have Not Started. Students, Who Pay About $2,700 Per Semester, Have Been Left Uncertain About Their Immigration Status And Future Education Options. The Majority Of The School's Classes Are Done Online View Post on Facebook · Edit Email Settings · Reply to this email to add a comment.

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Fwd: The Basics of Political System in Islam

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: E-Tabligue <tabligue@thekhalids.org>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 7:31 AM
Subject: The Basics of Political System in Islam
To: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

 
Assalam Alikum Wa RahmatullahWa Barakatahu

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

                         Assalamo Alykum Wa Rehmatullahe wa Barakaatuh

 

The Basics of the Political System in Islam (part 1 of 2): Islam a Total Way of Life Introduction The West makes a natural mistake in their understanding of Islamic tradition, assuming that religion means the same for Muslims as it has meant for most other religious adherents ever since the industrial revolution, and for some societies, even before that; that is: a section of life reserved for certain matters, and separate from other sections of life.  This is not the Islamic world view.  It never has been in the past, and modern attempts of making it so are seen as an aberration. Islam: A Total Way of Life Islam is a "total way of life."  It has provided guidance in every sphere of life, from individual cleanliness, rules of trade, to the structure and politics of the society. Islam can never be separated from social, political, or economic life, since religion provides moral guidance for every action that a person takes.  The primary act of faith is to strive to implement God's will in both private and public life.  Muslims see that they, themselves, as well as the world around them, must be in total submission to God and his Will.  Moreover, they know that this concept of His rule must be established on earth in order to create a just society.  Like Jews and Christians before them, Muslims have been called into a covenant relationship with God, making them a community of believers who must serve as an example to other nations by creating a moral social order.  God tells the Muslim global nation: "You are the best community raised for mankind, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong…" (Quran 3:110) Throughout history, being a Muslim has meant not only belonging to a religious community of fellow believers but also living under the Islamic Law.  For Islamic Law is believed to be an extension of God's absolute sovereignty. God is the Only Sovereign God is the absolute sovereign in Islam, and is therefore the only Lord of heaven and earth.  Just as He is the Lord of the physical universe, to the true Muslim believers, God is the Lawgiver for every area of human life.  Just as He is the Master of the physical world, God is the Ruler of the affairs of men in Islamic doctrine.  Thus God is the supreme Lawgiver[1], the Absolute Judge, and the Legislator Who distinguishes right from wrong.  Just like the physical world inevitably submits to its Lord by following the 'natural' laws of the universe, human beings must submit to the moral and religious teaching of their Lord, the One Who sets right apart from wrong for them.  In other words, God alone has the authority to make laws, determine acts of worship, decide morals, and set standards of human interaction and behavior.  This is because, "His is the Creation and Command." (Quran 7:54) The Separation of Institutional Religion & the State As we have mentioned, in Islam God is acknowledged the sole sovereign of human affairs, so there has never been a distinction between religious and state authority.  In Christendom, the distinction between the two authorities are said to be based upon records in the New Testament of Jesus, asking his followers to render unto Caesar what was his and unto God what was His.  Therefore throughout Christian history until the present times, there have always been two authorities: 'God and Caesar', or 'the church and state.'  Each had its own laws and jurisdictions, each its own structure and hierarchy.  In the pre-westernized Islamic world there were never two powers, and the question of separation never arose.  The distinction so deeply rooted in Christendom between church and state has never existed in Islam. The Vision of an Islamic State The vision of an Islamic state and the purpose of its political authority is to implement the divine law.  Thus, the ideal Islamic state is a community governed by the Law revealed by God.  This does not entail that such a state is necessarily a theocracy under direct rule of the learned men of religion, nor is it an autocracy that vests absolute power in the ruler.  The function of the Islamic state is to provide security and order so that Muslims can carry out both their religious and worldly duties.The Caliph[2]  is the guardian of faith and the community.  His role is not so much checked by the ulama (religious scholars), but enhanced by them because they provide him religious and legal counsel.  He also appoints judges who resolve disputes in accordance with Islamic Law.  There is a certain level of flexibility in regards to the system of governance and its establishment in Islam, however, religion must be implemented fully into state and society. Footnotes: [1] God's existence proven by the existence of a supreme Lawgiver is called the 'ethical' argument by Western theologians. [2] The word Caliph is the English term for Khaleefah, or successor, for the Caliph succeeds Prophet Muhammad as political leader of the Muslims and implementation of Divine Law in society.

The Basics of the Political System in Islam (part 2 of 2): Islam and Democracy   Description: In understanding the concept of government in Islam, one need to first understand the nature of the religion.  This article explains how the fundamental beliefs of Islam play a pivotal role in the system of governance.  Part 2: Is Islam and democracy compatible? Islam and Democracy In order to discuss productively the topic of democracy, one must first understand the origins and meanings of the concept itself.  But, for the sake of brevity, it can be said that, according to the "modern" and most rudimental understanding of the term, Islamic thought does conform to some of its aspects.  One such aspect is the fact that Muslims have a right to appoint their rulers, hold them accountable and, when need be, to remove them from office.  Islam does not, however, empower the system of government with the right to absolve or change the legislation of the religion in society, nor does it leave them the right of creation of novel legislations.  Rather, legislation is the right of God alone, and religion must be pivotal in deciding the validity of any new law. Bypassing this right of God amounts to the unforgivable sin of polytheism,for it from the basis of the belief in the Oneness of God that He and only He has the right of legislation.  What this means is that the people or their elected officials do not have a right to make permissible what God has forbidden, or to declare forbidden what God has made permissible.  Both in granting them such a right and then following their legislation is their elevation, making them lords like God, and this is what is meant by polytheism.  No-one has the right to change the Law of God, and His Law is superior to and supersedes all man-made laws. Setting the boundaries of interaction between Islam and democracy, Muslims today are debating the relationship of Islam to democratic institutions in their societies.  While most Muslims wish for greater political participation, the rule of law, government accountability, freedoms, and human rights, there are many different ways to achieve these goals.  To some, Islam has its own mechanisms which preclude democratic institutions.  Still others contend that Islam is fully capable of accommodating and supporting democratic institutions.  Engaging in a process of reform, they argue the compatibility between Islam and certain types of 'democracy' by using traditional Islamic concepts like consultation (shura) between the ruler and the ruled, community consensus (ijma), public interest (maslaha), and scriptural based opinion (ijtihad).  These mechanisms can be used to support forms of government with systems of checks and balances among the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches.  However, rulers of authoritarian states tend to ignore, discourage, or suppress democratic institutions. In general, one can see that Islam is a religion which not only governs the private religious life of an individual, but also mandates and regulates all aspects of public life.  As the notion of worship in Islam is not restricted to mere rituals but inclusive of all deeds of obedience and goodness, so too does the concept of religion extend to all avenues of life on Earth.  To a Muslim, the concepts of religion and state are inseparable.  In keeping this principle respectfully in mind, whatever the form of government a Muslim society chooses to implement, all its constituents must be in direct concordance to the precepts of religion.  By no means can the system of governance exclude, absolve, or interpolate any mandate of the religion, and this is yet only another example of the pure monotheistic nature of Islam, and that all rights due to God are rendered to Him alone, and none else. By IslamReligion.com

 

 Complied, Edited, and Adapted by Khalid Latif.
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Date: 2011/1/30
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