What is the position of Islam regarding the term democracy, and is it possible to benefit from the positive aspects of democracy to reach positions to serve Islam or

The questioner: O esteemed Shaykh, democracy is a foreign term that is on the tongues of rulers, and it appears to mean a Western-style system. Many Islamic groups have considered it a solution to what is called individual rule, which does not allow anyone to participate. We have heard it on the tongues of some group leaders as an argument against the government, with some qualifying it as "democracy" and others qualifying it as "Islam." Those who believe in democracy from among the ranks of Islamic groups and movements have obtained some positions, even if in many cases they are empty of substance. It is almost as if in Yemen there are examples of what you mentioned. The question is: What is the position of Islam regarding such Western terms, and do you see benefit in utilizing the positive aspects of democracy to reach positions to serve Islam, or even to protect Islamic groups at least?

The Shaykh : We do not see anything of that at all, and we are not with all these groups that put themselves forward to be members of such parliaments that are established on other than the law of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and among them are systems that they sometimes call socialist and sometimes democratic. These are in fact very dangerous omens that indicate to the sane Muslim who is discerning in his religion first, and in his nation second, that those who rule the Muslims are not rulers, but are themselves ruled. I wish they were ruled by Muslims like themselves, but they are ruled by disbelievers who do not watch over or observe in the Muslims anything except the dhimmah. When this word "democracy" spreads in your lands and in our lands here, there are hadiths that equate it, and although it is old, it is known in some Western countries, especially America, which is now trying to dominate with its ideas and its disbelieving principles the Islamic lands. It does not miss and it does not lack finding among the Muslims supporters for it in the name of democracy. This, as it came in your question, is a foreign word, and I do not forget that in my library there is a book on the life or biography of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), printed about forty or fifty years ago, which wrote at the bottom of the title: "The first democrat in Islam." They lied, because first, if we wanted to give the word "democracy" a legal meaning, 'Umar is not the first Islamic democrat, but rather he is a follower of the Master of Mankind (peace and blessings be upon him). And even so, this word does not have a correct Islamic meaning, because it means that the ruling belongs to the people. It means that the ruling belongs to the people. And with the apparent falsity of this and its contradiction to the texts of the Islamic Shari'ah, know that the ruling belongs to Allah, not to the people, and the people are followers of the Islamic ruling. So this democracy means the exact opposite of the Islamic ruling: the ruling belongs to the people. An example that history does not forget, the history of this century, is that the Americans, in their experience, felt that khamr (intoxicants), as it came in some of our reports, is the mother of all evils. They knew that it was the mother of all evils by the spread of this plague in their lands, so they made a decision to prohibit khamr. They made a decision in the parliament, the council of the people, but soon they were forced to cancel this decision with another decision that permits khamr, because the people did not endure this prohibition. As long as democracy is the rule of the people, then the people make lawful and the people make forbidden according to their whims. Islam is too noble to be called by a foreign disbelieving name that contains clear misguidance. Rather, I say that even if democracy meant a pure Islamic meaning with no blemish or impurity, we do not permit calling a legal meaning by a disbelieving foreign word. Therefore, we deny this usage that has begun to appear in some Arab countries today from two aspects: first, from the aspect of meaning, because it means, as we said, that the ruling belongs to the people, and this is a false statement, for the ruling belongs only to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); and second, from the aspect of the word, because it is a Western foreign word. If it contained a correct meaning, we would not see its use, for it is a loathsome Western jargon. How much more so when it contains a meaning that contradicts the Shari'ah? From this, we deny some Islamic groups that raise their voices calling for democracy, even if they adorn it with the word "Islamic" and say "Islamic democracy." We have been afflicted in this age with what our Prophet (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) warned us of before we fell into what we have fallen into, where he (may Allah pray upon him and his family and grant him peace) said: Long ago, they called khamr "nabidh," and there was a disagreement among some Iraqi jurists and others, and the Sunnah says explicitly: But in the present age, these intoxicants have come to be called with soft and gentle words like "gin" and "whiskey" and the like of these words, just as they call riba (usury or interest) "profit." Even the jurists, even the Muslims who cling to Islam to some extent, this name has been hidden from them, so you hardly hear them use the word riba, but rather its substitute is "profit." All of this has happened recently among the Muslims, including "Islamic socialism" before "Islamic democracy." There is Islamic socialism, and some books were written on it, and they tried to dye some of the rulings contained in disbelieving socialism with an Islamic dye. Some of them fell into this. Of this kind are also the Islamic banks; these are among the misfortunes of the Muslims. Of this kind are also the Islamic anthems; they all spring from one source, and they call them by a name other than their true name. You hear "fine arts" must be there, fine arts, and you hear of "spiritual drinks." On this scale, the word "democracy" in the present age is now. Therefore, we warn now every one who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger not to be deceived by what is called democracy, absolutely, or by Islamic democracy, for it is a disbelieving system. Do you not see that one of the ways of this system is holding elections? And what is the meaning of holding elections? Its meaning is very, very grave from the Islamic perspective. First, it equates the Muslim and the disbeliever, the righteous and the wicked. And our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says: This system of elections is democratic; it does not distinguish first between a Muslim and a disbeliever. It does not distinguish between a righteous person and a criminal. It does not distinguish between a man and a woman. All of these have the freedom of election, to elect and to be elected. That is, the wicked, sinful, openly displaying woman, or even the disbeliever herself, becomes a member of the parliament, or even becomes a minister. Perhaps the day will come when she becomes the ruler, and the saying of him (peace and blessings be upon him) applies to these people, as it came in Sahih al-Bukhari: This is one of the effects of the democratic system that is now being imposed on the Islamic lands in the name of wisdom and legal politics. And this is one of the effects of the invasion of the disbelievers of the lands of Islam, with the consent of the lands of Islam. The occupation of the Americans of Saudi Arabia now and their invasion of Iraq, after many Arab countries cooperated with them, which enabled these disbelievers, who are the Americans and among them are the Jews, to be enabled in the land that we hoped would be the leader of the other states to rule by what Allah has revealed, and instead it goes back. And although we still see in it good that we do not see in the other states, the presence of the Americans in these lands is the breaking of the back. Therefore, if you are now hearing the call to impose the democratic system in Yemen, this reminds us of a Syrian saying: "If your neighbor shaves, you shave." And so this infection will move from Yemen to Saudi Arabia, and I fear, what I fear most, that Saudi Arabia will return to being two parts, or even three parts. If the disbelieving Russian system made Yemen two parts, then the disbelieving American system, which is now occupying Saudi Arabia, will make it at least three parts: Najd, the Hijaz, and I do not know, specifically for the Shi'ah who live there in some of the lands. And we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to frustrate this expectation of ours, and that the Saudis remain as they were before, preserving first their tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and then the implementation of the law of their Lord, even to a degree, as some Islamic preachers used to complain. But in any case, they are better than many other lands. And so the danger, we fear, will continue and continue. What is required of you, O Yemenis, is to be wise, learned callers, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) testified to you long ago with wisdom and jurisprudence. And do not resort to using force, for material force is of no use now before the power of faith is realized in the souls and in the hearts.