Maudoodi on Why Nations Rise and Fall: http://karalite.blogspot.com/2008/10/nations-rise-fall-why.html.

Maudoodi on How to Bring About an Islamic Revolution. Note that the article says the same thing that Tableegh says: First the people of eeman must be developed, and then only can we bring about a revolution.

Links to other items regarding Islamic Government within my websites:

Material for many different topics/paper ideas in contained in the brief summary I did in my Literature Survey. I have also attached a book by Sayyed Sulaiman Nadvi which provides a careful delineation of Islamic thought on politics, on the basis of authentic source materials -- It is in Urdu, and should be translated.

Iqbal & Lewis: An Islamic Perspective on Governance.

5 Islamic states

Q22:41 (Allah will help) Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish regular prayer and give regular charity, enjoin the right and forbid wrong.

The defining characteristic of an Islamic government is its subordination to the Shari’a or Islamic law. All principles of government to be discussed below derive from these laws, as well as historical examples of their implementation by Islamic states. A government cannot legislate in areas where the Shari’a has provided laws[1]. These areas include inheritance, property rights (which also bear on taxation), certain types of criminal law, etc. In other areas where the Shari’a is silent, or else has laid down only general guidelines, the state may legislate and operate within prescribed guidelines. Citizens can (and are required by Islamic law to) refuse to obey the government in matters which are against Islamic law – obedience to God supersedes obedience to kings[2]. The judiciary, which (in ambiguous cases) decides what is and is not against the Islamic law, is independent of the executive body, and plays an extremely important role because of this status[3]. An essential feature to keep in mind, stressed by many authors, is that an Islamic state is an effort to realise the spiritual by material means through human organisation. For example, an early Islamic ‘mirror for princes’ – The Wisdom that Conduces to Royal Glory by Yusuf Hajib (ca 1070) – features a dialogue between a worldly-wise man and an ascetic, and shows how to harmonize worldly wisdom with spiritual goals. Below we discuss some of the economic functions of the Islamic state, as mandated by Islamic law, including its political organization, public finance, the judicial system, and economic security and welfare.

5.1 Political structure

Since an Islamic state came into existence during the lifetime of the Prophet (s.a.w.), Islamic theory of the state is very well developed. The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present by Antony Black (2001) provides a comprehensive survey.

5.1.1 Principles

Maududi (1960) discusses the basic principles of an Islamic state with a very concrete and practical focus on creating a political framework for use in Pakistan and other Islamic countries. Summarizing the views of one of the leading scholars of Islam, Usmani (1970) highlights three important issues:

• The demands of struggles for liberation, and Islam’s emphasis on the rejection of secular thought, has led some Muslims to over-emphasize the role of politics in Islam. Just as economics is a means to achieve spirituality, Q22:41 (cited above) states that political control is a means to establish worship and encourage good deeds.

• Democracy emerged in Europe in response to historical experience of the evils of autocracy - personal rule with unconstrained and arbitrary power. Europeans, and some Muslim followers, have generalized from the European experience to assume that the forms of government that have evolved in contemporary Europe (and even more recently North America) are the best models for all countries. Islamic governments have personal rule, but with many checks and balances against the abuse of power. In particular, a ruler is equal to his subjects before Islamic law. Rule (or leadership) is regarded as a responsibility not a privilege. A ruler must be chosen on merit, be of exceptional character, and may be removed for incompetence.

• Since political control is a means to an end, only Islamically permissible means may be used to achieve it. Currently, many of the methods being used by Muslims for political struggle are not permissible in Islam. Some Muslims have argued, incorrectly, that such methods are permissible because they are required for success. Several historical examples of how Muslims have sacrificed political success in the interest of religious goals can be identified. For example, Mu‘āwīyah ibn Abī Sufyān, the fifth Caliph of Islam, recalled his armies from a surprise attack (which had a very high likelihood of success) upon learning that such a tactic was not permissible Islamically in the particular situation he faced, immediately after expiry of a peace treaty.

5.1.2 The Ummah

Generally, government has come to be associated with the nation state. However, of relevance to the theme of this paper is the idea, stressed in Islam, that Muslims form one community or Ummah. This conflicts with modern concepts of the nation-state, which formulate governing arrangements on the basis of geographical partition. The as yet unresolved tension between the concept of the Ummah and the concept of nation has played out in many different ways in Muslim political arenas (see, for example, Piscatori, 1986). One example is Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s explicit choice of the modern identity of a Turkish nation and his aggressive promotion of it in preference to the more general Islamic identity of the Ottoman Empire. Although there have been attempts amongst Muslim countries to promote closer political, social and economic ties with each other in line with the concept of Ummah, events such as the separation of East and West Pakistan and the modest success of other initiatives is an indication of the current weakness of such international religio-political ties. Yousri (2004) discusses attempts at economic integration among Muslim countries and their relation to Islamic law and the Ummah.

5.1.3 Decision-making processes

Arguably, the fundamental political problem is group decision-making in the absence of consensus and in the presence of conflicting interests. The main process of decision- making in an Islamic society is shoora or consultation. This was the practice of the Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.) and is explicitly mandated in the Quran, which describes believers as being

(Q42:38) Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance.

Usmani and Shafi (1976) and Ali (1997) contain detailed discussions of shoora, derived from original sources and Islamic historical references. In shoora all members are encouraged to think about what is best for the group as a whole, in preference to the interests of individuals or subgroups. This creates a participatory form of government that differs in important ways from democracy, which often caters to the interests of the largest subgroup and tends to generate conflicts. Shoora, like other Islamic institutions and practices, is intended to create consensus and harmony within an Islamic community[4].

5.1.4 Citizens’ rights and responsibilities

An Islamic government must provide to its citizens justice, security, freedom, and equity in all spheres:

Q16:90 Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and generosity to fellow men, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion:

In return, citizens are expected to obey the state authorities, except in cases where its orders are contrary to Islamic law.

Q4:59 O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.

The preferred mechanism for the selection of a ruler is more like an electoral college (termed ahl-ul-hall-wal-aqd) than direct election. Members of the electoral college must satisfy certain conditions, but need not be bound to vote in any particular way. This same body may also be given the power to remove a ruler for incompetence or other (serious) reasons. Detailed discussion with reference to source materials is given by Ali (1997). Conditions in which revolt or rebellion are considered justifiable (under oppressive rulers) have received extensive discussion by Islamic jurists as well as more practically oriented politicians of the twentieth century. The principles of Islamic government require guarantees of freedom of religion and belief, freedom of worship, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, equality of opportunity, and the right to benefit from public services. Maududi’s The Islamic Law and Constitution (1960) contains an extensive discussion.

Historically, Islamic civilizations have displayed much greater tolerance and provided much greater freedom to minorities than has ever been achieved in the West. In particular, the concept of allowing minorities personal law that is separate from the overall law of the state arguably achieves a level of freedom for subcultures that is greater than in many other countries. Menocal (2002) and Lowney (2005) describe Medieval Muslim Spain, and Akyol (2004, 2006) the Ottoman Empire, while Toynbee (1951) wrote: “The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding moral achievements of Islam. In the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue … of tolerance and peace”. In the Human Development Report: Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (2004), the provision of cultural liberties (of the type provided historically in Islamic civilizations) is presented as one of the pressing needs of the world.

[1] This contrasts with modern European conceptions, according to which a government is responsible for creating and enforcing a ‘social contract’, which may consist of any set of mutually agreed upon rules. Hegel, building on political theories initiated by Machiavelli, argued that since a government is responsible for creating and maintaining the law, it is outside the law and not subject to it. Such a rationale for political authority was responsible for the extraordinary cruelty of the fascist states – see Manicas (1989) and also Harrington (1985) Politics at God’s Funeral.

[2] Note the implication that in an Islamic state, no one is justified in implementing a cruel and unjust policy (such as burning of the Jews) on the grounds that ‘I was just carrying out orders’ – for the full import of this, see Arendt’s (2006) Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.

[3] Rulings by Islamic scholars on the legitimacy of governments have played an important role in Islamic history. For example, rulings in favour of British rule in India helped legitimize it, and rulings against the British supported the War of Independence in 1857. Many British policies in the Middle East were formulated in response to their fear that a ruling by the Ottoman Empire saying that Islamic law requires Muslims to act against the British could lead to widespread revolt in their Muslim colonies; see Fromkin (1991).

[4] Traditional conceptions of the state, according to some, are based on a natural community with a common ethos and shared goals. Modern conceptions of the state, in contrast, are based on a ‘social contract,’ agreement to a set of rules for resolving conflicting interests. Manicas (1989) writes in this context that “the only thing which people have in common is 'the government' and, paradoxically, their private interests!” and describes the history of the transition from the traditional polis to the modern societas form of political organisation in Europe. Islamic principles of government are based on the traditional form, but make explicit allowance for minorities which may not share the same goals as the main community, permitting them far more liberty to self-regulate (through personal law) than is allowed in many states.