From: Charles L <programdir@radiorawdeen.com>
Date: Sun, Oct 24, 2010 at 4:59 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] The Dilemma of Governance and Accountability of Leadership in Islam is in the La
To: bangla-vision@yahoogroups.com
The Dilemma of Governance and Accountability of Leadership in Islam is in the Lack of a Mechanism for Implementing Shariah
by Jamaaluddin al-Haidar
I have just re-read Muammar Qathafi's Green Book for the 6th or 7th time. Qathafi is himself, an enigma. He, like many of the first wave of African leaders who came to power after throwing off the yoke of colonialism/neo-colonialism, i.e. Nkrumah, Nasser, Toure, Kenyatta, Mugabe and Nyerre, is destined to leave behind a dichotomous legacy of the loved revolutionary hero and the despised ruler. Consequentially, despite their short-comings and misgivings, the body of work and sacrifices that these leaders made for the betterment of their people should not be summarily dismissed like the proverbial "tossing out the baby with the dishwater."
Indeed there is much to be gleaned from these leaders in terms of their contributions and experiences. One thing that is shared by leaders such as Nkrumah, Gandhi, and later Sankara of Burkina Faso, is that they were all non-Muslims. However, there is another rarely mentioned commonality – they all recognized that Sharia, Islamic law provided the most comprehensive framework for ruling a modern society. Gandhi went so far as to declare that his fellow Hindus would fair much better under an Islamic Khilafa than under the British sphere of influence. Islam offers the only legal code that is comprehensive enough in its scope yet flexible enough to be applicable to all peoples of the Earth, (Muslim or non-Muslim). Serious political, legal, and socio-economic thinkers from all over the non-Muslim world have been and are becoming increasingly convinced of this fact as their systems show their inherent flaws as the cracks widen and society teeters on the brink of collapsing under the stress of global socio-economic fragility, political hegemony, and moral decay.
In the midst of this societal crisis lies a solution that is, albeit not a panacea, a viable path towards "righting" all that is wrong with present-day societies. The $64,000 question is how to do we implement Sharia in a modern society. It is easy to shout slogans and hold conferences after conferences relishing in the glory of days past…..ending with no better understanding or plan for its implementation than when we started. The proponents of Islamic government tend to always have a top-down approach on how to reach their goal. They label democracy as "demon-cracy" as if there is something intrinsically evil about giving people choices. Socialism also gets the evil wrap by associating it with Marx or Lenin. The fact of the matter is that democratic and socialist principles are weaved all throughout the revelation and traditions that comprise the codified Islamic Law.
What Muammar Qathafi, the thinker, proposes in his Green Book, is shuraa baynahum and direct democracy instead of the representative democracy that exists in so-called democratic societies and dictatorships that exist elsewhere. In representative democracy, the vote of the people doesn't matter. What matters are the paymasters who line the pockets of the politicians who the people, like "lambs to slaughter", have been duped into selecting as their representative with the use of clever media manipulation. The dictatorships of today are far worse because of the total disregard for or arrogant disposition towards shuraa baynahum.
When the veritable fruits that the tree of Sharia bears become a reality in our own communities, maybe more of the people will start to take us more seriously and see the lasting benefits that a system based on God's laws will have in their own societies. Transparency, accountability, and fiduciary clarity are qualities that should define our Islamic institutions. A bottom-up, grass roots initiative that embraces these principles could start in our own masajid and communities. The advent of the computer and streaming technology makes participatory democracy and shura baynahum so easy that there is no excuse for not implementing it on a masjid level and regional level. The benefits that can be reaped from all of this direct, participatory democracy, cooperation, and politics of inclusion is considerable. There are Islamic councils of affiliated masajid in the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles. These councils should have co-op farms with free-roaming chickens and organic eggs. They should have food warehouses that stock the staples like rice, beans, flour, etc. They should be able to operate a virtual savings and loan bank. If Elijah Muhammad was able to achieve what he did during the height of the Nation of Islam activities in this country without the true teachings of Quran and Sunnah, why can't the Muslims of today figure out a way to match and even exceed what this man was able to do during his lifetime with less knowledge, expertise, and resources? 
-Jamaaluddin al-Haidar is host of "Between the Lines" a call-in talk show that premieres November 10th on www.AfriDia.net, the African Diaspora Broadcasting Network
Palash Biswas
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