Islam Final Paper

Islam Final Paper
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The term Muslim World or Ummah became more pronounced after the death of Prophet Muhammad and it is sometimes difficult to find a common definition because Ummah contains many components (Abu-Nimer & Kadayifci-Orellana 2008). Muslims follow the teachings of Islam and all of them are normally referred to as the Isaac Ummah. The Islamic civilization is also referred to as the Islamic Ummah in a cultural sense. All non-Muslims that live in this type of civilization are never part of the Muslim Ummah. All Muslim-majority towns, districts, states, countries and even religions are collectively referred to as the Islamic Nation (Ahmad, 2009). The status of the Muslim world is normally influenced by nationalist and Pan-Islamism currents. All the people that belong to the Islamic nation share culture, ideologies and religious beliefs. Most Islamic countries use this term and Allah to also refer to Muslims as Ummah in the Quran.
The constitution of Medina further clarifies the usage of the term Ummah to give it a broader meaning (Ahmad, 2009). Initially, the Islamic nations consisted only of Arabs, but Islam has grown to embrace other races and tribes. Akgündüz (2009) observes that the emergence of Muslim states and countries meant that the governments in those regions would be led by Muslims. The Muslims leaders set up governments based on Islamic law and ideologies. The application of Islamic history and cultural norms in governing Islamic states has its benefits and shortcomings (Akgündüz, 2009). Most Muslim leaders have always been accused of being dictatorial but supporters of Islamic states argue that Islamic rule defends the common man. This paper will predict the future of Government in the Muslim world and at the same time recommend the most probable ways in which Muslim leaders can design institutions of government for efficient, effective and responsive governance (Aksan, 2003).
Governance Challenges in the Muslim World
According to Aksan (2003), there are quite a number of challenges that most Islamic states face and some of them include regional divisions, ethnic conflict, lack of political accountability and transparency, dictatorship, illiteracy, violations of human rights and war. Most of the problems are interconnected but illiteracy is the root cause of most of these problems (Al-Atawneh, 2009). The Western counterparts are far much ahead when it comes to dealing with these issues because most Muslim countries have not been able to deal with most of these ailments. It is difficult to know why the Muslim world has a lot of challenges without first of all understanding the difference between Islam and culture, true examples of Muslim leaders and the general history of the world. The backwardness of Muslim nations is most of the time blamed on Islam but that is always a contrary opinion. Islam has always been known as a religion of development, civilization, innovation and progress (Al-Atawneh, 2009). These issues can therefore be explained from a historical point of view.
Arjomand (2009) observes that the collapse of the Islamic Caliphate in 1924 led to the end of Islamic civilization giving way to European dominance. The new imperial power introduced colonization and slavery and this always led to many uprisings that were always against the colonial powers. The colonial powers left their puppet regimes in former colonies after leaving and this created a situation where the government sees its people as enemies and the people see the government as an enemy (Arjomand, 2009). Most governments including Muslim states did not allow any opposition and this therefore marked the beginning of deprivation of political participations, free enterprise, and freedom of speech. Dictatorship and corruption became a normal practice in these governments until the present day. The European powers concentrated their efforts in South America, Africa and the Middle East. The low human development index is measured by income, literacy and life expectancy and the most surprising thing is that the majority of Muslim nations perform poorly in that regard (Astrom, 2011).
According to the 2009 UN report, most Muslim countries are the most corrupt, although the reality on the ground may differ in some of the countries (Astrom, 2011). There are only 500 universities in the entire Muslim world that consists of over 57 countries and this is a clear indication that the level of illiteracy is still very high. A country like India has over 8,407 universities and the USA alone has over 5,758 universities (Bidabad, 2012). In the top 500 ranking universities in the world, there is no university from the entire Muslim world. A research that was conducted by the UNDP in 2004 revealed that the level of literacy in the Muslim world is at 40% compared to 90% in the Western world (Bidabad, 2012). Only 2% of the populations in the Muslim world attend the university and there is no way you can expect these countries to be at the same level with their Western counterparts. In very one million people in the US, there are about 5,000 scientists but one can only find 230 societies in every one million people in the Muslim world (Bokhari & Senzai, 2013). These statistics demonstrate that illiteracy is a major challenge for most Muslim governments.
The Muslims themselves are to be blamed for the lack of human development because they are not open to new ideas and ideologies that can promote development (Bokhari & Senzai, 2013). The United States policy towards these countries is also viewed as hypocritical. The recent Revolution in Egypt is a perfect example of how the US applies double standards. America claims that Hosni Mubarak was a key ally for stability in the region but at the same time claimed that he was a corrupt leader that had stolen the country’s resources and had no respect for human rights. The US has always been known for human rights and democracy but is always seen to be applying double standards when it comes to Egypt (Caha, 2003). The Muslim world needs some serious reforms when it comes to governance but these reforms may not necessarily be realized with secularization. It is always difficult to draw a line between secular and religious obligations in the Muslim world. There is no clear divide between secular law and religious morality (Caha, 2003).
The use of Sharia to handle secular issues like criminal punishments, contracts, divorce, marriage and inheritance is very common in most Muslim countries and this makes non-Muslims to be uncomfortable. Muslim majority countries have always injected religion into government. The Islamic laws are seen as supreme and religious political parties are very popular in these nations. Most analysts see this as a very backward trend because it stands in the way of liberalization. According to Cosgel (2005), the contemporary Muslim world is in a crisis because the governments disagree with the secular policies that are being pushed by the Western world. Citizens are routinely denied the basic human rights in the majority of Muslim states because some of the secular polices are designed to help the people. A perfect example is Saudi Arabia where citizens are denied the right to free expression, peaceful assembly and association.
How the Muslim world can design government institutions that are efficient, effective and responsive
Most Muslim nations have often been referred to as failed states because poor governance. The performance of government institutions has been always a clear indicator of how efficient, effective and responsive a particular government is (Encyclopedia of World History, 2001). Most Muslin states may be performing poorly when it comes to governance but the good news is that all is not lost and something can still be done to change the situation. The main aim of Islam is to bring felicity and happiness to people because it is a divinely revealed religion (Ergene, 2004). The effort of human beings in the political spectrum is normally limited with the reasoning that some states are Islamic while others are not. In order to establish and maintain secure and productive relations between the subjects and the governors, certain values and principles were established by Islam but the sad thing is that some leaders do not actually follow some of these values and principles (Ergene, 2004). In simple terms, the Islamic nations can build good government institutions that are more efficient and responsive by simply observing the Five Holistic Objectives of Islam as well as the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. The Five Holistic Objectives of Islam include Freedom of Intellect, Preservation of Property, Preservation of Honor, Preservation of Religious Freedom and finally preservation of life (Ergene, 2004). Any government that manages to achieve these objectives will definitely be more responsive and efficient. The objectives are achieved and secure through being led by educated and wise people, democratic choice of leaders and justice. Islam can accept any system of governance regardless of its name as long as it secures the Five Holistic Objectives of Islam. Islam does not prescribe any specific style of governance but only encourages government institutions to abide by certain values and purposes. Regardless of the system that a particular government institution decides to adopt, it is advisable to abide by the recommended values and principles (Fritschy, 2008).
According to Forster (2005), Governance styles can be changed anytime but is always important to maintain values. A government institution that is designed based on values will definitely be responsive to the needs of the people and offer them the required services. Most government institutions that are not guided by values will always be characterized by corruption and lack of respect for human rights and freedoms (Hanioglu, 2010). Governance style is one of the issues that Islam did not provide a clear guideline for. The Prophet often referred to governance styles as worldly affairs. The mode of choosing leaders was not specified by the Prophet before his death and this has everything to do with the governance style. The Prophet did not outline how his successors would govern the people although some scholars seem to have a different opinion on that subject (Hanioglu, 2010). The Prophet knew that the society and political culture would evolve with time and in his wisdom gave Muslims the freedom to choose for themselves the type of governance style they want (Hummel, 2012). The higher objectives and purposes of Islam can be fulfilled because the people have the freedom to choose a governance style that suits them and is relevant to the changing times. It is therefore a good idea to consider the changes in societal, technological and political culture when designing government institutions in order to guarantee efficiency and responsiveness. Justice is the prime purpose of Islam and any institution that does not fulfil that value is considered to be a failed institution (Hummel, 2013).
According to Hüsseyin (2008), Islam accepts any governance style as long as it has structures that promote justice and respect for human rights. The people should be given the power to choose their leaders. It is advisable for Islamic states to design government institutions that encourage the rule of law, transparency and accountability. Leaders that abuse their power can be removed from power by the people through a democratic process (Kalantari, 1998). The issue of proper structures is more important because the subjects have the power to vote out any leader they feel is not performing accor...