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Tehmina Kazi: Why secular democracy is important

31/07/2009

Imagine you are enjoying a quiet dinner with your family on a balmy Summer evening.  All of a sudden, you hear a big commotion outside and your front window shatters into a thousand fragments.  A group of seven armed police break into the room and frogmarch you to the police station, where you are interrogated and tortured for several hours.  Your crime?  Converting to Christianity in Iran.  A few weeks later, the Iranian Parliament approves a bill stipulating the death penalty for apostates.

While the Qu'ran says that, "If any of you turn back from their faith and die in unbelief, their works will bear no fruit in this life and in the Hereafter," there is nothing in the Qu'ran to suggest that apostates should face the death penalty while on earth.  Instead, this punishment was agreed upon by the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence, as well as the Shia madhab. This highlights a bitter irony; while advocates of theocracy criticise secular democratic governments for implementing "man-made" legislation, the same charge can be levelled at some of the decisions made under the banner of Sharia.  In September 2008, the UK gave Sharia courts the power to rule on Muslim civil cases, bringing them into line with the Jewish Beth Din Courts, which operate under a provision in the Arbitration Act.  While these unofficial councils may lead to satisfactory outcomes for members of certain communities in the UK, they have a hit-and-miss approach when it comes to upholding the rights of women.  A trenchant example is the six cases of domestic violence decided by the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, where the judges ordered the husbands to take anger management classes and mentoring from community elders, with no further punishment.  The complainants ended up withdrawing the complaints they had lodged with the police.  In practice, secular democratic systems do more to protect minorities and the most vulnerable people in our society from arbitrary outcomes like this, which make a mockery of due process and the rule of law.

Besides, whose Islam is it anyway?  There is no central religious authority within Islam, yet there are many different sects and each reader of the Qu'ran and Hadith is free to draw their own conclusions.  While this makes for a dynamic and pluralistic faith, it would be a minefield for the UK if the Government decided to adopt specific ordinances.  It could mean that imams and community leaders would act as mouthpieces for cut-and-paste groups of Muslims, whether invited to or not!  The Mishal Husains of this world would be lumped together with the Omar Bakris in one monolithic mass. Secular democracy is important because it takes a more holistic appraisal of each individual, rather than solely viewing them through the prism of their faith.  It also enables non-Muslims to see Muslims as individuals from a diverse array of backgrounds who have different interests, rather than the "beards and veils" stereotypes frequently peddled by the media.

Speaking of which, the Shabina Begum case is a poignant example of how certain extremist groups use others as pawns to undermine the authority of British institutions for the sake of it, even when those same institutions have bent over backwards to comply with Islamic requirements.  Denbigh High School's uniform - which already provided for pupils to wear the headscarf - had been approved by parents and local imams, and fortunately this was good enough for the Law Lords, who applied common sense to their judgement. Also, Muslims are supposed to abide by the laws of the land they live in, as long as these do not grossly contradict the principles of their Islamic faith.

In terms of civil liberties, secular democracy provides safeguards for freedom of expression e.g. Article 10 of the Human Rights Act.  The Prophet (pbuh) strongly encouraged people to speak out against injustices.  He ordered the one who sees an evil to change it physically with his hand if he was able to do so. If he could not, he should change it by his tongue (by advising and/or condemning), and finally by (detesting it with) his heart, and he informed that this is the weakest level of faith.  Unfortunately, in many countries with majority-Muslim populations, this kind of active citizenship does not exist, as dissidents are often tortured and even killed for daring to criticise their Government.

Whatever the faults of Western governments, we at least have a system of checks and balances to protect ourselves from tyranny.  Sometimes the laws are not implemented according to our expectations, but at least we have a litany of representative and public interest groups speaking out on behalf of all citizens, regardless of faith, race or creed."