Iqbal’s views on Democracy and
Khilafat, now hijacked by Taliban and other radical islamist groups to
support their un-Islamic ideology
By Aftab Ahmad, New Age Islam
03 June, 2014
Iqbal
is one of the poets and thinkers of Islam who greatly influenced the
Islamic thought, particularly of the sub continent. He was the first
Muslim leader (he was also a Muslim League leader) to demand a separate
state within India. Later Jinnah whom Iqbal wrote a number of letters
expressing his political views demanded an independent state carved out
of India. Iqbal’s view on western democracy criticizing and opposing
democracy also had many takers in the then Indian sub continent,. Many
of Iqbal’s couplets and poems criticizing the democratic form of
government influenced the political thought of later generation of
Muslims on both sides of the sub continent. Many such couplets have
become very popular and are a part of the political discourse of
Muslims. Thus, it is necessary to understand the true nature of Iqbal’s
criticism of democracy. Does he really criticize and oppose democracy as
a form of government or a political theory or does he have a pragmatic
and modern approach to democracy based on Ijtihad?
Firstly, he
criticizes democracy because in a democracy individuals are counted and
not weighed. He is averse to the quantitative aspect of western
democracy.
Jamhuriyyat Wo Tarz e Hukumat Hai Ke Jisme
Bandon Ko Gina Karte Hain Taula Nahin Karte
(Democracy is a form of government in which people are counted not weighed)
Iqbal feels that
the western democracy is only an old wine in new bottle and a modern
form of monarchy and dictatorship. He thinks in democracy the state
becomes a toy in the hands of capitalists and the people are exploited
as they were under despotic rules.
Hai Wahi Saaz e Kuhan Maghrib Ka Jamhuri Nezam
Jiske Pardon Me Nahin Ghair Az Nawai Qaisari
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