PAK CLERIC RULES OUT DEMOCRACY
[To be fair, he is not referring to Jihad in the misconceived sense of killing the infidel. He is referring arguably to self-improvement]
But that he considers democracy an unworthy instrument of social reform and statecraft is obvious. And this must be largely the sub-conscious feeling of Muslims globally, for democracy is rarer amongst Muslim nations than, say, amongst the Christians and the Hindus.
Recall Iqbal: “Jamhooriyat woh nazm-e-hukoomat hai ke jisme / Logon ko gina jata hai, tola nahin jaata” [Democracy is a system of governance that counts, rather than weighs, people] [Incidentally, this has been a source of concern for genuine democrats, too]
I seek to raise a debate here: Is democracy – as we understand it today – rarer amongst Muslim nations than their major counterparts?
