Secularists Attempt to Save the Dying Democratic System by Producing a Paradoxical Survey Report

Last week many of the prominent newspapers (e.g., The Daily Star, 27/09/17) of Bangladesh have covered a survey report of RESOLVE – a Washington based Global Research Network on Conflict – titled “Democracy and Sharia in Bangladesh: Surveying Support”. The report became a topic of discussion and debate among the intellectuals and politicians in Bangladesh. The survey was conducted in April 2017 and was based on a face-to-face interview of 4,067 households in Bangladesh. Analyzing the survey data, the report highlighted the point that Bangladeshis unequivocally support democratic values and Sharia as a mode of good governance.

Comment:

According to the report, 80 percent of respondents believed that Shariah law would ensure basic service provision, personal security and justice and, under the said law, corruption in the country will be reduced. And these findings actually affirmed the earlier survey on this subject conducted by Pew Research Center of a US research institute back in 2011-2012 which stated that 82 percent of Muslims in Bangladesh were in favor of the Shari’ah law. However, it was bizarre and odd that the researchers mentioned in this report that the participants in the survey believe that democratic values and Shariah can be assimilated. And, researchers astoundingly made a concluding point that people of Bangladesh support both Democracy and Shariah – and for many, that make no sense.  Questions are being raised as to the method of survey as well as the objective of the research that produced such a paradoxical report.

It is obvious that democracy and Shariah are mutually exclusive. In democracy, sovereignty belongs to people and the human mind is the source and basis of legislation. On the other hand, for Shariah, sovereignty belongs to Allah (swt) and He (swt) is the sole source of legislation; limited human mind cannot be the basis of legislation, as far as the Shariah law is concerned.  There are inherent flaws in the man-made democratic systems which in-fact deceive the majority and cater for only the elites in the society. This cruel secular-democratic system has been failing the Muslims since the destruction of Khilafah. Lately, the shortcomings and hypocritical nature of democracy are being exposed and Muslims and even non-Muslim around the globe are demanding Shariah and have started seeing Khilafah as an alternative system of governance to ensure justice and to eliminate corruption.

Desperate secularists exerting their utmost to save the rotten system and to regain public confidence are undertaking various measures. This survey report is nothing but part of those tactics.  Secular media and some so called intellectuals always try to portray that democratic values have deep root in Bangladesh but the reality shows the opposite.  Muslims always have confidence on Shariah not only because ruling by Shariah is part of their Aqeedah, but it also ensures justice, security and prosperity, and that is evident from the history too. In-fact Muslims would never swallow the bitter pill of democracy had it not been presented within the sugar coated shell of rhetorical discourses. Had a sincere survey been conducted, and the people of Bangladesh were given a choice to pick between Shariah and Democracy, the result would be far more frustrating for the secularists.

Muhammad Kamal

Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Bangladesh