What Would Jesus and Muhammad Say About Democracy and Voting

محروم.كوم · #1 03-28-2010, 04:50 AM

What Would Jesus and Muhammad Say About Democracy and Voting

Whether it be a participatory or direct democracy, in which people have the freedom to either collectively decide or to cast their vote, one has to wonder how Muhammad and Jesus would have viewed such modern day political systems. Even though Jesus lived under an oppressive and brutal republican empire, where Caesar and his imperial armies and Romanized collaborators ruled through conquest and structural violence, and while Muhammad was born into a society that practiced tribal revenge and retaliation and where riches and lineage determined one's status, both of them experienced majority rule and democratic-like organizations that were corrupt and easily manipulated

In all of the Gospel accounts, it was a democracy, or majority rule, that Jesus faced in his final hours. Jesus was actually arrested by the authorities for the charges of undermining Caesar's reign, and for proclaiming a different kingdom consisting of forgiveness, mercy, love, and one of economic and political equality. When Pontius Pilate, a Roman Governor, found Jesus to be innocent and offered to release him, the people instead wanted Barabbas to be set free. Since Barabbas was in prison with other political rebels who had committed murder during an insurrection, even Pilate was amazed and perplexed by such a misguided vote and rogue democracy

Although Muhammad was orphaned at age six, he was able to become a business manager and trader for Khadijah, a wealthy businesswoman. But when Muhammad questioned such accumulation of wealth, and when he announced that Allah was the one and only God and that all other gods must be abandoned, Meccans believed his ideas would cause economic ruin. (Meccans worshipped tribal gods at the Ka'aba, and many thought Mecca would lose its religious center as a pilgrimage.) A majority of Meccans voted to sanction Muhammad, hoping to starve him and his family. At one point, they even attempted to assassinate him. Muhammad fled to Yathrib (Medina), where he united Arabs and Jews into a community

In regards to democratic rule, the lives of Jesus and Muhammad are very telling. Although the authorities accused Jesus of wanting to be king and for forbidding the paying of taxes to the emperor, it was plain that he threatened their control over the religious, economic and political life of the community, specifically when he forced money changers out of the Temple. It was clear too, that Jesus challenged collaborators who embraced Romanization and internalized its values. Jesus reminded them that they were created in God's image and therefore, allegiance belonged to God and not Rome. Pilate believed the authorities, which had persuaded the crowd to execute Jesus, was jealous. Ironically, he succumbed to their democratic intentions, fearing another riot and possible rebellion

Meccan tribal representatives decided to punish Muhammad through economic sanctions. They were mainly concerned about their own wealth and in keeping Mecca as a religious center for lucrative trade. While Muhammad's wife, Khadijah, died due to the sanctions, other members of his family were killed by Meccans. Yet Muhammad refused to kill and retaliate upon his return to Mecca. Instead, he destroyed the idols. A call to prayer was made from the roof of the Ka'aba. Declaring "truth has come and falsehood has vanished," some Meccans freely joined the umma, or Muslim religious community. Muhammad taught and lived the giving of alms, or money, for the orphan, the widow, the poor, and the stranger. He also believed in the importance of serving the community and of fasting, which reminds one there are greater needs than bread

Seven years ago the United States, which boasted of its democracy and of its human rights record and whose leader claimed God told him to go to war, invaded a Muslim nation to establish a democracy. As thousands of people were killed and millions became refugees, the United States held several democratic elections. Now, Iraq too is experiencing voting and democracy. With tens of thousands of incidents of alleged voting irregularities, which also occurred in the United States, opposition candidates have accused each other of being dishonest and of manipulating the elections. While Iraq suffers daily from killings, the U.S. remains the most criminalized and violent country (per capita) in the world

In "truth," which was a question posed to Jesus and was what Mohammad proclaimed on entering the Ka'aba, it seems both prophets taught and lived that love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, along with caring for the orphans, the widows, and the poor, were much more important than even democracy. Would Jesus and Mohammad say that without such prophetic values just mentioned, voting can lamentably make one a collaborator of deadly institutions that starve the poor, or a friend of Caesar who kills the innocent? Regrettably, even democracies can become extremely selfish, misguided and corrupt, especially if they embrace redemptive violence, militarism, retaliation, and war. Look at what happened to Jesus and Mohammad

And perhaps most importantly, whereas voting can sometimes falsely convince one they are participating in a just democracy, specifically due to voting errors and counting fraud, practicing values like love and peace with justice, along with economic and political equality for all, convicts one to participate in, and establish fully, a just democracy and inclusively pluralistic society

26-3-2010

Dallas Darling
(Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. You can read more of Dallas' writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallas darling

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