Democracy Needs a Conceptual Rehabilitation [Archives:1999/30/Focus]

This is an OPINION page. 
Every week, a different intellectual writes a FOCUS on a pertinent issue! 
By: Ahmed Mohammed Al-Garady,
Taiz
A close examination and professional research is urgently needed to scrutinize the gap between democratic values and their absence in the Arab world. To look over it deeply, let’s reveal to the reader some distinct points in this regard.
In fact, humanity witnessed various kinds of political and social systems. As man became powerful and efficient to control the nature, a need arose to regulate the interaction between man and the nature at one point and between man and man at the other. Subsequent chain of political authorities came into existence to establish the ideology of the ruling power. Generally speaking, mankind experienced the natural, autocratic, social-contract and secular authorities.
Needless to confirm that the ideological affiliations and personal crane can’t lead to convincing and objective results when tackling this issue. It is not easy to treat theme of democracy in scientific and general detail. Therefore, I would not concern myself with historical accumulation and intellectual heritage. Our writers seem to create illogical contradictions when they discuss the democratic evolution, and hold a strong ground on this claim; Let me provide you with some evidence.
At the beginning, non of us can deny that democracy includes a lot of pivotal ingredients such as the right to select the ruler, the freedom of the market, the intellectual and political tolerance, pluralism, the rights of a equal citizenship and so on. Repeatedly, our thinkers magnify these democratic values and marginalize their manifestations in the practical reality.
To make it sufficiently clear, one should study the structure of the Islamic nations. The structure of the political systems in the Islamic world is still based on the hierarchical authorities according to blood, tribal neighborhood relations; Logically, such a graduation of power of the ruling system possesses forceful institutions to educate people according to one tract-mind philosophy, leading to the absence of the intellectual and political pluralism. A mono-cultural society always implants in the mind of citizen a one-directed mentality which always results in a negative definite stereotyping when dealing with other dissident social forces of the civil society. However, in such a case, one can not assure the evolution.
Undoubtedly, the evolution of the civil society was due to the great success and victory of the bourgeoisie class against the traditional feudal monarchs and kings. The advent of this class brought a news style of the social production and the political reforms. Likewise, the democratic practices came into existence after subsequent revolutions to cut down the unlimited power of the absolute authority. Similarly advocates and supporters of the democratic values, either with a long term or emerging roots should pay a special attention with deep understanding to the scientific achievements. Science and philosophy have the proportion of the lion, bringing about a tremendous victory of the democratic values. Scientists and philosophers worked diligently to face new ideas and concepts, dominating over the untrue and traditional ones.
The Arabic writers always neglect this critical area. Science can not be kept away from democracy. In other words, one can conclude that the democratic philosophy does not monopolize the reality, giving a wide range of intellectual differences and political pluralism. The western discoveries of different cultures, civilizations, languages enrich the inherent philosophy of democracy. Let me not divert our interests to other themes.
As already said, democracy deals with values, problems, and also general cases according to the scientific power of resource. It employs the scientific method to diagnose and foretell the suggestive solutions of the social problems. This epistemological victory provides man with a sense of creativity and invention against the human apathy and the intellectual stagnation.
The democratic nations are indebted to the brave reformists and the wise thinkers for their resistance against all kinds of the untrue and deceptive beliefs and traditions. They bravely pave the way for social progress and development. In fact, this process is not just ridiculous slogans but it has taken a long course of time. Martin Luther, the leader of Protestantism, John Coluin, John Roles, Luke, Roussea, etc. made sustained efforts to elucidate the concepts of the social contract state. Actually, it is not my objective to throw light on this aspect, I merely want to explain how long the process has lasted since then up to now.
Actually, a short article can not treat the issue of the subsequent events of the democratic changes. However it is good to be aware about it’s basic background. Now, let me mention some obstacles in the process of our democratization. People should understand that we glorify the success of the other civilizations. We do not throw away the sublime values of our spiritual store and the Islamic heritage. We just motivate our societies to recover its healthy mechanism to deal with the current problems. All of us can not deny that the freedom of intellect, faith and conscience is one of the significant pillars in Islam. It is not our aim to discuss this area in this presentation.
Considering my point of view from this perspective, all people, the ruling and the ruled, should be aware that freedom is not a gift from anybody. It is a natural right. So politician must not use it to remind us repeatedly about their patriotic achievements. At another point, the political differences and conflicts must change its the traditional method which is intended to neglect the rights and destroy the dissident voices. Such conflicts should be changed into a fruitful source of accountability and transparency. Rights of all parties should be respected to avoid the immoral sequences of the destructive violence. The activity of enlightenment plays an effective role to change the attitudes of the conflicting forces. The emerging evolution of the civil society should be allowed to come into existence naturally without the interference, persecution and hegemony of the ruling power. The evolution of the civil society in Yemen is the unquestionable solution to establish the state of democracy. Unless all forces work hand in hand to alleviate the suffering of the people, things might get worse and worse. Dreams will change into nightmares. Therefore, the forces of the civil society should not be adopted by the despotic system of the ruling power in the Arab world. In fact, a true belief of pluralism can create a collective understanding to teach people the invaluable art of dialogue. To maintain the peace of mind, all sides should grasp the moral dimensions of the tolerance principle, issued in the bill of human rights. People should not be classified according to believers or disbelievers secessionists or unitarians; men or women, slaves and masters to protect the equal rights of citizenship.
Journalism should be respected regardless of the political affiliations. The freedom of the press should be protected from the military censorship and the immoral torture and intimation of the persecutors, violators and law breakers. All authorities namely, the executive, the legislative and judiciary should be completely separated and independent to achieve their missions and responsibilities in accordance with the sovereignty of the national constitution. If a nation cannot provide its citizens with the mentioned values, it is impossible to be called democratic and it won’t be so. Can we cope with that? I think it is the right time to start practical reforms. Is there anybody who hears our outcries? Time or Yemen Times will inform us. Let’s wait and see.
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