Rashed Al-Ghanoshi's Concept of Democracy

Abstract

This study analyses the concept of democracy according to Rashed Al-Ghanoshi that it aims exploring the contributions of this intellectual theses about democracy in the contemporary Islamic intellectual interaction with reality. Furthermore, it adopted text analysis method that Al-Ghanoshi’s intellectual texts are subject to this study. The researcher concluded thatAl-Ghanoshi based his writings on hte technical dimension of the concept of democracy eliminating the philosophical dimension to assure the neutrality of his methods. Also, he confirms that Islam and its objectives do not prevent these methods and arrangements. On the contrary, Islam aims to get humanity to these good arrangements for ruling in order to fulfill the principle of Shora (consultation). Besides, Al-Ghanoshi based his intellectual project on a number of ideas about the principles and practices of democracy where are intellectually controversial in the contemporary Islamic thought such as multiparty system, elections, the concept of the majority, legislation and separation of powers. This is done to reach the conclusion that Islam does not contradict with these practices and principles as the Islamic thought rejecting this concept and its methods is the only hindrance for any democratic change in the Arab Islamic societies.