Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 235
Political Peace 235 If the authority for legislation lies with God, which a Muslim cannot deny, then, as a logical consequence, it is the divines and the mullahs who possess the prerogative of understanding and defining the law of shariah. In this scenario, the whole exercise of electing legislative bodies would become futile and meaningless. After all, members of Parliament are not required to sign only on the dotted lines where the mullah so indicates. It is rather tragic that neither the politician nor the intellectual has ever genuinely attempted to understand the form or forms of government, which the Holy Quran really propounds or recognises. Divided Loyalties between the State and the Religion There is no contradiction between the Word of God and Act of God. There is no clash between loyalty to one’s state and religion in Islam. But this question does not relate to Islam alone. There are many episodes in human history where many an established state was confronted with this question. The Roman Empire, particularly, during the first three centuries of the Christian period, blamed Christianity for split loyalties between the Empire and Christianity. This allegation from the state resulted in extremely barbaric and inhumane persecution of early Christians in their homes for the alleged crime of treason and disloyalty to the Emperor. Such struggle between the Church and the state has always been an important factor in shaping European history. Napoleon Bonaparte, for instance, blamed Roman Catholicism for divided loyalties and