Democracy is not Fit for Human Beings
(Translated)

Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 572 - 05/11/2025

By: Dr. Ashraf Abu Attaya

Today, the democratic system is presented as the pinnacle of human achievement in organizing the affairs of government, to the point that it has become almost an untouchable dogma, as if it were the criterion itself, not something to be measured against a criterion. However, a little reflection reveals that democracy is not only an inherently contradictory idea, but also a system that contradicts human nature, ultimately leading to chaos and decline, not to freedom and progress.

From its theoretical beginnings, democracy has been based on the glittering slogan that it is “government of the people, by the people.” However, this ideal definition quickly crumbled in the face of reality. Millions of people cannot possibly gather to enact laws themselves, so the workaround was to elect “representatives” of the people to legislate on their behalf. With this practical shift, the rule of the people transformed into the rule of a small minority that controls the destinies of the majority under the banner of “popular representation.”  Thus, democracy, which theoretically begins with the sovereignty of the people, ends with the dominance of a limited elite of politicians, financiers, and media moguls. The legitimacy of the ballot box is replaced by the legitimacy of the force, and elected tyrants replace the old despots. It is an elegant semantic trick that, at its core, conceals a new form of tyranny exercised in the name of the people, not for their benefit.

However, the contradiction doesn’t stop at the political structure; it extends to the very essence of the idea itself: who has the right to legislate? Democracy makes man the ultimate authority, the one who sets the laws for himself, thus making legislation a reflection of fluctuating human desires and interests. History shows that what is considered a right in one society may be considered a crime in another, and what is considered freedom today may be condemned tomorrow as deviance or hatred. Standards are constantly changing, and criteria are subject to whims and circumstances.  So, how can a fickle and contradictory construct be the ultimate source of stability? And how can a matter which lacks integrity within itself establish the rules of integrity for humanity? The idea of “​popular sovereignty” ignores the fact that people are not a single, cohesive entity, but rather a collection of conflicting trends and interests. When decisions are made by a majority vote, it doesn’t mean they are correct decisions, but simply that they received a greater number of votes. Thus, sovereignty is transformed from a rule of reason to a rule of numbers.

With this disruption of the principle of sovereignty, a crisis of freedom emerges, a freedom that democracy has elevated to the highest value, raising the banner of “freedom” in belief, opinion, ownership, and conduct. However, when freedom is separated from moral restraint, it transforms into chaos. When it is sanctified without responsibility, it liberates instincts, not humanity. Democracy has unleashed human desires in the name of freedom, so that man has become a slave to his passions, chasing after his pleasures like an animal chasing after its food and desires, without any higher purpose or moral objective. In the name of freedom, everything has become permissible: the denial of human nature, the distortion of the family, and the glorification of deviations and perversions as personal choices. Thus, democracy has not liberated humanity from constraints. Instead democracy has liberated its instincts and its lower self, unleashing the beast lurking within.

With the collapse of moral constraints, meaning was lost. Every human system needs a purpose to strive towards and a standard by which to judge good and evil. However, democracy, by making man the sole arbiter of his own destiny, eliminated any authority that transcends his immediate worldly interests. Good became whatever pleased him and satisfied his desires, and evil whatever displeased him, leading to the erosion of noble values ​​and the disappearance of the innate pure nature (fitrah saleemah). From this emerged a human being living without a compass, or a noble frame of reference, lost in the futility of his desires and the contradictions of his thoughts, besieged by spiritual emptiness, depression, and a sense of meaninglessness. The system that promised him freedom and dignity deprived him of purpose and peace of mind.

At its core, democracy assumes that man is a rational being capable of governing himself and his society justly and wisely, but human experience evidences otherwise. Man is a limited being, influenced by his interests, fears, and desires. If granted legislative power without any higher authority to restrain his whims, he will corrupt everything around him. The crisis of democracy, therefore, lies not only in its exclusion of religion, but also in its misunderstanding of the very nature of man. Man is not a miniature god to enact laws, nor a purely rational machine to govern the world with cold logic. Instead, man is a creation who carries within him a propensity for both good and evil, for nobility and depravity. Therefore, he needs a higher authority to guide and restrain him. Democracy, however, in the name of freedom and sovereignty, has broken every restraint that prevents his downfall, leaving man to confront himself without guidance or moral compass.

Democracy was born from a noble illusion that man is capable of governing himself. However, democracy has culminated in a bitter reality that confirms that when man governs himself, he destroys himself. It is a system that is incompatible with his innate nature (fitrah), with the limitations of his intellect, and with his innate need for stability and meaning. It is a beautiful idea in appearance, but impossible to implement in the reality of humanity. Instead of elevating man to the heights of dignity, it has lowered him to the level of an animal, so that he lives without principle, restraint, or purpose. Thus, democracy, in its essence, is a system against humanity, even if it proclaims otherwise.

Man does not need a system that caters to his desires. Instead, man needs one that addresses them, refines his instincts, and elevates his humanity from the level of mere instincts to the level of honor and dignity. Man needs a comprehensive system that guides his life in all its aspects, in thought and action, individually and collectively, in this world and the Hereafter. And this system can only originate from a perfect being who is free from any deficiency, weakness, need, or ignorance—Allah (swt), the Creator who brought into existence man, the universe, and life itself. Allah (swt) said,

[أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ]

“Does He who created not know, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware?” [TMQ Surah Al-Mulk:14].

When a person possesses a correct understanding of themselves, the universe they inhabit, and the relationship between them and what precedes and follows life, they have taken the first step towards truly elevating their humanity. Reviving (nahood) does not begin with economics, industry, or wealth, but with the idea that defines the meaning of existence and the purpose of life.

Therefore, there is a need for a spiritual and political aqeedah (doctrine) that forms a sound basis for a true revival (nahdah), combining deep Iman with practical thinking, and connecting this world with the Hereafter without separating them. This is the Islamic Aqeedah that stemmed from the Islamic ideology, which combined the guiding belief with the organizing system, an ideology that truly elevates humanity, not merely in illusion.