The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Qur’an: The Book of God
~ 18 ~
Democratically elected rulers over the world are
now seen to assume the same role as the monarchs
of former times.
The notion of freedom is traditionally associated
with democracy, but there, too, as a political system
it does not necessarily make people more liberated
than they were under overtly oppressive regimes.
Although the entire basis of democracy is the belief
that people are born equal, with equal rights and
that they are free, Rousseau expresses the more
immediate reality with the very first lines of his
Social Contract, “Man was born free and
everywhere he is in chains.” Then, too, there is
man’s very nature to be considered. He is a social
animal. Far from being an independent entity in this
world with the liberty to live as he pleases, he is an
integral part of the corpus of society. Another
philosopher goes so far as to say that “man is not
born free. Man is born into society which imposes
restraints on him.”
Clearly, democracy, although in large measure an
improvement on despotism, does not automatically
provide the key to solving the problems of
