Prof. Dr. Nurcholish Madjid: It’s a Nonsense, Bush will Liberate the Iraqis

The problem with the current practice of democracy is that it is a: not direct, and b: not all those who are under influence of a state’s power can vote for the state’s government. Citizens of the U.K, for instance, vote a government in to power and pay taxes. Then the government uses the power and it’s funds in any way it sees fit.

Many people in the U.K are against the invasion of Iraq, but still, the money from the taxes they pay is used to kill Iraqis. I think that representative (parliamentarian) democracy is way past it’s use-by date. This is the time of the global village, the internet. Citizens should be able to control the conduct of their governments, directly, without having to surrender their peronal power to a party or a politician. 

It should not be too complicated to devise a system where a citizen can pay tax specifically for the government to spend on a particular field.  If Mr. Joe Public from Texas wants all the money he pays in taxes to be spent on military weapons, he should be sure that that is what happens to the money from him. .... Also, if the power of the White House can determine life and death in the streets of Jakarta, Tehran, or anywhere else, the people of those distant lands should also be involved in general elections to choose the administration in the White House. ... 

Also, the ethics of war taken from the Prophet’s speech should be understood as a ban on modern warfare because the weaponry used, shouldn’t it? Mahatma Gandhi, who was not a Muslim, developed ahimsa, non-violence, as a powerfull instrument in conflict. Should not Muslims come up with something better? Those who would like to implement the Syariah as the law of the State would be much more interesting if they began to spin their own thread and weave their own cloth for their robes and turbans.

You can’t wear Taiwan sandals and tetoron cloth from Pasar Klewer and seriously believe that you are following the example of the Prophet, even though you wind the cloth around your head, can you? Lastly, when will Muslims liberate Makkah once again? Is it proper that you can rent a Hilton room and pray from above Ka’ba? Is it proper that the custody of the city is not in the hand of all the world’s Muslims? Could someone please explain? Thank you.
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