Monarchy is forbidden in Islam
You sure about that brother? Actually Islam does not state any specific form of government. The caliphate after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) was a spontaneous order that evolved after this shocking and deeply saddening event. Muawiyya (ra) was criticized for putting Yazid next in line of the throne (i. e. implementing a Roman or Persian style monarchy). But Ali (ra) himself appointed Hassan (ra) to become the caliph after him. These were the dynamics of that time.
But Islam does specify some rules (in fact there are not so many rules), most of these rules rely on our self-policing skills. The problem with many secular and religious political scientists is that they don't see the awaam (the people) as mature human beings rather than sheeps who must be controlled. Laws regulating every aspect of our lives makes it difficult for people to prosper.
What I hope for Pakistan is as follows:
- strong free market economy --> provides jobs
- strong free market education --> provides cheap and high quality education
- strong free market health care system --> provides cheap and high quality health care
- educate our people in the light of the Quran and Sunnah (i. e. self-policing)
- educate our people that Pakistan is not just another country rather than the Megali Idea of our time (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megali_Idea) --> strong MUSLIM identity; the difference between us and then are not just our Arabic or Persian names!
- Nation building, nation building, nation building --> strong MUSLIM identity needed; there is still tribal hatred out there in Pakistan even though we are Muslims! I know parents who would die of an heart attack if an Pathan would marry their daughter. Educated, six figure salary, tall and involved in social projects but the parents reject him because "he is not family"
- Make people independent, don't force them into a marriage they don't want, let them be individuals not part of a socialist commune like family (one earns and feeds 100 ungrateful family members)
But this cannot be ordered from above. Our politicians just have to implement policies that create an environment for people to prosper. And this environment is a free market, no need to ask your grand-daddy for permission, no need to kiss the feet of an old Chaudhry, no bribing fat politicians for authorization to become a new textile competitor in town.
You see, the problem is not King, General or Prime Minister, the problem is in our mindset and deeply rooted in our society. To fix this, we need time and a new environment for future generations.
