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Does Democratic Political System Contradict Islam? Interpretation and Reconstruction of Shari'a and Shura In Western society today, there is a widespread inference that Islam is a religion that is incompatible with democracy. But within Islam, there are various views on the acceptance of democratic political systems. This study seeks the answer to whether Islam is a religion that advocates a fundamentally anti-democratic political system. The main characteristic of Islam is theocracy that integrates of politics and religion. Islam prevails in its view of the absolute sovereignty of Allah as the highest goal and incompatible with the democracy that the people have sovereignty. Shari'a was given and instituted by Allah and cannot be changed by congresses elected by the people. But other claims are also being suggested. It is argued that Islam and democracy are compatible and that Islam needs democracy. At present, Islamic political system is divided into a group advocating theocratic political system and another group following modern Islamic political system that embraces democratic political system. Theocracy claims that all sovereignty belongs to Allah. The only legislator is Allah and the Islamic governing agent or Caliph has only the autonomy necessary to enforce and implement Allah's governing law. Mawdudi argues that corrupt current Islamic society is in the era of jahiliyyah. Sayyid Qutub asserts that this jahiliyyah era is a rebellion against Allah's sovereignty. He regards only society that is governed by Shari'a under Allah's sovereignty as a just society. Many Islamic scholars, however, do not see Islam and democracy as essential opposition. They believe that the fundamental value of the Islamic faith is justice and equality, which is compatible with the Western democratic legal value that everyone is equal before the law. The more active the group in accepting Western democracy interprets Shari'a's authority separated from the Quran. Groups passive in acceptance of democracy have interpretations that put more emphasis on religious values ​​in Shari'a. Khalaf- Allah emphasizes the shura system, arguing that the revelation of the Qur'an demands democracy, not the level that allows it. Hence, historical and theological interpretations of Shari'a and shura are key factors in determining Islam's political position. Most Muslims believe that "Shari'a is the command of Allah and the content of immutability." But another group argues that "Shari'a is only the religious basis of the spirit of law." This group sees Shari'a not as a product of the Quran revelation but as a product of a long history. Their rationale is that the Quran itself is not a book of legal meaning, but an essentially religious and moral book. The essential question of the Shura system is whether it was an obligation or an exhortation. Khalaf- Allah interprets sura 3: 159 and affirms that shura is a duty and command. Muhammad had obliged the shura system in his life. Rather, it was the dynasties of the Umaiyyads and Abbasids that destroyed the shura system. The shura system is similar in structure to the Western democratic political system of today. In conclusion, Islam is not in conflict with democratic political systems. Islam and democracy are compatible, and furthermore, Islam is a religion that needs democracy. Modern Muslims must stop the error of linking democracy to Western colonial rule. Muslims must also reexamine their theology and history of losing democratic political systems. Finally, Islam must develop its democratic political system, recognizing that it is consistent with the teachings of the Qur'an and early Muhammad's ruling customs. Keywords: Islamic Democracy, Shari'a, Shura, Theocracy, Islam Law, Ijtihad, Autocracy.

The purpose of this article is to overcome the limitations of Uyghur Muslim missions, in which observational and deductive methods are limited to phenomenological analysis in their mission strategy, by investigating through contextual attempts by understanding ethnic-cultural themes. For the contextual attempt, this article chooses to locate the target ethnic-cultural theme to implement Paul Hibert’s critical contextualization theory along with Steve Beavan’s six Contextual Models. In addition, as for a theoretical understanding of ethnic identity, this article introduces the conceptual characteristics of ethnic group and ethnicity, as well as the differences between ethnology and ethnic studies. These concepts and definitions illuminate that it is more appropriate to perceive the Uyghur people through ethnicity rather than ethnic groups. To discover the cultural themes of the Uyghur tribe, this article focuses on the research of their historical trends, anthropological data, and the changes in modern urban Uyghur’s social networks. In terms of historical context, though the Chinese history records the Uyghur from the time of since B.C., the study did not cover pure history but mainly explored it to find cultural themes. Therefore, the paper mostly focuses on historical events of the mid-18th century that significantly changed and formed modern Uyghur cultural themes and spiritual beliefs. In 1757, Uyghur country, or Jungaria, which ruled the northern part of the present-day Xinjiang province, was conquered by the expedition of the Qing dynasty. Two years later in 1759, the other Uyghur cites, which were scattered throughout the southern parts of present-day Xinjiang, which governed Islamic Naqshbandi, their spiritual stronghold and governing system, were both submitted to the Qing army. This research also thoroughly described the mid-19th-century Hui-Turkish allied rebellion against Qing, which tremendously impacts Uyghur ethnic sentiments even today. This article especially summarizes the significance of Yaqub Bek’s rallying of Xinjiang’s entire Uyghur Turk population, his formation of a unified nation, and the contribution to the emotional and spiritual sentiments of the modern Uyghur. Because this paper focuses on modern Uyghur Muslim missions, I mainly examined how the social networks of modern Chinese urban Muslims are changing. I also introduced and characterized dual cultural sets and the composition of their cultural dynamics. Furthermore, using the communication theory, I analyzed how informational channels influence the worldviews and behavior patterns of modern young Chinese urban Muslims. In the conclusion, this article stresses the need for Korean missionaries to go beyond the list of phenomenological data and make a contextual approach by understanding cultural themes when interacting with Uyghurs who are Chinese ethnic minorities and Muslims. For such a contextual approach, with the recognition of the importance of local leaders’ contextual efforts, considering the current mission situation, this article highlights the importance of missionaries’ efforts to understand cultural themes. As a conclusion as well as a ministry application, this article underscores the need for research that explores the social stratum that can create strategically entrances and bases that diffuse the Good News, which would provide missionaries access to the entire Uyghur. This paper mainly focuses on revealing the cultural themes of the modern Uyghur. I mainly utilized historical, cultural anthropological, social anthropological, and social network theories for this research. Scholars who provided the research’s fundamental theories include Steve Beavans, Paul Hiebert, Ronald Reminick, Nathan Glazer, Daniel P. Moynihan, Claude S. Fischer, Edwin Eames, and Judith, Granich Goode, and various other Uyghur and Central Asian modernist historians.

This paper takes an exegetical investigation of Q 112 (sūrah al-ikhlaṣ) with a special reference to its anti-Christian polemics. More specifically, this paper asks a question of how this sūrah incorporates the idea of anti-Christian polemic in regards to “al-tawhīd (Islamic monotheism) versus Trinitarian monotheism” as ordinary Muslims understand this sūrah. This study will attempt to incorporate modern revisionist approaches to the Qur’an in addition to the Muslim traditional approach. This study demonstrates that sūrah al-ikhlaṣ itself may not contain as strong textual evidence as one may assume to explicitly prove the doctrine of al-tawhīd. Rather anti-Christian polemic is inserted into the traditional interpretations of sūrah al-ikhlaṣ from the very early period of Islamic history and thus has been transmitted throughout the ages into the contemporary world primarily by a straw man argument.

This paper examines John Calvin‘s view of Islam from the perspective of Christian ethics. While clearly criticizing the theological limits of Islam, Calvin reminded us that they also are the people needed the gospel. Based on Calvin’s view, this paper suggests an applied reading for the task of Christian ethics in Korea. Korean Church as an inheritor of Calvin’s theology, should undertake the evangelical task for being a witness of Jesus toward Islam. And Korean Church should be interested in competition for good beyond simple comparisons with Islamic ethics. Furthermore, Korean Church should practice social spirituality based on Gospel and embody the discipleship.

The task of a Christian public theology is to participate in the desire to nurture a civil society. To this end one of its tasks in contemporary Australia is to address incidences of Islamophobia. In order to do so it must address those organizations that lay claim to the Judeao-Christian heritage of Australia for purposes of campaigning against Islam. It is time to come to terms with ‘the new normal’ of cultural and religious hyperdiversity and for faiths to live peacefully with one another.

Christian-Muslim encounter is part of the mission of the Kingdom of God which has a goal of redeeming all humanity. Christians and Muslims have been historically engaged in competitive truth claim characterized by violence. In Ghana, Christians engage Muslims in a peaceful way by means of integrative community, education and political life style. However, in terms of evangelism, there is always a battle centered on power struggle and soul winning. Evangelism among Muslims in Ghana is focused on provision of social services and theological dialogue. The truth claim of Islam is so rational and appealing to the natural mind that it is difficult to win them on the basis of theology. Moreover, the animistic practices of Folk Islam in Ghana, identical to African traditional religion makes conversion of Muslims into Christianity a difficult task. Ghana being power oriented society, social services and theological debate are not enough to convert Muslims. An effective missiological approach to evangelizing Muslims is power encounter through the work of the Holy Spirit in Missions thus the focal point of this paper.