Diversity Lottery is a Safe Bet

The U.S. Diversity Lottery is never a gamble, which will reassure concerned Muslims who are thinking about applying, like the one in the United Kingdom who asked the Imam:

Would you please let me know if participating in US DV Lottery is permissible according to the Islamic Sharia.

The Imam assured him it is religiously permissible.

Now, as for his odds of winning, that depends on which country he is applying from. Wikipedia has a handy chart of winning chances, by which I see that applicants from Asia have the lowest odds of getting a United States Permanent Resident Card, just a bit over one half of one percent.

That's bad luck for the on-line Imam's follower, since I'm guessing that he is a South Asian residing in the U.K., and not a U.K. citizen. The later are not eligible for the lottery because the U.S. Congress figures we have enough of their sort here already. (My family hit the jackpot by getting here from Cornwall before the U.S. started valuing diversity so much!)

So, roll the dice on that DV-2011 application. Place your bets. Maybe double down with a few multiple entries. And you, too, can be the winner of a coveted green card.

Ask the Imam: Is Democracy Sinful?

Ask the Imam, my favorite on-line guide to the application of Islamic law in matters large and small, gave a fascinating reply today to a two-part question about (1) whether the democratic system is inherently un-Islamic and therefore sinful, and (2) whether it is sinful to oppose the implementation of Shari’a law in Pakistan's Swat Valley.

The Iman answered just the way I thought he would, but at much more length and specificity. Here's his bottom line on democracy:

It is true that the democratic system is un-Islamic. Islam only recognises a ‘Shari’a system’, that is a system governed by the Qurān and Hadīth. Any system other than a ‘Shari’a system’ is un-Islamic and should not be supported by Muslims.

‘Democracy” is derived from the Greek word “dēmokratia” (“Dēmos” meaning people and “Kratos” meaning rule or strength). It is evident that in a democratic state, citizens are at liberty to voice their opinions and actively participate in decision-making and other state related issues. This has lured many Muslims to believe a democratic system to be a fair, just and equitable system. Convincing as it may seem, the truth is that a democratic system is un-Islāmic.

The reply is a short essay on the Islamic interpretation of democracy, voting and legislation, the political obligations of Muslims living in majority non-Muslim countries, and the demands of Islamic law in majority-Muslim countries such as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. My on-line Imam is only one Islamic authority among many, of course, but he normally seems to be mainstream in his rulings, and I expect that his interpretation of democracy is widely shared within the Islamic polity.

It should surprise no one that when Iraq and Afghanistan had elections, they adopted constitutions that recognize the Koran as the supreme law of the land, just as non-democratic Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had done.