In December 2015, the president of The Gambia declared that his country would become an
Islamic Republic.
Headlines have referred to the new designation as an “Islamic State”.
However, The Gambia is actually joining the ranks of other Islamic Republics, all of which
have no affiliation with the terrorist group.
So what exactly is an Islamic Republic?
And how is this different from an Islamic State?
Well, although they’re used interchangeably, they have clear differences.
An islamic republic is an elected, democratic government that is primarily based on sharia
law, which is in accordance with Muslim scripture.
An Islamic republic operates similarly to other non-religious republics, however the
specific title is self-applied.
Although a number of countries may fit the bill for an Islamic republic, like Iraq, they
do not use the term.
Historically, nations have applied this title after overthrowing authoritarian regimes or
formally breaking away from secularism.
By comparison, The Islamic State, or ISIS, is not a republic but a “caliphate”, meaning
that there is a single, unelected leader.
Other Islamic countries, like Saudi Arabia, operate under a monarchy, and are similarly
unelected.
After The Gambia, there are only four other Islamic Republics: Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Iran and Mauritania.
In all of these countries, the overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim, and
most government representatives are elected.
The term “Islamic Republic” dates back to the 1950’s with Pakistan being the first
to adopt the title.
Iran followed during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, after the secular and autocratic
Shah was ousted.
A new, more democratic constitution was instituted by the country’s religious leader.
In their new constitution, Iran established that God, or Allah, would have “exclusive
sovereignty and [the] right to legislate” while also stating that “the task of appointing
the Leader shall be vested with the people” Afghanistan followed a similar path in 2001,
after US troops toppled the country’s extremist leaders, the Taliban.
Since then, Afghanistan has been able to maintain most of its democratic structures, like presidential
elections and a three-branch government.
But Afghan law still presupposes that all Afghans are Muslims
In The Gambia’s case, the decision to become an Islamic Republic does not stem from a political
revolution or a new constitution.
Rather, The Gambia is using the title as a way to formalize its Muslim identity and distance
the country from its history as a British Colony.
The Gambia’s president says that the change will not introduce a dress code or prevent
non-muslims from adhering to their faith.
However the president was later criticized for passing a law requiring all female government
employees to wear headscarves.
In short, an Islamic Republic is basically a legislative rebranding.
It can be made for political reasons, as in Afghanistan’s case; or for cultural identity,
like in The Gambia.
It does not necessarily mean that the government is working with extremist groups like ISIS
or that they are directly enforcing sharia law on their citizens.
The only thing that unites the world’s Islamic Republics is that Democracy and Islam are
working together.
A number of Islamic countries and groups base their legal system on the controversial “sharia
law”.
But what exactly is Sharia law?
Find out in our video.
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