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es and no. Supporters of hard-line Islam unabashedly pronounce that God was never a democrat, never is and never will be, implying at the same time that democracy is profane.

A famous statement on this was made by the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia when he asserted that Islam and democracy were not compatible. The reason he used to prove his point has been articulated by many since and that is, in democracy, the highest power lies with the people while in Islam, it lies with God the Almighty.

Because of this, God is an absolute ruler, no ifs, ands or buts and, therefore, all other arguments about democracy (elections, respect for the opposition, the rule of law, freedom, tolerance, pluralism, even secularism) are said to be unnecessary, redundant or irrelevant.

However, if God really said that (namely, that He wanted to be a dictator and not a democrat), the answer in the many writings on this topic does seem to have a lot of ifs ands and buts and one of the most important is how popular elections are viewed in this context.

True enough, there is no mention of elections in the holy book or in the Prophet'€™s sayings: In Islam, leaders (caliphs, imams and so on) are selected, not elected, by wise members in the community.

But many men of God have tried to read the mind of God on this and came up with more ifs, ands and buts. In the meantime, most Muslim leaders in the world, after ascending to power, will invariably run elections or even run in elections, even if they got to the top by other means, including against God'€™s will or contrary to His teachings.

The desire to placate democracy is so strong among Muslim leaders that some even run in fake elections just to prove that Islam and elections are compatible.

With respect to the opposition, however, proponents of Islam being democratic and God being a democrat really have got God on their side.

How else would you describe God'€™s tolerance of Satan, the real but damned and condemned opposition, who was allowed to live and is still alive to whisper evil temptations in men'€™s ears? If God can tolerate Satan, Islam should be able to live with any opposition as none can be worse than Satan, and there is no Satan among many oppositions though some of their members may have succumbed to Satan'€™s temptation to engage in corruption and/or other evils.

On the other criterion of democracy, the rule of law, God lives up to its name as a Law Giver. Not only did He give us laws but He runs His universe according to many of His superbly crafted laws of nature.

In regulating human behavior, He sent a holy book and He puts one man in charge and two angels on each of your shoulders to take note of what you say and do, and if you commit errors or even sins, you are not struck by lightening right away.

He will wait till you die, then His angels will ask a few questions and only if you flunk will you be given the boot.

And He will judge us in the hereafter, in an open court and in fully transparent public sessions with unbiased witnesses consisting of mouths, eyes and other organs that even the best of human legal proceedings cannot hope to emulate.

But the real bone of contention between Islamists and democrats is secularism. On this issue, there is no doubt that God is on the side of anti-secularism.

Why would you want to give unto God what is God'€™s and unto man what is man'€™s when, in fact, God owns everything under the sun including the men (and women and children, too).

But even if this is an important issue, it is a red herring.

No human system, including democracy, can really take God out of governing; even the purportedly most secular country in the world still prints its mighty dollar bills with the words: '€œIn God We Trust.'€

Empirical evidence also shows that both theocracy and democracy are no guarantees for a life free from mischief. Some of the worst violators of God'€™s injunctions are men of the cloth.

As to the last points '€” freedom, pluralism and tolerance '€” we all know that God  created humans in all sorts of colors and with all sorts of creeds, '€œso they know one another'€ (Al-Hujurat 49:13); not to mention animals and plants that come in an array of varieties and beauty.

God even gave human beings a fantastic organ '€” the brain; soft gray matter containing trillions of cells and cellular networks that allows man to not only think and do good but also to think and do evil, including denying and defying God Himself.

But due to God'€™s respect for man'€™s desire to be free, He lets us have it either way or both ways.

If God is a dictator, it comes from the fact of His power or omnipotence. An absolute power cannot help Himself if He is also an absolute ruler.

But God proves that He can deny Himself that prerogative and take a few risks because of His love of man and man'€™s desire to be free.

So, while in terms of power God is not a democrat, in His wisdom, He is magnanimous and as true a democrat as any; especially when compared with worldly leaders and organizations with '€œdemocrat'€ or '€œdemocratic'€ or even Islamic this or Islamic that in their names, who have been busy stealing public funds, robbing people of their desire to elect their leaders or condoning acts of violence in the name of God.

So, while God is an absolute ruler, He is tolerant of opposition, loves diversity, loves all His creations, especially His most arrogant and stubborn one '€” mankind '€” and dares to take risks with man'€™s desire to be free.

In that sense, not only is God a democrat but He is a better democrat than most of us.