Principles of Governance According to Abdelhamid Ben Badis

Abstract

This article discusses the principles of governance according to Abdelhamid Ben Badis, the Algerian leader and Islamic thinker in the first half of the twentieth century. Ben Badis is considered a reformer and a political figure who relied on religious and ideological values in his vision. He attempted to present a constitution for the Algerian nation, proving the illegitimacy of French rule in Algeria, based on the speech of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq. Ben Badis believed that governance in Islam should be with the consent of the people, and that the people have the right and authority to elect and remove leaders. He emphasized the right of the people to monitor, hold accountable, and remove rulers if they oppress them. Ben Badis required competence and capability in governance rather than absolute virtue. He was influenced by Abdelrahman El-Kawakibi's view on despotism, seeing that oppressive rulers are the cause of the nation's backwardness, and he urged the knowledgeable people to resist despots and educate the ignorant. Ben Badis affirmed that the nation should only be governed by the law it establishes for itself, and that rulers are nothing more than executors of the nation's will. He emphasized the importance of Islamic principles of justice and fairness and sought to revive these principles by interacting with the principles of the French Revolution. Despite the illegitimacy of French rule in Algeria, Ben Badis did not exclude political activism that advocates for rights, liberation, and independence. He was the first to define the concept of the Algerian nation and worked towards achieving independence and liberation.