The Caliphate

An Overview of the House of Representatives

The House of Representatives (Majlis ul-Ummah) is not equivalent to a western parliament as it has no legislative powers. This House is a consultative body that is restricted to voicing its opinion on various issues and passing resolutions some of which are binding and some of which are not. The legislation in the Caliphate is derived from the Islamic Legal sources through a detailed process called ijtihad and is not subject to the majority opinion as happens in democracy.

Shura is not Democracy

The of House of Representatives has many functions that it conducts on behalf of the people it represents. One of it's main functions is Shura (consultation), where either the Caliph consults the house or the House advises the Caliph. Shura Resolutions of the House are passed by voting where the majority vote wins. Shura is not equivalent to democracy as shura resolutions passed in areas of legislation, technical and expert matters are not binding. No weight is given to the majority opinion in these areas. Having said this, members of the House can join specialist House committees who can pass resolutions in areas of legislation, technical and expert matters. Those Muslim members of the House who are legal scholars (mujtahideen) or who have the required legal knowledge to scrutinise Islamic legislation can join the Legislative Committee of the House. This committee has the power to scrutinise general legislation and articles and amendments to the constitution. If the committee believe any of these were legislated incorrectly or contradict Islamic Law (shari'ah) they can submit a case to the Unjust Acts Court (mahkamat mazalim), who will investigate the matter. This acts as a counterbalance to the legislative powers of the Caliph.

The areas where shura resolutions are binding are the practical matters and actions of government policy that do not require scrutiny or research. These areas include the affairs of ruling, education, health, economy, industry, farming and the like. Any resolution that is passed in these areas is binding on the Caliph to adopt and implement. As an example the selection of candidates for the post of the Caliph would fall in to this area.

Vote of no-confidence

Another important function of the House is acting as a counterbalance to the executive power of the Assistants (mu'awin), Governors (wulah) and Mayors (amil). If the House passes a vote of no-confidence against any of these three then this is binding and the Caliph must remove them from their post immediately. If the Caliph refuses to do this, the case is referred to the Unjust Acts Court for resolution.

Membership of the House

Any citizen of the Caliphate whether a Muslim, non-Muslim, man or women who is sane and above the age of puberty (mature) can become a member of the House of Representatives. They can also vote for representatives in the general election. The members can be part of an existing political party or they can be independents. Non-Muslims have the same rights within the House as Muslims, except that they cannot be involved in selecting candidates for the post of Caliph, and cannot join the Legislative Committee. Apart from these two areas which are conditional on believing in the legislation and system i.e. Islam, non-Muslims can join any other committee and participate in the passing of shura resolutions.

The members of the House will elect a leader from amongst them named a Speaker (naqib) who will enforce the rules of the house, and present their resolutions to the Caliph.

Election process

The members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people through a general election. Each administrative district (amila) that is headed by a Mayor (amil) is allocated one or more seats in the House. Administration for the election is handled by the Electoral Commission, a government agency that is part of the administrative system (diwan). Candidates wishing to stand in the election must submit their names to the Electoral Commission, who will then announce the list of candidates to the people in the district. The candidates will have a period of time to campaign before the election. After the election the candidates in each district with the most votes take their seats in the House. Non-Muslims are not required to take any oath that contradicts their belief. The only oath taken is for obeying the administrative rules of the house and fulfilling the responsibilities of their seat. Members of the House will also be given a salary as they are treated as government employees. No member of the House has immunity from prosecution. They are subject to the law the same as any other citizen in the state. The time each members serves in the House will most likely be 4 years, after which they can stand down or re-stand as a candidate in the general election.

Regional Assembly

As well as the House of Representatives based in the Capital of the Caliphate, each province (wiliya) will have a Regional Assembly with similar powers to the House. Each member is elected by the people of the province in an election.



The House of Representatives (majlis ul-Ummah)
The House of Representatives consists of men, women, Muslims and non-Muslims who represent the people.



		An Overview of the House of Representatives The House of Representatives (Majlis ul-Ummah) is not equivalent to a western parliament as it has no legislative powers. This House is a consultative body that is restricted to voicing its opinion on various issues and passing resolutions some of which are binding and some of which are not. The legislation in the Caliphate is derived from the Islamic Legal sources through a detailed process called ijtihad and is not subject to the majority opinion as happens in democracy. Shura is not Democracy The of House of Representatives has many functions that it conducts on behalf of the people it represents. One of it's main functions is Shura (consultation), where either the Caliph consults the house or the House advises the Caliph. Shura Resolutions of the House are passed by voting where the majority vote wins. Shura is not equivalent to democracy as shura resolutions passed in areas of legislation, technical and expert matters are not binding. No weight is given to the majority opinion in these areas. Having said this, members of the House can join specialist House committees who can pass resolutions in areas of legislation, technical and expert matters. Those Muslim members of the House who are legal scholars (mujtahideen) or who have the required legal knowledge to scrutinise Islamic legislation can join the Legislative Committee of the House. This committee has the power to scrutinise general legislation and articles and amendments to the constitution. If the committee believe any of these were legislated incorrectly or contradict Islamic Law (shari'ah) they can submit a case to the Unjust Acts Court (mahkamat mazalim), who will investigate the matter. This acts as a counterbalance to the legislative powers of the Caliph. The areas where shura resolutions are binding are the practical matters and actions of government policy that do not require scrutiny or research. These areas include the affairs of ruling, education, health, economy, industry, farming and the like. Any resolution that is passed in these areas is binding on the Caliph to adopt and implement. As an example the selection of candidates for the post of the Caliph would fall in to this area. Vote of no-confidence Another important function of the House is acting as a counterbalance to the executive power of the Assistants (mu'awin), Governors (wulah) and Mayors (amil). If the House passes a vote of no-confidence against any of these three then this is binding and the Caliph must remove them from their post immediately. If the Caliph refuses to do this, the case is referred to the Unjust Acts Court for resolution. Membership of the House Any citizen of the Caliphate whether a Muslim, non-Muslim, man or women who is sane and above the age of puberty (mature) can become a member of the House of Representatives. They can also vote for representatives in the general election. The members can be part of an existing political party or they can be independents. Non-Muslims have the same rights within the House as Muslims, except that they cannot be involved in selecting candidates for the post of Caliph, and cannot join the Legislative Committee. Apart from these two areas which are conditional on believing in the legislation and system i.e. Islam, non-Muslims can join any other committee and participate in the passing of shura resolutions. The members of the House will elect a leader from amongst them named a Speaker (naqib) who will enforce the rules of the house, and present their resolutions to the Caliph. Election process The members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people through a general election. Each administrative district (amila) that is headed by a Mayor (amil) is allocated one or more seats in the House. Administration for the election is handled by the Electoral Commission, a government agency that is part of the administrative system (diwan). Candidates wishing to stand in the election must submit their names to the Electoral Commission, who will then announce the list of candidates to the people in the district. The candidates will have a period of time to campaign before the election. After the election the candidates in each district with the most votes take their seats in the House. Non-Muslims are not required to take any oath that contradicts their belief. The only oath taken is for obeying the administrative rules of the house and fulfilling the responsibilities of their seat. Members of the House will also be given a salary as they are treated as government employees. No member of the House has immunity from prosecution. They are subject to the law the same as any other citizen in the state. The time each members serves in the House will most likely be 4 years, after which they can stand down or re-stand as a candidate in the general election. Regional Assembly As well as the House of Representatives based in the Capital of the Caliphate, each province (wiliya) will have a Regional Assembly with similar powers to the House. Each member is elected by the people of the province in an election.