The running of Majlis al-Shura requires expertise in various fields.The council members are therefore some of the most educated people in the country. On the contrary, Majlis al-Ummah deals with issues that are mubar and do not necessarily need experts to make conclusions. These decisions by the Majlis al-Ummah are referred to as 'mashura'.The opinion of the majority are taken as the binding opinion since mubah issue have no wrong or rights. The other difference that exits between Majlis al-Shura and Majlis al-Ummah is that Majlis al-Shura has more members (150 members) when compared to Majlis al-Ummah (60 members). Majlis al-Shura also appears to be more of a political council that is mandated to run the country's technical committees while Majlis al-Ummah is more of a religious council which advices the leadership on the desires of the people in relation to the religious guidelines. It however has political factions within it. Conclusion

It is therefore important for the leadership of the Arab countries to pay close attention to the voice of their citizens and allow for democracy and equality...

Lynne Rienner Publishers
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