The
alternative for believers to electoral politics in the modern secular state
The Jewish, Christian or Muslim reader
is likely to ask: Is there an alternative (for believers) to electoral politics
in the secular state? The answer is: Yes! there is. The alternative is to
struggle to restore the sovereignty of the God of Abraham, Most High, in the
political system – to struggle for recognition of His Authority as Supreme Authority
– and to struggle for recognition of His Law as the Supreme Law. That is the
most noble of all struggles any one can ever wage, and it is a struggle that
must be pursued until the end of time.
The alternative for believers is to uphold whatever Allah
made Halal as Halal, and whatever Allah made Haram as Haram,
regardless of the price they may have to pay. Also, when a people commit Shirk,
Kufr, Dhulm and Fisq, then believers should condemn such
conduct, oppose it, struggle against it, and turn to Allah and ask Him to separate
them from such people:
“So separate us from this sinful rebellious people!”
(Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:25)
The Qur’an refers to this mission of believers as “amr bil ma’aruf” (enjoining the right)
and “nahi ‘an al-munkar” (opposing the wrong). If the struggle to
restore the sovereignty of Allah Most High and the supremacy of His Authority
and Law (in any territory) were to succeed, then that territory would become Dar
al-Islam. Muslims would rule over that territory. But there is an
alternative plural model of a state in which Muslims would share control over a
territory with non-Muslims on the basis of political equality and through a
constitutional agreement that would allow Muslims to recognize the sovereignty
of Allah and the supremacy of His Authority and Law over ‘them’. Prophet
Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) established that ‘plural’ model
of state in the city-State of Madina wherein Muslims, Jews and pagan Arabs
shared control over territory, and over the state, on the basis of political
equality.
Mankind has the freedom of choice to accept or to reject the
religion of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam). However, once the religion of
Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) is accepted, believers do not have the
freedom to choose between either a government of believers or a non-believing
government. When they are denied that freedom in any territory they must search
for some place where that freedom exists and then migrate to such a territory! Thus the God of Abraham, Most High,
has commanded believers to:
“Oh you who believe, obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and
(obey) those from amongst yourselves who are in (positions of) authority….”
(Qur’an, al-Nisa, 4:59)
When they no longer have the freedom to establish their own
government anywhere, and they have to live under non-believing rule, believers in
the religion of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) ‘submit’ to that rule until
such time as they can once again choose fellow-believers to rule over them. But
‘submission’ to such non-believing rule cannot involve their participation in establishing that non-believing
government. Believers will submit to such rule on the condition of religious
freedom, i.e., that nothing is forced upon them that violates the Law of the
God of Abraham. While such a government will not be ‘their’ government, they
can advise and assist the government in all that is true, good and virtuous,
while warning, resisting and abstaining from all that is false, evil and
harmful.
It is in the very nature of the modern secular state that it
would never allow elections to be used to transform it into a different model
of a state – such as a state that would recognize
the Sovereignty of the God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salam) and the
supremacy of His Authority and His Law. Electoral politics was meant to
sub-serve the godless secular state.
The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) declared
that the world of Kufr constituted an essential unity (al-kufru
millatun wahidah). And this is precisely what has now emerged in the world.
The Jew and the Christian should ponder over the fact that when the Muslims of
Algeria used ‘electoral politics’ to seek to restore the religion of Abraham (‘alaihi
al-Salam) in Algeria and won 85% of the votes in the national elections, the
godless world all came together to ruthlessly punish that 85% of the electorate
which dared to seek to transform the godless secular foundation of the
state.
Thus rather than voting in elections and legitimizing the
secular model of a state based on Shirk, Muslims should protect
themselves from Shirk by disconnecting from the secular state. They
should also respond to it by arguing that the ‘plural’ model of a state
established by Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is a
superior model of a state when compared with the modern godless secular state.
to be continued....
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