Participating in a Kufr political system is above all a haraam action for any Muslim, however some argue that it is a ‘practical’ means to achieve the interests of Muslims. The British political system is clearly a non-Islamic system, based upon a non-Islamic belief, and would entail anyone who worked in it to rule according to the laws of disbelief. Allah (SWT) warned us clearly about this:
“ Whosoever does not rule by that which Allah has revealed, such are disbelievers” [Al Ma’idah : 44]
However, some Muslims still say that we should join the non-Islamic political parties like the Labour Party in order to put pressure on the Government. Others say that we need more Muslim MPs in Parliament in order to meet the interests of Muslims, so that Muslims have a voice.
To date, Muslim participation in the non-Islamic political system has not achieved the desired results; rather it has achieved the complete opposite. This has been amply demonstrated by Muslim MPs voting in favour of the war in Afghanistan, or abstaining from opposing the recent war in Iraq; indeed some Muslim peers praised the British troops who were fighting and killing Muslims. Even the Islamic schools that have gained State funding, after years of campaigning, have had to abide by a non-Islamic curriculum, thereby ensuring a non-Islamic outlook for their students.
Despite this, people argue that we need patience with the system and we must slowly work for a Muslim majority. But purely from a practical point of view, to get a majority of MPs to represent Muslims is impossible. There are currently 659 seats in Parliament, all of which have the right to vote for and against laws that Muslims may have concerns with. However, to have any influence on decision making, Muslims would need a minimum of 330 MPs. This is the minimum number that is required to get laws passed or overturned. This is a completely impractical thing for Muslims to expect, since at present there are only 2 Muslim MPs.
However, we are told that the Muslims could work harder to build upon the current achievements made by political participation. However, the figures clearly contradict these claims. The Muslim community has been in the UK for some 50 years in a large numbers. During this period, only two of them have become members of parliament. Therefore, assuming that we have the same rate of growth, i.e. 2 new Muslim MPs every 50 years, it would take over 8000 years for Muslims to reach the minimum 330 MPs required to have any sway over parliament. However, such a suggestion would not register as “practical” in most Muslims minds.
However, let’s not be pessimistic about this, let’s view it from an optimistic point of view. If we were to assume that Muslims could get 2 new Muslim MPs into Parliament every election – very optimistic indeed - then it would take a mere 820 years, or 164 general elections to gain the minimum 330 MPs required to have any sway over parliament. Of course, this does not take into consideration that some of the MP’s already elected would be dead by 820 years, and would need re-electing! Would this register as any more “practical” in anyone’s mind?
There are those who argue that 2 MPs do not adequately represent the 1 or 2 million Muslims in the UK at present. However, even if Muslims were 20% of the population in this country, and if parliamentary representation were made on a religious basis, then still we would only have 131.8 MPs; far short of the 330 MPs we require for influence. Currently Muslims make up only 5-6% of the population at best, so how could Muslims ever expect to achieve a majority?
The reality is that Muslims live in close-knit communities within towns and cities. As such these places command the representation of just one MP. To be able to achieve dozens of Muslim MPs in parliament, Muslims would need to be the majority community in dozens of towns and cities around the UK. This is far from the case even today in places where we know Muslims have a large representation. In Burnley for example, there are thousands of Muslims, yet the election of many BNP councillors show that the native population still far exceeds the Muslims in such towns. What chance is there of Muslims gaining MPs in places other than where they are the majority community?
The conclusion that any straight thinking Muslim would have to draw from this is simple: Working through the British political process is definitely not “practical”. Those who suggest that Muslims could seriously affect anything in this country through political participation are either deceiving themselves or deceiving others.
Additionally Muslims must not lose sight of the reality of the British Government being a Capitalist state. This clearly means that they are motivated into actions by their material interests – not the interests of the Muslims or even the native population. This was clearly demonstrated during the war, when the public majority – Muslim and non-Muslim – was clearly opposed to the war, yet this did not affect the government’s actions in the least. The government still went to war for reasons based on meeting her strategic interests.
For the Muslims to truly achieve their aims they must avoid being duped by the calls of the “Integrationists”, who will waste their energy and efforts in useless and impractical actions. Muslims must realise that the attack against Islam is being carried out all over the world, and this means that Muslims in Britain are no different to the Muslims throughout the world; rather they are united because of the belief that they carry.
Today’s sad situation is due to the governments in Muslim countries, who do not look after the affairs of Muslims, and do not represent the Islamic concerns. This is because all of these governments are based on the same corrupt Capitalist model that the western nations are run upon.
What the Muslims lack is the true Islamic political leadership, the Khilafah. The Khilafah is the only political system that is actually built upon the Islamic belief, and hence is the only suitable political leadership to represent the Muslims and the Islamic issues. Therefore, the work to establish the Khilafah by the Muslims throughout the world is the only “practical” action that the Muslims must focus and work tirelessly for.