Many people rejoiced at the election of a number of Muslims to seats in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, believing that this achievement represented a victory for Islam and the Muslims. The reality, however, is quite the opposite. To demonstrate this, we say:

First: The attainment by a Muslim of any sovereign position, whether political or judicial, does not necessarily mean that Islam itself has attained that position. This would only be the case if the politician were to bring the Qur’an and Sunnah with him into the parliamentary chamber and fulfill the obligations of that office in accordance with the provisions of the Qur’an and Sunnah, rather than in accordance with man-made constitutions.

In Islam, the role of a member of council (the Majlis al-Ummah) is to hold the ruler and those who share in governing power accountable. If he holds the government and the president accountable according to the Islamic Shariah rulings, then he has fulfilled his prescribed Shariah duty. Only then can we say that Islam has attained the political office, rather than merely a Muslim having attained it.

However, if a politician, such as a member of parliament or a senator, swears an oath to a man-made constitution and agrees to become part of the legislative body, without referring back to the Message of Mercy that Allah (swt) sent to all of humanity, then he becomes a partner with his colleagues in those legislative assemblies in making laws and exercising accountability according to a man-made constitution, ‘rather than the Shariah. In doing so, he has taken human whims and desires as a lawgiver and a deity, as Allah the Almighty says:

[أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ أَفَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا]

“Have you seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god? Will you then be responsible for him?” [TMQ Al-Furqan: 43].And Allah (swt) said:

[فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا]

“But no, by your Lord, they will not truly believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves, and then find within themselves no discomfort regarding what you have judged, and submit to it in full submission.” [TMQ An-Nisa: 65].

The same applies to a judge. If a Muslim judge delivers judgments according to the Shariah rulings revealed by Allah (swt), then he has brought Islam into the courts of justice. However, if the judge rules according to man-made law, then he has judged in the same manner as a non-Muslim judge who rules by other than what Allah has revealed.

For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

«الْقُضَاةُ ثَلاَثَةٌ وَاحِدٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَاثْنَانِ فِي النَّارِ فَأَمَّا الَّذِي فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَرَجُلٌ عَرَفَ الْحَقَّ فَقَضَى بِهِ وَرَجُلٌ عَرَفَ الْحَقَّ فَجَارَ فِي الْحُكْمِ فَهُوَ فِي النَّارِ وَرَجُلٌ قَضَى لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى جَهْلٍ فَهُوَ فِي النَّارِ»‏

“Judges are of three kinds: one is in Paradise and two are in the Fire. As for the one who is in Paradise, he is a man who recognized the truth and judged accordingly. A man who recognized the truth but acted unjustly in his judgment is in the Fire. And a man who judged among people out of ignorance is in the Fire.”(Narrated by Abu Dawud).

It is well known that judges in America and other Western countries swear, each according to the oath he is required to take, to administer justice in accordance with man-made law, rather than according to the penal system of Islam!

Second: It is well known that the political regimes of the West, led by America, have been waging a crusader war against Islam and the Muslims since September 11, 2001, under what is known as the “War on Terrorism.” Nevertheless, decision-makers allow Muslims to win elections and be appointed to political positions. This is neither out of love for Muslims nor because the electoral system in the West and America is particularly sound, as some mistakenly imagine. Rather, it is because the presence of Muslims participating in the systems of Western colonialist capitalist states lends those states legitimacy in the eyes of the Islamic Ummah, particularly among Muslim communities.

Muslims, especially those living in Western countries, are thereby led to believe that they have genuinely become part of these political entities, and that these entities are not enemies or adversaries of them and their Ummah. If they truly were, these countries would not have allowed Muslims to attain political positions! In this way, Muslims deny, even if only subconsciously, that these states are enemies of Allah, His Messenger, and the believers. They instead show allegiance to the system and those who uphold it. Pride in belonging to Western countries consequently takes precedence, and patriotism is placed above religion.

In this manner, Muslims in the West are politically neutralized, co-opted, and assimilated into a misguided society, and are prevented from adopting the position of their Ummah, which is subjected to crusader attacks in every corner of the Islamic world.

Third: The attainment by Muslims of sovereign positions within the secular Western governments, and their undertaking of governing, legislation, or judicial functions in accordance with the country’s constitution and laws, constitute a genuine gain for the deep state and for governments that are hostile to Islam and the Muslims.

In addition to the military, economic, and political wars they wage against the Ummah throughout the Islamic world, using their alliances with the subservient rulers of Muslim countries and the armies of the Ummah to carry out their dirty work on their behalf, they also exploit the attainment of such positions by some Muslims to undermine Muslim communities. They do so by misleading these communities and making their members believe that they have achieved and accomplished a great deal, when in reality it is nothing but a mirage, as Allah (swt) said:

[كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَاءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا]

“Like a mirage in a lowland, which a thirsty person thinks is water, until, when he reaches it, he finds it to be nothing.” [TMQ An-Nur: 39].

This is contrary to what we have been commanded: not to follow the ways of those who came before us, nor to take them as allies. Allah (swt) has warned us against this,

[وَدُّوا لَوْ تَكْفُرُونَ كَمَا كَفَرُوا فَتَكُونُونَ سَوَاءً فَلَا تَتَّخِذُوا مِنْهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء]

“They wish that you would disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you would be alike. So do not take them as allies.” [TMQ An-Nisa: 89].

Fourth: The Muslim community must fully understand that the support provided by the ruling political parties in these countries to a number of Muslim candidates, and their enabling them to attain positions of authority, is a conspiracy against the Muslim community, intended to undermine Islam, the Muslims, and the community itself.

These rulers are not concerned if Muslims practice certain religious rituals in their mosques or in their personal lives. What they fear, however, is the Islam that Muslims carry: a comprehensive system of life and a civilizational alternative to their own unjust, corrupt, and colonialist civilization.

Therefore, in addition to the numerous hostile statements Trump has made against Islam and the Muslims, even more hateful statements have emerged, exposing the true position toward Islam and the Muslims. These were made by Michael Flynn, the retired general whom Trump previously appointed as National Security Adviser. Flynn likened Islam to “cancer” and described political Islam as “a malignant cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion people … that must be excised.”

For this reason, they seek to assimilate Muslims into Western society, so that they neither denounce what Islam denounces nor call for Islam and its prescribed good, as both a religion and a state. Rather, they push Muslims even further, to the point of engaging in practices that incur the displeasure of Allah (swt), such as running for office and nominating candidates in accordance with man-made laws and constitutions.

Fifth: Those who believe that the alternative to refraining from participating in the “electoral conspiracy,” whether by running for office or voting, is isolation, having no influence, failing to champion the just causes of the Ummah, not demanding the rights of the Muslim community, and not preserving its identity, are mistaken. The opposite is, in fact, true.

Refraining from what displeases Allah and His Messenger, as established by definitive texts of the Shariah, calling for Islam as a civilizational alternative, and demanding the rights of the Muslim community on the basis that they are residents entitled to legal rights do not require a Muslim to engage in what displeases Allah by running for or nominating candidates for political office.

When a citizen demands his legal rights, neither the responsible official nor the legal authority asks him: “Which political party do you belong to?” or “For whom did you vote?” or even “Did you vote at all?” Rather, the law applies equally to everyone, regardless of all the foregoing. All citizens are entitled to demand their legal rights, whether or not they participated in elections.

Therefore, it is an act of ignorance and deception to assume or claim that the rights of the Muslim community can only be secured through involvement in unjust political arenas, represented by competing political parties seeking power and the institutions affiliated with them.

Muslims in America must be as our master Umar al-Faruq (ra) said: “I am neither a deceiver nor one who can be deceived.” They must not allow conspiracies targeting them to deceive them, or be misled by fatwas that contradict the definitive teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

They must be ambassadors of their Ummah and their religion, standing in support of the causes of their Ummah and calling people to the noble religion that Allah (swt) sent to all of humanity as a complete way of life, not merely rituals and moral values. They must not accept illusions and mirages.

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ]

“O you who believe! Respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah comes between a person and his heart, and that to Him you will all be gathered.” [TMQ Al-Anfal 8:24].