The Importance of Islamic Political Awareness for Islam to Rule

According to the Population and Housing Census of 2020, of Malaysia's 34.2 million inhabitants, Muslims constituted 63.5 per cent of the population, followed by Buddhists at 18.7 per cent, Christians at 9.1 per cent, Hindus at 6.1 per cent, those professing no religion at 1.8 per cent, and others at 0.9 per cent. It is generally known that in this Malay Land, the Malay race is synonymous with Islam, despite a very small number of Malays who are non-Muslims or apostates.

As for those who are ruling the country, out of the total 31 ministers, 20 are Muslims, representing approximately 65%. In other words, the majority of the country's population are Muslims, and the majority of those holding the reins of power are also Muslims.

However, despite this demographic majority, and despite having “Shariah laws” and “Shariah courts”, the system and laws implemented in this country, are not really Islamic. In fact, very few Islamic laws are enforced, and even those are confined to the individual sphere with flaws here and there – such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, wills, and the like. The constitution of this country (the highest law of the land), including its system and other laws, are inherited from British, as the final colonizers of this land before granting its pseudo-independence on August 31, 1957.

History bears witness that the Muslims of this country were overjoyed upon the departure of the British because ruling authority was directly transferred to the local people, specifically the Malay-Muslims, although a small number of non-Muslims (Chinese and Indians) were also present in the seats of government. Since then, what has been ingrained in the minds of the Malay-Muslims in this country, and what has been "indoctrinated" by those in power, is the paramount importance of Malay-Muslims being in power, without looking at the nature of the system and laws governing them.

This is clear evidence that the victory and "colonization" by the British over this country never truly ceased. The ruling system and laws in this country all originated from them, even though they departed from this land long ago. What has changed and differed since 1957 is merely the faces of those in power – from white to brown. That is all.

Stemming from this, the Muslims in this country have lost their Islamic political awareness. The Malay has been successfully indoctrinated by the British into believing that what matters is having Malay-Muslim faces in power, rather than having an Islamic system and laws governing the nation and country. Ever since, Malays fail to see that it is not enough for them (as Muslims) to merely attain power, but Islam itself must reach the seat of power.

In reality, the victory of Malay-Muslims in occupying the government does not equate to the victory of Islam. In fact, this is the true essence of secularism, where the religion of Islam is separated from governance, even if those holding the reins of power are Muslims. All of this stems from the failure to understand political Islam – a predicament that has plagued the Muslim population of this country since independence until today. They fail to comprehend that the yardstick for the political success of Muslims is when Islam reaches a position of authority, not merely when Muslims are in power.

Deen and Power Must Go Hand in Hand

Every Muslim must understand that Ad-Deen and power must be aligned. In case where a Muslim is in power, but he does not empower his Deen, he will definitely rule based on the Kufr system, despite that system contradicts his faith.

When the existing system is inherently flawed, his ruling and administration will inevitably lead to destruction. The governance will not only contradict Islam but will also fail to serve the people, as any governing system other than Islam is a system based on human desires. The power holders who create such a system will undoubtedly ensure that the system (and its laws) works in their favour.

In Islam, power is a method for implementing Islamic tenets. Without power, Islam cannot be implemented, much like the position of the Messenger of Allah (saw) in Mecca. It was only after the migration to Medina that Islam could be fully implemented, as the Messenger (saw) had acquired power at that time.

It is indeed true as stated by Hujjatul Islam, Imam al-Ghazali: "الدِّينُ وَالسُّلْطَانُ تَوْأَمَانِ، الدِّينُ أُسٌّ وَالسُّلْطَانُ حَارِسٌ، فَمَا لَا أُسَّ لَهُ فَمَهْدُومٌ، وَمَا لَا حَارِسَ لَهُ فَضَائِعٌ" “Religion and power are (like) twin brothers. Religion is the foundation, and power is its guardian. That which has no foundation will collapse. That which has no guardian will be lost.”

Without Islam being in power, all sorts of injustice, disobedience, crimes, corruption, so on and so forth, will run rampant. This is due to humans govern other humans with lust and desires, rather than with divine guidance. This is evident in democracy where laws are enacted by humans in power, which naturally contradict the Quran and the Sunnah. The administration becomes filled with oppressive and corrupt individuals; bribery and misappropriation occur everywhere; criminal cases are never eradicated, and the rulers themselves may even be criminals or protectors of criminals. A usurious economic system, failed educational policies, a chaotic social climate, and all sorts of evils plague the nation.

All of this happens even while Muslims are in power. Such is the reality when Islam does not rule, despite Muslims being on the throne. When rulers do not make Islam as foundation of their ruling, all goodness and blessings will crumble and disappear.

Politicians and Islamic Political Parties Losing Their Ideals

We have witnessed in this country, and in most democratic countries worldwide, that politicians born from a flawed system will usually become flawed themselves. They dissolve into the corrupt system that created them. Despite being Muslim, not only are they far removed from Islam, but they also lack the idealism of struggle, for they only fight to secure seats of power to enjoy worldly gains.

How many members of Islamic political parties themselves lack this idealism? They do not equip themselves with the knowledge of Islamic rulings and governance. Consequently, when Allah (swt) grants them the opportunity to be in power, they merely become continuations of the existing un-Islamic system, unable to do anything to elevate the Deen of Allah (swt).

It can be said that all Islamic political parties striving within the democratic system lack a clear and firm Islamic political vision and mission. They fail to comprehend Islam as a comprehensive ideology that regulates all aspects of human life, the state, and even the world. The absence of idealism and the failure to understand Islam as an ideology cause Islamic parties to assimilate into a democratic system that has not only corrupted them but also eventually damaged their understanding of Islam. They often adopt a pragmatic approach, compromising Islam with secularism, ultimately placing Islam at the bottom – despite chanting the name of Islam in their works.

The focus of Islamic political parties within a democratic framework has also strayed far from what they are supposed to be. They merely race to seize seats and win elections, rather than being aggressively driven to implement Islam itself. All their strength, finances, time, and energy are poured into winning seats – a cycle repeated even when it evidently yields no results for Islam. Worse still, they cooperate with secular and non-Muslim political parties in the election, and upon winning, they share power with these factions at the expense of Islam.

On that basis, although they successfully attain power, Islam is never in power.

Democracy Will Never Allow Islam to be Implemented

Secular politicians and parties are well-known for championing causes other than Islam be it for race, economy, human rights, the working class, and so on. Hence, it is not surprising that when they are in power, Islam is never implemented, even if they profess to be Muslims. In fact, some of them are vehemently opposed to the implementation of Islamic tenets.

The major predicament faced by the Ummah is when the Islamic political parties they relied upon to implement Islam, upon successfully capturing power, turn out to be no different from secular political parties. Why does this happen? It is because Islamic political parties are also shackled – or more accurately, they deliberately shackle themselves – to the democratic system, a system that is inherently "anti-Islam."

Therefore, we witness failure after failure faced by Islamic political parties worldwide in achieving their Islamic aspirations. Muslims successfully occupy government seats, yet Islam never even reaches the legs of those chairs. Consciously or not, the democratic system they obey is the primary obstacle preventing them from implementing Islam. Strangely, they continue to praise and place their hopes in democracy.

The democratic system is a Western creation that will never permit Islam to become the ruling ideology. It allows Muslims to rule, but not the ideology of Islam itself. Unfortunately, Islamic political parties, despite knowing this, continue to place their trust and hope in this system, erroneously believing it can be utilized to implement Islam. On that basis, despite failing and being deceived time and again in elections, they still refuse to abandon democracy. For decades, the perils of democracy have been proven: Islam can never be implemented in this system, even if Muslims or Islamic political parties control the state.

Conclusion

Every Muslim, especially Islamic political parties, must understand that the purpose of Da’wah and its works is to resume the Islamic way of life entirely. On that basis, the current system must be changed and they must work to empower Islam, not merely to elevate Muslims into power. This is the political awareness that Muslims and Islamic political parties must possess; without it, Islam will never become the ideology that rules the state, regardless of how many or how pious the Muslims in the seats of governance may be.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Abdul Hakim Othman
Official Spokesperson of Hizb ut Tahrir in Malaysia