How should the Muslims react to the BJP winning state elections in Uttar Pardesh, India?

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh conducted its legislative assembly elections spanning through a few weeks in February and March this year. The election results for 403 legislative assembly seats were declared on the 11th of March 2017. The Nationalist Indian Peoples party (Bharatiya Janata Party) was able to secure 312 seats out of the 384 seats that it contested, thus making it the single largest contender to form the state government in Uttar Pradesh. It placed much ahead of the incumbent Samajwadi Party led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son, Akhilesh yadav.

As is the case with all elections, scores of ‘promises intended to be broken’ were made to all sections of the society. Election campaigning included appeasement of people based on promises such as the Ram Mandir construction for Hindus and reservations for Dalits & Muslims, in addition to low level slander against competing parties. Marginalization and polarization of communities, false promises and the communal card were the tools put to use for campaigning. As it happens after every election, this time also the post-election scenario will be similar. Promises will be forgotten, those who lost will try to formulate strategies for next elections, opposition parties will start blaming and accusing the ruling party for almost everything that goes wrong in the state, people will get back to their daily lives unsatisfied, irritated and fed up with the never-ending problems.

Among the reasons being given for BJP winning the elections include Muslims being blamed for being 'disunited' and not consolidating their votes in support of any non-fascist party; the new 'strategy' or 'way forward' for the Muslims is being defined as "we need to learn lessons from our mistakes, we must learn from Hindus how they united their vote". In addition to this a section of Muslims are also being blamed for betrayal on account of their support  to the Saffron Nationalist party that has won the elections. 

From a Muslim’s perspective, the scenario has been similar ever since India was given independence in 1947. Every year, every election, Muslims are merely seen as a vote bank. Vote bank politics is a common feature of the Indian Democracy. Congress during its rule and campaigning looked upon the Muslims as mere tools of support to gain and retain power, trying every possible tactic to appease the Muslim masses. The BJP on the other hand echoes the claim called “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”, trying to appease all sections of the society while its real election winning strategy has been to consolidate the Hindu vote too. 

So as soon as the BJP won the elections with out fielding any Muslim candidate or appealing to the Muslims for vote, all the opposition party’s wanted to tame the Muslim vote bank, with the Samajwadi party getting the maximum support of Muslims. And new strategies are being discussed as to how to “unite” the Muslims to rally behind one ‘secular’, ‘non-fascist’ party. This is the current reality of the Muslim presence in electoral politics: a vote bank for elections, like a football being kicked around the field by different players for enhancing their own scores. A Delhi based journalist quotes in his article titled “Fear of Hindu Rashtra: Should Muslims keep away from electoral politics?”, Muslims fear the communal cauldron that Uttar Pradesh has become will be kept on the boil. But this is not what worries them. Not because they think the Bharatiya Janata Party in power will change its stripes, but because they fear Muslims will feel so cowered that they will recoil, and live in submission. “Our agony arises from being reduced to second-class citizens, of becoming politically irrelevant,” said journalist Asif Burney.

Amid all of this melodrama, never ending problems and futile solutions, it is vital for the Muslims to struggle to define a valid path forward. Should Muslims stay away from electoral politics, become apolitical and isolate themselves? Or should they show more participation, integrate into the system and work their way out? Has the cycle of changing leaders or parties ever proved to be a solution, is it allowed for the Muslims to participate in Democratic Elections from the shari point of view? This is what I wanted to discuss in this article. 

Reality of Democracy

The system of Democracy, which translates as “Rule of the people” is a 2500 years old theory with its origins in sixth century B.C. Greece. It is a political system which emanates or depends on the human mind for its legislation. The reality of the human mind is that it is limited; it cannot comprehend the purpose of existence of life, what came before this life, what is to come after this life, what is good, what is bad. The human mind has been struggling since 2500 years to realize and practically implement this theory of people’s rule. 25 centuries later today, people are still struggling to achieve a pure democracy, to actualize the theory of “Demos- Kratos” or people’s rule. And the result is in front of us. Democracy today is not even people’s rule; it is the rule by the minority and the Capitalist elite as the common man has little or no role in legislation. They say Democracy is a rule of majority, but even this is far from reality; eg. Suppose three parties A, B, C, D & E participate in elections. Party A wins 40% votes, Party B wins 25% votes, Party C wins 15% votes, Parties D&E win 10% each. In this case who gets to form the government? Party A which won 40% votes. Does 40% represent the majority population of the country? Hence, Democracy being based on limited human mind for legislation, and being based on the lie or fantasy of “majority rule” and “people’s rule” has time and again proven to be a failure; a failure in actual realization of the theory, a failure in organizing society in harmony with man’s natural dispositions, and a huge failure in solving the problems that mankind faces globally or locally.

In this scenario, it is important that as Muslims, who have been entitled as the best Ummah brought forth for mankind, and as witnesses over the affairs of mankind, we need to define a way forward, a road map, blue print or line of action. Do we isolate ourselves from this oppressive system totally? Or do we integrate into the fallacious man-made system? Or do we have an alternative to solve the existing problem? 

The Islamic viewpoint

Democracy is a system of governance that emanates from the Kufr Aqeedah called Secularism. Secularism is the Aqeedah/belief that religion/God does not have a role in political affairs of the society. Secularism is a Kufr Aqeedah where man decides and legislates. From this Aqeedah emanates the system of Democracy wherein Sovereignty and authority belongs to humans and not to Allah.

The people elect their representatives to form the government in order to carry out legislation for the society. While Allah SWT clearly mentions in the Qur'an 

إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ ۖ 

"Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone." (TMQ 6:57)

In Democracy, human beings legislate and thereby they undertake a role that none other than Allah (swt) can undertake. 

According to this viewpoint in life or Aqeedah, the Ruboobiyyah of Allah is limited to individual affairs; and according to this Aqeedah, in societal matters, man can legislate and decide upon the Halal and Haram for society. 

It is this precise action that the Prophet (saw) prohibited which is reported in the hadith of Adi bin Hatim.

Adi Bin Hatim (RA) reported: “I heard him (saw) reciting the verse in Surah At-Tawbah, “They (Jews and Christians) have taken their priests and monks as Lords (Arabic: Arbaab; Plural for Rabb) besides Allah.”(9:31) The Prophet(S) said,

بَلَى إِنَّهُمْ حَرَّمُوا عَلَيْهِمُ الْحَلَالَ وَأَحَلُّوا لَهُمُ الْحَرَامَ فَاتَّبَعُوهُمْ فَذَلِكَ عِبَادَتُهُمْ إِيَّاهُم

“As for them, they did not worship them, but rather when they made something lawful for them they considered it lawful and when they made something unlawful for them they considered it unlawful.” [Sunan At-Tirmidhi; Graded Hasan according to Ibn Taymiyyah]

From this it can be understood that giving the authority to legislate into the hands of other than Allah’s Shari’ah amounts to taking Lords beside Allah SWT. This is the Shar’i ruling on Democracy. The Islamic Aqeedah, on the other hand, mandates that Allah SWT should be taken as the only legislator in all matters of life, from societal to individual. In Islam, Sovereignty and the right to legislate belongs to Allah SWT alone; and the authority to elect, account or remove the ruler i.e the Khalifah belongs to the people.

This is the basic difference between Democracy, which is based on the Aqeedah of Secularism and the Khilafah, which is based on the Aqeedah of Islam.

The way forward for Muslims

The best example to follow for the Muslims is none other than Muhammad SAW. All along, Muhammad (saw) was being guided through Wahi. There is no evidence whatsoever that Muhammad SAW participated in the ruling system of the Quraysh during his time in Makkah Mukarramah. When the Quraysh gave him offers of compromise and to assimilate into their way of life, he (saw) rejected those offers in an outright manner.

It is reported In Seerah ibn Hisham and Seerah Ibn Kathir (a section of Al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah) that in one instance, he (saw) is reported to have said,“If they give the Sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, even then I will not leave this call, until Allah makes it prevail, or I perish therein.”

In another instance, Muhammad SAW rejected the Quraysh’s offer for living by Islam for one year and by Kufr for one year alternatively. Allah SWT revealed Surah Kafiroon, verse no. 6, which declares to the Kuffar that 

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ 

 “For you, your Deen and for us our Deen(way of life)”

Thus, the Muslims should follow the Sunnah of Muhammad SAW. They should disengage from the Kufr politics of Democracy, which is the ruling system implemented presently in society. They should engage in politics in the Islamic manner.

Allah SWT says,

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا ۗ

 “And thus, we have made you a Just Ummah, so that you be witnesses over mankind and the Prophet(S) be a witness over you.” (TMQ 2:143)

Muhammad SAW was commanded by Allah SWT in Surah Ma’idah:

فَاحْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ ۚ 

"So rule between them by what Allah SWT has revealed and do not follow their low desires to turn away from the truth that has come to you."

وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ 

"And that you should rule between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their low desires and be cautious of them lest they seduce you from part of what Allah has revealed to you." (TMQ 5:48, 49)

First and foremost, Muslims in India must give up the “minority” tag awarded to them after the so-called Indian independence of 1947. Under this tag, Muslims have come to live in an inferiority complex and an unnecessary fear psychosis. We must give up this fake label, define our identity as Muslim alone and realize our position as leaders of mankind, leaders who lead towards the path lit by Light from the Creator of mankind. We should never forget that the greatest contribution in what India today stands for has been from the Muslims who ruled this land by Islam for over 10 centuries and implemented the Just system of Islam on its population. 

The Muslim should always carry the vision that Rabee’ ibn Amir RA carried in front of Rustum, the Persian army commander; who asked Rabi as to what was their mission and why had they come to Persia? Rabee’ said, Allah Azzawajal has sent us to deliver you from worshipping the creation to worshipping the Creator of the creation and to deliver you from the constriction of this world to the vastness of this world and the after-life and from the oppression of the religions to the justice of Islam. Allah Azzawajal has sent us to save you from worshiping each other.”

It is the Muslims duty to call and invite people towards the Islamic Aqeedah, and  the Islamic way of life. We should expose the fallacies and weakness of the fragile man-made system called Democracy and present the Islamic way of life as an alternative. Democracy, in 2500 years could not realize itself since it is from Baatil, while Islam being from the Haqq manifested itself within 13 years of its revelation, and sustained as the prevalent way of life over a long period of 1300 years until its abolishment as a system through conspiracies hatched by the kuffar against the Khilafah state in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  We should keep our nafs in control and tame our desires to accept this hard fact that Democracy is a system of Kufr and the only solution for humanity is in Islam.

Indeed Islam, its Aqeedah and its way of life, is the only solution for all of the problems that humanity is facing. It is because it is a divine system which has been revealed by the lord of mankind, Allah (swt). Hence, instead of seeking solutions from a weak, flawed man-made system like Democracy, the Muslims who are the Best Ummah brought forth for mankind should assume the position of leadership and embark on the project of liberating mankind from the darkness of man-made systems like Democracy & Capitalism into the light of the Islamic system that will establish justice for all irrespective of race, religion, caste, nationality or ethnicity. This, they do by following the methodology of Muhammad SAW. They must reject democracy and take up the establishment of the Islamic political system, the Khilafah, as the vital issue and consolidate their efforts in this direction with full thrust once and for all.

وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ 

"And Whoever Desires A Deen Other Than Islam, It Shall Not Be Accepted From Him, And In The Hereafter He Shall Be One Of The Losers."  Surah Aal e Imran: 85

And Allah knows best.

Dr Faizaan Muazzin

 Reference articles:

1.       http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/30/world/athens-journal-2500-years-old-and-my-how-the-child-has-grown.html

2.       https://scroll.in/article/831693/the-fear-of-hindu-rashtra-should-muslims-keep-away-from-electoral-politics

Further reading:

1. http://islamicsystem.blogspot.in/2012/05/politics-of-voting.html
2. http://islamicsystem.blogspot.in/2007/08/ruling-of-islam-on-elections.html