In Tunisia, in Morocco, in Egypt, voters in their millions have clearly expressed their opposition to secular liberal values and their strong desire for Islamic government.
Yet the same parties that went to great lengths to demonstrate their Islamic credentials to the masses in the election campaign, are now going to great lengths to demonstrate their moderation to the West now.
Indeed in their rush to placate so called international opinion, they have abandoned all pretense to Islamic politics, Islam is now the word that dare not be mentioned.
In doing so, they think they are being pragmatic, smart and politically savvy. Yet all they have shown is their opportunism, their double standards and that when it comes to sticking to principles, they are no better than their secular counterparts.
When it comes to applying Islamic politics they cite constitutional barriers and the need to keep minorities onside. When it comes to applying Islamic economics, they cite the need to avoid scaring international investors and tourists. When it comes to applying the Islamic foreign policy, they cite the need to show a moderate image and to appease the west.
Indeed such is their caution, weakness and desire to please, they have now become Islamic Politicians in Name Only (IPINO). The inferiority complex of the IPINO’s has no bounds, having been in opposition so long, they almost cannot believe the opportunity they now have. Yet they are now in danger of wasting the huge mandate that they have been given.
The IPINO’s have thus made at least six strategic mistakes in their politics thus far:
1. Firstly the IPINO’s have locked themselves into a straitjacket by participating within flawed elections in a flawed system under a flawed framework. Elections are a critical part of any political system (including the Khilafah’s), the elections we saw in the Muslim world like the ones we see in the West, are deeply flawed. Power is distributed amongst different politicians or institutions, not to have checks and balances, but to encourage division and to stop strong leadership. Indeed elections are a necessary smokescreen to allow the illusion of societal participation to cover the real reality that power is exercised by an unelected elite. Having multiple institutions such as lower or upper houses or constitutional restrictions ensures nothing can get done which is too radical.
2. Secondly the IPINO’s should realise that they are not indispensable. The people who elected them in their millions want Islam, what they don’t want is a diluted Islam, or a diet Islam or some kind of Islam Zero. If the people wanted western secularism, they would have voted for candidates from Liberal parties. If the IPINO’s don’t deliver what they promised, they will face a serious revolt. If they think this won’t happen, they should consult Hosni Mubarak.
3. Thirdly their political calculations are rooted in myths. First they believe that an Islamic system can only be implemented gradually, why? Do liberal politicians ever talk about implementing their values gradually? No they don’t, everyone knows there’s a distinction between determining a policy and when it can be executed. Implementing an Islamic System can be a Day 1 decision even if it takes weeks, months or even years for all the benefits to be fully seen. Secondly the idea that Islamic solutions aren’t ready to solve Day 1 problems such as poverty, unemployment or education are simply not correct. Islam’s economic vision on creating a strong industrial base, focussing on land reform and taxing wealth not incomes, are practical solutions that would benefit our economies today.
4. By avoiding the tough decisions, IPINO’s end up implementing the same failed capitalist solutions that have not just bankrupted our countries but brought the western world to the brink of economic collapse. Indeed it is patronising to the tens of millions of the citizens that voted for Islamic solutions that they aren’t somehow ready to face the consequences of the very solutions they voted for.
5. The idea that implementing an Islamic system will scare minorities, scare investors and scare international opinion is true and false. False in the sense that the Islamic system has a fantastic track record in dealing justly with those who don’t share the Islamic faith. But true in the sense that the current international system needs a jolt. When the current world is dominated by billions in poverty, where wars are fought over oil and where the powerful states exploit the weak, then such a system needs to be challenged. The idea that by implementing Islam somehow would be an act of naivety because one must be cognisant of the international situation is itself an act of naivety. The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was not naive when he challenged the Romans and the Persians, but he fully understood that international politics was about projecting ideological power. If you as a nation don’t project your values, principles and policies than other nations will. This is why the West not only implements its values at home but spends tens of billions to spread its message abroad.
6. Lastly the IPINO’s are walking into a strategic trap. By abandoning Islam at home, they effectively will implement a liberal secular agenda which will exclusively benefit a westernised elite. In the future their inability to present a coherent Islamic agenda will be used by their political opponents and western elites as evidence of the failure of Islamic politics to solve problems in the Muslim world. Indeed the main danger that the IPINO’s risk is not to themselves, but to the cause they purport to care about. Their reluctance to implement Islam in its entirety risks giving the impression that the Islamic system can’t solve the problems of the day
Indeed some IPINO’s are now even ready to turn a blind eye to blatantly Un-Islamic industries, accept US hegemony and sit down with Israel to validate peace treaties. By doing so they have shown that naked opportunism is not confined to secular parties.
How can these people after being put in jails by the previous tyrants now seek to implement the very same policies of the very same tyrants. How can they say they oppose US foreign policy, yet meekly accept US aid and hegemony. How can they say they stand with the Muslims of Palestine when they are not prepared to even rescind the Camp David Agreement.
Principles and Politics Can Mix
What is required from sincere politicians is a new politics, a new outlook and a new vision.
A vision that focuses on increasing prosperity, jobs and helping the poor. One where people are the priority not western multinationals.
A vision that looks to bring land reform, tax reform and to ensure critical resources are owned by the state to benefit the many not the few.
A vision that has a leadership accountable to public opinion not to international opinion.
All this is possible if the political will is present. As the life of our Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم showed us, the challenges will not be easy, achieving real political change never is.
There is no easy path to progress, no shortcuts to real change and hardship always accompanies the task.
Our Ummah’s history has shown us time after time that what seemed impossible became reality with the help of Allah سبحانه وتعالى.
The Khilafah showed it could rise up to the challenges in the past, we believe it can rise up to the challenges today.
Those who pursue the right path, will bring in not just a new system, not just a new era, but a new politics which will inspire the whole world.
Over the last year, thousands of protesters took to the streets, then tens of thousands, then millions. And in the face of tear gas, batons and bullets, they refused to go home. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week, until dictators who ruled for decades were forced from power.
So let us be clear that though some of the tyrants have gone, their corrupt systems remain. And while this remains the case, there will be no let up. So during these dark days, the hope carries on, the dream of a more just system still lives, the obligation endures and the work to re-establish the Khilafah will never stop.
The people of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya sacrificed their sweat, their blood and some made the ultimate sacrifice. These people deserve better, than to be let down again by new politicians implementing the old politics.
إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ ۚ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالْأَحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاءَ ۚ فَلَا تَخْشَوُا النَّاسَ وَاخْشَوْنِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۚ وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ
“Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the disbelievers.” [Al-Maida, 5:44]