Following the concern expressed by a number of commentators about the electoral advantage being given to the BNP due to the ongoing scandal surrounding MPs’ expenses claims, there is another fringe group that seeks to capitalise on the widespread disgust and disappointment at the conduct of our elected representatives in the main political parties.

The recent disclosures over MPs’ claims for expenses has led Hizb ut-Tahrir, the fringe activist group that advocates rejection of democracy and democratic participation by Muslim citizens, to issue a leaflet urging Muslims to take note of the recent scandals and see them not as aberrations that need correction by introducing reforms, but as the inevitable results of ‘man made systems’ of governance.

For HT, these crises, and many others, are the products of a system that is not anchored in a moral universe that would otherwise govern its practices and check against descent into greed and unethical conduct. Such can only come about when Muslims reject these ‘man made systems’ and embrace the Caliphate.

The latest leaflet by the organisation states:

‘The economic crisis and collapse of the financial system, Britain’s broken society, wider social breakdown, and human rights abuses committed as part of the war on terror are also symptoms of this ideological decay – they are all linked to the values of capitalism: excess, greed, individualism and materialism.

‘If once naive people saw some benefit in it they must now realise that it is not only fundamentally defective but it corrupts those who work within the system. We must abandon calls to participate in this political system.’

The problem with statements such as this, that throw the baby out with the bathwater, is that they overlook the important aspect of individual and national responsibility in contributing to and maintaining the kinds of standards and ethics we want to see shape our public life and those engaged in it.

HT’s calls for rejecting the democratic system have always been premised on a romanticised view of Islam’s history and the naïve belief that a benign philosopher king is the natural product of an Islamic political community. HT forgets, or ignores, lessons from Islam’s own encounter with avaricious, self serving rulers. The fault lies not, as they like to claim, with the system, but with those who fail themselves and their electorate by engaging in unethical practices that shame the trust we place in them and our public culture.

At a time when Europeans are showing little interest in the upcoming European elections, and the BNP stands to gain from voter disgust with Labour and Conservative politicians, urging Muslims to abandon their civic responsibilities, is itself an act of gross misconduct.

The lessons Muslims should draw from the MPs scandal is that political communities are human, at times all too human, communities. And if we seek a public culture and political society that values transparency, integrity and accountability, then we all share a responsibility to be part of the debate that shapes those standards and enforces them through investigative journalism and institutional oversight.

The answer is not to reject democratic participation, but to embrace it wholeheartedly with a view to ever improving our politics and political culture.

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Sack Blears  - Good analysis   |2009-05-20 11:32:02 Fair analysis of HT's ridiculous posturing. They seem to think that the answer to acts of corruption in a democracy is to get rid of democracy altogether. Great thinking, not!

Sack Blears  - btw   |2009-05-20 11:33:05 Oh and by the way, Blears should be sacked! Thieving cow.

amjad  - Respect HT   |2009-05-20 21:10:29 Allah U akbar at last the ummah has began realising that democracy is a system of shirk... check out imam anwar awlaki blogs, who also declare it as shirk witht he mujahideen Moderate rand muslims are sell outs

Illuminati  - Respect wisdom   |2009-05-21 17:56:29 amjad - why don't you try and deal with the actual arguments. Many Islamic scholars believe democracy is perfectly compatible with Islam and indeed enshrines the Islamic principle of 'shura' (consultation). Have a read of this... http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1145175705661

waj  - Shura = democracy X   |2009-05-21 20:14:06 Shura is consultation on the MUBAH dumbo, like where to place schools or where to concentrate public resources of the bait ul Maal or what should be more important heavy industry or road. When did shura ever be used in legislation making. there is only one legislator mr illuminati.. THAT IS YOUR CREATOR AND MINE SHURA = DEMOCRACY X / DEMORACY = SHIRK \/

CALIPHATE  - DEMOCRACY IS SHIRK 100%   |2009-05-21 20:18:26 IMAM ANWAR AWLAKI DISCUSSION OF DEMOCRACY IS SHIRK http://www.anwar-alawlaki.com/?p=119#comments P.S THOSE SCHOLAR MUST INDEEDN BE EITHER BLIND OR SCHOLARS FOR DOLLAR A.K.A MURAD MR HANSEN

hubbyh  - democratic soldiers   |2009-05-21 20:30:50 US soldier spared death penalty Steven Green was found guilty on all 17 counts against him A former US soldier convicted of rape and murder in Iraq has been spared the death penalty. Steven Green, 24, will now be sentenced to life in prison, after jurors in the state of Kentucky could not agree unanimously on his punishment. A judge is expected to formally sentence Green in September. In May, the jury found Green guilty of the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her and her family near Baghdad in 2006. Four other soldiers are serving sentences of between five and 110 years for their roles in the 2006 incident. Three had admitted holding down Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, raping her and then killing her, her parents and her younger sister at the family's home in Mahmudiya before torching the building. Mr Green was discharged from the 101st Airborne Division before the case came to light. He was the first ex-soldier to be charged under a US law that allows prosecution for crimes committed overseas. source bbc.co.uk

Ata Abu Rashta  - Vast Majority of Islamic scholars disagree with HT   |2009-05-22 02:51:34 Here is an example of many Islamic scholars making clear that taking part in elections (even in non-Muslim countries) is allowed in Islam: http://www.iacn.org.uk/iacnfol/viewpoint/scholars_voting.htm

Ata Abu Rashta  - More examples   |2009-05-22 02:53:21 http://www.iengage.org.uk/images/stories/votinginislam.pdf Both the above links are taken from the Engage FAQ section.

Ashraful  - Voting   |2009-05-22 04:46:05 Voting in elections is definitely allowed in Islam. HT's stance on this issue is absurd. We need as many people as possible voting.

abdul  - What Goverment backed scholars lol   |2009-05-22 19:32:32 What type of daleel is that?? some scholars said it lol never did the word of scholar let alone paid fatwa givers to please goverments become legislation in Islam. let look at the list OIC scholar.. did they give any solution for gaza? or colonialist bases in Islamic land? What About the hukm or fatwa or crusaders in islamic lands? WHy no fatwa for the goverment in their lands to implemnt sharia? Bin Baz! did he not give a fatwa US bases are halal in the land of hijaz? Saud paid scholars lets not go their as for the warped interpretation on Nabi yusuf (as), the accuser accusing nabi yusuf (as) of political participation in a kufr nizam, when Allah (swt) quotes Yufus (as) saying "in il hukmo ila lilah" Secondly even if we believe for one second that Yusaf (as) particapate in a shirk nizam, then tell when did the sharia of bani Israeel become sharia for us? i gues you must also accep the sharia of Bani Israeel regarding cutting the clothing where it become impure? or Accept sajood to people as was permmited in the time of Yusaf (as) time? or accept the sharia given to nabi ADAM (AS) Allah permitted marriage between same blood? I finish with the quran Ayah "they took their priest ad rabbis as gods beside Allah" guess u guys have taken all the goverment paid scholars as yours...

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