Responses to 5 ‘I’m not voting because…’ statements

1. I’m not voting because I don’t care about politics:

In reality, voting has little to do with politics, and more to do with your healthcare. Your education. Your housing prices. Your religious freedom. Your children. Your future. Do you care about those things? The people who will be voted into power, will have the power to change any of those things. Do you care enough about your life and your future to be a part of that change?

2. I’m not voting; I think voting is haram as all the politicians stand for something that is haram in one way or another

There are so many ways to respond to this, but I’m going to try to keep it simple:

1. The phrase ‘lesser of the two evils’ does actually have a place in Islam. It’s what is called an ‘Usool’, a principle of fiqh; that when a believer is faced with a situation where (s)he has two choices, the believer must adopt the choice that comes with the lesser sin; the believer is not told to curl up, die and refuse to choose.
2. It is our duty as Muslim citizens, to ensure that we contribute to electing the candidate that is better for us. The candidate that is more inclined towards Islamic morals such as religious freedom (to strike an example with Marine Le pen who wished to constrict French Muslims and their religious freedom, in contrast to Emmanuel Macron). The candidate that will listen to our concerns not only regarding Islamophobia, but also our concerns regarding social security, our lives and our future. We are socially and financially dependent on this country, upon the social structures laid out by our government which benefits all aspects of our life, not just our religious freedom. If we vote, and we help to elect someone in our favour, our lives will be more comfortable, which will then make it easier for us to live our lives and worship Allah. One of the leading political parties will be in power, whether we like it or not. In fact, a failure to attempt to prevent a dishonest candidate, an oppressor, coming into power could not only work against our favour, it could also cause us to fall into sin: “If people see an oppressor and don’t prevent him, then it is very likely that Allah will include all of them in the punishment” (Prophet Muhammad pbuh, At-Tirmidhi).
3. Adopting this viewpoint suggests that contributing to any scheme that incorporates non-Islamic values is the same as endorsing it. It would make living life in the UK virtually impossible. Let’s look at the ‘vegetable shop analogy’; Your Tesco-bought carrots which were acquired from farmers via Islamically unviable transactions (such as with interest, or upon terms negotiated pre-harvest) become prohibited; Tesco didn’t Islamically own those carrots, therefore you can’t buy them. To be this pedantic all around, you would have to live as a hermit, and even then I reckon, would struggle to buy seeds for your very halal crops.

As a minority in the UK, we find ourselves in a very unique situation for which a precedent is not found in the Sunnah; hence we look towards previous nations; and we find the story of Prophet Yusuf (pbuh) who not only participated in the political system (which was not based on Allah’s law), he became a minister within that system. His participation was not indicative of him endorsing the polytheistic views of the king.

Ask yourself this question: How does refraining from voting and doing nothing help to make anything better for anyone? How would it help to stop any corruption within our government? Muslims are the leading charitable group in the UK; yet we have forgotten that charity begins at home; that the best charity is that which sorts out the affairs of our own home, our own country. Charity as defined in the Sunnah: acts of kindness not restricted to monetary commitments.

3. I’m not voting: I think voting is haram as I believe Allah owns the right to legislate

Yes, to Allah belongs the right to legislate, and also, to Allah belongs our life. Would that then mean it is up to Allah to make the decisions in our life, thus we must stay in bed and refuse to make the decision to get up in the morning, as this decision belongs to Allah alone? We are the vehicle of Allah’s decisions, His legislation, His commands. Allah makes the laws, but it’s up to us people to enforce and uphold those laws. It’s up to us to vote for the candidate that’s going to enforce laws that are the most reconciled with the laws of Allah. Just like the khilaafah of the companions Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) was elected by a majority, we too must contribute to being part of that majority.

4. I’m not voting because I don’t think it makes a difference

With Allah’s mercy, Islam always takes the community and society, the bigger picture into great consideration; we are never encouraged to hold exclusive views– views such that if they were held collectively, we would be in serious jeopardy (imagine if everyone thought there was no point in voting?). Each and every one of our actions has a consequence not only upon ourselves, but also upon our communities and societies. Take the story of the sinful person at the time of Prophet Musa (pbuh), as a result of which Allah stopped the rain from falling upon the whole community until the person had repented. Our individual decisions can affect the whole community.

With 3 million Muslims in the United Kingdom, together we have the opportunity to make a real difference. It’s individual votes that then effectively lead to the election of the new government. There have been many examples in history where candidates have won by a small margin (see Bush winning by 537 votes in 2000; see British General Election 2010 and the coalition government). It’s pennies that make a pound, to be frankly British about it.

5. I’m not voting because I can’t be bothered

If the above doesn’t do it, I can’t help you my friend.

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