Press Release

Voting Within the Secular System Leads to Assimilation

(Translated)

Often, imams, councils, and religious leaders call on Muslims in the Netherlands to vote collectively and participate in the political game of the secular system. A system that, from its very essence and content, opposes and marginalizes Islam, and tries to confine it to the mosque or living room.

Secularism is not a neutral framework, but a principle that has been violently imposed on Muslims around the world. The catastrophic situation in which the Islamic nation lives is mostly due to these secular foundations upon which Islamic countries were built. These foundations have led to decadence, humiliation, and alienation from Islam. Gaza is the most painful example of this: two billion Muslims watch while the regimes remain loyal to Western agendas, their own interests, and the protection of the secular foundation.

The fact that even councils of jurisprudence and fatwa have "permitted" participation in some cases is significant, as there is no need for a fatwa on what is halal. This is because the ruling is inherently haram; and the deviation is permissibility. Therefore, it is unfair to present this deviation as absolute legitimacy, without critical thinking or awareness of the possibility of making mistakes. Raising what is originally absolutely haram to halal is a very dangerous step.

However, some imams portray participation in the secular system through voting as not only halal, but without any criticism, and this is misleading. It is also presented as progressive, and supposedly in the interest of the Muslim community in the Netherlands. But the opposite is true. Participating in this system inevitably leads to dissolution and loss of identity. By participating, the focus shifts from obeying the Sharia of Islam to pragmatism and concessions. Muslims cling to the very source that caused the fall of Islamic civilization, which is secularism. How can one expect participation in this foundation to lead to dignity or progress?!

The concessions made are not signs of progress, but rather surrender. When Muslims are limited to temporary solutions within the secular framework, they reduce themselves to a society content with scraps. The real problem is the absence of a higher goal, as there is no vision to replace Islam with the secularism that controls Islamic countries. As long as this is absent, one will remain stuck in pragmatism and superficial adjustments that do not bring about real change.

This is why the call to vote is very problematic. It leads Muslims to reduce their ambitions to immediate interests, while their true message is much greater. It is the restoration of Islam in its entirety and working towards the return of an Islamic system that elevates the nation and restores its position in the world.

Whoever neglects this higher goal and clings to the temporary will inevitably sink into imitation and see their identity erode. While the true message of Muslims should be to replace secularism with Islam, not to get involved in secularism.

We do not say this out of animosity, but out of sincere advice, because we care about Muslims and are keen on the future of future generations. It must also be asked frankly: Have the councils of fatwa and scholars who have permitted this ever opposed secularism with such vehemence, and have they publicly committed to replacing it with Islam? As long as this is absent, their judgment will remain one-sided and problematic.

The real importance lies not in recognizing secularism, but in adhering to the principles of Islam and working to liberate the nation from this imposed system, by replacing it with the system of Islam. Only those who adopt this higher goal work sincerely for the future and advancement of Muslims.

Okay Pala

The Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the Netherlands