Voting for the American President

[MuhamedAbdullah]

By Imam Anwar Awlaki

The Muslim community in the US is busy with the vote and are debating who the Muslims should pick as their president. The argument presented is we are choosing between the lesser of the two evils. In reality it is more about being American and part of the system than it is about benefiting the ummah because the fact of the matter is there is no benefit in either candidate whatsoever.

Democracy in an un-Islamic system and we as Muslims should have nothing to do with it. Whether one looks at the root and history of democracy or at the reality of democracy today one can realize that it is a system that is not only different than the Islamic system but is opposed to it. Can’t you see that the West in its war against Islam is offering the democratic system as an alternative to Sharia? So if the West, which is the founder of democracy, sees democracy as an opposing system to Islam why are some Muslims still insisting on participating in it and adopting it as their political religion?

Democracy is a Western system that was founded and developed in the West and today the West, not the Muslims, have full authority and right to tell the world what democracy is and how it should be practiced and implemented. We have our own system of government and likewise it is the Muslims who are going to define it and will not allow non Muslims to meddle with our religion and teach us what is right from wrong.

Muslims should seek to avoid any forms of participation in Western democracy.

The promoters of participation in American elections argue that we are choosing the least of the two evils. This principle is correct but what they are missing is that in the process of choosing the lesser of the two evils they are committing an even greater evil . The breaking down of the psychological barrier that should exist between Muslims and non-Muslims, the erosion of the aqeedah of wala and bara (loyalty to Allah and disavowal of the enemies of Allah,) and the risk of loosing one’s religion are evils that outweigh any benefit that may come out of such participation.

Also the types of candidates that American politics has been spitting out is absolutely disgusting. I wonder how any Muslim with a grain of iman in his heart could walk up to a ballot box and cast his vote in endorsement of creatures such as Mcain or Obama?! How can a Muslim sleep with a clear conscience after he has chosen the likes of G.W. Bush? No matter how irrelevant your vote is, on the Day of Judgment you will be called to answer for it. You, under no coercion or duress, consciously chose to vote for the leader of a nation that is leading the war against Islam.

There is also a strange belief among some that if we participate in the elections of the disbelievers we will bring good to ourselves, while if we have trust in Allah and avoid the disbelievers, as He wants from us, we will be missing out on some good and would draw harm to ourselves. They are so weak they believe we can only survive in today’s word if we seek support from the enemies of Allah. But for the believers Allah is sufficient for them and they do not need to seek assistance from the leaders or the governments of the disbelievers.


The is no benefit for the ummah in voting for the new American Pharoah

(from Anwar Awlaki's Blog)

 

[Cordoba]

<< Muslims should seek to avoid any forms of participation in Western democracy >>

Totally disagree with that

Muslims must participate and must be active in their communities for a better tomorrow for all

 

[Women_Of_Reason]

Why does this Imam stay in the US anyways?

 

[Cordoba]

This is the other mainstream opinion, reflected on the Islam On-Line web site:

[FONT=Arial,Geneva,Verdana,Sans-Serif]Elections in America's Friday Sermons [/FONT]

ILLINOIS/MICHIGAN — Many mosques across the US devoted the last Friday sermon before the historic 2008 presidential election to encourage their community to actively participate in their country's political process by voting on Election Day to choose the next president.

"And so next Tuesday, is the moment of truth for a lot of people, where we get to make a choice," Ahmed Rehab told the congregation at the Muslim Educational Center in Morton Grove, Illinois.

"You pay taxes, you live here, you raise your children here, you have a right like anyone else to make that choice and to affect and influence the outcome of that choice."

Rehab, the executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, did not mention or recommend any candidate.

Election was also the main focus of the sermon delivered by Dawud Walid, Assistant Imam of Masjid Wali Muhammad.

"One of the biggest good value in the USA is that it has given freedom of speech and right of assembly to all its people irrespective of their race or religion," he told worshippers.

"Muslims should utilize these constitutional rights and should increase their civil engagements."

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1225200860429&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

 

[Storm]

Thank you, Cordoba, for balancing this out.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Democracy in an un-Islamic system and we as Muslims should have nothing to do with it.

Does that mean it should have nothing to do with you?

 

[DallasApple]

I'll just say...I'm appreciative of the fact that most of the American's of Islamic faith dont have such a scathing opinion of all other Americans..(or of the United States of America in general)....

I say God bless them...

Love

Dallas

 

[DallasApple]

We have our own system of government and likewise it is the Muslims who are going to define it and will not allow non Muslims to meddle with our religion and teach us what is right from wrong.

Muslims should seek to avoid any forms of participation in Western democracy.

This part just escapes me...If you are a citizen of the U.S.A...how pray tell do you have your "own system of government"???

Do you expect to be immune from the laws everyone else has to follow?

Love

Dallas

 

[DallasApple]

Im sorry to go on and on ....

But even the title of this thread???...

Im an American...and when I say Im voting I dont have to specify that Im voting for "the American" president..

Are you American or not?

Love

Dallas

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I started a thread in the debate forum where we can discuss this: http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...slims-voting-american-president-response.html

 

[MuhamedAbdullah]

Why does this Imam stay in the US anyways?

He is in Yemen. But do you think that anyone who disagrees with any US policy should just leave the country or only Muslims who do?

 

[Storm]

Since this is in a DIR, Mr. Spinkles was kind enough to create a response thread where debate is allowed.

MuhamadAbdullah, I'll respond to your last post there.

 

[jamaesi]

What absolute nonsense.

 

[fullyveiled muslimah]

Here's what I think of it. I am not a voter. I have my own set of reasons for not voting. However, if I were I would have had no one to vote for. The issue that I was concerned with both candidates held the same view for. My concern is the muslims across the world who will continue to have their lands bombed. Who will continue to have not only a physical war waged on them, but a psychological one as well. Obama has said that his objective was to pull out of Iraq but to beef up efforts in Afghanistan, and make military strikes in the borders of the sovereign nation of Pakistan whether they like it or not. Iran has been put on the radar as well. So for me nothing has changed. The war and the killing of my brothers and sisters will continue headlong without pause, while the muslims here in America are comfortable with that. Most voters were concerned about the economy more so than anything else. Rightly so I grant it. I think the economy is due for an upturn no matter who had won the election anyway. Anyways, the war on "terror" will continue unabated, uncontested, and instead of the American people dealing with it from a president they don't like, they will happily endorse the same thing under a president they do like. As long as people feel secure in the economy they couldn't care less what happens in the Middle East. The same as it ever was. My brothers and sisters will continue to be slaughtered through bombings or sanctions put in place to make them suffer. They will be pestered into either adopting a version of Islam that America deems fit, or being wiped off the face of the Earth, your choice.

So no matter that Obama won the election, he has vowed to continue, albeit in more organized fashion, to do the one thing I dread so much. McCain was even more enthusiastic about it and I dreaded him even more.

Obama has managed to unite the American people in a way that has not been done in a long time. That could be a good thing, but from where I sit it's scary to me. Unite them against who? Me? Probably. Those like me who live here in America in a law-abiding yet non-conforming way? I dress in a hijab and niqab and I outwardly represent the image of the quintessential Islamic extremist. I believe in Allah and His Rasul (saw), and live my live even under pain of death the best I can by its laws and ideals. I am the homegrown terrorist waiting to happen. To put it in better terms and to quote Darth Vader - "She is part of the rebel alliance and a traitor, take her away!"

In seriousness though I am classified not as a moderate muslim, but a fundamentalist a.k.a extremist. The current president and both Obama and McCain have made it abundantly clear that it is only the moderate muslim who will not be targeted. I don't fall into their definition of that. I fall into Islam's definition of moderate. I do not wish to bring harm to a single person. I want to live life and die as a muslimah. The American definition of moderate encompasses more than that and requires more. It requires the outward rejection of several ideologies that are inherent to Islam. Since I do not compromise my deen, I do not fit the moderate tag so am therefore by default extremist. Oh well.

 

[JewishLeftist]

OOPS. Wrong Thread.

 

[Storm]

JewishLeftist, DIR! DIR! There's a response thread linked upthread. I suggest you move your post there.

 

[fullyveiled muslimah]

I just wanted to clarify some things. First let me say that, my main thing is don't want people, particularly muslims, to have to be killed unnecessarily. I believe that the muslims in muslim countries should have the freedom to build their own political structure based on Islam if they see fit to do it. I believe they should not be bothered or threatened to change that.

With that being said, I fully realize that as it stands there are many many atrocities commited by regimes and groups in that part of the world who claim to be following Islam and try to justify their actions by that. I feel that is disgusting. I cringe when I hear about the injustices to women, and to those who disagree with the current regimes. I cringe even more at the existance of the regimes and what causes them to exist in the first place. I realize also that even with the implementation of proper Sharia and Islam, nothing will be perfect. That part of the world will not be perfect. I also don't believe that killing them and making them suffer in various ways is beneficial to that cause. Believe it that these people suffer no matter who the supposed targets are. They live in constant war which breaks their infrastructure and makes the quality of life something no American would stand for. We here in America do not live in war zones nor the constant threat of it. No one in the world is saying to us that we had better change our ways or else. Or that we had better disarm our nukes or else. So we can't truly identify with that, myself included. We can identify with the death of innocents for no good cause.

What I propose and what I wish I could get the help of my fellow Muslims here in America, is that we be the ones funded to go to these places and do the psychological part. We understand to a greater degree the why's and how's of what is going on moreso than the government of the USA. What I mean is this; what if it was the muslims they saw coming to help them build schools and hospitals? The government could fund us to get over there, and then we raise much of our own collective money to relieve the suffering of our own people. The type of education we provide will differ fundamentally from the type our government could or would provide. What would really change things is not if these people could look to America as their saviour. Neither America nor the Muslims need that. Muslims could look to themselves as their own help. The Muslims here could re-educate them about Islam first and foremost. I am willing to bet that in the most impoverished and violent areas lies the most misinformation and misunderstanding about Islam among the muslims. That's THE answer to their problem. Once that education is dissemenated, alongside scholastic education, the focus could turn to how they will build their economy. From there I see and upward turn. Once the muslims are occupied with gaining true knowledge about Islam and its implementation, they will automatically squash any section spewing the garbage on their own. No outside intervention needed. Proper Islamic knowledge mellows out muslims, not create fervor. It's the constant attacks that the common people do not understand that creates hatred for the West and everything it stands for, either real or imagined.

 

[Storm]

Thank you for the clarification, FVM.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Wow, both of your posts were VERY interesting fullyveiled, thank you for explaining your views so clearly and thoughtfully!

 

[Hyperborean]

Now that "Baruch" Obama is president of the USA, what does it entail for Muslims?

Although the liberals in this country have been against the War, were they against it because innocent Muslims were killed, or did they only use this as an excuse because they viewed President Bush as their collective enemy? Obama is not necessarily our friend, any more than McCain is our enemy. Behind both men are figures who have put them in the positions they are today, people who direct their each and every move. The root of the issue here, for me is that in the end Obama is just as likely to authorize more attacks against Muslims. Only this time, with half of the American sheeple so inebriated on this false sense of "hope", they will full-heartedly agree with Obama's actions.

We also know that Obama is an atheist. He says he is not Muslim, and he was never baptised in the Christian Church. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, he has no belief. He is an unbeliever, and cannot be a friend of religion in his current status. I wouldn't see it as far-fetched that Obama, who was the most liberal senator, may even persecute the more conservative-minded Muslims if he and the Democratic-controlled government disagree with certain teachings of Islam.

We did not benefit from Obama becoming president of the US.