M A Q A S I D - مقاصد

Shaikh Abdullah al-Mahfoudh Bin Bayyah, in a press statement emphasized that the participation of Muslims who reside in the West in the political systems of their countries of residence whether it be in the form of participating in elections or running for office does not indicate in any form it maybe giving allegiance to unbelief.

Neither does such participation invalidate one’s status as a Muslim or excommunicate him from the fold of Islam. Political participation on the part of Muslims who reside in the West is related to catering to the affairs that Muslim minorities suffer as they reside in the West. There is no harm in such activity under the premise that they are looking after their affairs and well being. Likewise, political participation is a right bequeathed to Muslims living in the West, a right deriving from citizenship. There are events in the life of the Prophet Muhammad {saw} that substantiate the legitimacy of and affirm such activity.

Political participation in the West is a means to secure the interests of Muslim minorities and ensures for them a share in public goods. Likewise, Shaikh Ibn Bayyah, according to the report sees that it is permissible for Muslim minorities to participate in those political parties in the West that will serve their interests.

He said in the report that the well being of the future of Islam in the West will depend upon the cultivation of Islam in the lives of the youth and the ability of Muslims to meet the challenges that they encounter in daily life. As for the debate surrounding the notion of fiqh of minorities it is rooted in a debate about terminology. Fiqh of Minorities is not an independent body of fiqh but rather part and parcel of Islamic fiqh. The situation of Muslims in the West requires and demands the application of fiqh in a manner, which affords Muslims in the West the opportunity to confront the difficulties and challenges of living in the West. Fiqh of minorities is rooted in the sources of Islamic law the objectives of Islamic law and the principle of facilitating hardship.

[translated by Abul-Hussein [www.shaukani.com] from a press release published on binbayyah.net]