Is it permissible to participate in parliaments?

The questioner : A second question, which is very urgent for us here in Algeria, is what is the ruling on Muslims entering the state parliament?

The Shaykh : Naturally, we do not consider this permissible; rather, it is a waste of Islamic efforts in something that yields no benefit from their entering the parliament. First, as is well known, parliaments rule by other than what Allah has revealed. Second, some of those who enter parliaments do so with a good and righteous intention, meaning they think they can change the ruling system. However, they overlook, or rather forget, a bitter truth: those who enter the parliament are the ruled, not the rulers. Since that is the case, they cannot do anything; rather, they will be forced to conform to the ruling system, even if it contradicts Islam. We are currently living with the problem of what is called the National Charter. Perhaps you have heard of it, or perhaps you have been afflicted by it as we have been. The National Charter means acknowledging all religions and the disbelieving parties that oppose Islam, and acknowledging their presence in the parliament. At that point, verbal and dialectical battles will occur in the parliament, and issues will be decided by voting. Then, the one with the most votes will be the winner, even if he is in the wrong. Therefore, it is not permissible for Muslim youth to enter the parliament with the intention of reforming the system. The system is not reformed by this method, which is an innovation in its origin. It is an innovation because you know that the parliamentary system is based on elections, and elections include both men and women. From here begins the invalidity of this system and its contradiction with Islam. Furthermore, the electoral system includes the righteous and the wicked; there is no difference between the righteous and the wicked, as both have the right to vote and to be voted for. Then, there is no difference among all these categories between the knowledgeable and the ignorant, whereas Islam does not want the parliament, which is the council of consultation, to be anything other than a selection of the Muslim people’s elite in terms of knowledge, righteousness, and men, not women. Thus, we clarify the contradiction from the very first step in the subject of the parliament, which is based on elections that align with the system of the disbelievers and do not align with the system of Islam. Accordingly, Muslims must continue to focus on beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds, and they must educate themselves and their people in this purification and upbringing, and they must stay away from these pre-Islamic parliaments.