In the Name of Allah. May the peace, blessings, and salutations of Allah be upon His final messenger, Muhammad, his family, and companions.
A historic election for the Muslim community
This year’s UK general election has been one of the most interesting in history for the Muslim community.
Whilst we have made gradual improvements, election-on-election, for a long time, this election signalled a turning point in Muslims’ political literacy and influence.
Our community has been acting more and more upon important divine imperatives.
Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together, and do not become divided.” [1]
And He also commands us,
وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ ۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ
“And co-operate in righteousness and piety, but do not co-operate in sin and aggression.” [2]
Key issues driving engagement
There were, of course, key political and social issues that influenced Muslims to engage, whether actively by voting or passively by abstaining:
- the abysmal status of the NHS;
- the genocide in Gaza and the desire to “punish” MPs and parties that enabled it;
- and the lurch towards increasingly far-right and xenophobic politics, to name but a few.
Five shared objectives that brought Muslims together
Perhaps the starkest difference between previous elections and this one was the indelible mark left by the Muslim Vote movement.
For the first time, the Muslim community around the country mobilised and galvanised for several shared objectives.
- Firstly, to build political capacity in the Muslim community to take politics more seriously.
- Secondly, to empower the community through education and guidance.
- Thirdly, to unite the Muslim community with a shared vision on how to vote.
- Fourthly, to punish the two dynastic parties — Labour and the Conservatives — for their stance towards the Gaza genocide.
- And fifthly, to influence discourse and policy on a range of issues related to the wellbeing of society at large, such as the NHS, education, and the welfare system.
The strategies to achieve these goals included robust research into the statistical significance of the Muslim electorate in various constituencies.
The approach also included working with local communities for strategic endorsements of Independent candidates — as well as pro-Palestine candidates from smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats and Greens — where the Muslim electorate is abundant enough to make a mark.
Effective social media and grassroots campaigns were also launched and executed in order to reach deep into and across the community.
“Historic win” is also a historic loss for Labour
As a result of the above, this “historic win” for the Labour Party was also a historic defeat because, while it achieved many more seats in Parliament than the last few elections, it received fewer votes nationally, particularly in traditional strongholds where the Muslim percentage is higher than average.
And while there is, of course, still room for us as a community to improve, we sent a clear message that our support should not be taken for granted.
As the graph below illustrates, the more Muslims in a constituency, the more Labour votes lost.
Mobilising the community
The Labour Party won in parliamentary terms less so thanks to the success of the party’s policies and makeup and more so due to the Conservatives’ miserable defeat, as survey after survey has shown.
The fact that five Independent candidates that were endorsed by the Muslim Vote campaign defeated Labour in their constituencies, and many more came close, is a testament to the success of this campaign, particularly considering we only had 44 days between the announcement of the snap election and polling day.
Voting is mandatory for Muslims
Looking at the constituencies where the Muslim Vote-endorsed candidates lost by a few votes, such as Ilford North where the young Palestinian Leanne Mohamad stood as an Independent candidate against a senior-ranking former Labour cabinet minister, it can be estimated that we would have won 20 more seats with only 10,000 more votes.
This is one reason why I and many scholars from around the world say that participation in elections is wājib — mandatory — for Muslims, since every single vote counts, especially in certain constituencies over others.
Split votes prevented greater impact
This election has also been a success in terms of unity and co-ordination, despite some costly mistakes to learn lessons from.
A few candidates stood down to allow other candidates with a better chance of winning to represent a stronger threat to Labour and Conservative candidates.
However, this level of co-ordination and goodwill was not present in every constituency, leading to split votes weakening the impact. This is something for the leadership of the Muslim community to work on and learn from.
Key lessons
Being active, never passive
Lesson number one for us should be the importance of being active in Islam.
Allah calls this Ummah the best nation, not because of an ethnicity or a tribe but because of our activity:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّ
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind.
“You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.” [3]
The Muslim should always strive to change any situation in any possible way to bring about good and reduce harm. The Muslim should always be active and never passive.
Furthering education in the community
We need more education for our community regarding the importance of political engagement of all forms.
Alhamdulillāh, the old secularist stereotype of there being a dichotomy between spirituality and politics is weakening, while there are still interests that want to disenfranchise those who live by divine values.
We should be careful as, many thinkers say, Islam without politics leads to politics without Islam.
Muslim leaders should show how we make an impact
Muslim Imams and leadership should show examples of how our involvement makes a difference.
Since 1950, there have only been three Independent MPs in Parliament. It is no small feat for a community such as ours — that has been here for only a few decades — to help add five more!
If we add our influence to the broader discourse and political climate by engaging with other communities, then this paints a picture of an empowered Ummah.
Co-ordination between local Muslims across the country
The importance of co-ordination between UK Muslims across different constituencies is a key lesson.
Muslims should put the maslaha (interests) of the wider British Muslim community over their own personal or local masjid maslaha.
A key lesson to note is that decisions related to politics are not individual ones but community ones.
وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَىٰ بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
“And those who have responded to their Lord and established prayer and whose affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves, and from what We have provided them, they spend.” [4]
Remaining optimistic and strong
We should be optimistic.
The negative stereotypes that Muslims are always unorganised, disunited, weak, and so on, need to be gotten rid of — if you feel you are weak, you will be weak!
The reality of the Muslim community is that it is doing extremely well, considering the circumstances and the short time it has been in this part of the world.
Conclusion
Alhamdulillāh, the Muslim community has made a significant mark on this election, and we must build upon the political literacy, infrastructure, co-operation, and grassroots activism that we have built over the last several weeks.
Elections are only one part of the bigger picture, and we must use our resources to continue the fight for a better future for all.
This country is teetering on the edge of many destructive influences, from far-right populism with the likes of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party winning 14.3 per cent of the vote, to growing political apathy and disinterest increasing with lower turnout, thereby giving more and more power to fewer and fewer people.
The Muslim community is a force that is, by the permission of Allah, here to stay and have a positive impact for all people.
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] al-Qur’ān, 3:103
[2] al-Qur’ān, 5:2
[3] al-Qur’ān, 3:110
[4] al-Qur’ān, 42:38
