Press Release: Hizb ut Tahrir Calls upon the Muslims to Use Their Voice – But Not for Voting at the General Election

Hizb ut Tahrir Calls upon the Muslims to Use Their Voice – But Not for Voting at the General Election

The date for the general election has been set, and as usual especially the left-wing parties are now eagerly fishing for Muslim votes, after these same parties have competed for years with the right wing to gain ground in the battle against Islam. Politicians who normally demand that Muslims be secularized now hand out flyers in front of mosques in an attempt to entice Muslims to the polls.

It is not without irony when Danish politicians fish for votes among Muslims who believe in Sharia, while political alienation has become widespread in the secular Danish population, and when polls show that the confidence in politicians is at a historic low. Election after election has proved that democracy is a game in which the business elite always wins.

Recently, a comprehensive four-year study of the political system by two Danish sociologists reaffirmed that “the rule of the people” is a myth. One of the two authors, Christoph Ellersgaard, said, “The parliamentary games in the Folketing (the Danish parliament) are relatively unimportant. And the most important political decisions are made on a large scale – and clapped at – outside of the parliament”.

Islam recognizes representation in the ruling system and even requires that the people elect their representatives, including through voting. Muslims elected their representatives in politics and other matters, when Denmark still consisted of small despotic chieftainships. The reality differs, however, when it comes to elections in secular systems where politicians are given the mandate to legislate on behalf of the voters, while in Islam it is a fundamental principle that only the Creator has the ability and the right to legislate.

Thus, from an Islamic perspective, it is out of the question to participate in the general election. Furthermore, the choice – across the wings – is limited to parties who consider Islamic values in everything from clothing and parenting to politics as a problem that has to be fought. This has become evident under the recent left-wing government whose integration policy did not differ substantially from that of the right wing.

In foreign policy, we have also seen how both wings in parliament support the oppression and killing of Muslims in the Islamic world.

The claim that Muslims not voting will be a service to the right wing is a manipulative scare campaign. And when the Danish politicians claim that not voting is synonymous with isolation from society, then it is nothing but misleading propaganda.

Hizb ut Tahrir’s message to the Muslims in Denmark is the opposite; we are obligated to engage actively in society, but it must be on the terms of Islam – without compromising our principles and values. Democracy is in fundamental contradiction with Islam, and it is a sinking ship – even its own supporters are increasingly losing confidence in the system and are looking for an alternative.

The way forward for Muslims in Denmark is to resist the anti-Islamic integration policy and the aggressive foreign policy pursued by successive governments in this country. We must protect our Islamic identity and values, and spread the message of Islam to the wider society around us – in word and deed. It is also a duty upon us to call for and support the global work for the reestablishment of Khilafah, the Islamic solution to the myriad of problems that we Muslims are facing globally.

Therefore, we in Hizb ut Tahrir call upon all Muslims to use their voice – but not in the general elections!

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Scandinavia