Even though the principles of the religion of Islam are clear with regard to obedience, political allegiance, what’s religiously lawful and what’s blameworthy; however, when it comes to practical terms, I wish our contemporarily scholars had written specific books about this topic and make more relevant content online so we could navigate safely and properly through all this political confusion that we are facing.
At the same time, it is important to point out to the fact that this topic is very sensitive and susceptible to censorship because it has to do directly with political control. As a result, there are two categories of scholars and religious clergy; first, those who have a public voice, but they are governmental mercenaries, and second, those who are willing to speak the truth, but they do not have a public voice, or they’re highly monitored and censored. Nevertheless, this is not to say that there aren’t true voices in the Muslim Ummah even though they are becoming increasingly fewer and less vocal.
Going back to the topic, it consists of two primarily aspects. The first one is the position of Islam or its general principles, as I mentioned before, related to power, politics, as well as the harām and the halāl (lawfulness and unlawfulness) of actions from the perspective of Islam. Definitely, this part is very important and every Muslim is required to have at least some basic knowledge, especially about the necessary and exclusive obedience to Allah and His Messenger (the Sunnah). There is no doubt that as believers we are required to obey only and only Allah and His Messenger and whomever He permits or orders to do so, such as leaders, parents, authorities etc. within the framework of Islam.
In other words, Allah is the ultimate authority; He is the King, the Sovereign, the Law-giver, the One Who forbids and allows, and the One Who deserves an unconditional obedience and submission. Technically, the believers are expected to know this religious stipulation. However, with respect to the practical reality, not all Muslims are aware of the religious violations one could make when dealing with the modern government.
The second aspect, then, is the modern government itself, and this is perhaps the more difficult one of the two. The modern citizen is programmed by the secularist system to make a distinction between religion, i.e., belief in God, and politics. We are taught that these two are of different dimensions. According to Secularism, worshipping God is more or less a ritualistic process reserved mostly for the places of worship, such as mosques or churches. It should not have to do with political obedience, legislative power, or authority. It portrays God as a celestial being who loves to be worshipped, not to say that he is in need, and, in return, the believers benefit something, such as spiritual rest and serenity.
In addition, the modern state is a very confusing and a non-transparent political entity. People are not meant be able to understand its underground levels unless they are confronted with it, which could be fatal anyway because a serious confrontation with the government is a one-way ticket – it is hard to return to the normal reality in order to use that knowledge and experience.
This is the reason why lay Muslims are in need of scholars and their expertise instead of going down the route of individual confrontation with the government as a means of learning about the modern state and how to approach it.
Whereas each individual could be defined as a specific case, having his or her personal reasons on how to approach the modern state, such as economic difficulties, safety, social position, geopolitical factors, the lack of choices etc., there are some general guidelines which could help every Muslim redefine his or her position and lifestyle with regard to the government. After all, knowing how the modern state functions and what religious violations could possibly be made when dealing with it, this definitely increases one’s religious awareness necessary for change and compliance with the religion of Islam.
The modern state is not an abstract political entity which is supposed to belong to the people of a specific location; rather, it is the political power of a certain political elite and it represents a certain ideology. There is no government or political power void of ideology or religion even though Secularism tends to given the impression that the state is a natural and unbiased structure which is shaped by the will of the people. This is not simply wrong and misleading, but the first major red flag about the deceptive nature of the modern state.
In reality, the political power belongs to those who have established it by force, that is, the British Empire and the US Republic. So, there is a specific global ruling elite who hold the power and who impose a certain political ideology, namely, the British Secularism. Thus, the political power of the modern government does not stem from the people, but it belongs to a certain group. This is how political power works anyway.
In addition, the government of the modern state, being a political entity which dismisses the divine guidelines in general, it consists of many morally problematic and religiously unlawful and reproachful aspects and course of actions. In other words, when a believer deals with the Government, works for it, or obeys it, he or she is susceptible to religious violations. The modern state operates on unjust laws, immoral strategies, an unfair economic system, and dishonest policies. Therefore, being exposed to religious violations is not a rare phenomenon, but it is the default when cooperating with and working for the state.
Certainly, the majority of people portray the state as an abstract structure, which is in essence blank and good, and in which we can lay a brick the way we see fit. That’s not true at all. There is no such a thing called blankness in politics. That modern state that we all consider ‘our government’ – as if the people are those who have established it, has been put in place by a certain political elite (not the people) for its interest. Political power never belongs to the people as an abstract entity. It always belongs to concrete individuals, dynasties, tribes, or families.
In reality, this confusion could come from the infamous combination of the British Empire, which is a monarchy, and the US Republic, which symbolizes this abstract form of political structure. Behind the scenes, the political power operates as the British Empire does in realty – it has a well-defined concrete ruler, while the US Republic represents the fake image that is sold to the people around the world, as if the power belongs to them.
For this reason, many, many Muslims work for the government while violating the guidelines of the religion of Islam flagrantly under the pretext that ‘it is our country,’ ‘our government’, ‘our state’ etc. Perhaps, this is one of the major reasons why the British Secularists came up with this idea of republic, to give religious people the illusion that they are not disobeying Allah when serving and cooperating with the government because it is ‘our country,’ ‘our government,’ or ‘our state.’ These are slogans, but not religious principles.
The worst part is that the modern state has been designed in a way that makes everyone who is acting immorally or violating openly the principes of the religion of Islam believe that they are part of a positive project whose ends justify means.
Whether it is allowed or not to work for the government, this is more or less a specific stance for each individual, who is required to ask relevant scholars and refer to the sources of the religion of Islam; however, the real question is whether it is reasonable to work for and cooperate with the modern state, if yes, to what extent and how long, whether this is the best solution as a community or not, whether it is even the best decision or choice on an individual level, whether the general trend of Muslims should be to work and cooperate with the government or not, and if doing so, what are the possible violations.
This is exactly what requires scholars to write books and making online content in order to education the Muslim Ummah who is living by and large under Secularist (British-American) controlled governments, with some relative exceptions in the Muslim lands, about the right approach to the modern state and what are the possible violations that we are exposed to when working for and cooperating with the modern government.
In this regard, I would share my personal opinion as a waring or reminder, rather than a religious guideline or instruction. That’s for scholars to do so.
Apart from the clear violations that the modern state involves, such as operating on man-made laws, which in and of itself is a major religious contravention – but there are scholars who allow a cooperation with it out of necessity, there are other aspects which make the modern state even more problematic.
The modern state is a spy political entity. Even though it claims to function on the concept of the rule of law, yet the reality is totally different. It operates as a mafia, not exceptionally or in some specific cases, but as a model of governance. For example, when one works for the government or decides to cooperate with the state, that is not done under clear regulations and laws, but it requires a level of informality and unofficial allegiance to the government and its people. This is exactly the point when things enter a dark tunnel whose end in unknown to the lay citizen.
The informal cooperation with the government and unofficial allegiance (a different level from the general and common social contract with the state) mean to be willing to obey the government unconditionally, after all ‘if you want to salary, do this, because otherwise you’ll lose the job’ – this is the true language spoken informally regardless of the rule of law that our politicians of the modern state parrot all the time.
Obeying the government unconditionally means not to ask questions, raise moral concerns, reject orders, refuse to harm people, and abstain from participating in secret or informal governmental missions, especially with regard to targeting people or pushing ahead immoral agendas. Again, the modern state operates as a mafia. It does not hire people on the basis that they are entitled to contribute to their nation, to collect a legitimate paycheck at the end of the month, to live their lives according to their religious values, and refuse any order that violates their moral principles, especially in connection with harming people.
Moreover, the modern state consists of concrete people who hold the power, concrete agendas and policies, and its main goal is to achieve political control at any cost by means of any strategy. Thus, if you work for the government, this means that you’ve received a favor which requires to give something in return: to betray someone, spy on someone, mislead a ‘state enemy,’ plot against innocent citizens, or whatever the political control requires you to do. This is the nature of the modern state: full of actions of immorality behind the scenes.
Being a non-religious political entity, the modern state has no regard for moral principles apart from some meaningless slogans, such as human rights etc. Therefore, the Government lies, betrays, backstabs, misleads, ruins lives of people, wastes their time and opportunities, lacks transparency, and it involves a high level of informality, hence the concept of the spy state and mafia.
In conclusion, whether to work for the government and cooperate with it, each Muslim can decide based on his or her specific circumstances and based on his or her religious steadfastness. Some Muslims may work for the government and still be able to abstain from committing acts of religious violations while others might not have that level of strength and religious training. However, having a general view of what it means to work for the state and how the modern government operates and functions is very important.
Whereas we are in dire need of honest and genuine religious scholars to give us clear instructions on how to approach the modern state, there are certain things that we can figure out empirically.
The modern state is not an abstract structure; it is controlled by a certain political elite, as it is the nature with political power in general. Built on the basis of Secularism, the modern state dismisses the regard for moral values and principles, which the religion of Islam, for example, promotes and upholds. Therefore, working and cooperating with the Government, this could involve clear religious violations, such as harming people who are deemed ‘undesired’ by the political elite (but not on a legal process), being part of immoral agendas and policies in relation to social degradation and economic corruption and unfairness.
While the modern state protects the contract of people with the Government based on the concept of the rule of law, the reality is different, not in some cases, but the way the system works. Thus, the modern state has failed. It is an immoral political entity, which exposes a Muslim to all kinds of religious violations and immoral actions, especially harming people for the benefit of the ruling elite. The modern state acts like mafia, far from fairness and transparency. From a religious perspective, it operates on devilish principles and methods, so any interaction with the government requires a high level of caution and alertness.
The idea that by participating in politics somehow, we can affect it positively and integrate the Muslim community into the society better is not valid anymore. We’ve seen this over and over again. By and large, Muslims who cooperate with the government and work for it, they do so not for some sublime intentions, but for a salary, for economic survival, for money, and for purely personal gains by giving in return much more valuable things – selling off their souls
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) has warned us that a time will come when believers will compromise their religion for a materialistic offer. I believer that time has come. The need for money is a legitimate one, but a Muslim should know that the true provider is Allah, not the government, the ruling elite, the British Empire, or those who control the economy. That’s why one of the most important and fundamental aspects of the creed of a Muslim is to believer that Allah is the Provider and no one else. By not internalizing this creedal foundation properly leads Muslims to committing acts of religious violations and harming other fellow humans.
Refusing to do the wrong thing does not mean that one is choosing to make his or her life difficult; on the contrary, that is the foundation stone of building the right thing no matter how hopeless it might seem. If the number of Muslims who refuse to cooperate with the government or be active in the modern state in contravention of religious principles, this will be a great force for change. One of the lessons of Islam is that whoever abandons something for the sake of Allah, He will replace it with a better one, as it is reported in the authentic Sunnah.
Sabri Lushi
October 21, 2026
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