One of Theodore Dalrymple’s main points in his essay When Islam Breaks Down is that Church and State are inseparable within Islam.

So let’s use IslamOnline’s “Ask About Islam” fatwa database to see what the experts say. (Hat tip: Allah.)

Is it legal for Muslims to follow a non-Muslim government? Must Shari`ah be the law of every Muslim government? Can religion and politics be separated or are they the same thing? How do we know if a government legal and Islamic? Is religion more lawful than man’s laws? Are democracy and Islam compatible? Is God the only source of a legal authority?

I am a Muslim from Pakistan and living in Italy. I have some Italian friends and they are very interested in Islam and they’re also reading the Qur’an in Italian. They asked these questions and I can give them the answers, but my answers might not satisfy them. So, please answer them, if possible, in the light of the Qur’an.

I will be greatly thankful to you.

*****

Salam, Haroon.

Thank you for your question.

The very fact you ask these questions, which are political, show that Islam and politics cannot be separated. Islam as a total way of life covers politics as well as all other aspects of life.

Muslims submit themselves voluntarily to the commands of Allah following the Sunnah (example) of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah tells us in the Qur’an what means:

… So take what the Messenger assigns to you … (Al-Hashr 59:7)

It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path. (Al-Ahzab 33:36)

While we may argue this is for Muslims as individuals, we should remember Allah’s law is the highest law. If we live in a Muslim country, and the law is not Islamic, what are the Muslims doing to effect the necessary changes? If we live in non-Muslim countries, then the question is: How well do we practice Islam with respect to, for example, family law, civil law, human rights, and neighbors’ rights?

…

Islam gives all people their rights and obligations, and in Islam—unlike the case with the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights—these rights are enforceable. [ed. note: “enforceable” via the chopping block…] For example: Parents’ rights are the children’s obligations and the children’s rights are the parents’ obligations. Husbands rights’ are the wives’ obligations and the wives’ rights are the husbands’ obligations. The rights of subjects or citizens to education, health, security, etc. are the state’s obligations, and the state’s rights to honest work with no cheating, lying, stealing, crime, etc. are the citizens’ obligations.

Man-made laws are subject to change and error. The laws of Allah are not.

Islam has decreed laws in various areas including: murder, adultery or fornication, theft, inheritance, and dietary requirements. These laws are from Allah and cannot be changed. Not every aspect of law is decreed in details in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Mankind has been given some freedom.