Beyond Party Politics: The Islamic Political Vision

TODAY, I MET a young woman from Bangladesh. She came to the UK last year to study postgraduate finance, but now struggles with anxiety and depression.

As we sat down, I asked her: “Why do you think you’re feeling this way?”

Her answer was telling: financial pressure. She hasn’t been able to find work since arriving. Her family back home—long-time Awami League supporters—are now facing uncertainty and repercussions since the fall of Hasina’s regime last year. Their businesses are suffering, and they are struggling to help her. And studying in the UK isn’t cheap.

This stress is breaking her. She’s missing classes, falling behind, and now her university is on her case. She’s overwhelmed.

Now let me be clear: I don’t believe every BAL supporter is a murderous tyrant like Hasina. But I also have zero respect for those who rode the coattails of a brutal regime, stayed silent during its crimes, and reaped the rewards. Silence in the face of injustice is complicity.

Yet, as we spoke more, my anger turned into something else: pity. Because her story revealed something deeper, something ugly and persistent.

She told me she’s always struggled with her mental health. She recalls that as a child, her family suffered. Under the previous BNP government. Her father had been persecuted, and her brother was blocked from entering university because he wasn’t aligned with the ruling party. Different regime, same repression.

And that’s when the real issue came into focus.

In Bangladesh, and so many other so-called democracies, party loyalty determines your future. Merit means nothing. You either belong to the ruling gang or you’re discarded. Today it’s BAL. Yesterday it was BNP. Tomorrow it will be someone else. But the game stays the same. The ruling party enriches its cronies, silences dissent, and bleeds the country dry—until the next gang takes over and does the exact same thing.

This is not governance. This is mafia politics.

Islam cuts through this corruption with a system that holds everyone, ruler and ruled, accountable to something higher than party or popularity: Allah, His Messenger ﷺ and the Shariah.

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَنَـٰزَعْتُمْ فِى شَىْءٍۢ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌۭ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا

O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you (truly) believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is the best and fairest resolution. (an Nisa 59)

Yes, multiple political parties can exist in an Islamic system—but not to divide and conquer. Their role is to hold the ruler to account, to enjoin the good and forbid the evil. And unlike the chaos of secular politics, they are bound by divine law. Shariah is the final arbiter and gives the people a clear and objective standard by which to judge leadership and policies.. It doesn’t bend to public opinion or elite interests.

In an Islamic system, the Khalifah is not a party leader. He doesn’t serve one group or region. He is accountable to all citizens—Muslim and non-Muslim. His job is not to secure votes or appease donors or serve foreign powers. His job is to implement Islam and justice.

This is how you eliminate the disease of party politics—the tribalism, the factionalism, the corruption that’s rotting nations from within.

Look at America: Republicans vs. Democrats, tearing the country apart. Look at the UK: Labour vs. Tories, trading power while the public suffers. The pattern is global. These systems are designed for rivalry, not unity—for control, not service.

When politics becomes a power game, only the corrupt win. Everyone else gets crushed.

But imagine a system where your success isn’t determined by which party you belong to or which flag you wave, but by your ability, your integrity, your contribution.

That’s what Islam offers. Justice becomes possible because leadership is no longer a prize to be captured, but a trust to be fulfilled.

So let’s stop pretending these secular parties—BAL, BNP, NCP or any of them—are going to bring real change. They promise everything and deliver the same old betrayal. Over and over again.

This young woman’s story is not unique. It’s a symptom of a sick system—one that punishes dissent, rewards loyalty over talent, and feeds off division. The people of Bangladesh—and the entire Muslim world—deserve better.

It’s time to ditch these corrupt, non-Islamic systems and return to something real. Something principled.

What’s needed is not another election or another party. What’s needed is a paradigm shift. A return to a system rooted in accountability, justice, and divine guidance. It’s time to move beyond the power games and the lies. It’s time to move beyond democracy. It is time for Islam.