Islamic politics, on topic?

Question

This is a Q&A site about Islam (the religion) rather than about subjects of interest to Muslims (the people).

As for Islamic politics, it seems to be a bit less defined how much of it would be "about Islam (the religion)". Obviously there have been significant political aspects in Islam like Caliphet, Qisas, Jihad, enemies of Islam, Enjoining good and forbidding wrong specially when those goods and wrongs are about state issues. many of such political aspects of Islam have influenced doctrine and practices but there's also a lot of politics which isn't really "Islamic politics" so much as "politics which involves Muslims".

So the question is: Where, if anywhere, is the line between Islamic politics that is on-topic, and that which is off-topic?

(Note that there is another Stack Exchange site politics.stackexchange.com dedicated to answering politics questions.)

Answer 1

I think political questions which are about Islam's teachings and understanding Islam (and not just related to Islam or Muslims or Muslim countries) can be on-topic in principle. Definitely there are suitable political questions that are fundamentally related to understanding Islam.

However, as I have written before there are various issues that we need to be careful about. Political questions are likely to be controversial and lead to lengthy and extended debate and discussion. They need be stated very carefully to avoid such issues. They need considerable care to be stated reasonably. Can we manage that right now? I don't think so.

Keep in mind that we are still dealing with some users who are voting based on whether answers agree or disagree with their beliefs rather than their objective quality independent of their view. When the site reaches a state that users and the mainstream culture of the site is voting based on quality in place of opinions, and pay enough attention to the sensitivities required for such questions then it can be OK to allow such questions. But right now that is not the case. So I lean towards not allowing them.

A compromise might be also possible though: political questions will be subjected to a much higher standards and they will be acceptable only if they absolutely satisfy those standards (if go that way we have to discuss what standards to require from a political and more generally questions about similar controversial topics).

I think questions regarding recent and current political events and history should remain off-topic. Also we should pay attention to the intention behind the political questions. Is it a question genuinely asked to learn or is it asked to express the askers opinion. The later should be off-topic (the philosophy of this site is for learning and knowledge sharing not preaching political/religious activism, it is not an Islamic site, it is a secular site for learning about Islam from Islamic perspectives).

See also Robert's post:

Islam SE: Not a Muslim Peer Support Group

Answer 2

I can't help but notice a similarity between this meta question and a related one about Islamic history. In my mind, history questions tend to be constructive, but politics questions tend not to be. This is true even though history is often the history of politics.

Aristotle once claimed that by nature, humans are political animals. We take sides and align with others who share our personal agendas in the public sphere. We rarely need encouragement to pursue (essentially) selfish goals. History, by contrast, is a discipline that attempts (often imperfectly) to impersonally analyze the events of the past. The historian, therefore, strives to be unnaturally apolitical.

Unfortunately, there's a long history of sectarianism on this site. It might be impossible for some users to separate their current allegiances from their analysis of questions of history. If so, we can't expect questions of politics itself not to devolve into a sort of popularity contest. I'd prefer to see a good body of apolitical questions of history before attempting to tackle politics itself.

Answer 3

Indeed Islam is a political religion and has political aspects. For example Caliphate is about Islamic state and Islamic government. Prophet Muhammad SAWW had near 100 wars and himself directly participated and fought in many of them. Prophet SAWW was under sanctions of Meccan for 3 years before his immigration to Medina. The list of political aspects of Islam is very long.

But I indeed agree political questions that has no relation to Islam and are about behaviors of Muslim countries are off-topic here. For example why the Muslim country X does not conduct election has no relation to Islam and is about behavior of Muslim countries. But asking what is the Islamic model of tax? Or what is Islamic model of government? Or what is Islamic model of punishment for thief? Or what is Islamic model for selecting a president? Other political questions that are related to Islam and Islam has something to say about them should be considered on-topic in this site.

Prophet Muhammad had a famous war Battle of Khaybar against Jews. We cannot say Islam is friend with all groups and states and is seeking peace with all people even with corrupted and cruel states. Indeed Islam has enemies and this is not something that can be hided or cut from Islam in this site.

If political aspects of Islam become banned in this site then this site will not be about Islam anymore. It can be anything unless Islam. This is Islam. Islam has enemies. Islam has Jihad. Jihad is with who? With friends? No Indeed Jihad is with enemy. If Islam has no enemy so prophet SAWW would not have 100 wars during few years.

Quran has many anti-Jew verses. If one has problem with such a religion that has problem with Jews and Jew states (but not generally any Jew) it is his personal freedom to make any decision. But this is Quran having problem with some of Jews:

And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion. Say, "Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance." If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper. [2:120]

O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people. [5:51]

You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah; and you will find the nearest of them in affection to the believers those who say, "We are Christians." That is because among them are priests and monks and because they are not arrogant. [5:82]

The list of such verses against Jews is longer.

In this regard politics and history are the same. In historical questions we say Islamic history is on-topic. So we should not have double standard when it reach to politics.

Islam has its own politics like Islam having its own history.

So asking political questions for example about current states who are enemies of Islam is not off-topic in this site. Why we should censor and hide such political facts of Islam religion? Especially when Muslim scholars have fatwa about them especially about Israel state?