Huzoor: I think it all depends on what they mean by mixing politics with religion or by not mixing politics with religion. It all depends. A politician can be religious. A politician can work for the promotion of religious values without being a party. As far as that is concerned, we have no objection. Islam has no objection. Religious values should be promoted. And when we speak of religious values, our mind is turned to a verse of the Holy Qur’an and many such verses in which Allah Ta’ala tells us (Qur’anic Verse 0:46) that there are lasting truths which are common to every religion. And the Shariah, the Islamic law, contains all these lasting truths, or universal truths, you can say.
But the word Qayyamah applies to the lasting truth more than the word universal. In universal truths, only those truths are included which, without reference to religion, human morality can reach directly. But when the Holy Qur’an mentions Qutubun Qayyamah, it means such truths as may not be reached directly by human imagination. The revealed truths as well. So it’s a wider sphere. And those revealed truths which never change, despite the change in the name of religion, they are Qutubun Qayyamah. So there, again, are common between every religion. Those values should be promoted by every politician. Otherwise, he will not be doing justice to his people or to the world at large. So in that much, you should mix religion with politics. But to mix religion with politics in a completely different way is not at all acceptable to Islam. When the politician speaks of mixing religion, he doesn’t mean adopting moral values or inculcating moral values.
What he means is simply this, that as far as the politicians and their followers are concerned, let them enjoy life as they please, let them tell lies and use deception for promoting political ends or gaining political ends. No harm. Only use religion to help politics achieve its goals, nefarious goals. If this is what is meant by mixing religion with politics, it is abhorrent to any religion, not only to Islam. And this should not be permitted. This is exactly what is being done in the name of Christianity, in the name of Islam. Poor religions are being made scapegoats for the sake of politicians by the politicians. So this is no way of mixing things.
Questioner: Before they were never going towards this sort of school of thought that religions and politics should be mixed or not mixed. Why is it that recently there seems to be a wave of…
Huzoor: You know, previously, I think it was Jefferson, President Jefferson, who first mentioned this, that a complete separate compartment should be made, completely separate compartment should be made of religion and politics. And he was a very wise president, if I am not mistaken, I think it was he who first mentioned it, that religion should not be permitted to interfere with politics, and politics should not be permitted to interfere with religion. Let them prosper in their own respective fields.
This is the best formula that I can think of. It does not mean that a politician is anti-religious when he does not permit religion to interfere with politics. Nor is he a bigoted person when he does not interfere in religion on behalf of politics. Live and let live. This is the essence of this policy. And do not interfere in each other’s premises. I think this is the safest formula.
