The Idea of Pakistan

Political Rights and Privileges of Non-Muslims 
Political rights are those recognized claims of the citizens by dint of 
which they are enabled to take active part in the affairs of government and 
render those services of which they are capable of along with political 
participation of the citizens, Islam also ensures its citizens the freedom of 
speech so long as it does not aim at undermining the basic tenets of the 
Islamic state. Islam does grant political rights to its non-Muslim minorities 
but certainly not in the sense known to the West or the Westernized. A non-
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Muslim citizen of the Islamic state cannot offer his services for any political 
office for which he is not fit just as a Muslim is in the same state
. Nor of 
course, a non-Muslim can be overburdened with such responsibility because 
political services in the Shari’ah are not rights. They are obligations and 
burden which are imposed only on those who are capable to shoulder such 
responsibilities of political nature with skill and ease
. Had political 
services been rights the Prophet would never have refused assignments to 
those who had asked for them.
Since Islamic state is basically an ideological one, hence only those 
persons are to be entrusted with its key administrative posts who believe in 
its ideology and are conversant with its spirit and also have dedicated 
themselves to the promotion of the objectives of the Islamic state
. Hence 
non-Muslims in principle can neither be entrusted with the responsibility of 
the office of the head of the state nor can they take part in his election or 
selection
. The reason is that rule, according to Muslim jurists, is 
established to defend the faith and administer the day to day business of the 
state
. The religious nature of head of the state alone and nothing else 
prevents non-Muslims either to hold it or take part in its installation through 
election or selection. But this does not mean that Islam taboos the utilization 
of non-Muslims in the service of the state. This only means that while 
availing of the services of the non-Muslims, due care should be taken that 
the Islamic character of the state is not compromised and the ideological 
demands are not sacrificed at the altar of the so-called tolerance. However, 
in modern times when most of the Muslim states have become secular in 
nature, there should be no reason to debar a non-Muslim from taking part in 
the election of the head of the state
. But in the classical state that actually 
existed or the one depicted by the Muslim jurists no such concession can be 
given in the name of mere tolerance.
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Before considering other political rights of non-Muslims, we must 
pause here to consider the misgivings of some modern writers through their 
assertion that the theory of Islamic state precludes the idea of full-fledged 
citizenship of non-Muslim minorities. Indeed, it is true that in the largest 
interest of the state, its highest executive post should belong to the majority 
community. There is nothing peculiar about the head of the Islamic state if 
he is elected from amongst the members of the Muslim community alone. 
There is no country in the world today that has set up the political precedent 
of democratically electing the highest executive (with actual powers and not 
nominal) from among the minority classes in the state. Even in the most 
civilized country of the world, the United States of America, the Chief 
Executive must be a natural born citizen of U.S.A and by a political 
precedent he must belong to the Protestant Faith of Christianity. In the 
United Kingdom, the head of the State must belong to the Protestant Church. 
Hence in Islam, the meaning of equality of political rights can hardly be 
identified with merely the holding of the highest post of the executive who 
being held as the defender of Muslim faith, has essentially to be staunch 
Muslim. In light of the position of non-Muslims in Islam, it is amazing to 
suggest that they are debarred from enjoying equal political rights in the 
Islamic state. Even if the constitution of the Islamic state does not debar a 
non-Muslim from being elected to the office of the head of the state, will it 
be practicable to have a non –Muslim to shoulder the responsibility of the 
head of the state without the necessary fitness of faith? A secular state like 
India or former U.S.S.R may only ambiguously say that there is no bar to 
Muslims who are a minority in these countries to be elected to the highest 
executive authority (actual and not nominal, a distinction which is made 
between the two terms in modern parliamentary form or government) only to 
mean within themselves that a Muslim will never be able to hold that 
position in fact.
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Coming to the sequence, it is to be observed that in the Islamic state 
a number of material pursuits require no particular ideology other than 
common morality. Non-Muslims have a vast field of life in which no 
distinction is made against them. Thus non-Muslims may be appointed as 
ministers, secretaries etc. in the Islamic state. The well-known Muslim jurist 
and political thinker, Al-Mawardi holds that a non-Muslim (ahl al-dhimma) 
may be appointed as wazir thanfidh (minister with delegated authority) but 
he cannot be appointed as wazir tafwiz (minister independent in the 
discharge of his official functions)
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.It is amazing to note that even in 
modern times too such a distinction is made between the ministers to which 
the designation of minister and minister of state is applied. The former is 
independent in the discharge of his executive authority whereas the latter 
exercises only delegated power. 
Beside ministerial and secretarial duties, non-Muslims may also be 
given representation in the legislative assemblies
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. Trustworthy persons 
from among the non-Muslims may also be entrusted with other important 
responsibilities that involve no matter of belief of the Muslim population
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. 
In fact, the most amazing feature of the Abbasid caliphate has been the 
prepondering number of non-Muslims in the different departments of the 
state. Even the highest and most important executive posts, viz, vizarate and 
chief secretary were being held by the non-Muslims. They were only 
debarred from rendering those services which purely dealt with the religious 
affairs of Muslims.
What the Islamic state demands of the non-Muslims is loyalty to the 
state in the matter of its stability and law and order. Their loyalty to the state 
is like that of the Muslim citizens. Hence their loyalty should not be 
suspected until otherwise proved
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. Islamic ideology is so broad, 
comprehensive and liberal that in actual practice no non-Muslim should feel 
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cramped or thwarted because of his creed. Bu if a non-Muslim does not 
completely identify himself with the ideology of the Islamic state, it would 
not be just on his part or right on the part of the state, to entrust him with the 
work of a nature that requires complete identification of outlook.