Muslim MPs: What good have they achieved?

Disgraced MPs Shahid Malik and Khalid Mahmood have made a packet for themselves – but what good have they done?

The MPs expenses scandal has not stopped. Last week Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik was exposed for his lavish spending subsidised by the taxpayer – including £730 for a massage chair and £2,600 for a home cinema system. He is defending himself against claims about his rent and his mortgage but has lost his ministerial post.

Now follows Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood who is defending himself against claims that he spent over £1300 - in a 5 star hotel at the taxpayers’ expense.

Mahmood is most famous for an article published in his name in November 2001 supportive of the war against Afghanistan headlined The Five Myths Muslims Must Deny. Later it was revealed the article had not in fact been written by Mahmood, but by Denis MacShane – a former minister and viewed by some as having anti-Islamic attitudes.

People who misguidedly think that there is some good for Muslims in joining the system should think again. It is well known that to joining secular political parties or to be a ‘legislator’ or ruler who rules by other than what Allah revealed, are all prohibited actions in Islam. But when we see people who have already done these wrongful things doing more and more wrong actions we can see how the secular capitalist political process takes people far away from their deen or principles.

There are some politicians who might start life with aspirations to serve their community, but are corrupted by the party machines and political process. They gradually allow any good intentions they had to be superseded by the priorities of the party machine, eventually supporting policies they came into politics to oppose. The ‘perks’ they receive then reward their unprincipled actions, reinforcing the bad behaviour, until bad behaviour becomes normal behaviour.

There are lessons in this disastrous crisis for everyone, but this is one the Muslim community must learn. To think that any good can come out of doing haram actions is the sure road to disaster.


These are they who have sold Guidance for misguidance. But their trade is profitless, and they have lost true direction [TMQ 2:16]