Political Life in Yemen

Yemenis deserve a life in which justice, moral virtue and honesty prevail at all times. One of the areas where this is most important in Yemen is politics. A politician is someone who assumes responsibility for a large number of people who look to him for solutions and service. That person must decide matters on the basis of justice, observe no distinctions between people, recognize people who are in need and respond to those needs right away. In providing that service, he must always work together with experts and assign duties to competent people. Defects, interruptions and delays must be detected right away, many solutions must be produced and the capacity to make rapid decisions is essential. He must be able to see what is urgent and get services where they are needed, without delay.

However, politics has stopped being a sphere of service for some people today and has turned into a business based on self-interest. The aim has become simply to attain a position, to maintain that position under all circumstances and, if possible, to climb to even higher posts. That being the case, all manner of immorality committed to achieve that aim is regarded as legitimate.

One can see situations of that kind in all countries. There are hundreds of examples of officials resigning over corruption and markets being distorted for personal gain. For example, in many countries governed as dictatorships, while the people live in terrible poverty, fighting drought and epidemic diseases, the rulers enjoy enormous wealth and luxury; previous administrations in Iraq, Syria and Tunisia are clear instances of this. Mobuto Sese Seko, the former ruler of Zaire (today's Democratic Republic of the Congo), would bring his personal hairdresser from France every month by private plane while the people would fight over a single loaf of bread. Mobutu had all the country's underground resources and diamond beds signed over to himself and opened them up for exploitation by Western countries, yet ignored the plight of his people mired in tribal conflicts.

One can see such administrations where people do not live by the values of the Qur'an because where there is no religion, there is in one sense no justice, mutual aid, compassion, love, respect or honesty, either. Everyone will be out for his own interests in a spirit of intense greed. God draws attention to this danger in a verse:

When he leaves you, he goes about the earth corrupting it, destroying crops and animals. God does not love corruption. (Surat al-Baqara, 205)

As we have seen, the people described in the above verse will always exist so long as people do not adhere to the Qur'an. Yet in a country ruled by people of good conscience who fear God, nobody will be allowed to treat anyone else unfairly, all needs will be met and new solutions and services will be provided all the time. People who live by Islamic values will provide all kinds of services for no reward. The reward for services and hard work undertaken for God's approval is to be expected in the Hereafter, not this one. The messengers sent by God to preach the faith have always been subjected to various false accusations as people have always sought to find ulterior motives behind these messengers calling on them to worship God and live by the faith. The envoys are reported to have issued the following reminder to their peoples:

"My people! I do not ask you for any wage for it. My wage is the responsibility of Him Who brought me into being. So will you not use your intellect?" (Surah Hud, 51)

Relations between self-interested groups around national administrations frequently enter the political agenda. As in Yemen, these interest groups may sometimes be tribes, sometimes organized criminal groups and sometimes multinational companies.

In such countries where people do not live by Islamic values, and where rank and duties are not determined by qualities and abilities, the first thing that someone who achieves an important position will do is to place his friends in important posts and protect and look after them. That is why 'placemen' are so important for many parties and politicians; in other words, nobody considers the interests of the nations, and service is never what matters. Personal and political preferences and even nepotism come to the fore instead. As a result of this way of thinking, service concentrates on political constituencies, rather than cities and villages that need it. Instead of the urgent need of a village with no water or electricity being met, the interests of those who may possibly support electoral campaigns are considered instead.

Militants executed as a result of a political investigation in Yemen… It is impossible to enforce justice in an environment that does not confirm to the moral code of the Qur'an. Inhumanly violent methods cannot create the environment of love, respect and compassion that we crave.

As we have seen, a failure to live by Qur'anic values, whether that be in Yemen or some other part of the world, leads to the existence of administrations that turn a blind eye to all kinds of perverse activity. Since people do not fear God, they do not behave justly, compassionately or morally; since they never think they will have to account for themselves in the Hereafter, they are capable of all kinds of wickedness and immorality. What everyone who wishes to eliminate such a climate and ensure that mankind has a bright future needs to do is therefore to live by Qur'anic moral values and ensure that others do so, too. One of the greatest responsibilities attendant upon a Muslim is to tell people of God's commandments about moral values, to encourage people to live by them and to forbid any other kind of behavior. People who ignore this fact, or who postpone what they should be doing, and who leave the work to others, should fear having to account for that heedlessness in the hereafter.

Let there be a community among you who call to the good, and enjoin the right, and forbid the wrong. They are the ones who have success. (Surah Al 'Imran, 104)