The scenes of mobs occupying the US senate and protestors demanding the US electoral result be overturned are extraordinary in America’s history. Many across the world watched in shock as the global superpower appeared to be self-imploding.

As these events play out, it’s important to look beyond the noise and the wall-to-wall coverage beaming around the world. We should remember the following points:

1.     The violence by Donald Trump supporters outside the Capitol building are not an affront to democracy but are a direct result of it. Many voted for Donald Trump in 2016 as they believed conventional politicians and political parties no longer listened to them. They voted for Trump in the hope things would be different. This trend is taking place across the world as the democratic process is failing to build inclusive and united societies.

2.     Whilst the very notion of regime change via violence has shocked the world, they would do well to remember the violence, manipulation of the political process and suppression of political Islam that has gone on in the Muslim world for almost a century, led by the United States and its allies.

3.     The political elite and advocates of democracy in the Muslim world who point to the Western world as examples of fair politics calling for more democracy, should take heed.  Democracy in the Western world is no different to anywhere else, it’s all about putting power before people.

4.     As Muslims we should see the fallacy of the failing political systems in the world; economic disaster looms a year into the pandemic, governments across the world have failed to deliver on their promises, minorities especially Muslims are seen as outcasts and the prophet of Islam Mohammad ﷺ  is insulted all in the name of democracy and freedom.

5.     The world needs something different, something not tarnished by the bias of one political party over another, a politics where the ruler is not accountable to his vote base but to Allah (swt) – where Muslims and non-Muslims are seen as citizens not as potential votes and treated with fairness and respect. 

We as Muslims have Islam and the Khilafah system from Allah (swt) to rule by. It’s about time we started to accept our future lies with Islam and not Democracy.

The scenes on Capitol Hill have exposed democracy for what it really is, it has exposed America for what it really is and now its lost any moral authority.