Muslims for Loyalty

Muslims for Loyalty

Islam requires every Muslim to be loyal to his country, regardless of the ruler’s faith. The Holy Qur’an states, “O ye who believe, obey Allah and obey the Prophet and obey those in authority from among you” (4:60). In Islam, therefore, loyalty first belongs to God, obedience to others’ authority being derived from Him. In Islam, since a sovereign can demand obedience from his constituency because he is responsible for their safety, obedience to such a one becomes obedience to God. The Holy Prophet Muhammad declared: “Whoso obeys the ruler obeys me, and whoso disobeys the ruler disobeys me” (Muslim); “Listen to and obey your ruler, even if you [despise him]” (Bukhari).

Since its founding, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has championed the principle of loyalty to one’s country. The Community’s founder, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, declared: “Obedience to governmental authority is one of [Islam’s] imperatives” (Works and Speeches, Vol. I, p. 261); “To entertain ill-will against a government under whom life is lived in freedom and there is complete security and religious obligations can be discharged to the full is a criminal step and not jihad… Thus, God Almighty had established me on the principle that sincere obedience and gratitude should be rendered to a benign government such as the British Government. My Community and I are bound by this principle.” (Tohfah Qaisariyya (“A Gift to the Queen”), 1897, pp. 9-10).

Expressing loyalty to America, however, does not prevent peaceful dissent. Both the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Holy Quran guarantee this very right. Dissent, however, must be expressed within the confines of the law—no Muslim can or should take the law into one’s own hands. The Holy Qur’an states that creating disorder can lead to damnation, not salvation (2:2-16).

Islam requires Muslims to not only obey their government, but actively love their country.  Prophet Muhammad instructed: “Love of one’s country is a part of faith” (Sakhavi; Safinat al-Bihar, vol. 8, pg. 525; Mizan al-Hikmah, Hadith #21928). The Community’s founder, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, emphasized: “It should be the duty of every Muslim to render true and sincere obedience … and offer heartfelt gratitude to such an authority and pray for their welfare.”

The “Muslims for Loyalty” campaign is a grassroots effort to show gratitude to America for conferring fundamental freedoms that all Americans, including Muslims, cherish and protect.  Each year since 2010 on the Fourth of July, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community participates in hundreds of parades across the country to demonstrate to ourselves and our fellow Americans that love of one’s country is an essential manifestation of one’s faith.