British Values and Muslim Values

Born and raised in Britain I do think (believe) that, overall, I can quite comfortably (and rightly) call myself a ‘British Muslim’.  Now, there are those who would want me to remove that second descriptor, and there are others who would prefer it to be placed before the first one, but it is what I am: A British Muslim.

Born here, raised here, and able to practice my faith here.

Simples.

As for my values, I’ve always seen the two (British and Muslim) to be so alike that they’re quite indistinguishable.  Maybe my view of traditional British Values are ‘old school’ - I grew up in the 80s and 90s and a number of my teachers (God bless them all) grew up in the 50s and 60s, so perhaps these aspects have had an effect on me overall?

(Traditional) Muslim Values	(Traditional) British Values	(Current British Values?)
Honour Your Mother and Father	Honour Your Mother and Father	Honour Your Mother and Father (this is definitely still a part of being British, despite how individually and separately we live our from our parents)
Be good to your neighbours	Be good to your neighbours	Don’t trust your neighbours…but try to be good ones, ideally
Help those in need	Help those in need	Help those in need (but help yourself first and if you have a bit of time then maybe help others)
Freedom of religion (I know, this one’s a shocker to Muslims and non-Muslims ;) )	Freedom of religion	Freedom of religion
Obey the laws of the land you are living in [provided they do not conflict with Islamic law (so, for example, in the unlikely event that a law was passed that everyone had to eat pork twice a week, Muslims (vegans, vegetarians etc) would not obey it)]	Obey the laws of the land, but if they look to become oppressive then step forward and fight for what’s right (It’s a long process, but it’s got to be done)	Obey them, but if you can get away with not doing so then good for you
One (overall) law for all, but the laws of a person’s religion will take precedent in certain matters (marriage, inheritance, etc)	One (overall) law for all	If you’re rich and/or famous then you can get away with certain things (If you’re an MP etc then you might be able to get away with certain other things)
Education is a basic and fundamental right	Education is a basic and fundamental right	Education is a right - if you can afford it, and even then we might dumb things down a bit (a lot)
Work hard	Work hard	If you can figure out a way to not work then good on you!
Be of benefit to those around you	Be of benefit to those around you	Grab whatever you can, and sod other people
Instil discipline in your children	Instil discipline in your children	Let them run free, you’re not the boss of them
Your home is your castle	Your home is your castle	Your home could be mine if you’re not around and I want in (okay, not really, but it sometimes seems like it’s going this way…)

Some of what I’ve listed in ‘current’ are likely to be dismissed by many people - the ‘help those in need’ one, for example (we Brits are known for opening our hands towards worthy causes, but I think there are people out there who will agree that it’s become less of a ‘let’s pull together as a community and society’ and more of a ‘give some money and hopefully the problem will go away’).  There is something of a change in values, but the core ones (the ones in that middle column) are still there and still strong, Alhumdulillah, despite areas of the media putting more emphasis on the 'bad'.

Ibn Taymiyyah gave a ruling a long time ago - one which is known more through its mis-transmission rather than its actual ruling.  The actual ruling, with regards to Muslims living in a non-Muslim state (nation) is that:

'The Muslims living therein should be treated according to their rights as Muslims, while the non-Muslims living there outside of the authority of Islamic Law should be treated according to their rights.'

Over the years, the focus of certain groups has been on the first clause - the rights of Muslims.  Alhumdulillah, despite some people's claims to the contrary, this country I have been blessed to have been born and raised in, does allow Muslims to be treated according to our rights as Muslims.  The second clause, though, seems to one which these groups tend to dismiss/disregard/ignore.

Ibn Taymiyyah's ruling was one that promoted balance and good and peaceful living between Muslims and non-Muslims.  It is something that fits in well with British society - a society which has values that mirror and complement Muslim values - and if it is one which Muslims collectively embrace then our relationship with each other and everyone around us will be all the better for it, Insha'Allah.