A Qur'anic Approach to the Formulation of Political Participation in an Illegitimate Political System

In both theory and practice, political participation is considered to be one of the most significant political challenges. The Qur'an is the main religious source that makes it possible for political explanations to be given in respect of such issues. This study aims to formulate the types of political participation in an illegitimate political system in order to identify acceptable types in the light of the teachings of the Qur'an. The hypothesis of this research, carried out with the method of thematic interpretation, is that from the Qur'anic perspective, in an illegitimate political system, diverse types of positive and negative participation are authorised, depending on the circumstances, from participation in power structures to conflicting with the aim of reducing or eliminating oppression. In this regard, seven types of positive and negative political participation in an illegitimate political system have been identified in the Qur'an; positive political participation such as criticism and objection, guidance through dialogue and debate, and participation through taqīyah (religious dissimulation); negative political participation such as non-cooperation, civil disobedience, declaration of aversion, and struggle and overthrow. Based on this, the article concludes that according to the Qur'an, various types of positive and negative political participation are permissible in confronting an illegitimate political system. The Qur'an describes the behavior of the prophets and Qur'anic figures in the confrontation with an illegitimate system as a wide range of minimal to maximal participation with the aim of eliminating oppression.