As humans, we often wear multiple ‘hats’ representing a plethora of identities. These identities may be based in culture, language, nationality, gender, athletics, place of employment, career and, of course, faith. Among these, we need to choose one central identity which contains a foundation of beliefs – a moral code that provides guidance with decision-making.

For example, if I choose my athletic identity as my foundation, then my beliefs might include loyalty, courage, honour and passion. I would then use this moral code as a lens to look through when deciding what friends to make, what career to pursue, how to approach my school work, how to treat my parents, and what type of politician or doctor or engineer to be.

With a faith-based identity, my moral code would begin with a duty to Almighty God and the guiding beliefs provided in the Qur’an and the authentically recorded traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). As a politician, my constituents would need to know that this identity forms the basis of how I would represent their collective voices. In short, put your faith-based values and your duty to God Almighty first and then meet the needs of your constituents as best as possible within the confines of your values and beliefs.

Due to the complicated, often two-faced, nature of ‘playing politics,’ a person with a central faith-based identity may find the job of ‘politician’ uncomfortable. However, politics has a lot more to offer beyond being a member of parliament. The vast majority of politics is steeped in policy-making, a place where ethics play a large role. It is quite possible that a person with a social justice mindset, as a subset of their faith-based values, would thrive in this area of politics.