Is Indonesian Muslim being Lied to by Al Maidah 51?

Question

Some politicians in Indonesia tell muslims that Al Maidah 51 tell them to only vote for muslim governors.

Are those politicians lying?

This is probably a bit of semantic.

What about if the muslim governor that the politicians favor is corrupt and plan to steal people money, and the politicians know it, and they tell the people to pick that muslim governor anyway by using Al Maidah 51.

۞ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ أَوْلِيَاءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ

O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.

(Quran 5:51)

Would it be correct to say that some people have been lied to by using Al Maidah 51?

Answer 1

A better ayah to use is probably this:

The believers should not take the disbelievers as allies instead of the believers, and whoever does that Allah will have nothing to do with him, except when you are wary of them out of caution. Allah warns you to beware of [disobeying] Him, and toward Allah is the return. (3:28)

In the case of two equal or semi-equal candidates, according to this ayah Muslims should always prefer and vote for the Muslim candidate.

So, the message that they are saying is correct. Muslims should prefer Muslim candidate. In the case of corruption, the decision is harder but there should always be a bit of a bias for Muslim candidates.

Also, if the other non-muslim candidates are trying to secularize the country and remove Quranic Laws then voting for them is definitely not good regardless of their honesty. An honest evil is still evil.

Answer 2

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country. There should be no non-Muslims running for a governor position in the first place. Imam An-Nawawi in his Sharh said:

قال القاضي عياض أجمع العلماء على أن الإمامة لا تنعقد لكافر وعلى أنه لو طرأ عليه الكفر انعزل قال وكذا لو ترك إقامة الصلوات والدعاء إليها قال وكذلك عند جمهورهم البدعة

_{NOTE. My own translation, so treat with care.}

Qadi 'Ayyād said that there is an agreement among scholars that leadership is not to be given to a disbeliever, and [if given to a Muslim] if he shows signs of disbelief, he gets removed [from leadership]. He said that it is the same if he abandons prayers and calling for prayers, and for the majority of scholars this includes innovators [in religion].

_{— Sahih Muslim bi sharh al-Nawawi, Vol. 12, pp. 229 (Arabic only)}

Ibn al-Mundhir was quoted saying the same ruling exactly in Ahkām Ahl al-Dhimma 2/787 (Arabic only) by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya.

Those who are voting need to observe the criteria required in a leader in the Muslim world, and the first criterion is Islam. The majority of the scholars agree that this is based on:

وَلَن يَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلًا

and never will Allah give the disbelievers over the believers a way [to overcome them].

_{— Surat An-Nisa 4:141}

I am not sure how you came to know that the Muslim governor is "planning to steal people's money." This is speculation that we are commanded not to do:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ ۖ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلَا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا ۚ أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ

O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin. And do not spy or backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his brother when dead? You would detest it. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Accepting of repentance and Merciful.

_{— Surat Al-Hujurat 49:12}

Assuming that the statement you made is accurate, and that the Muslim running for governor is planning to steal people's money, then look for another Muslim leader who does not plan on stealing people's money. This should not be a difficult task considering that premonition is obviously used in deciding whom to vote for.

You may refer to Islam Q&A's article "Is it permissible to swear allegiance to a kaafir ruler?" for more information.