Silence as Contentment

What about one's citizenship in a country that causes problems — pollution, death? There is definitely accountability on all levels. Muslims believe in accountability. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that being silent about something is showing contentment with it: so if you are silent about a thing, it means that you are complicit in the action — unless to speak out against it would endanger your life. So there is an idea that people who feel that if they speak out they are going to be killed, or something like that, are forgiven; although the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the greatest jihād is to speak the truth in front of an unjust ruler. That that is the greatest jihād.

So there is definitely an idea of responsibility in one's actions and in what one does. And politics is a problem. Henry Thoreau was arrested for not paying his taxes, because he felt that the government supported slavery and he did not want to support such a government. And they say that Emerson went and visited him in the jail and said: Henry, what are you doing in there? And Henry said: the question is, what are you doing out there? So we do have a social responsibility.