Ed: A question you might think of no relevance to Chelmsford Anglicans until you read the arguments in this article from Pakistan:
[...] Without questioning their good intentions or patriotism therefore it remains legitimate to ask: should expatriates govern?
In answering this question, the case of dual citizens is perhaps the most simple. In most cases, acquiring a second citizenship requires taking an oath of citizenship. In the United Kingdom, for example, citizenship requires the applicant to take the following Oath (for Muslims, on the Quran):
"I, [name], [swear by Almighty God] [do solemnly and truly declare and affirm] that, on becoming a British citizen, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs, and successors, according to law."
In law, one can be "faithful" to more than one subsidiary lord, but can owe "allegiance" to only one master, who has no superior, and "true" faith or allegiance cannot be shared. This follows from the well-established legal maxim that "no man can serve two masters" (the Bible, Matthew 6:24). What is more, every naturalised British citizen swears "to be faithful and bear true allegiance" not to the state or nation, but personally to "Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs, and successors."
This has important consequences. The Queen is not only the Head of State, and "Head of the Armed Forces," but is also "Defender of the [Christian] Faith," among her other roles. In this capacity, she appoints archbishops and bishops, who also take an oath of allegiance to the Queen. In its Articles, the Church of England describes the monarch as "being by God's Ordinance [shari`ah] … Defender of the Faith and ... Supreme Governor of the Church of England." On coronation, the British sovereign swears to maintain the Church of England. While custom, law, and judicial precedent restrain the British monarch's multiple roles as head of church, state, and armed forces, this does not alter the fact that even today her position is similar in many ways to that of the "Rightly Guided Caliphs" of early Muslims.
Every naturalised British citizen then swears to be faithful and bear true allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II, personally, in all of her roles. While this may not rest heavily on those engaged in commerce, industry, finance, or philanthropy no one who aspires to political activity, public service or office can afford to be cynical and make light of solemn oaths. Can anyone who swears personal allegiance to the head of the Anglican Church, the British armed forces and the state, serve the people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan without fear, favour, or demands of competing attachments? More importantly, how can such a person also take an oath to "bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan" and "preserve the Islamic Ideology" as is required by the constitution, of every high public official? Read more
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