Hundreds of men and women gathered to support a message that is now resonating all around the Muslim world. Muslims are calling for change; an end to Mubarak, an end to oppression, and a call for Islam.
The march commenced, young, old, children, Egytians, non-Egyptians, black, white, men, and women all chanting one message: "Down, Down Mubarak", "ya Mubarak, ya jabaan-O Mubarak, O coward", "ya ameel-ul-Amreekan-O agent of the Americans", "Allah take him from his throne", "Real change is what we want, Al-khilafah is what we want", "Al-khilafahtu wa'dullah- The khilafah is a promise of Allah". Sentiments were high; crowds on Egdware road showed their support by their beeping cars and joining in.
I reflected for a while whether the march was acutely comparable to the millions march to Tahrir square. It was cold, windy, and a few injuries, but nothing compared to being shot at, tear gas attacks, stone throwing and being run over by police vehicles as faced by our brothers and sisters in Egypt. I felt comfort in the message that we chanted through the streets of London, with great satisfaction that it was a single message of Islam shared by the billions of Muslims around the world.
As we approached the Egyptian embassy, a child muttered 'are we going to Egypt?'. The mother replied 'No, we are going to a place to tell the bad leaders of Egypt to go, so the good leader can look after the people'. I recalled the various hadiths and ayats of Muhammed (SAW), including "the best of jihad is a word of truth against the the unjust ruler", and the verse "you are the best people ever raised up for mankind, you enjoin good and forbid corruption, and you believe in Allah" [Al-imran:110]. Some may question, what difference does a march or demonstration make? Sometimes the immediate difference is not important since that is an assumption that change occurs over night. What we can recognise is a united message for change is building up across the Muslim world. People have had enough of corruption, poverty and insecurity.
A message for Islam in political life is also at the heart of the demonstrations recently. In any call for change, an alternative system needs to replace the old. In such an anticlimax it is with hope that the people will recognise REAL change when it does happen.
Unfortunately, the West is good at changing faces, introducing another puppet stooge and repeatedly deceiving the people. Since the people are calling for Islam we should neither be fooled into accepting a sugar coating of Islam with a few new faces nor should we assume a change of face will change the system that rules the people.
As Maghrib fell upon us and the collective prayers and duas captured the hope of this ummah, I acknowledged for a deep moment why I was standing there. The ummah has reached a boiling point and unless our voices project a unified message for change we remain divided in our minds. The colonialist strategy of divide and rule has been exposed yet the indoctrination of colonialism has yet to be fully unveiled. Having acknowledged how the colonialists sought to rub away the Islamic history and any recollection of a Khilafah system, I wonder when the ummah will reinvigorate its political Islamic understanding and determine its true political future; one under the khilafah system. Perhaps, very soon.
As the day closed to an end, I tucked into a nice meal thinking how fortunate I was and how unfortunate it is that those in Tahrir square have to take shifts to eat and deal with their basic human needs; all for the sake of meaningful change. It was clear to me by now, this was not a march for the sake of gathering hundreds for a rant and rave, rather this march was with a shared call to remove the tyrant rulers and a call for replacing the current systems in the Muslim world with the just Islamic system-the khilafah system. How great it was to hear a true alternative presented in the path of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Our beloved Prophet (SAW) made it a duty upon the khaleefs to take care of the affairs of the ummah after him. It is our duty (popular people, the armies, and the people of influence) to appoint the khaleef and account him since this is the only way of removing oppression and implementing Islam. We work with great anticipation and hope for a great future for the Muslim world.
The Prophet (SAW) said: "The Prophets used to rule Bani Israel. Whenever a prophet died another prophet succeeded him, but there will be no prophets after me; instead there will be Khulafaa' (Khalifahs) and they will number many". They asked: what then do you order us? He said: "fulfil allegiance to them one after the other. Give them their dues. Verily Allah will ask them about what he entrusted them with". (Hadith narrated by Muslim)
Bring Islam Back
The march commenced, young, old, children, Egytians, non-Egyptians, black, white, men, and women all chanting one message: "Down, Down Mubarak", "ya Mubarak, ya jabaan-O Mubarak, O coward", "ya ameel-ul-Amreekan-O agent of the Americans", "Allah take him from his throne", "Real change is what we want, Al-khilafah is what we want", "Al-khilafahtu wa'dullah- The khilafah is a promise of Allah". Sentiments were high; crowds on Egdware road showed their support by their beeping cars and joining in.
I reflected for a while whether the march was acutely comparable to the millions march to Tahrir square. It was cold, windy, and a few injuries, but nothing compared to being shot at, tear gas attacks, stone throwing and being run over by police vehicles as faced by our brothers and sisters in Egypt. I felt comfort in the message that we chanted through the streets of London, with great satisfaction that it was a single message of Islam shared by the billions of Muslims around the world.
As we approached the Egyptian embassy, a child muttered 'are we going to Egypt?'. The mother replied 'No, we are going to a place to tell the bad leaders of Egypt to go, so the good leader can look after the people'. I recalled the various hadiths and ayats of Muhammed (SAW), including "the best of jihad is a word of truth against the the unjust ruler", and the verse "you are the best people ever raised up for mankind, you enjoin good and forbid corruption, and you believe in Allah" [Al-imran:110]. Some may question, what difference does a march or demonstration make? Sometimes the immediate difference is not important since that is an assumption that change occurs over night. What we can recognise is a united message for change is building up across the Muslim world. People have had enough of corruption, poverty and insecurity.
A message for Islam in political life is also at the heart of the demonstrations recently. In any call for change, an alternative system needs to replace the old. In such an anticlimax it is with hope that the people will recognise REAL change when it does happen.
Unfortunately, the West is good at changing faces, introducing another puppet stooge and repeatedly deceiving the people. Since the people are calling for Islam we should neither be fooled into accepting a sugar coating of Islam with a few new faces nor should we assume a change of face will change the system that rules the people.
As Maghrib fell upon us and the collective prayers and duas captured the hope of this ummah, I acknowledged for a deep moment why I was standing there. The ummah has reached a boiling point and unless our voices project a unified message for change we remain divided in our minds. The colonialist strategy of divide and rule has been exposed yet the indoctrination of colonialism has yet to be fully unveiled. Having acknowledged how the colonialists sought to rub away the Islamic history and any recollection of a Khilafah system, I wonder when the ummah will reinvigorate its political Islamic understanding and determine its true political future; one under the khilafah system. Perhaps, very soon.
As the day closed to an end, I tucked into a nice meal thinking how fortunate I was and how unfortunate it is that those in Tahrir square have to take shifts to eat and deal with their basic human needs; all for the sake of meaningful change. It was clear to me by now, this was not a march for the sake of gathering hundreds for a rant and rave, rather this march was with a shared call to remove the tyrant rulers and a call for replacing the current systems in the Muslim world with the just Islamic system-the khilafah system. How great it was to hear a true alternative presented in the path of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Our beloved Prophet (SAW) made it a duty upon the khaleefs to take care of the affairs of the ummah after him. It is our duty (popular people, the armies, and the people of influence) to appoint the khaleef and account him since this is the only way of removing oppression and implementing Islam. We work with great anticipation and hope for a great future for the Muslim world.
The Prophet (SAW) said: "The Prophets used to rule Bani Israel. Whenever a prophet died another prophet succeeded him, but there will be no prophets after me; instead there will be Khulafaa' (Khalifahs) and they will number many". They asked: what then do you order us? He said: "fulfil allegiance to them one after the other. Give them their dues. Verily Allah will ask them about what he entrusted them with". (Hadith narrated by Muslim)
Bring Islam Back
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