Saturday, 8 March 2014
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Monday, 10 September 2012
US hands over Bagram jail to Afghanistan
The US military has handed control of a controversial prison housing more than 3,000 Taliban fighters and terrorism suspects to the Afghan authorities.
In a small ceremony, Afghan officials said inmates had been transferred to their authority.
The move is part of a deal to transfer all Afghan prisons back to local control ahead of the withdrawal of Nato forces at the end of 2014.
Bagram prison has been at the centre of a number of prisoner abuse allegations.
Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai has hailed the handover, disagreements with the US remain.
Washington is insisting that it will maintain control over some detainees in the prison.
Meanwhile, a new report suggests that some Taliban are open to a general ceasefire or political agreement allowing for a continuing US military presence after 2014.
'Glorious ceremony'
The handover took place at a brief ceremony which correspondents say was poorly attended by US and Nato officers. But for the Americans there are issues of trust. Even as the official handover ceremony takes place, there are still deep divisions. At the crux of the disagreement is the US insistence that it retains the right to arrest and hold prisoners caught "on the battlefield". While about 3,000 prisoners have already been transferred, the US is still believed to be holding on to hundreds of others and around 50 nationals from "third countries", such as Pakistan. Among US concerns are what would happen to "high-value detainees" once handed over to the Afghans - could they be released? But human rights groups and some Afghans are worried that continued US control of part of the prison could lead to the creations of "Guantanamo's twin brother". "We transferred more than 3,000 Afghan detainees into your custody... and ensured that those who would threaten the partnership of Afghanistan and coalition forces will not return to the battlefield," said Col Robert Taradash, the only US official at the ceremony. "Our Afghan security forces are well trained and we are happy that today they are exercising their capability in taking the responsibility of prisoners independently and guarding the prisoners," said acting Defence Minister Enayatullah Nazari. "We are taking the responsibility from foreign forces." AFP news agency photos showed a small group of inmates being released as part of the ceremony. Now officially known as the Parwan Detention Centre, Bagram prison lies about 40km (25 miles) north of the capital, Kabul. It was once located in one of the largest military bases for Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, but the new Parwan facility was constructed a few miles away and populated with inmates in 2010. The US military still wants to run a section of the jail and is not handing over hundreds of detainees, saying it has the right to hold insurgents caught on the battlefield, the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Kabul reports. Director of Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies: "The transfer is a positive step but there are many obstacles that still need to be addressed" These include about 50 foreigners not covered by the handover agreement signed in March. Privately, the US is concerned that some high-value inmates could be released if they are handed over, our correspondent says. That has angered the Afghan president, who says that full Afghan control is an issue of sovereignty. According to Afghan officials, there is a dispute over 34 inmates in particular, but they say they have made it clear they do not want control over the foreign prisoners. Meanwhile the director of the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies, Hekmat Karzai, told the BBC that the Americans believed they had a strategic interest in keeping these detainees. "The argument is that while they have troops on the ground it's very difficult to release these people," said Mr Karzai, who is a cousin of the Afghan president. In January 2012, Afghan investigators accused the US Army of abusing detainees at Bagram. The investigators said prisoners had reported being tortured, held without evidence and subjected to humiliating body searches. Nato and the US have rejected allegations of abuse as untrue and pointed to the fact that they have given the Afghan Human Rights commission access to check them independently. In February this year, US soldiers unwittingly burned Korans confiscated from prisoners at Bagram, leading to days of protests and targeted killings across Afghanistan. A US investigation said there was no malicious intent to disrespect Islam. Separately, a new report has suggested some Taliban may be open to a continuing US military presence after 2014, as long as the role is strictly defined.
Comment and viewpoint:
It was not enough to fly in with missiles, ground force, air force and the full ground patrol...Oh no, kill the masses, ally with the neighbours in a quest to massacre the people, take control of the gas pipelines; set up a prison; extradite humans without the court of law to animal sheltered prisons, namely Guantanamo, organise rendition flights from Bagram to the US to receive innocent victims (Aafia Siddiqui) and imprison her for life without a fair trial. Then continue to cause anarchy in a country and always blame the Taliban who you funded to fight the Soviet Union, then arrest the indigenous people and place them in the lawless prison, Bagram and now commission the Afghani's to do the job for you...except you are not planning to leave the country; are you?......And we are supposed to be grateful?
The Muslim world has woken up to the pattern of US/Britain/France foreign policy. Brutal force did not work to reform the people away from Islam, though it secured economical interests for the US and Britain in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, across the Muslim world they sugar coat their intentions and discuss how they wish to remove troops from the region and allow the people to determine their future. Unfortunately whether the US or Britain use a unilateral stance or a multilateral stance the intentions of Western foreign policy remains the same. To maintain dominance over the Muslim world and to ensure Islam does not become a political force to be reckoned with. For this reason Tony Blair in his proposal to the nation (published in the Evening Standard) is quoted to have called for 'evolution' in the Middle East rather than 'revolution'. This reveals an underlying idea always maintained in the West. Ultimately, the Muslim world will remain a battle ground for the West militarily, politically, and intellectually until we leave our way. So what we need to do is stick to our way, and advocate Islam as a true solution for the Muslim world.
As we wake up to the mega colonialist plan, we hope that the believers will defeat the colonialist plan and one day triumph again where peace and prosperity can be brought to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Allah (swt) reminds us in the Qur'an "And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers" [TMQ An-Nisa: 141].
'Glorious ceremony'
The handover took place at a brief ceremony which correspondents say was poorly attended by US and Nato officers. But for the Americans there are issues of trust. Even as the official handover ceremony takes place, there are still deep divisions. At the crux of the disagreement is the US insistence that it retains the right to arrest and hold prisoners caught "on the battlefield". While about 3,000 prisoners have already been transferred, the US is still believed to be holding on to hundreds of others and around 50 nationals from "third countries", such as Pakistan. Among US concerns are what would happen to "high-value detainees" once handed over to the Afghans - could they be released? But human rights groups and some Afghans are worried that continued US control of part of the prison could lead to the creations of "Guantanamo's twin brother". "We transferred more than 3,000 Afghan detainees into your custody... and ensured that those who would threaten the partnership of Afghanistan and coalition forces will not return to the battlefield," said Col Robert Taradash, the only US official at the ceremony. "Our Afghan security forces are well trained and we are happy that today they are exercising their capability in taking the responsibility of prisoners independently and guarding the prisoners," said acting Defence Minister Enayatullah Nazari. "We are taking the responsibility from foreign forces." AFP news agency photos showed a small group of inmates being released as part of the ceremony. Now officially known as the Parwan Detention Centre, Bagram prison lies about 40km (25 miles) north of the capital, Kabul. It was once located in one of the largest military bases for Nato-led forces in Afghanistan, but the new Parwan facility was constructed a few miles away and populated with inmates in 2010. The US military still wants to run a section of the jail and is not handing over hundreds of detainees, saying it has the right to hold insurgents caught on the battlefield, the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Kabul reports. Director of Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies: "The transfer is a positive step but there are many obstacles that still need to be addressed" These include about 50 foreigners not covered by the handover agreement signed in March. Privately, the US is concerned that some high-value inmates could be released if they are handed over, our correspondent says. That has angered the Afghan president, who says that full Afghan control is an issue of sovereignty. According to Afghan officials, there is a dispute over 34 inmates in particular, but they say they have made it clear they do not want control over the foreign prisoners. Meanwhile the director of the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies, Hekmat Karzai, told the BBC that the Americans believed they had a strategic interest in keeping these detainees. "The argument is that while they have troops on the ground it's very difficult to release these people," said Mr Karzai, who is a cousin of the Afghan president. In January 2012, Afghan investigators accused the US Army of abusing detainees at Bagram. The investigators said prisoners had reported being tortured, held without evidence and subjected to humiliating body searches. Nato and the US have rejected allegations of abuse as untrue and pointed to the fact that they have given the Afghan Human Rights commission access to check them independently. In February this year, US soldiers unwittingly burned Korans confiscated from prisoners at Bagram, leading to days of protests and targeted killings across Afghanistan. A US investigation said there was no malicious intent to disrespect Islam. Separately, a new report has suggested some Taliban may be open to a continuing US military presence after 2014, as long as the role is strictly defined.
Comment and viewpoint:
It was not enough to fly in with missiles, ground force, air force and the full ground patrol...Oh no, kill the masses, ally with the neighbours in a quest to massacre the people, take control of the gas pipelines; set up a prison; extradite humans without the court of law to animal sheltered prisons, namely Guantanamo, organise rendition flights from Bagram to the US to receive innocent victims (Aafia Siddiqui) and imprison her for life without a fair trial. Then continue to cause anarchy in a country and always blame the Taliban who you funded to fight the Soviet Union, then arrest the indigenous people and place them in the lawless prison, Bagram and now commission the Afghani's to do the job for you...except you are not planning to leave the country; are you?......And we are supposed to be grateful?
The Muslim world has woken up to the pattern of US/Britain/France foreign policy. Brutal force did not work to reform the people away from Islam, though it secured economical interests for the US and Britain in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, across the Muslim world they sugar coat their intentions and discuss how they wish to remove troops from the region and allow the people to determine their future. Unfortunately whether the US or Britain use a unilateral stance or a multilateral stance the intentions of Western foreign policy remains the same. To maintain dominance over the Muslim world and to ensure Islam does not become a political force to be reckoned with. For this reason Tony Blair in his proposal to the nation (published in the Evening Standard) is quoted to have called for 'evolution' in the Middle East rather than 'revolution'. This reveals an underlying idea always maintained in the West. Ultimately, the Muslim world will remain a battle ground for the West militarily, politically, and intellectually until we leave our way. So what we need to do is stick to our way, and advocate Islam as a true solution for the Muslim world.
As we wake up to the mega colonialist plan, we hope that the believers will defeat the colonialist plan and one day triumph again where peace and prosperity can be brought to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Allah (swt) reminds us in the Qur'an "And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers" [TMQ An-Nisa: 141].
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Aafia Siddiqui Speaks about Women in Islam (1991)
In September 2010, Dr Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced in a US court to 86 years in prison for attempted murder of Americans serving in Afghanistan. Aafia Siddiqui's trial in the US was a complete mockery of the legal process. The lawyers were not able to access their client due to strip searches she was being forced to endure. The trial took place in New York where there was little chance of her receiving a fair trial and also the judge threw out any motions to speak about her treatment prior to the claim that she shot at US officials.
The entire trial was manufactured in order to convict Aafia Siddiqui of the shooting, despite all the allegations that had been previously levelled against her. For full coverage of the Siddiqui trial, please see the link at the top of this page.
She was detained in Bagram, though this news only started to get released in 2008 onward. Her disappearance between 2003-2008 and detention without trial reflects the complete injustice of the US and Pakistan governments. Later, what should be called a rendition flight to the US resulted in an unfair trial and conviction.
May Allah (swt) relieve our sister of all her suffering soon. May Allah (swt) bring justice on to this earth through an Islamic judicial system and an Islamic ruling system that can challenge the systems that so easily impose injustice on to our innocent women and men. Ameen.
http://www.cageprisoners.com/our-work/focus-campaigns/item/199-aafia-siddiqui
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
This is Awakening
By Yasmin Mogahed
It’s hard to describe the feeling. Imagine living your entire life in a cave and believing it was your whole world. Then suddenly you step outside. For the first time in your life, you see the sky. You see the trees and the birds and the sun. For the first time in your life, you realize that the world you once knew was false. For the first time, you discover a Truer, more beautiful Reality. Imagine the high of that realization. For a moment, you feel you can do anything. Suddenly, nothing from your previous life in the cave matters. You become empowered, fully awake, fully alive, fully aware for the very first time. It is an unexplainable feeling. This is the spiritual high that comes with newly discovered Truth.
This is Awakening.
A convert to Islam knows this feeling. A born Muslim who comes back to the deen knows this feeling. Any human being who lives their life away from God, and returns, knows this feeling. This state is what Ibn ul Qayyim (RA) calls ‘yaqatha’ (awakening) in his book ‘Madarij Al Salikeen’ (Stations on the Path to God). He describes this state as the first station on the path to Allah. This is the state sometimes referred to as the “convert zeal”. When a person first converts or starts coming back to Allah they are often full of motivation and energy that others do not have. The reason for this energy is the spiritual high, characteristic of this state.
Characteristics of the Station of Awakening
Allah makes worship easier:
While in this state, worship becomes much easier. A person is so driven and motivated that they may easily sacrifice everything for the sake of the new reality they have discovered. This zeal can take a person from 0 to 60 in no time. It’s like being on spiritual steroids. The strength you have is not from your own self, but from an aid that was given to you. In this case the aid is given by God. Some may advise not changing too much, too fast. I don’t think fast change is the problem. I think arrogance is. I think hopelessness is. If Allah gives you a gift whereby you are able to do more, use it. But thank Him—not yourself, for that ability. And know that the heightened state is temporary. You may go from 0 to 60 in a very short time due to it, but when the high passes, don’t lose hope and let yourself slip back to 0.
Temporary:
Like every state in this life, this state is temporary. Life is never linear. And neither is the path to God. Not realizing this can cause despair and hopelessness once it passes.
Pitfalls of This State
The 2 pitfalls associated with this state correspond to not understanding the characteristics of the state listed above. These pitfalls are also the 2 causes of stagnation on the path to God: arrogance/complacency and hopelessness. The arrogant person already feels they are good enough, so they stop striving. The hopeless person believes that they will never be good enough, so they stop striving. Two opposite maladies, leading to the same result: To stop moving on the path to God.
Arrogance: The first pitfall corresponds to not understanding that the increased ability to worship came from God and is a characteristic of the state—not the individual! The one who doesn’t understand this wrongfully attributes the heightened ability to worship to one’s own righteousness. This false attribution is very dangerous because it leads to arrogance and self-righteousness. Rather than realizing this heightened ‘religious state’ is a gift from God, the worshiper feels a sense of hidden pride and may look down on others who don’t share similar zeal.
Despair and Hopelessness: This pitfall corresponds to not understanding that like all states in life, the spiritual high is temporary. This does not mean you have failed or done something wrong! Most people know what it feels like after the Ramadan high has passed. The instability of the ‘high’ is a characteristic of life. And that lesson is one even Abu Bakr (RA) had to learn. One day Abu Bakr (RA) and Hanzala (RA) came to the Prophet (pbuh) and said: ‘Hanzala is a hypocrite, Messenger of Allah!’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘Why is that?’ I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, when we are with you, you remind us of the Garden and Fire and it is as if we could see them with our eyes. When we leave your presence, we attend to our wives, children and estates in a state of great heedlessness.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘By the One in whose hand my soul is, if you were to remain in the state you are in when you are in my presence and in thedhikr (remembrance), the angels would shake hands with you on your bed and in the street, but, Hanzala, different times are not the same.’ three times.” [Muslim]
After the Spiritual High Has Passed
The most important part of this journey is never giving up! Know that you don’t feel the same zeal, not because you have failed at something. The dip that follows the high is a natural part of the path! Just as the Prophet (pbuh) explained to Abu Bakr (RA), these ups and downs are part of the path. And had we always remained in the high, we wouldn’t be human. We’d be angels! The determining aspect for success is not so much what we do when we’re up. The question is what we do when were down—when we’re not feeling it. The key to succeeding on this path is that once you do reach your ‘low’, you keep going, knowing that it’s normal.
Shaytan’s Traps
Remember Shaytan will get at you in different ways depending you your state.
When You’re High:
When you’re high, he’ll try to get you by making you arrogant. He’ll try to get you by making you look down on others. He’ll try to get you eventually by being so pleased with yourself that you don’t think you need to keep striving because you are already so great (and better than others around you). He will consistently make you look at those who appear to do less than you to justify your own shortcomings. For example, if you don’t wear hijab, he’ll make you think, “There are hijabis that do x, y, z bad things! At least I don’t do those things! I do x, y, z good things that hijabis don’t do!” Or if you slacken in prayer, you may think, “At least I’m not clubbing or drinking like so and so.” Remember, Allah isn’t grading on a curve. It makes no difference what others are doing. We all stand alone on the Day of Judgment. And this is just a tool of Shaytan to make us stop striving.
When You’re Low:
But when you’re low, shaytan will try to get at you differently; he’ll try to get you by making you hopeless. He’ll try to make you believe that you’re worthless and that there’s no point in trying. He’ll try to make you believe you are a failure and no matter what you do, you’ll never get back to where you once were! Or he may try to make you believe that you’re too ‘bad’ for Allah to forgive you. As a result, you may let yourself fall further. You may have been up once, and then felt so bad about yourself because you started to slacken in your worship. And maybe because of your previous self-righteousness you didn’t give people permission to make mistakes or be weak. This ends up becoming self-destructive because it further translates to not giving yourself ‘permission’ to make mistakes and be weak.
Since you believe you don’t have permission to be human and fallible, when you do make a mistake, you are so hard on yourself that you lose hope. So you let yourself go. You may end up committing more sins, which only makes your hopelessness worse! And it becomes a self-perpetuating vicious cycle. Shaytan will also try to make you believe that you shouldn’t try to repent or pray because you’d be a hypocrite since you are such a ‘bad’ person. He wants you to despair in the mercy of Allah. That’s what he wants! These are all lies, of course. But he’s good at what he does, after all. When you have sinned, that’s when you need to turn to Allah even more—not less!
To protect yourself from this downward spiral, remember that the lows are part of the path. Remember that ‘futoor’ (the dip) is part of being human. Once you realize that this does notmean you failed or that you are a hypocrite (like Abu Bakr (RA) thought), you can keep from giving up once you get there. The key is to develop certain habits which become your ‘bare minimum’. That means no matter how you feel, how unmotivated, how low, you still do these things at the very least. You realize that when you’re at your low, it’s going to be harder, but you struggle to keep doing them. For example, the bare minimum is the 5 daily prayers at their appointed times. This should *never* be compromised no matter *how much* you’re ‘not feeling it’. They should be considered like breathing air. Imagine what would happen if every time you were exhausted or in a bad mood you decided not to breathe!
It is preferred to have other rituals that are part of the ‘bare minimum’. For example, stick to certain extra prayers and athkar or daily Quran—even if it’s little. Remember that Allah loves a small *consistent* action more than a huge inconsistent one. If you hold onto certain essentials during your ‘low’, you will ride the wave of iman and come back up, insha Allah. And, God willing, when you do go back up, you’ll be at a higher place than your last ‘high’.
Know that the path to Allah is not a flat one. Your iman (faith) will go up and down. Your ability to worship will go up and down. But, know that for every dip, there is also a rise. Just stay patient, stay consistent, don’t lose hope and seek help in Allah. The path is hard. The path will have bumps and drops. But, like all things in this life, this path will come to an end. And that end will make it all worth it!
Allah says:
‘Oh mankind, indeed you are ever toiling towards your lord, painfully toiling…But you shall meet Him’ (84:6)
http://www.yasminmogahed.com/
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Sunday, 4 March 2012
Land of the freely oppressed (Poem on Syria)
Faces blown, invaded homes, infants moan with broken bones.
Numbers cant show how the casulties grow
the loss is high when soldiers become foes.
The civilian deaths console the regime in control
graves become homes for the departed souls.
Bodies gashed with bullet holes
backs are lashed by ruthless patrols.
Fighters fighting with fading tones
martyr’s waiting to read their scrolls.
Judgement is truly for Allah alone
if only these dictators would truly know.
The believers know what they truly seek
engaged in prayers that are truly deep.
Tongues are being slit so its harder to speak
but hearts still oppose the oppressor’s blasphemous speech.
So instead of using vocals where the voice cannot reach
I write my prayer in pen and use the ink to preach.
I pray that the brothers and sisters hold on to their creed
And hopefully succeed to live in a land that is dictatorship free.
Forget the globe and the middle east
what if oppression reached our streets?
What if we had to express repression from hiding under our sheets?
What if the only music we heard were bombs making beats
and our last prayer ended in permanent sleep?
What if our bloody wounds were just left to bleed
and the tears of lost loved ones covered our feet?
The governments seem to be shattering dreams
suppressing those, steadfast on their deen.
Murdered are those even inside the womb
Mothers lose hope to see their babies bloom.
Death will overtake these murderers too
then Allah will say, fa ayna tathhaboon (quran 81:26)
Proclaiming tawheed to wipeout disease
should be the ummah’s permanent state of belief
And tyrants that have consistently caused the innocent to bleed
Cannot defeat the victory Muslims are granted in Allah’s decree.
So those who have raped mothers and sisters and men of dignity
Will be questioned by Allah individually.
While problems rise the race towards rewards has simply begun
So let us pray for the fatherless sons, and for the motherless ones.
And though the sins are summed
let us pray that Allah expiates them.
This recession is a lesson for the Muslim ummah
so let us gain from these losses by implementing the Sunnah.
Those who are struggling to worship Allah alone
May He grant them Jannatul Firdous as their permanent home.
Khairul Nual
Numbers cant show how the casulties grow
the loss is high when soldiers become foes.
The civilian deaths console the regime in control
graves become homes for the departed souls.
Bodies gashed with bullet holes
backs are lashed by ruthless patrols.
Fighters fighting with fading tones
martyr’s waiting to read their scrolls.
Judgement is truly for Allah alone
if only these dictators would truly know.
The believers know what they truly seek
engaged in prayers that are truly deep.
Tongues are being slit so its harder to speak
but hearts still oppose the oppressor’s blasphemous speech.
So instead of using vocals where the voice cannot reach
I write my prayer in pen and use the ink to preach.
I pray that the brothers and sisters hold on to their creed
And hopefully succeed to live in a land that is dictatorship free.
Forget the globe and the middle east
what if oppression reached our streets?
What if we had to express repression from hiding under our sheets?
What if the only music we heard were bombs making beats
and our last prayer ended in permanent sleep?
What if our bloody wounds were just left to bleed
and the tears of lost loved ones covered our feet?
The governments seem to be shattering dreams
suppressing those, steadfast on their deen.
Murdered are those even inside the womb
Mothers lose hope to see their babies bloom.
Death will overtake these murderers too
then Allah will say, fa ayna tathhaboon (quran 81:26)
Proclaiming tawheed to wipeout disease
should be the ummah’s permanent state of belief
And tyrants that have consistently caused the innocent to bleed
Cannot defeat the victory Muslims are granted in Allah’s decree.
So those who have raped mothers and sisters and men of dignity
Will be questioned by Allah individually.
While problems rise the race towards rewards has simply begun
So let us pray for the fatherless sons, and for the motherless ones.
And though the sins are summed
let us pray that Allah expiates them.
This recession is a lesson for the Muslim ummah
so let us gain from these losses by implementing the Sunnah.
Those who are struggling to worship Allah alone
May He grant them Jannatul Firdous as their permanent home.
Khairul Nual
88th aniversary since the destruction of the Khilafah
On the 88th anniversary, the Islamic landscape is in a state of flux. After decades of subjugation the Muslim Ummah is taking her destiny into its own hands and attempting the break the shackles that have for long held the Ummah in chains. With this in mind we highlight a number of facts make the following points on the 88th anniversary of the destruction of the Khilafah:
1. On Monday 3rd March 1924 (28th Rajab 1342AH), the world woke to the news that Mustafa Kemal in Turkey had officially abolished the Khilafah. That night Abdul-Mejid II, the last Khaleefah of the Muslims, was bundled in to a car with a suitcase of clothes and money and exiled from Turkey, never to return. Turkey’s independence was officially recognised with the implementation of the Lausanne Treaty signed the year before on 24 July 1923. Britain and its allies withdrew all their troops that had occupied Turkey since the end of the First World War. In response to this, protests were made in the House of Commons to the British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon, for recognising Turkey’s independence. Lord Curzon replied, “The situation now is that Turkey is dead and will never rise again, because we have destroyed its moral strength, the Caliphate and Islam.”
2. Today’s situation in the Muslim world of division, poverty and oppression is a direct result of the absence of the Khilafah and the targeted policies of the West, British Prime Minister Henry Bannerman outlined Western policy in 1906: “There are people (the Muslims) who control spacious territories teeming with manifest and hidden resources. They dominate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilizations and religions. These people have one faith, one language, one history and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate these people from one another … if, per chance, this nation were to be unified into one state; it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and would separate Europe from the rest of the world. Taking these considerations seriously, a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never-ending wars. It could also serve as a springboard for the West to gain its coveted objects.” As much as the West brush over such history Britain and France divided the Muslim world through the construction of artificial borders which crossed both ethnic and sectarian lines, this was to ensure the Muslims forever remained divided.
3. Both Britain and France left individuals and minorities in power who would forever be reliant upon Western patronage, David Fromkin, Professor and expert on Economic History at the University of Chicago explained this: “Massive amounts of the wealth of the old Ottoman Empire were now claimed by the victors. But one must remember that the Islamic empire had tried for centuries to conquer Christian Europe and the power brokers deciding the fate of those defeated people were naturally determined that these countries should never be able to organize and threaten Western interests again. With centuries of mercantilist experience, Britain and France created small, unstable states whose rulers needed their support to stay in power. The development and trade of these states were controlled and they were meant never again to be a threat to the West. These external powers then made contracts with their puppets to buy Arab resources cheaply, making the feudal elite enormously wealthy while leaving most citizens in poverty.”
4. With the Khilafah gone and many considering the Muslim lands independent from colonialism the Ummah experimented with nationalism, patriotism, socialism, democracy, free markets and dictatorship. All were stunning failures and merely continued the impoverishment and subjugation of the Muslim lands. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of communism hostilities between Islam and the Capitalist West become clear to all.
5. Despite such colonial onslaught, Muslims across the world did not abandon Islam. Despite the best efforts of the West in the Muslim lands the Ummah did not give up the social system of Islam. The Ummah actually preserved much of Islam and did not abandon it in the face of hostility even though her understanding of these concepts was not always clear. What happened in the 21st century is the relationship between the Ummah and its rulers became so wide that such rulers became even more distant form the people. The rulers rejected the Islamic culture and adopted Western culture and the Western agenda. It became obvious to all and sundry that the rulers and the Muslims were diametrically opposed to what should be the direction of the Muslim lands. The Muslim rulers – put in place to stop any Islamic revival became trapped between subservience to America and the West and fear of removal by their own people.
6. Today, under a plethora of secular models, the people of the Muslim World have no political rights, endure crippling living standards due to high prices and even higher taxes, and have zero international influence. Yet despite this tragedy, some in the Muslim World, backed by their supporters in the West, still believe that a reformation of a secular constitutional order, the imposition of western friendly leaders and a continued commitment to the same foreign policy that has long marginalised the Muslim world is the way to proceed. They argue that Islam never defined a political system and that the Khilafah is not the only system of Islamic governance. Such individuals and groups were stunned however at the success of the Islamists in the elections that have taken place in the Muslim world – clearly showing were the sentiments of the Ummah are.
7. After 88 years the Western constructed architecture of supporting, funding, arming and defending dictator rulers is now falling apart, this space is now the new battle ground. For decades, the despots of the Muslim world have pursued a set of narrow interests which have side-lined their own people: securing the free flow of commerce for the west, fighting against the Islamic revival and standing up for Israel’s security at the expense of the Palestinians. Yet now, after decades of despotic rule and western interference, the political situation is in flux.
Conclusion
On the 88th anniversary of the destruction of the Khilafah the global implications of the Ummah seizing its own destiny has led the West once again to interfere in the region. This is why the West, on seeing the implications of the Arab spring have been rolling back their support of dictator rulers in return for a more open system – but one that still maintains its interests. They have continued to find individuals and groups who are prepared to represent Western interests in the region.
The dilemma the Ummah faces in reality is continued foreign interference from the West and traversing the obstacles in order to establish Islam, which is indigenous to the region. Whilst many in the West and the East argue that true Western values have not been tried correctly in the Muslim lands and giving them an opportunity is the future of the region. Case studies form the cradle of civilisation in the West show a deluge of problems, from political apathy, permissiveness in society, sexual crimes. All this has taken place in what many call the post-modern world where capitalism has faced no challenges ever since the demise of communism.
We also find Western societies unable to convince those who have migrated and settled in places such asParis,Berlin,RomeandLondonof their values, even though many arrived on the European plains over 50 years ago. This has bred an atmosphere of forced assimilation, but also shows the failure of secularism to encompass different peoples.
We ask Allah (swt) to make this the last anniversary of the destruction of the Khilafah and to bless the Ummah with the prophecy of the prophet (saw) when he said: …..Then there will be a Khilafah Rashidah according to the ways of the Prophethood.” (Musnad Imam Ahmad (v/273))
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Over 5000 dead in Syria since the uprising began
More than 5,000 people are now believed to have been killed in the Syrian government's crackdown on protests, the United Nations human rights chief has told the UN Security Council.
The UN's Navi Pillay said on Monday there were reports of increased attacks by opposition groups on President Bashar al-Assad's security forces but highlighted "alarming" events in the besieged protest city of Homs, according to diplomats in the closed meeting.
More than 14,000 people are estimated to have been detained and at least 300 children are among the dead, Pillay told the 15-member council. She estimated that at least 12,400 have fled into neighbouring countries since the anti-government protests erupted in March.
"It is my estimation that the total number of people killed since the protests began earlier this year is now likely to exceed 5,000. This situation is intolerable," Pillay said.
But Bashar Jaafari, Syria's UN ambassador, said the session was part of a "huge conspiracy concocted against Syria since the beginning" and said Pillay was neither objective nor fair.
"She is not genuine in all her approach, in the report she presented... She has trespassed her mandate, she allowed herself to be misused in misleading the public opinion by providing information based on allegations collected from 233 defectors," Jaafari said.
"How could defectors give positive testimonies on the Syrian government? Of course they will give negative testimonies against the Syrian government. They are defectors."
Responding to Jaafari's comment, Frej Fenniche, chief of Middle East section of the UN Human Rights Council, told Al Jazeera that the body was in contact with some people within both the Syrian government and its security forces.
"Who said to Mr. Jaafari that we are not in contact with people within the army now and with people at a high level within the government?... We have contacts with officials on the basis of confidentiality."
"If the government is saying we are lying we can say: 'OK let [us] go into the country and we will see.'"
The Syrian authorities have not granted human rights observers access into the country.
The Security Council held a private briefing on Syria with Western nations stepping up pressure for the body to condemn the violence. Russia and China vetoed a resolution on the Syria crisis in October.
'Immoral stance'
But Russia's foreign minister on Tuesday said that Western accusations that it was blocking UN action condemning the Syrian regime's crackdown on the opposition were "immoral" because the West was refusing to put pressure on armed opposition groups.
"There are those who refuse to put pressure on the armed, extremist part of the opposition and are at the same time accusing us of blocking the UN Security Council's work. I would call this position immoral," Sergei Lavrov said in televised comments.
Germany's foreign minister on Monday urged those countries blocking UN Security Council action on Syria to change their minds.
"I am really shocked about what I heard about the atrocities in Syria. We owe this to those who lost their lives," said Guido Westerwelle.
Gerard Araud, France's UN ambassador, said "history will judge the silence of some and the indifference of others" and that "the honour of the Security Council is at stake".
Pillay told the meeting that the Syrian protesters had remained largely peaceful.
"However, reports of armed attacks by opposition forces, including the so-called Free Syrian Army, against Syrian forces have increased," she said.
The death toll did not include Syrian security forces, she stressed. The Syrian government says more than 1,000 police and troops have been killed in the unrest.
Fresh clashes
Fresh clashes were reported on Tuesday between army deserters and regular troops in two Idlib villages as well as in Daraa province.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that army defectors on Tuesday in Idlib's Bab al-Hawa road killed seven members of Syria's security forces in retaliation for an attack that cost the lives of 11 civilians.
Syrians voted on Monday in municipal elections and many closed their businesses and kept children home from school in several parts of the country in a show of civil disobedience against the government.
The head of the elections committee, Khalaf al-Ezzawi, said voting had taken place "in a democratic spirit," and turnout had been "good".
But activists mocked the election on their Facebook page.
"The election farce organised by the authorities was a failure in the city of Deir Ezzor where we think the turnout was no more than one per cent. The roads were empty the whole day," an activist said of the vote in the eastern city.
General strike
Meanwhile, the Syrian National Council opposition bloc said the "dignity" general strike launched Sunday was widely observed in 12 provinces against "all expectations".
Opposition activists say the ongoing strike, if widely heeded, could place added economic pressure on the government at a time when it is already struggling with growing international sanctions and isolation.
The opposition wants the strike to remain in force until the government pulls the army out of cities and releases thousands of detainees.
Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reporting from near the Jordan-Syria border, said that troops loyal to Assad were taking revenge against boycotting business owners.
"We heard reports that troops burned down at least 178 stores and shops in Deraa to try and take revenge against civillians who have shut down their stores and shops and are basically observing this general strike," she said.
Residents in the capital, Damascus, said business continued as usual on Sunday and Monday with shops, schools and other businesses operating normally.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011121210732547262.html
Viewpoint:
1) The killing of protestors including children, reflects the level of brutality of the Syrian government and the lengths Assad's government will go to in order to clamp down on those calling for change. This is a pure utter act of desperation to stay in power.
2) The UN have been forward in exposing the crimes more recently. However, this is indicative of the fact that foreign intervention is being planned as in Libya.
3) The Muslims of Syria do not need foreign intervention. For now Muslims are continuing to speak out in mass demonstrations. InshaAllah Bashar Al-Assad's government will fall as the momentum is reaching an anticlimax. The aftermath is what the international community is speculating about since a pull between Britain and America's influence over Syria is at question.
4) Before foreign inteference happens, we as an ummah must be absolutely clear what we want; Islam. We must also be absolutely clear how this will occur; the Islamic system. We must also be clear what the Islamic system represents and how we can rapidly create a strong awakening for the Islamic system.
The UN's Navi Pillay said on Monday there were reports of increased attacks by opposition groups on President Bashar al-Assad's security forces but highlighted "alarming" events in the besieged protest city of Homs, according to diplomats in the closed meeting.
More than 14,000 people are estimated to have been detained and at least 300 children are among the dead, Pillay told the 15-member council. She estimated that at least 12,400 have fled into neighbouring countries since the anti-government protests erupted in March.
"It is my estimation that the total number of people killed since the protests began earlier this year is now likely to exceed 5,000. This situation is intolerable," Pillay said.
But Bashar Jaafari, Syria's UN ambassador, said the session was part of a "huge conspiracy concocted against Syria since the beginning" and said Pillay was neither objective nor fair.
"She is not genuine in all her approach, in the report she presented... She has trespassed her mandate, she allowed herself to be misused in misleading the public opinion by providing information based on allegations collected from 233 defectors," Jaafari said.
"How could defectors give positive testimonies on the Syrian government? Of course they will give negative testimonies against the Syrian government. They are defectors."
Responding to Jaafari's comment, Frej Fenniche, chief of Middle East section of the UN Human Rights Council, told Al Jazeera that the body was in contact with some people within both the Syrian government and its security forces.
"Who said to Mr. Jaafari that we are not in contact with people within the army now and with people at a high level within the government?... We have contacts with officials on the basis of confidentiality."
"If the government is saying we are lying we can say: 'OK let [us] go into the country and we will see.'"
The Syrian authorities have not granted human rights observers access into the country.
The Security Council held a private briefing on Syria with Western nations stepping up pressure for the body to condemn the violence. Russia and China vetoed a resolution on the Syria crisis in October.
'Immoral stance'
But Russia's foreign minister on Tuesday said that Western accusations that it was blocking UN action condemning the Syrian regime's crackdown on the opposition were "immoral" because the West was refusing to put pressure on armed opposition groups.
"There are those who refuse to put pressure on the armed, extremist part of the opposition and are at the same time accusing us of blocking the UN Security Council's work. I would call this position immoral," Sergei Lavrov said in televised comments.
Germany's foreign minister on Monday urged those countries blocking UN Security Council action on Syria to change their minds.
"I am really shocked about what I heard about the atrocities in Syria. We owe this to those who lost their lives," said Guido Westerwelle.
Gerard Araud, France's UN ambassador, said "history will judge the silence of some and the indifference of others" and that "the honour of the Security Council is at stake".
Pillay told the meeting that the Syrian protesters had remained largely peaceful.
"However, reports of armed attacks by opposition forces, including the so-called Free Syrian Army, against Syrian forces have increased," she said.
The death toll did not include Syrian security forces, she stressed. The Syrian government says more than 1,000 police and troops have been killed in the unrest.
Fresh clashes
Fresh clashes were reported on Tuesday between army deserters and regular troops in two Idlib villages as well as in Daraa province.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that army defectors on Tuesday in Idlib's Bab al-Hawa road killed seven members of Syria's security forces in retaliation for an attack that cost the lives of 11 civilians.
Syrians voted on Monday in municipal elections and many closed their businesses and kept children home from school in several parts of the country in a show of civil disobedience against the government.
The head of the elections committee, Khalaf al-Ezzawi, said voting had taken place "in a democratic spirit," and turnout had been "good".
But activists mocked the election on their Facebook page.
"The election farce organised by the authorities was a failure in the city of Deir Ezzor where we think the turnout was no more than one per cent. The roads were empty the whole day," an activist said of the vote in the eastern city.
General strike
Meanwhile, the Syrian National Council opposition bloc said the "dignity" general strike launched Sunday was widely observed in 12 provinces against "all expectations".
Opposition activists say the ongoing strike, if widely heeded, could place added economic pressure on the government at a time when it is already struggling with growing international sanctions and isolation.
The opposition wants the strike to remain in force until the government pulls the army out of cities and releases thousands of detainees.
Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh, reporting from near the Jordan-Syria border, said that troops loyal to Assad were taking revenge against boycotting business owners.
"We heard reports that troops burned down at least 178 stores and shops in Deraa to try and take revenge against civillians who have shut down their stores and shops and are basically observing this general strike," she said.
Residents in the capital, Damascus, said business continued as usual on Sunday and Monday with shops, schools and other businesses operating normally.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/2011121210732547262.html
Viewpoint:
1) The killing of protestors including children, reflects the level of brutality of the Syrian government and the lengths Assad's government will go to in order to clamp down on those calling for change. This is a pure utter act of desperation to stay in power.
2) The UN have been forward in exposing the crimes more recently. However, this is indicative of the fact that foreign intervention is being planned as in Libya.
3) The Muslims of Syria do not need foreign intervention. For now Muslims are continuing to speak out in mass demonstrations. InshaAllah Bashar Al-Assad's government will fall as the momentum is reaching an anticlimax. The aftermath is what the international community is speculating about since a pull between Britain and America's influence over Syria is at question.
4) Before foreign inteference happens, we as an ummah must be absolutely clear what we want; Islam. We must also be absolutely clear how this will occur; the Islamic system. We must also be clear what the Islamic system represents and how we can rapidly create a strong awakening for the Islamic system.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
ALLAHUAKBAR! University students take the courage to speak out against Israeli ambassador
Ten US college students from Southern California have been convicted of unlawfully disrupting a speech by Israel's ambassador to the US last year and placed on probation.
Friday's verdict followed two full days of deliberations by a six-man, six-woman jury in a case that has touched off a furore over free-speech rights at the University of California at Irvine.
The students, who were ordered to perform 56 hours of community service, are to remain on probation for three years. But they could have that reduced to a year once they complete the community service.
Charges against an 11th defendant have been tentatively dismissed.
"We're going to continue fighting this. We're going to appeal this decision," supporter Marya Bangee, 25, said outside the court.
"These men to us represent our struggle for civil rights in this country and for them to be found guilty and sentenced for speaking their minds is devastating for us all."
The case stems from a protest organised by the Muslim Student Union at the university against a February 8, 2010, speech there by Michael Oren, the Israeli diplomat.
Pro-Palestine protest
Prosecutors say the students interrupted his appearance by shouting statements such as "Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech!" and "It's a shame this university has sponsored a mass murderer like yourself".
The US constitution guarantees Americans the right to freedom of speech.
But the Orange County district attorney's office, which is prosecuting the case, has said the students - rather than exercising their own free-speech rights - were interfering with the right of Oren to be heard.
| The students were condemning Israel's war on Gaza |
The charges drew an outcry from civil liberties advocates and Southern California's Muslim community, who say the students were unfairly singled out for prosecution even though similar protests are common at universities and do not result in prosecution.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Berkeley, California, Liz Jackson from Students for Justice in Palestine, said that this conviction was a "disgrace to the criminal justice system".
"This is a political witchhunt trial that reminds me of what I studied about McCarthyism in the 1950s," she said.
Arab and Muslim students are more vulnerable when they protests because of Islamophobic sentiments, but trials like this are actually encouraging more students to speak out against Israel, Jackson said.
"There is so much outrage on Facebook, over email - students feel outraged and emboldened now."
Spectators began crying in the packed courtroom in Santa Ana, California, when the verdicts were read by a court clerk, and about 50 people left the courtroom visibly upset.
Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the law school at UC Irvine, has also criticised the criminal charges as heavy-handed.
The Muslim Student Union was suspended by the university for an academic quarter and put on probation for two years.
Al Jazeera
Friday, 12 August 2011
The Plight of the Ummah- Ramadhan 2011
Massacre in Hama (Syria)
On the eve of Ramadhan, 31st July, Syrian tanks stormed Hama killing over 140 people including women and children, for calling for an end to the corrupt Syrian government. On the first day of Ramadhan tanks continued to attack Hama. President Assad directed his security forces on these brutal attacks, claiming ‘it is a duty of the state which must defend security and protect the lives of civilians’. We can clearly see Assad is not protecting his people as he has claimed to, as 16,000 people have been killed in the uprisings and thousands have already been arrested. Is this the type of security that the Muslims need? Being attacked for commanding the good (mahruf) and forbidding the evil (munkar)? The absence of Islam in places such as Syria has allowed corrupt rulers like President Assad to massacre innocent Muslims in an attempt to quash the call for an Islamic system.
The Ummah does not have a shield (Khaleefah) to protect itself. Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Behold, the Imam is but a shield from behind which the people fight and by which they protect themselves” (Muslim)
The Ummah needs a Khaleefah who will implement justice and take care of the affairs of the ummah. Khaleef ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul Aziz was once found by his wife weeping after his prayers; asked if anything had happened to cause him grief, he replied,
“O Fatimah, I have been made the ruler over the Muslims and the strangers and I was thinking of the poor that are starving, and the sick that are destitute, and the naked that are in distress, and the oppressed that are stricken, and the stranger that is in prison, and the vulnerable elder, and he that has a large family and small means, and those of them in the countries of the earth and the distant provinces, and I felt that my Lord would ask an account of them at my hands on the day of resurrection, and I feared that no defence would avail me and I wept”
The corrupt Muslim rulers do not take responsibility for their people and have no fear of accountability for their actions. We need to replace these rulers with a Khaleef who will take responsibility for the people and deal with the Ummah with care and concern, as he will fear the day when Allah SWT will account him for his actions. An Islamic system will ensure the accountability of the rulers by the means of the Court of Unjust Acts (Mahkamatul Madhalim). As one of the principles of the ruling system, sovereignty belongs to the Shariah, and the authority belongs to the ummah; therefore dictators cannot rule nor can the brutality of man-made laws exist since the Shariah forbids massacres and killing of women and children.
A Call to implement Shariah (Egypt)
On Friday 29th July 2011 people demonstrated in Tahrir Square Cairo in their millions, calling for the implementation of Shariah law in Egypt. Protesters arrived from different areas in buses. The crowd delivered its message through signs, flags and chants: "Egypt will return to Islamic Shariah law! Liberals and secularists are the enemies of Allah! The solution is Islam!"
It is now clear the ummah not only knows what it doesn’t want, it clearly knows what it wants, ‘return to Islamic Shariah law’.
Poverty due to drought (Somalia)
As the drought continues, over 1,000 Somali refugees are arriving in refugee camps in Kenya every day. The famine is forcing many people to walk 15 to 20 days in dry, dusty weather to reach the camps. Many Muslims will struggle during Ramadhan, living in over cramped refugee camps due to severe lack of food and water shortage.
We witness our brother and sisters in Somalia dying of starvation, while the West usurps the wealth of the third world countries. This is only the product of Capitalism. The implementation of an Islamic State (Khilafah) will ensure every individual has the right of shelter, food and clothing.
The Prophet (SAW) said; "The Son of Adam has no better right than that he would have a house wherein he may live, a piece of clothing whereby he may hide his nakedness and a piece of bread and some water." [Tirmidhi]
Therefore, the state will be responsible to meet the basic requirements for all citizens, regardless of where they reside. These are among the provisions the Islamic Khilafah system considers to be not only basic needs but human rights.
Nationalism leaves many homeless and disunited (Sudan)
On 9th July 2011, in the name of freedom, South Sudan became an independent state from Sudan. This has led many Sudanese citizens to move to the new state leaving their previous homes behind, however, others struggle to find their place of residence as they are not welcome in either province. The national assembly has agreed on a draft law that removes Sudanese nationality from anyone the authorities consider South Sudanese, and all southerners living in the north will not have a right to northern nationality. Many are homeless, without money and nothing to eat, not knowing where to go and what to do. The Sudanese officials have already made it clear dual nationality will not be an option. It seems likely that South Sudanese will be able to acquire some sort of residency, but the current situation is very unclear.
Nationalism is haram in Islam. It promotes disunity and pride. Prophet Muhammed (SAW) said “He is not one us who calls for ‘Asabiyah, (nationalism/tribalism) or who fights for ‘Asabiyah or who dies for ‘Asabiyah.”
[Narrated Abu Dawood]
[Narrated Abu Dawood]
As Muslims we must eradicate our Ummah from this disease, and we must stay far away from this as the Messenger of Allah (SAW) referring to nationalism, racism, and patriotism said: "Leave it, it is rotten." [Muslim and Bukhari]. The divide and rule policy has tricked the ummah into disunity for decades now. We must now wake up to expose colonialist and imperialist policies.
US ‘War on Terror’ continues
On 10th August 2011, a US drone attack has killed at least 21 in north-western Pakistan. North and South Waziristan are regularly targeted by drone missiles. The US says the region provides sanctuary to al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents who are involved in attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan. Last month, drone strikes killed at least 30 people in less than 24 hours in the area.
On Wednesday 10th August an air strike by NATO-led forces in Afghanistan has reportedly killed Taliban fighters, including Taliban leader Mullah Mohibullah who was associated with shooting at a US helicopter. As an excuse to combat the ‘War on Terror’, the US persist exploiting Afghanistan and Pakistan with frequent attacks, providing no solutions, yet further destruction. The absence of Islam has clearly allowed such catastrophes to continue for endless years. Only the Khaleef who will be a shield for this Ummah will truly be able to put an end on the ‘War on Terror’ synonymous to the war on Islam.
Niqab ban in Europe
On 2nd August 2011, an Italian parliamentary commission has approved a draft law that would ban women from wearing veils that cover their faces in public, if passed by parliament in September. Women who violate the ban would face fines of $140 to $400, while third parties who force women to cover their faces in public would be fined $42,000 and face up to 12 months in jail.
The Italian law was sponsored by Souad Sbai, a Moroccan-born member of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative Freedom People party, who said she wanted to help Muslim women better integrate into Italian society. "Five years ago, no one wore the burqa [in Italy]. Today, there is always more. We have to help women get out of this segregation ... to get out of this submission.”
The hypocrisy of secularism is exposed further in Europe, as the banning of niqab is in reality the banning of a piece of cloth. These so called tolerant societies are resorting to desperate measures to force Muslims to leave their values, since Muslims at large are yet to be won over by the hypocrisy of western liberal values.
Three Muslim Men killed in riots (England)
As the riots and lootings continued in England, three Muslim men, Haroon Jahan, 21, Shahzad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, were killed whilst protecting their property in Birmingham. Members of the Muslim community gathered together to offer prayer in congregation for those lost.
The behaviour of looters is indicative of the fact that broken Britain has left generations of people lacking social and moral values. Criminality is rampant and opportunities for looting in these days reflect the greed and irresponsibility money making capitalism brings. Under Capitalism the individuals are nurtured to live without a sense of responsibility to the community.
The Khilafah will be based on the Islamic Aqeedah, where the society will be fostered with Taqwa (God consciousness). The communities interest is taken care of to protect the society from degenerative values of individualism and freedom that results in a broken society. Islam promotes goodness as Allah SWT says in the Qur’an, “Help each other in al-Birr and at-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help each other in sin and transgression” [al-Maa’idah 5:2]
Conclusions
It is evident that since the absence of Islam, the plight of our Ummah has escalated and the implementation of secular liberal democracies has only lead to further turmoil. Islam tends to the needs of human beings and is capable of governing the affairs of the whole of mankind as Allah SWT said,
"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." [Al-Maida 5:3]
The Ummah desperately needs the implementation of Islamic values to eradicate the distress the world is facing, from the East to the West.
Muslims need to work together to improve the situation of our Ummah by a call for the Islamic system. Allah SWT sent His Qur’an as a guidance and furqan (criteria for right and wrong), and not just a book to be recited during the month of Ramadhan. We need to wake up and take responsibility to unite the Ummah under one leader, one land, one Islamic system Insha’Allah. The ummah has taken great steps with the Arab uprising, and since the wall of fear has broken we must make head way by advocating the khilafah system globally. A united message to uproot western liberal democracies and dictatorships and to replace it with an Islamic khilafah system will no doubt shake the thrones of the tyrants but also pave way for true change. We know what we don’t want but can we advocate what we want?
On the authority of `Abd Allah ibn `Umar, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said,
"The Faithful are to one another like [parts of] a building - each part strengthening the others" and "Every Muslim is a brother to a Muslim, neither wronging him nor allowing him to be wronged. And if anyone helps his brother in need, Allah will help him in his own need; and if anyone removes a calamity from [another] Muslim, Allah will remove from him some of the calamities of the Day of Resurrection; and if anyone shields [another] Muslim from disgrace, Allah will shield him from the disgrace on the Day of Resurrection." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Afsana Hye, UK
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Let us take the Qur'an as a complete guidance this Ramadhan
The blessed month of Ramadan is upon us and the Muslim Ummah across the world has responded to the call to fast and gain the reward from Allah (swt). We in Hizb ut-Tahrir send our warmest congratulations to the Muslim Ummah on this great occasion. May Allah (swt) accept our fasts and prayers and all our good deeds and elevate us in taqwa so that we gain closeness to our Lord. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah (saw) who conveyed this Deen to this Ummah.
The month of Ramadan truly demonstrates the oneness of this Ummah and the power of the ayaat of the Qur’an to motivate this Ummah in fulfilling the command of Allah (swt).
O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (TMQ Surah Baqarah:183)
This year the Ummah has faced extraordinary trials and tribulations. Across the entire Middle East the Ummah has risen up against the tyrants and dictators who have oppressed her for decades. Thousands of people, including women and children, faced bullets, tanks and mortars in order to liberate themselves from the torture of the regimes that have ruled us for the last 90 years. This was the year that the Ummah threw off fear and silence and moved towards a much-needed liberation – and the struggle is continuing in this blessed month of Ramadhan.
Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan have continued to be subjected to the brutality of America’s war in the region. Drone attacks, bombing campaigns, killings and kidnappings have brought death and destruction to the Muslim Ummah on an unprecedented scale. At the same time the Muslims of Palestine continue to suffer under the occupation of the Zionists. In the last few weeks we have seen the extreme suffering of the Muslims in Somalia and the horn of Africa from famine and drought. We feel the pain and suffering of Muslims across the world as we are one Ummah with one Aqeeda and as the Messenger (saw) described this Ummah,we are ‘one body.’
As we fast and pray in this month of Ramadan, we should reflect on these events and think of why our Ummah is suffering across the world despite the fact that Allah (swt) guided this Ummah with the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Messenger (saw) and described this Ummah as the ‘khaira (best) Ummah.’
Allah (swt) clearly described the revelation of the Qur’an in the month of Ramadan.
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a Guidance [Huda] for the people and clear proofs of Guidance and Criterion [Furqaan] (TMQ Surah Baqarah:185)
The Qur’an has been revealed as a Huda and Furqaan for mankind.
We will hear the recitation of the glorious Qur’an every night in our masaajid this month and Muslims will recite the Qur’an as much as we can. The question is, are we taking this Qur’an as a Huda and Furqaan in our Ummah’s affairs?
The sad truth is that we have not. For decades now, laws and rules that are not from Islam have governed our countries. Rulers who are the most corrupt of men in the Ummah have run our countries. They have ruled us by laws based upon other than the Qur’an and Sunnah i.e. the secular man made laws of capitalism. Our political systems have been dominated by dictators who have unilaterally made oppressive laws or so called democrats who have collectively made laws in parliament to suit their interests and benefits. In all cases we have seen a political system ravaged by corruption, nepotism, cronyism and slavery to western powers. Our economies have been enslaved to the capitalist states that have treated our counties simply as ‘markets’. The rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer. Poverty, inequality, lack of decent public services, mass unemployment and no industrialization is the legacy of decades of economic mismanagement based upon IMF and World Bank policies. This, despite the Muslim Ummah being blessed with dedicated human resources, vast agricultural lands and huge reserves of natural gas, oil, coal etc.
This situation has occurred after the Qur’an was removed from our public life and just left to guide us in our salat and fasting. Whilst the Qur’an is recited in our prayers and in the masaajid, our political, economic and social lives has been led by manmade laws and policies based upon secular capitalism. As an Ummah we have been aimlessly running from one western policy to another, to one institution to another, without fundamentally looking to the Islamic system to solve our problems, which is consistent with our beliefs, culture, history and heritage.
Allah (swt) said:
“Do you, then, believe in one part of the Book and reject the other?” (TMQ Surah Baqarah: 85)
“And We have revealed to you the Book explaining all matters” (TMQ Surah An-Nahl: 89)
“And rule them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their desires away from the Truth that has come to you” (TMQ Surah Maidah: 48)
These ayaat clearly illustrate that this Qur’an came to address all of our affairs. It has been the relegation of the Qur’an to only individual acts of worship (important though they are) and replacing the societal and political rules with kufr man made laws which has led this Ummah to this state of affairs. Have the decades of implementing man-made western laws and systems brought any goodness to our Ummah? It cannot be right that we worship Allah in our fasting and salah yet take Shaytan and his allies to lead us in the rest of our affairs!
As we fast this month, this Ummah is crying desperately for real change. This change will not come unless we take the Qur’an as our sole guidance and Furqaan. The Qur’an and Sunnah demand that the Muslim Ummah have a leadership (Khalifah or Ameer) that implements the Shariah and addresses all our problems from the Shariah perspective. It is only an Islamic leadership – the Khilafah – that can stand up to America’s aggression in our lands, end our dependency to the western banking systems and unify and lead our countries on a path to progress and prosperity. Without this Islamic political leadership we will continue to be ruled by western backed corrupt rulers who will keep this Ummah weak, divided and enslaved to other nations. Both dictators and ‘democrats’ alike have destroyed our countries. As all these have failed in our countries, we must reach out to the system revealed by Allah (swt).
Here in the West we need to be part of that change. We should build our communities on a strong understanding of Islam as a complete guidance for mankind. Every Muslim should know that Ramadan is the month that Allah revealed the Qur’an as a complete Guidance not just for fasting and salah but for all our issues. Every Muslim should know that Islam has its own unique political system that prevents politicians from making laws to suit their patrons in business; an economic system that can end poverty and inequality; a social system that elevates women from the status of sexual objects to mothers, wives and full members of society; and a global system that will end nationalism and racism and end the hegemony of colonial powers. Building our communities on these strong foundations means that we will not only ensure that we live by our Deen, but will join our brothers and sisters who are struggling in the Muslim countries to bring real change and carry the Message of Islam to the non-Muslims in the West.
Our fasting in the month of Ramadhan surely represents our determination to worship Allah (swt). This worship of Allah must mean we rush to work to implement His Deen and re-establish the leadership of Islam – the Khilafah.
May Allah (swt) accept our fasts and prayers in this month and May Allah (swt) give this Ummah the victory she desperately needs. Ameen.
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Britain
Britain
1st Ramadhan 1432 / 1st August 2011
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