it has now been more than a few months since the us overturned the taliban from the status of ruling over 95% of
introduction
the us has used the killing of its own citizens on september 11 to achieve in terms of its foreign policy objectives results which prior to this event remained as mere thoughts in the minds of strategists and policy makers alike. since the collapse of the soviet union, the us has sought to shape the world in its own image, ruthlessly engaging internationally in order to vanquish the only serious threat which exists to its unrivalled and arrogant domination of the world’s affairs. as time has progressed the yearning for islam by the islamic ummah has grown and the us,
within this emerging climate the leading nation needs to engage with its future enemy and smother it in its cradle. in a like manner to fir’awn (pharaoh of
the lie that islam is unfit to solve the complex problems of the 21st century
after september 11th all manner of personalities and non-entities emerged on the world stage to announce the superiority of western civilisation and the failure of every other, the most arrogant pointed to what they termed the failure of islam and attacked those who wanted to bring any semblance of its system back. the key proponents of this was james rubin, the former assistant secretary of state under
we must send a clear and simple message to the muslim world. if osama bin laden's vision were achieved, all of the islamic world would look like
the picture he painted of an islamic khilafah state was one of backwardness, economic stagnation, where the people would be subjugated through force to stop them from rebelling.
general parvez musharraf said something similar when he mocked those who call for the complete implementation of islam:
do we want
musharraf was arguing that islam has not got the ability to practically solve problems, in a sense pointing to
the propaganda attacks came thick and fast. the pitiful propagandists wheeled out cherie booth (the prime minister of britain, tony blair’s wife) and laura bush, who both argued that the covering of women was a violation of basic ‘universal’ human rights, with this the propaganda machine stepped up a gear, but there were many smaller attempts, some involving scholars with muslim names who went to great lengths to re-shape the picture of islam in the mould designated by the west. the attacks against islam were cushioned with words of praise of the islamic way of life in such a condescending way as to attempt to hide their true position, although this was clear to all those who possessed the ability to observe the reality of their statements and actions, thus revealing their true venom against islam and muslims.
we must extract an important point from this which deserves scrutinising. this propaganda war does not care for humanitarian values or notions of justice, interests are at the heart of the matter. therefore the presence of the taliban in afghanistan as rulers of the majority of afghanistan was not important as long as they could be worked with, when the us realised that there was no way it could achieve its vaunted pipeline from the plentiful energy reserve of the caspian through afghanistan due to the intransigence of the taliban, they had to be removed. they refused to allow the taliban to take the vacant afghan seat at the un and refused to officially recognise it. the us now arrogantly stands tall and proclaims that its way of life has triumphed. it is easy to react to the attack on the perceived failure of the islamic system by diluting islam and conforming to western labels of ‘extremist’ and ‘fundamentalist’. what needs to be done and what i seek to clarify is where the taliban went wrong in their application of islam, so as to illustrate for those working to bring back the islamic khilafah and those who support this work the framework of the islamic ruling system from the qur’an and sunnah.
the deen is nasihah…
tamim ad-dari related that the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, "the deen is nasiha (good advice/sincere conduct). the deen is nasiha. the deen is nasiha." they (the sahabah) asked, "to whom, messenger of allah?" he said, "to allah and his book and his messenger and the imams of the muslims and the common people."
therefore what follows is sincere advice to the taliban and the muslims in general. this article will cover the following.
- the shape of the state in islam, which the kitab and the sunnah have expounded upon in a precise manner.
- the importance of political awareness
- tribalism is not the road to unity
- how the taliban could have galvanised this ummah for the true solution
- the future lessons for the islamic khilafah and how it will tackle similar problems.
the islamic state of
one of the most frequent questions we have been asked at khilafah.com is whether the taliban had established the islamic khilafah, a state for all of the muslims. this is the key to reviewing what happened in
a delegation from hizb ut-tahrir approached the taliban ambassador in
after which a discussion occurred, the member of the delegation answered by saying, “yes, there is this hadith, but this is not the place for us to demand to make it for only 30 years, nor is it a place to agree to make it for 30 years. it is not allowed to have many states in the ummah and all the imams (ridhwan allah ‘alaihim) are in agreement with what came in the ahadith of the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam). the delegation left the ambassador with a book which hizb ut-tahrir has published called ‘the khilafah’ and parted with the words “this was our opinion and if we see that you announce your state as the khilafah we will work to give you the bay’ah and work for the rest of the muslims to give you the bay’ah. we may be able to merge other countries with yours to give you the bay’ah to become the khilafah”. the ambassador replied “the ‘ulama of
the reality following this visit did not change to the extent that the imara of
the khilafah
it is vital for us to be clear on what the khilafah is; this has been explained in numerous ayaat, ahadith and the ijma of the sahaba (consensus of the companions). it is the ruling system of any nation which determines the shape of their state, and this is all the more important for muslims as allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has commanded that his laws must be implemented within any state which counts itself as islamic.
the qur’an and ahadith have clarified that the basis of the state needs to be islamic.
allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) links the judging by islam with the essence of iman, thus linking inextricably the iman with the action of judging/ruling.
“but no, by your lord, they can have no (real) faith until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest submission.” [tmq 4:65]
and he (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says:
“and rule between them by that which allah has revealed” [tmq
allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says:
“and those who do not rule by that which allah has revealed are the disbelievers” [tmq
the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:
«ία ϊγα ανσ ϊανε γγρδη έεζ ρσοψ»
“any action which is not according to our matter (deen) is rejected.”
all of these ayaat indicate that all of the islamic state’s legislations, whether the constitution or laws have to be restricted to what emanates from the islamic ’aqeeda in the form of divine laws. in other words, it is restricted to that which has been revealed by allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) of rules in the book and the sunnah, and in whatever the book and the sunnah directed to of analogy (qiyas) and general consensus of the companions (ijma’a as sahabah).
this is because the speech of the legislator came related to the actions of the humans (’ibad), and obliged the people to restrict themselves to it in all their actions, thus the organisation of actions comes from allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). the islamic shari’ah came in relation to all the actions of people, and all their relationships, whether the relationship was with allah, with themselves, or with others. so there is no place in islam for the people to put forward rules and laws for the state in organising their relationships, because they are restricted to the ahkam shari’ah.
the khilafah is the general leadership over all the muslims, in the whole world, whose responsibility it is to implement the laws of islam, and to convey the islamic message to the whole world. the sahih ahadith have labelled the state which restricts itself to the laws of allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) as the khilafah or the imamah, both of these terms have been mentioned in the ahadith of the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and they both carry the same meaning, it is important to be clear that the shape of the islamic state is determined solely by the divine evidences. therefore any word can be used as a name for the state as long as it does not contradict with the meaning of the islamic state such as islamic democracy or islamic republic, islamic federation etc. therefore the meaning has to be adhered to by establishing all the rules of islam comprehensively and engaging with other nations in order to convey the message of islam through invitation and jihad.
this is a brief description from the islamic evidences which lays down the basis of the islamic state which the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and the sahabah (radiallahu anhuma) established in medina. so many ahadith have made clear that the muslims must be united behind one khaleefah who implements the rule of allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). so numerous are the evidences that no one can deny that we can establish a state for a nation or a tribe. the reality of afghanistan under the taliban was that the yearning for islam existed, as it does throughout the whole world, but some key ingredients were missing which will insha allah be elaborated upon throughout the rest of these articles.
yusuf patel
kcom journal
15 march 2002
source: kcom journal
the importance of political awareness
in the second of this series of articles, we look at the vital importance of political awareness, something which was lacking in the foreign policy decisions of the taliban.
this islamic ummah has been commanded to carry on the work of the prophets, since the finality of the messengership (risala) of muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), there are no new prophets, but the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has said:
"…there is no prophet after me. there will be khulafa’a and they will number many…" [narrated by muslim on the authority of abu hurayrah]
these khulafa’a have been charged with continuing the mission of prophethood, which was to spread the guidance, call to the worship of allah exclusively (tawheed). once the messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) established the islamic state in medina after which he began to call nations to islam through sending delegations of invitation to islam.
it was reported in the hadith of sulayman ibn burayda on the authority of his father who said: "whenever the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) appointed an ameer to head an army or an expedition, he would command him to fear allah and be good to those who are with him; then he (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) would say:
‘raid in the name of allah! fight whoever disbelieved in allah! raid but do not abuse, do not betray, do not maim or mutilate and do not kill any newborn. if you encounter your enemies, the mushrikeen, call them to observe three qualities or dispositions, and whichever of these they accept then accept it from them, and do not fight them. call them to islam, and if they accepted it, do accept this from them and refrain from fighting them..." he (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) went on: "if they refused, ask them to pay the jizya, and if they accepted this, then take it from them and refrain from fighting them, and if they refused, seek the help of allah and fight them" [narrated by muslim]
therefore the messenger had commanded that the invitation to islam be given before the fight, if they refused to accept islam as their deen, they should be invited to live under the system of islam and pay the jizya, and if they yet refuse, those who stand as obstacles to the implementation of islam must be fought. in order to have even gotten to this situation, the messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and the sahaba (radiallahu anhum) had to undertake political manoeuvres in order to create a global environment where islam could flourish, this meant creating stability in the lands surrounding medina, forming treaties and alliances, sending delegations to different leaders as well as sending armed contingents to open up new lands. islam was able to spread far and wide as a result.
abu dawood narrated on the authority of anas b. malik who related that the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said:
"...and the jihad is continuous from the moment allah has sent me till the last person of my ummah fights against the dajjal; neither the oppression of the oppressor, nor the justice of the just (ruler) will abolish it....."
this is the eternal method to propagate islam and its system; it is the fixed method to remove the physical barriers that halt the progression of islam to the world. therefore no one has the authority to abolish or abrogate something which is ‘the
in short the political awareness is obliged upon a state whose very existence is due to the command of allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) for his deen (religion/ideology) to prevail over all other deens.
let us look at how the taliban fared in this regard.
the taliban’s external relations
the imara of
the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:
“it is not allowed for three persons (to be) without appointing one of them as an ameer.” [ahmed narrated on the authority of abdullah bin amru]
the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:
“if three people went out on a journey, let them appoint one of them as an ameer.” [abu dawood narrated on the authority of abi sa’id]
he (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) also said:
“if there are three persons in a journey, let them appoint one (ahad) of them as an ameer.” [al-bazzaar narrated from the tradition of ‘umar b. al-khattab]
all these traditions state that the ameer should be one, as understood from the wording ‘without appointing one of them as an ameer’, ‘let them appoint one of them as an ameer’ and ‘let them appoint one (ahad) of them as an ameer’.
these ahadith indicate the shar’iah rule which states that there can only be one ameer over one matter, this is denoted by the use of the term ‘ahad’ which means one, the opposite of whose meaning (mafhoom al-mukhalafah) is that it is not allowed to have more than one ameer. with regards to the khaleefah, the leader for all the muslims, the messenger of allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has said:
“when an oath of allegiance (bai’ah) has been taken for two khulafa’a, kill the latter of them.” [narrated by muslim on the authority of abi sa’id al-khudri]
this hadith provides a shar’ii permission to kill anyone who presents himself as khaleefah once one already exists. therefore how can it be that there exist many rulers over us implementing other than that which allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has revealed. it was also the case that the taliban and
when syed rahmatullah hashimi (senior advisor to mullah 'umar,
he answered: “we have our first headache in
i agree with him that the establishment of a stable
“the ummah are one ummah, their land is one, and their war is one.”
it was pitiful when
in similar light was the relationship that it had with pakistan which was used by the us as a conduit to establish a government that would be stable enough to provide safe passage for a us oil pipeline.
the untamed bear
“it is common knowledge that american imperialism is the custodian of global capitalism. safeguarding the interests of this menace that has crossed national boundaries in search of greener pastures around the world...their entire history is a testimony to the fact that they have no permanent foes and friends, jumping into the fray whenever the environment is found to be entirely conducive but running for cover whenever the stakes are high. these fair-weather friends, notwithstanding the spurious and opportunistic war-time promises of standing through thick and thin to their allies, have an impeccable record of not even looking back to inquire about these allies at the time of their misery. one should not be bewildered, therefore, to find their allies left in the lurch licking their wounds with the american `master' enjoying the scene from a safe distance… these mercenaries of global capitalism also wanted to gain access to the mostly untapped natural resources of central asia.”
the statement above is a good description of us aims throughout the world, yet it is even more surprising that this statement came from abdul salam zaeef, the former taliban ambassador to
it is therefore a folly to ever believe that anyone can tame the beast in order to become its friend and ally, especially when the us is protecting its energy interests.
there are two main areas which illustrate the lack of political awareness linked to the rules of islam which were exhibited by the taliban
1. link to oil companies and the us oil interests.
2. search for recognition and un membership.
the us’s energetic policy
indeed it was lord palmerston (
"we have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow."
the interest which the us pursued (and continues to chase after) in
the importance of the caspian region in terms of potential reserves to rival the middle-east was too tempting an offer for the us to miss. the current vice-president, dick cheney underlined the importance of this region in 1998 whilst addressing a group of oil executives, he said:
"i cannot think of a time when we have had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the caspian."
the washington-based american petroleum institute, which acts as the voice of the major
the problem was how it could be piped from its source in the caspian (central
“there are few, if any, other areas of the world where there can be such a dramatic increase in the supply of oil and gas to the world market. the solution seems simple: build a "new" silk road. implementing this solution, however, is far from simple. the risks are high, but so are the rewards.”
barry lane, a unocal spokesman was more open about the options that they had referring to the choice between iran and afghanistan, he said there was by the process of elimination one option, “and the u.s. sanctions against doing business with iran left us only one option,” by this he meant that the central asia to southern afghanistan route could be by default the only viable route.
the us believed she could use the taliban in order to create the stability they yearned after. for example in 1997 a us diplomat told the writer ahmed rashid "the taliban will probably develop like the saudis did. there will be aramco [the former us oil consortium in
as long as they could achieve stability nothing else mattered. yet this plan for stability pre-dated this.
in 1996 us assistant secretary of state for south
between 1994 to 1997 attempts were made to achieve support for the unocal pipeline.
in march 1996, a prominent us senator hank brown, a keen supporter of the unocal project, visited
on
when asked about the taliban’s human rights record, state department spokesman glyn davies said the us saw "nothing objectionable" in their strict application of shariah as there was "an indication ... that they intend to respect the rights of all their citizens." upon hearing of the capture of
a
the taliban held a news conference after their takeover of
it was then that the plan to establish fertile ground for the pipeline began to reveal itself; the us was calling for "a broad based coalition government."
the us began to work to achieve this objective, yet the taliban refused. they refused to participate in a ‘loya jirga’ with their opponents, julie sirrs, a former us department of defense intelligence agency official who specialised in afghanistan said much later, "there were some bad signs from pretty early on ... that i think were just ignored because we had larger geopolitical reasons that we wanted to believe that they would be a good group."
the us knew that the isi supported the taliban’s quick entry into dominance in afghanistan and the us supported this as indicated by statements from the december 1996 report on afghanistan from the congressional research service (a department of the library of congress which acts as a source of information for the us legislature) declared, "[t]he united states is unwilling to isolate [the] taliban because pakistan, on which the united states has consistently relied to protect u.s. interests in afghanistan, supports the group."
unocal was the preferred hope of the
unocal officials lobbied the us government to aid it to establish a secure position on the ground for a pipeline.
in november 1997 madeleine albright, during a visit to pakistan, called the regime's treatment of women "despicable" and condemned "their general lack of respect for human dignity." this was not a u-turn in us foreign policy but in part a reaction to the women’s lobby, an indication of public appeasement of domestic opinion, whilst maintaining discussions and dialogue.
this is further proved by karl inderfurth, who succeeded robin raphel in july 1997, and was quoted by the
richard mackenzie in ‘the new republic’ magazine highlighted the importance of the taliban for the us who believed it could mould them into a force for stability and moderation, but in essence a puppet it could toy with and tie into its manipulative web of control just as it had done to the other muslim countries.
"what probably made the most difference to
the saudis were part of this plan and its collaboration with unocal through its delta-nimir oil company, nimir petroleum had more than the funds needed to execute ambitious projects such as the unocal pipeline since it was dominated by the bin-mahfouz family which owned the national commercial bank whose patrons were high ranking members of the saudi royal family. delta-nimir was already a major investor with unocal in the oilfields of
the us government was backing unocal aggressively as bridas had made agreement with some central asia leaders to be the preferred company to build lucrative pipelines, but the us helped to destroy a lot of these agreements and the us ambassador to pakistan forced bhutto’s government to openly come out in favour of unocal whilst ceasing any contacts with bridas, the argentinean oil company, her administration duly complied.
by mid-1996 it was difficult to view robin raphel as anything other than unocal’s marketing spokesman since she was voicing the clinton administrations full backing to its pipeline bid, she said in 1996 on one of two trips to islamabad, that "we worked hard to make all the afghan factions understand the potential, because the unocal pipeline offered development opportunities that no aid program nor any afghan government could" (washington post, 11/5/01).
the situation did change in august 1998, following the bombings of the us embassies in
the new york times reported on 4 december 1998 that unocal had made clear they had withdrawn because the venture was no longer economically viable due to the fact that the price of oil had plummeted to $12 a barrel, the previous price of oil had been $24 a barrel, thus highlighting the gamble it would have been for unocal which had counted itself in to the venture based upon the higher projected price. since bridas the only potential competitor had been frozen out, there was no chance that in the interim period which saw a downturn in world oil prices it would re-enter the race for oil.
unocal and its government backers went to great lengths to convince the taliban to accept the pipeline and create stability on the ground which could only materialise if it was within an environment of a ‘broad based government’, such proposals were aired as early as 1996 by officials such as robin raphel. therefore like
in february 1997, a delegation of taliban leaders had flown to the unocal headquarters at sugarland, texas, for a whirlwind of corporate hospitality, one of many which unocal hosted.
the carrots kept coming as unocal donated $900,000 to the centre of
in the cent-gas consortium, unocal held a 70 per cent stake, saudi oil company delta-nimir 15 per cent,
as recently as july 2001, christina rocca, the us assistant secretary of state for south asia, met the taliban officials in islamabad and announced $43 million in food and shelter aid, bringing to $124 million the us contribution to the internally displaced persons project in 2001 alone. this money was given straight to the taliban without them having to account for how it was spent. the renewed us contacts with the taliban, including a visit by seven us officials to kabul in late april 2001 preceded by another visit by three us officials earlier in that month, this was all conducted even though afghanistan fell under the stringent sanctions by washington and the un security council. but more tellingly was a reaction to dana rohrabacher, a member of the house foreign relations committee, who requested access to official us documents related to us relations with the taliban, after two years of repeated requests, the state department relented, handing over one thousand documents which covered the period after 1996, which was the year the taliban had taken kabul. the documents of interest were those related to us relations with the pakistani inter services intelligence (isi) and the pakistani government with regards to backing the taliban, they are under embargo to this date.
the us-taliban relations was a complex one, which meant that the us became impatient with their stance, not necessarily in terms of failing to hand over osama bin laden, but more its unwillingness to share power to reach a broad-based government, the clinton administration had been fighting for this and the bush administration followed suit. a recent book by two french authors with links to french intelligence has made some far reaching allegations. the book ‘bin laden, la verite interdite’ (bin laden, the forbidden truth), that was released recently, the authors, jean-charles brisard and guillaume dasquie said that at a meeting between us officials and taliban representatives, the latter were told:
"either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs."it consolidates documents released by the state department which indicate a series of missions of shuttle diplomacy by the bush administration since it came to power, the state department line was that these meetings were convened to agree the handing over of bin laden, but was in effect seeking the agreement of the taliban for a broad based government which would encompass ahmed shah masood, abdul-rashid dostam, ismail khan as well as other leaders of the united front (northern alliance).
it is claimed by the authors that the last meeting between the taliban and the us was conducted in august 2001, christina rocca, undersecretary for south asian affairs for the us government met with abdul salaam zaeef, the taliban ambassador to
the book continues to describe that frequent meetings took place under the six plus 2 forum of central asian countries, including
niaz naik, former pakistani minister for foreign affairs was interviewed both on french television and also by the bbc, he emphasised that the bone of contention during a six plus 2 meeting in a berlin hotel in mid-july was "the formation of a government of national unity.” he was very clear in the options which the taliban were presented with, “if the taliban had accepted this coalition, they would have immediately received international economic aid. and the pipelines from
the meeting was attended by senior americans, russians, iranians and pakistanis, on the american side was tom simons, a former us ambassador to pakistan, karl inderfurth, a former assistant secretary of state for south asian affairs, and lee coldren, who headed the office of pakistan, afghan and bangladesh affairs in the state department until 1997.
naik also claimed that tom simons issued a stern ultimatum which impressed upon him the significance of this meeting, and that the days of negotiation had ended, naik quotes simons as having said, “in case the taliban does not behave and in case pakistan also doesn't help us to influence the taliban, then the united states would be left with no option but to take an overt action against afghanistan," he said that following these threats "i told the pakistani government, who informed the taliban via our foreign office and the taliban ambassador here."
the taliban was invited to this meeting, but refused to send a representative, dr abdullah abdullah, the northern alliance's foreign minister did attend.
in a cagey statement to the guardian newspaper on
surely a threat of war as the consequences for refusing us demands would be memorable enough for such high level delegates to remember. what this does show is that the us had lost all patience and such a view is reinforced by bush’s ‘no negotiation’ statements following september 11, most diplomats are in agreement that even if they had handed bin laden over (which mullah omar refused to do) the removal of the taliban was still a sub-objective of the us stability plan for the caspian oil pipeline.
it was more than politically naïve for the taliban to enter into a protracted engagement with the us believing she would act in the interests of the muslims, her history has shown that she does not allow for any group of people to threaten her interests, she follows the machiavellian principle of “the ends justifies the means” as her mission statement in life, vigorously pursuing her objectives. she does not follow principles of justice and fair play rather these red herrings are intertwined within her wider marketing and disinformation campaign which she presents to the world. her relationship with the muslims countries was also based upon an abnormal relationship, a mutual recognition of interests with the us as its conductor.
george kennan the director of policy planning at the
"to maintain this position of disparity (
in the next article, the relationship with the un and the hunt for recognition will be discussed.
yusuf patel
22 march 2002
This series of articles have sought to counteract the lie that the re-establishment of the Islamic State means a return to the dark ages. It has been claimed that the establishment of the Islamic emirate of
It is important initially to be crystal clear on the futility of the UN as an organisation able to realise our interests, even to the extent of protecting Muslim life. Secondly it is important to realise the rule of Allah (
United Notions?
The United Nations was set up in order to fulfil the ambitions of the Capitalist nations. It is not a neutral organisation that safeguards the rights of the weak, but exists solely to uphold the interests of the leading nation.
It churns out resolutions as though they were flu jabs, but when these resolutions are targeted towards
Resolution 1405 was passed on
In the last 20 years, over twenty resolutions condemning Israeli actions have been vetoed by the
Indeed the UN stood over the carcass of Bosnia and watched as the Muslims were killed, the inaction and indeed the practical help which the Dutch troops provided the Serbs in the enclave of Srebrenica merely scrapes at the surface of the complicity of the UN, and though well publicised, is the convenient scapegoat for the intentional slaughter of the Muslims of Bosnia. The UN has played a convenient proxy legitimising the colonisation which underpins
The reality of the UN clearly illustrates that it exists contrary to our interests. This will not change as it was set up for this objective. Is there any reason therefore for any Muslim country to be a part of this corrupt institution which enforces and maintains a world order subservient to our values and our Deen.
Allah (Subhanahu Wa’tala) warns us in numerous Ayaat of the dangers of the judgement of taghut, and the mischief of the false promises of Shaytan. How can we dare to seek to accommodate Kufr although the truth has been made manifest?
ζσασδ νσΜϊΪσασ Ηααψευ αφαϊίσΗέφΡφνδσ Ϊσασμ ΗαϊγυΔϊγφδφνδσ ΣσΘφναΗπ
"And never will Allah grant to the unbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers" [TMQ 4:141]
Γσασγϊ ΚσΡσ Εφασμ ΗαψσΠφνδσ νσϊΪυγυζδσ Γσδψσευγϊ ΒγσδυζΗϊ ΘφγσΗ Γυδφασ Εφασνϊίσ ζσγσΗ Γυδφασ γφδ ήσΘϊαφίσ νυΡφνΟυζδσ Γσδ νσΚσΝσΗίσγυζΗϊ Εφασμ ΗαΨψσΗΫυζΚφ ζσήσΟϊ ΓυγφΡυζΗϊ Γσδ νσίϊέυΡυζΗϊ Θφεφ ζσνυΡφνΟυ ΗαΤψσνϊΨσΗδυ Γσδ νυΦφαψσευγϊ ΦσαΗσαΗπ ΘσΪφνΟπΗ
“Have you seen those (hypocrites) who claim they believe in that which has been sent down to you, and that which has been sent down to those before you, and they wish to go to judgement to the Taghut (false authorities), while they have been commanded to reject them” [TMQ An-Nisa:60]
In addition, Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta’ala) says:
Εφδψσ ΗαΤψσνϊΨσΗδσ ασίυγϊ ΪσΟυζψρ έσΗΚψσΞφΠυζευ ΪσΟυζψπΗ
"Behold! Satan is your enemy! So, treat him as an enemy." [TMQ 35:6]
Bearing in mind the reality of the UN and the Hukm (rule) of Allah (
Reaping the rotten fruits of futility
The Taliban sought to gain recognition from the
Mullah Omar was asked what he perceived to be the solution for the occupation of
“The UN has passed many resolutions guaranteeing the Kashmiri people the right to self-determination. If these decisions were to be implemented, the problem would be solved. The Muslims of
Surely advocating the UN as a means by which to solve the problems of the Muslims is not allowed, allowing them the authority over our lands in any way is a means by which the Kuffar can monopolise their stranglehold over Islamic land. This is akin to inviting the fox to guard the chicken pen.
Maulavi Wakil Ahmad Mutawakkil, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Taliban in a letter to UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan called on the UN seat to be given to the IEA, which controlled ‘95% of the land of Afghanistan’, he argued that Rabbani did not deserve to be recognized as the representative to the UN whilst he controlled barely 5% of Afghanistan. He wrote:
The Islamic Emirate of
This message was echoed in much of the correspondence between the Muttawakkil and Kofi Annan.
Maulawi Abdul Wahab, the then head of the IEA New York Office in an interview in 1998 said:
As one of the oldest members of the world body (UN), the Islamic Emirate of
The fact was and remains that the very basis and therefore the actions of the UN contradict Islam. Therefore, it was folly ever to try and join the ‘international community’.
The Taliban were not naοve to believe that the UN (US) would allow the Taliban alone to head an internationally recognised government, they voiced this realisation on many occasions yet they chased after something which they knew they wouldn’t be given.
“The United Nations has become politicised…they want a secular government in
This was recognised by Abdul Hakeem Mujahid, the IEA representative at the Taliban’s
And Allah (
ζσΕφΠσΗ ήφνασ ασευγϊ αΗσ ΚυέϊΣφΟυζΗϊ έφν ΗαΓσΡϊΦφ ήσΗαυζΗϊ ΕφδψσγσΗ δσΝϊδυ γυΥϊαφΝυζδσ ΓσαΗ Εφδψσευγϊ ευγυ ΗαϊγυέϊΣφΟυζδσ ζσασάίφδ αΗψσ νσΤϊΪυΡυζδσ
"And when it is said unto them make not mischief on earth, they say we are only peacemakers. Are they not indeed the mischief makers? But they perceive not." (TMQ: al-Baqara 2:11-12)
The last two articles in this series will paint a clear picture of the shape of the Khilafah ruling system. Firstly by showing that the Islamic state is not a police state and secondly how the Khilafah will deal with future problems related to its relationship with the Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Yusuf Patel
Khilafah.com Journal
Source: Khilafah.com
Did Islam fail in
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The Western Nations heralded the fall of Taliban to a joyous fanfare. Viewing it as the triumphing of good over evil, liberation was at hand. The truth in many ways clouded over by the mainstream media is more stark and devastating. Breaking through the fantasy one can conclude the future to be a bleak one, the Red army left over 10 years ago, but Afghanistan remains occupied by powers who desire anything but good for its people. In the Fourth part to this series of articles on the Taliban, a focus is placed on the Loya Jirga as an illustration of the continued occupation of
Loya Jirga
Lights, Camera, Action! The subject for this well known movie phrase does not correspond with an exploration of Hollywood, although a study of this shallow and deceitful industry would dredge up much more truth and honesty than was accorded by the charade that was the Loya Jirga. So deceitful was this lesson in ‘democracy’, it was more accurate to call it the Lawyer Jirga, for it would have taken the greatest legal minds to justify such a false process. So fixed was the result, one would be excused for believing FIFA was involved. The
The Loya Jirga was meant to signify a representative tribal gathering to decide the future make up of the transitional government. The procedural rules provided for two-thirds of the 1,500 member grand council to be ‘chosen’ via a system of election. Hamid Karzai’s administration was given 53 seats, whilst women were earmarked for 160 seats. All delegates were required to accept the Bonn Agreement, an individual could be disqualified if it were proved that they took part in illegal activities, including ‘human rights abuses’, looting, raping etc. This should have automatically disqualified most of the warlords who were
Larry Goodson, an associate professor of international studies at
"The loya jirga is really something that is a facade of decision-making, but it really is a sense of ratification of prior decisions by leaders or smaller groups”.
The leaders are those previously mentioned, the warlords who have literally destroyed
The American backed Bonn Agreement determined the Loya Jirga as the process by which the political future would be resolved. In effect the Warlords who were prominent within the interim administration foisted upon the people their own men who in turn chose delegates to the Loya Jirga. Reports of coercion and threats by warlords were widely reported but not investigated, election observers were drafted to ensure that the process was ‘free and fair’, but their presence did not achieve this as the Warlords convinced the populace of the temporary nature of their stay, as opposed to the permanence of the Warlords and ability to punish those who failed to comply. The perception rightly justified by the populace gave the Warlords the backing of the
Under such a veil of fear, it was not unsurprising that Hamid Karzai was elected as President for the crucial 18 months after which a National ‘Election’ will be convened. What was clear to all was that any serious opposition was strong armed or sweet talked as long as it cleared the way for Karzai. Many of the Non- Panjshiri Tajiks were worried by their disproportionate control in Karzai’s interim administration, where they controlled the defence, interior and foreign affairs portfolios as well as running the newly established Intelligence department. They had exacerbated disquiet by their vocal support for Karzai and continuance of the cabinet. Yunus Qanooni, the leader of the Northern Alliance resigned shortly before the convening of the Loya Jirga, he gave a cryptic speech in which he praised the sacrifices of Ahmed Shah-Massoud who was assassinated in September, he called for sacrifices to be made by all including himself, his resignation was seen as a concession to secure Karzai’s position, and a ‘sacrifice’ he had not decided to take without prompting from outside forces. The animosity amongst Non-Panjshiri Tajiks brought out the insecurity which was a mainstay of Afghan society, rivalry drawn down tribal lines was in the past a source of great conflict and this hasn’t changed. Non-Panjshiri Tajiks pushed ex-King Zahir Shah to stand against Karzai, the rumour alone filled the US officials with dread. He would have secured the support of elements as diverse as the Pashtun, Uzbeks under the leadership Abdul Rasid Dostam, delegates from Herat and the Hazarahs amongst other groupings averse to Tajik dominance over the army, the police, the state run media, and the intelligence service.
This was until the former King was strong-armed into withdrawing, it was even said that he did not know of his decision before US officials. Zilmay Khalilzad, Bush’s advisor on Afghanistan and current Ambassador organised a press conference at Zahir Shah’s reseidence and by all accounts this forced him into supporting Karzai.
A diplomat in Kabul said, “Khalilzad had the most important role in this agreement between the King and Karzai. He has forced everyone into accepting this deal.”
An aide to the former king told EurasiaNet, "We had been sitting at the Loya Jirga, then a few ministers came to us and said ’don’t worry about voting, His majesty has endorsed Mr. Karzai,’ it would be announced today."
The feeling that outside powers had imposed a deal led many to question the legitimacy of the Loya Jirga, and rightly so.
Mohammed Hassan Kakar, a historian from eastern Afghanistan, "There has been an outpouring of feelings for him [Zahir Shah], and a feeling that Karzai has abandoned his principles and the king because of pressure from the Northern Alliance and the [warlords]. It seems the power is not with the people but behind the scenes."
Abdul Aziz, an ethnic Uzbek delegate left the proceedings feeling as though the Loya was a talking shop which masked the fact that the decision had already been made, the proceedings were meant only to rubber stamp what had already been imposed.
"This was not a free loya jirga, because all the commanders and governors sat in the front and did not give others a chance…there were two poles, north and south. We could speak together, but we could never agree on anything."
From such proceedings we can extrapolate a general concept about elections in the Muslims countries, which are public spectacles used as a means to provide legitimacy for the rulers who acquired their rule through the patronage of the West. Elections have been used by America and the Western nations in Pakistan to secure Musharraf’s position in order that he is able to carry out US plans. In Uzbekistan it was used to cloak the tyrannical regime of Islam Karimov, who gained a landslide when the candidate who stood against him was revealed to be a plant who openly declared he would be voting for the incumbent, Karimov and urged others to do the same. After the Tunisian elections, Zain Al-Abideen was pronounced leader for life after a change in the constitution. The founder of the Ford Motor Company once offered a deal to his customers which matches Democratic politics in its blatant deception, "The Customer Can Have Any Color He Wants So Long As It's Black". Western Democracy which is the beautiful window dressing for Capitalism provides the same illusory promises. At least in the West one can choose drones of varying characters, in the Islamic lands, the system and its rulers are foisted upon the people, without choice.
An illustration of this was found by the discussion which occupied the discussions in the Loya Jirga for several hours, and that was whether the word ‘Islamic’ should be added to the title of the transitional government. It was a reminder of what occurred in terms of disgrace upon this Islamic Ummah in the early part of the last century, where conferences were held to decide whether to name a representative body for the Muslims of Arab origin, the ‘Islamic’ league or the ‘Arab’ league, the label belied the true nature of such an institution. It was pre-determined that such a body would be a colonialist tool to enslave the Islamic Ummah and divert her from the fact that her Khilafah had been destroyed. The Loya Jirga was not solely a diversion, but history will only too well record that this body was a tool by which to annihilate any traces of Islam from the country.
The Bonn agreement which laid down the shape of Afghanistan’s future ensures that it will remain an American protectorate for years to come. Some participants in the Loya Jirga proposed that America should leave, this is not going to happen, America has promised that she will remain indefinitely, even after the bogeymen of Al-Qaeda and the Taleban have been declared ‘wiped out’, if ever such a mythical situation could occur.
Tribal tribulations
Afghanistan has been torn apart by tribal differences. The Loya Jirga showed that the potential for such tribal differences remains, conflict is a natural off shoot of this, the exuberance of the removal of the Taliban by the Northern alliance is beginning to wain as the realisation of Afghanistan’s future direction becomes apparent, and this has caused insecurity amongst elements who believe the power is being monopolised by tribes who seek retribution for past differences. Violence against individuals of Pashtun origin has increased, as power has shifted to the Panjshiri Tajiks. Unification of peoples of differing tribes cannot be accentuated whilst their only strong commonality is drowned, they are Muslims who have been manipulated by traitors and warlords, the same people who acted as America’s stooges against the Taliban are the same people who killed, tortured and raped. The anxiety of such times were brought up in the Loya Jirga by one delegate who recounted how a decade ago a young girl had committed suicide because she feared being raped, her mother followed her in the same action. When Women are asked on the streets of
It is only Islam that has been able to unify the people together, destroying blind allegiance to tribe or nation and replacing that with a bond which transcends such superficial differences. It is a Deen which when applied managed to unite peoples of different nations, tribes, colours, languages who possessed different traditions, but who accepted Islam as their Deen, and provided security for those who chose not to embrace Islam but lived under its system.
This unity stems from the realisation that Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) is the creator of everyone, and He (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) did not create the Ghilzai Pashtun inherently superior to the Durrani Pashtun, or a natural superiority of the Uzbek over the Panjshiri Tajik or the Hazara.
The Afghani people must discard this hateful racism. He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)said:
ليس منا من دعا إلى عصبية
“He is not from us the one who calls for tribalism,”
and he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
ما بال دعوى الجاهلية، دعوها فإنها منتنة
“What is this da’wah of jaahiliyyah! Leave it for it is rotten.”
Also Allah (exalted and blessed be He) said:
إن أكرمكم عند الله أتقاكم
“Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has Taqwa” [TMQ Al-Hujurat: 13].
The Afghani people do not believe in anything other than Islam as a system for their daily life and as a way of life. It is futile to forcibly introduce the western culture and the imported Kafir American system. This will incur nothing but the wrath of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) and more chaos, disturbance, civil war and the spilling of innocent and pure blood. It is incumbent on the Muslim people of Afghanistan, especially the people of influence (ahlul halli wal ‘aqd), the people whose opinion and consultation is sought, to hold on to their Islam whatever sacrifices this may entail. They should not accept any other constitution for the country. There is no place for a Kufr constitution for the Muslims whether it is democracy or international conventions and other such which Allah (
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) left behind a clear path for those who seek to please Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala):
تركت فيكم أمرين لن تضلوا ما إن تمسكتم بهما كتاب الله وسنتي
“I left you two things which, if you hold onto, you will never go astray; the Book of Allah and my Sunnah,”
and he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
تركتكم على المحجّة البيضاء ليلُها كنهارها، لا يزيغ عنها إلاّ هالك
“I leave you upon the resplendent path whose night is like the day, from which no one deviates except the one who will perish.”
It would not have been possible for
He (
وكان حقاً علينا نصر المؤمنين
“And (as for) the believers it was incumbent upon Us to help them” [TMQ Ar-Rum: 47].
The Final part of this series will seek to build an understanding of the future Islamic State, will it be technologically, economically and politically backward as a matter of principle? How will it seek to engage in the World? What should its relationship be with the Muslim countries and Western nations? How will it take the fight to the West on an intellectual level, in order to expose its thoughts, actions, institutions and character?
Yusuf Patel
Political Correspondent
Source: Khilafah.com
Did Islam fail in Afghanistan Parts 5
In the last two articles in this series of articles the spotlight is placed upon the vocal attacks against the Islamic system of justice focussing upon the common intellectual attacks in order to clarify the matter, and in order to ensure the Islamic Ummah is able to discern the straight from the crooked path. It is the western system of ruling over the affairs of man that needs to be placed on the dock, and that is what this lengthy explanation seeks to do.
Context of two-pronged attack on the Islamic Ruling System (The Khilafah)
Since September 11, two forms of attack were accelerated against the Islamic Ummah:
1. Physical Attack: Which took the form of military attack both launched straight away such as against
2. Intellectual Attack: This is always the less open attack, and therefore the most dangerous.This is the attack that I will Insha Allah focus upon. A number of attacks have been levelled against the Muslims since September 11.
A large number of which focused upon the ability of Islam to solve contemporary problems built around the false premise that the application of Islam upon a society leads to inevitable conflicts, oppression of Women, technological backwardness and cannot be applied upon Non-Muslims.
As mentioned in the first article in the series, James Rubin, the former assistant secretary of state under
We must send a clear and simple message to the Muslim world. If Osama bin Laden's vision were achieved, all of the Islamic world would look like
When applied upon a people, Islam would lead society to economic, political stagnation, the state would have to be ruled by the iron fist to stop the people from rebelling, in the picture painted so vividly by James Rubin.
Also, Tariq Ali, born a Muslim but adopted Troskyism (Communism according to the sacred tenets of Leon Trotsky) whilst studying at
The self-proclaimed Trotskyist argues that the Muslims need to seriously look to reforming Islam, updating it to fit the modern realities of the twenty-first Century.
Just as Microsoft updates its operating system in order to fit with the needs of its consumers, easily shifting from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, 98, 2000 to Windows XP, Islam needs to follow the same course in reality to become palatable to the tastes of the West
The Italian PM Berlusconi said, "We must be aware of the superiority of our civilisation, a system that has guaranteed - in contrast with Islamic countries - respect for religious and political rights".
Mr Berlusconi well known for his financial probity and business ethics, in a statement reminiscent of Fukuyama trumpets the superiority of Western Civilisation, which stands at odds with the ‘Islamic Countries’ which he erroneously describes as the carriers and guardians of Islam.
It is very easy in this post 9-11 world for the West to celebrate the end of History with the claim that the Capitalist System represents the pinnacle of human history.
Surely bringing back the Khilafah (Caliphate) is an endeavour doomed to failure, hasn’t the ‘Islamic experiment’ failed in
All of these countries to one degree or another sought rapprochement with the West which ultimately led them to be dependent upon the West to varying degrees.
A number of these acts of intellectual slander have been levied upon the Islamic Ruling System, (the Khilafah) by the Western nations which hope by portraying Islam as a backward culture, it would deter the Muslims from working towards its re-establishment.
It is important in this context to peel away the layers of such lies as well as to show the uniqueness and superiority of the Islamic Ruling system, whilst refraining from taking such a defensive stance with regards Islam, so as to change its intrinsic nature as laid down by Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) through his beloved Rasool (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
It is also important to take the intellectual attacks back to the West.
Why should we be on the defensive concerning Islam, when we can all witness the rotten fruits of Western Civilisation on a daily basis.
A number of specific attacks include the following:
1. The Islamic Ruling system is a dictatorship.
2. Islam subjugates Women.
3. The Islamic State is a Police State
4. Islam stunts technological progress
5. Islam cannot be applied on Non-Muslims - Islam spread by the sword.
It is essential for the Islamic Ummah to realise the danger in trying to distort Islam or to dilute its true essence, Islam is a trust upon the shoulders of its guardians whose responsibility once evaluated will lead either to happiness or profound regret depending upon how this responsibility was discharged, this will be felt on the Day of Hashr (accountability).
1. The Islamic Ruling system is a dictatorship.
“The future of Islam lies with democracy and freedom. [Iran] where a real democracy is taking shape with [President] Ayatollah Mohamad Khatami could set a model for an Islamic state…One has to free Islam from decadence, from the Taliban, from damaging beliefs inherited from our ancestors, from those who, for example, say that Islam is against democracy, against the freedom of women, against arts, against free elections, against dialogue between civilisations...against those who pretend that because we are Muslims, we must invade others and impose our faith upon the whole world.”
-Rashed Ghannoushi, (exiled leader of the Tunisian outlawed "Al-Da'wa" Party) in an interview titled ‘Freeing Islam from the Taliban’, Al-Ahram Weekly, 1 - 7 October 1998.)
The mistaken logical assumptions of those who claim Islam to be in harmony with Democracy fall into two distinct traps.
A Misapplication of the rule of opposites linked to a profound failure to comprehend the reality of Democracy. If the Islamic State is not democratic it must be a tyrannical dictatorship. It certainly does not fit comfortably with the framework of dictatorial rule therefore it must be democratic, right? Wrong. Such logical deductions fail to comprehend the fact that it can be – and is in actuality – at odds with the essence of Democratic rule. The Democratic system is built around the premise that the people are the Source of all laws, they must decide how their lives are governed, this places man in the drivers seat in deciding how life should be organised in terms or rules and laws.
From the point of view of Islam Allah (Subhanhu Wa Ta’aala) is the creator and legislator, he defines how we must live our lives and not man. This does not mean the Islamic system is a dictatorship.
What about elections?
Elections are a style permitted by the Shar’ah in principle. Within the Khilafah state it is a permitted means by which to elect a Khaleefah for the Muslims, and to elect representatives to the Majlis Al-Ummah (The Peoples Assembly) which will decide matters related to the implementation of some practical issues related to domestic matters in ruling, education, health, trading, industry, farming and the like, it has full powers to account the rulers within the Khilafah, and it has the right to voice discontent of Waalis (Governors), which the Khaleefah is bound by, and has to remove them if demanded by the Majlis.
Democracy utilises the style of elections in order to choose representatives who in turn legislate rules and laws for the people. The fact that the Islamic Ruling System and Democracy utilise the style of elections should not be a means by which to infer a similarity, the objective behind the utilisation of such a style is completely different.
The Khaleefah must be selected by consent and not by force, If a Khaleefah takes power without consent he would be classed as a Mutasallit (Usurper) and his immediate removal is obliged upon the Ummah as it is classed as a Munkar (evil).
Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas who said:
"... Abdur-Rahman came to me and said, "Would that you had seen the man who came today to the Chief of the Believers ('Umar), saying, 'O Chief of the Believers! What do you think about so-and-so who says, 'If 'Umar should die, I will give the pledge of allegiance to such-and-such person...
'Umar became angry and then said, 'Allah willing, I will stand before the people tonight and warn them against those people who want to deprive the others of their rights (the question of rulership)."
This happened during the Haj season, Abdur-Rahman convinced him that he should delay his speech until he arrives to
(O people!) I have been informed that a speaker amongst you says, 'By Allah, if 'Umar should die, I will give the pledge of allegiance to such-and-such person.' .... Remember that whoever gives the pledge of allegiance to anybody among you without consulting the other Muslims, neither that person, nor the person to whom the pledge of allegiance was given, are to be supported, lest they both should be killed. [Part of a long account narrated in Bukhari, see book of Hudood in Fath Al-Bari, vol. 12, p 174-191]
Umar made clear to the people that the leader cannot be imposed by force, and if he is he ought to be killed, as it is the taking of a right away from the people acknowledged by the Ahkam Shar’iah as such.
Due to the public nature of the address, and the speaking out against this practice, this counts as evidence as the Sahabah remained silent to it which is indicative of approval, therefore this counts as Ijma As-Sahabah (consensus of the companions).
Therefore the Bai'ah needs to be enacted by the majority and without coercion.
The Western Nations claim to adopt democracy, upholding it throughout the globe, and singing its praises at every given opportunity. Doesn’t the World’s leading nation claim to be the land of ‘Freedom and Democracy’ (…And Milk and Honey?). Let us look to their recent record.
In Florida, the home of the ‘pregnant chads’ (controversial voting papers not rate of illegitimate births), the Republican Party Machine disenfranchised 57,000 voters for the simple reason that they were proven Democratic Party voters, and coincidentally African-American. They were left off the voter lists purposefully under the pretext of criminal records which is a bar to voting in Florida, the simple fact is that none of the 57,000 African Americans had criminal records just voting records which the Republican Party saw as a hindrance to ‘stealing the presidency’. Indeed the Secretary of State for
This is unsurprising as
The New York Times wrote, "Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator...[because] the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader."
Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman for the State Department stated on
"essential elements of democracy...have been weakened in recent months."
Since Chavez was returned to power after two days, the evidence of planning by
The
2. Islam subjugates Women
What is it about a woman that is so repellently sexual that she must diminish herself into drab uniformity while strolling down Oxford Street one step behind a husband who is kitted out in razor-sharp Armani and gold, pomaded hair and tight bum exposed to lustful eyes? (No letters please from British women who have taken the veil and claim it's liberating. It is their right in a tolerant society to wear anything including rubber fetishes - but that has nothing to do with the systematic cultural oppression of women with no choice.) [Polly Toynbee, The Guardian,
Western academics, politicians, journalists and Feminists as well as their counterparts in the Muslim Countries seek to label Islam with labels such as Misogynist, oppressive and cruel as a slur on Islam’s treatment of Women. An often repeated stance of the Muslims is to take a defensive stand which is often tantamount to conceding the superiority of Capitalism in the treatment of women. Islam emanates from the creator who is in the best position to define the roles of both Men and Women. The present Capitalist system in the West has failed to truly define the role of either gender and has in the process popularised ‘the war of the sexes’, to the extent that Women are led to believe success translates into career, to the level that motherhood is almost frowned upon. A Woman has not achieved ‘life’s goals’ unless she has had a career. Governments often send cross signals by offering incentives to have children and then childcare policies which encourage the parents to leave the child with a stranger whilst the parents are at work, thereby consigning the formative years of a child to a paid employee.
Any system primarily educates via its popular mediums, the popular mediums in the west are the Television and magazines/Newspapers. They disseminate the ideas which mould general behaviour. The disproportionate depiction of Women as objects of Sexual desire elevate the base desires. Women have to therefore conform to the image pre-determined for them on the whole by Men. The impact of these ideas so closely associated with the general acceptance of Freedom cause severe problems to the social fabric of society. A recent report commissioned by the Home Office in Britain determined that one in 20 Women have been victims of rape, and the majority of these rapes are inflicted by men who the victims knows, only 8% are raped by a stranger. In the Islamic Khilafah, the principle duties and rights are determined by the Legislator, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala), and not by man. The Principal role of the woman is as a mother and a wife, although there is no bar to involvement in public life whether that be economic or political. She can work, but this cannot be at the expense of her duties to her husband and children. She can be a member of the Majlis Al-Ummah (The Peoples Assembly), a judge or a Civil Servant.
Firstly, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) addressed Insan (Humankind) with obligations which will be subject to accountability on Yawm Al-Hashr (Day of Accountability). Both Man and Woman are equal in the sight of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) inasmuch that they both possess the propensity to think and both are vital to achieve the continuation of the Human race.
Islam forbade the free-mixing between the sexes and prohibits Khulwa (Seclusion) which enables the crime of rape which pervades Western society to be conducted so easily. It also puts a halt to the dissemination of ideas of sexual freedom and imagery, it also honours the status of Women by not treating her as a commodity or a sexual instrument. Indeed the Khilafah system will seek to change the ideas which shape the relations between Men and Women, so that Marriage be the institution which binds them both together and nor promiscuous sexual encounters which lead to the cheapening of human interaction.
The crime statistics related to Women are an indictment upon the ‘guardians of freedom and democracy’.
- In the
- 1 out of every 3 American woman will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime (NVC)
- 1 in 4 college women have either been raped or suffered attempted rape (NVC)
- In 1998 there were 3,170,520 arrests of women, of which 272,073 were drug related (US State Department, 1999)
- A woman is beaten every 15 seconds by her partner, it happens at some time in 25%-35% of American homes (FBI)
- 77 women die from abusive partners every week, which is 4000 a year (FBI).
- The
If we study the ultimate form of dishonour that a woman can experience, that of rape, we find shocking statistics illustrating the reality. In the
The final part will Insha Allah appear shortly.
Yusufpatel
09August 2002
Source: Khilafah.com
Did Islam fail in
In the last two articles in this series of articles the spotlight is placed upon the vocal attacks against the Islamic system of justice focussing upon the common intellectual attacks in order to clarify the matter, and in order to ensure the Islamic Ummah is able to discern the straight from the crooked path. It is the western system of ruling over the affairs of man that needs to be placed on the dock, and that is what this lengthy explanation seeks to do.
3. The Islamic State is a Police State
One of the accusations against the Islamic State, is that it would be a police state, where people will have to be forced to obey its laws, they would be whipped in the streets and live a life of fear to secure the existence of such an oppressive state.
Islam has forbidden the torturing and harming of people. Muslim narrated from Hisham b. Hakeem, who said:
Torturing and harming the people
"I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) say:
"Allah will punish those who punish the people in the Dunya."
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also said:
"There are two types of the people of Hellfire I have not seen yet: some people who have whips like the tails of oxes by which they flog the people", narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurairah.
Islam has also forbidden the violation of people's sanctities, dignity, funds and honour, and the dishonouring of the sanctity of their homes. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
"All things of a Muslim are inviolable for his brother in belief: his blood, his wealth and his honour", from a Hadith narrated by Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah.
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also said while making Tawaf around the Ka'aba:
"How splendid you look, and how sweet is your scent. How grand you are and how grand is your sanctity. By Whom in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the sanctity of the believer is greater to Allah than yours, (that is) his wealth and his blood, and not to think of him except good", - narrated by Ibnu Majah on the authority of Ubaidullah b. Amru.
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also said:
"Abusing the Muslim is an aggression and fighting him is disbelief", narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abdullah b. Mas'ood.
Spying on the people
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said regarding the sanctity of the houses:
"If a person were to cast a glance in your house without permission and you hit him with a stone and thus gouged out his eyes, there would be no blame on you", narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurairah.
It has been reported on the authority of Sahl Ibnu Sa'ad Al-Sa'idi that a man once peeped through the hole of the door of the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was at the time scratching his head with a fork.
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: "If I were to know that you had been peeping through the door, I would have thrust this into your eyes. Indeed seeking permission was made to protect against the glance", narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also said:
"He who peeps into some people's house without their permission, it is allowed for them to gouge out his eye", narrated by Ahmed from Abu Hurairah.
Islam has also forbidden spying on the Muslims, watching them, chasing them and looking into their confidential and personal news. It has also forbidden the Muslim from being a spy on other Muslims. Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيراً مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا
"O you who believe, avoid suspicion as much as possible, for suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy on each other." [Al-Hujurat: 12]
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
"Avoid suspicion, for suspicion is the gravest lie in talk, and do not be inquisitive about one another and do not spy on one another, and do not turn one's back to each other, do not hate each other, and be servants to Allah and be brothers", narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Hurairah.
And he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also said:
"O you people who believed with your tongue, and Iman has not yet entered your hearts, do not backbite the Muslims, and do not search for their weaknesses. For he who sought the Awras (the defects) of the Muslims Allah would follow his, and he whom Allah follows his Awra (defect), He would also expose him even in his own home", narrated by Ahmad from Abu Barza Al-Aslami.
Islam forbade the spying, torture and the indiscriminate whipping in the streets, this is rather the speciality of
4. Islam stunts technological progress
A writer in the International Herald Tribune wrote, "Islamic society, the West's equal at the time of the European Renaissance, failed to make the transition to a modern society…Islam since 1914 has failed to make a serious intellectual response to the modern West. Culture and intelligence, not power, decide the quality of societies."
The Muslims throughout the history of the Khilafah excelled in science and technology, but they reached a point in time whereby the West’s renaissance was so visible and posed such a challenge they were unable to meet the challenge in a credible manner. Those who espoused secularism and were enamoured with the Western way of life claimed this reality to be evidence that Islam was holding back ‘progress’.
There is a difference between the hadharah (civilisation) and the madaniyah (material progress), the distinction between the two caused severe problems for the Muslims of the past and still plagues the minds of the modernists who mistakenly assert Islam is not able to solve new problems.
Hadharah – The Civilisational aspects of any nation determine the shape of any society. These are the embodiment of the ideas which answer – rightly or wrongly – the viewpoint of life. Whether it be Capitalism which side steps the existence of the creator be leaving this as a personal issue, whilst ensuring man is arbiter for good and bad in life and society (secularism).
Madanniyya - This refers to the universal technological and scientific discoveries that do not directly emanate from the Capitalist or any other foreign foundation. This means technological discoveries such as the printing press and the telephone which were outlawed by the Uthmaniyya Khilafah due to the misunderstanding of their nature at the turn of the last century were incorrect stances to take towards technology which is universal. These are aspects of progress which do not stem a particular way of viewing life.
Islam never held the Muslims back in seeking technological and scientific progress, the Islamic History testifies to this. A cursory glance on the period in which Islam was applied practically in society was even by the standards of Western Academics ‘a golden era’. This highlights the fact that Islam never caused the Muslims to lag behind, it was only when Islam was divorced from life and secular law was applied upon the Islamic lands, carved up after the First World War colonial gold rush did they fall behind in all areas of life through leaders subservient and dependent upon the West in all realms of life.
5. Islam cannot be applied on Non-Muslims – Treatment of Non-Muslims, Islam spread by the sword
It is argued by those who are devoid of original thought that all conflict stems from religion. Such a blanket statement means that the application of Islam upon a people is an impossibility which if tried leads to severe conflict. How can Islam be applied upon Non-Muslims? surely the application of Islam is built upon the prerequisite of the governed being Muslim? This stems from a misunderstanding of Islam, of course Islam is a complete way of life revealed by the creator, Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala), who gave man the practical tools to reach the truth – The Aqal (The Thinking Mind). Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) legislated that nobody should be forced to accept the Aqeeda of Islam, but this does not mean that non-Muslims cannot live under the system of Islam.
Indeed the Message of Islam is universal and its system of laws and regulation are just as valid upon the non-Muslim as it is upon the Muslim, this is because the application of such laws is not preconditioned upon the acceptance of the Islamic basis i.e. accepting Islam as a belief system, as these laws are practical solutions to societal problems. This is different from forcing a non-Muslim to Pray the Salah (prayer) or the Siyam (fasting), as these are pre-conditioned upon the acceptance of Islam as the Islamic basis therefore making that individual a Muslim – as forcing an individual to accept Islam his/her religion is forbidden this is not included in a discussion of Non-Muslims living under the system of Islam in the Khilafah State.
Islam grants non-Muslims who hold citizenship, the full rights and duties that Muslims have. They enjoy the same equality before the law as Muslims and are subject to the same accountability as them. Furthermore, every single citizen, whether they be a Christian, Jew, Hindu, Sikh or an Atheist enjoys rights that even a Muslim living abroad who holds no citizenship does not enjoy.
Indeed the Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) forbade in the strongest terms possible the harming of the Ahl-Dhimma (People of contract, the non-Muslim citizens of the Islamic State).
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said,
"He who harms a person under covenant, or charged him more than he can, I will argue against him on the Day of Judgement", narrated by Yahya b. Adam in the book of Al-Kharaaj.
'Umar bin Khattab (Radillahu Anhu), the second Khaleefah of the Muslims said,
"I recommend to the Khaleefah after me to be good with those who are under the protection of the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), he has to fulfil to them their covenant (oath), to fight for protecting them and to not be charged more than they can afford", reported by Yahya b. Adam.
Imam Qarafi also summed up the responsibility of the State to the dhimmi when he said:
"It is the responsibility of the Muslims to the People of the Dhimma to care for their weak, fulfil the needs of the poor, feed the hungry, provide clothes, address them politely, and even tolerate their harm even if it was from a neighbour, even though the Muslim would have an upper hand. The Muslims must also advise them sincerely on their affairs and protect them against anyone who tries to hurt them or their family, steal their wealth, or violates their rights."
The greatest lie that has been written and assumed to be a fact in the annals of human history is that Muslims spread Islam by the sword. Islam forbade the forced propagation of the Islamic Aqeeda.
Christian missionary, T.W. Arnold in his book ‘The Preaching of Islam’, clarified this myth when he wrote "...of any organized attempt to force the acceptance of Islam on the non-Muslim population, or of any systematic persecution intended to stamp out the Christian religion, we hear nothing. Had the caliphs chosen to adopt either course of action, they might have swept away Christianity as easily as Ferdinand and Isabella drove Islam out of
Also, historian De Lacy O' Leary wrote:"History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever accepted." (Islam at the Crossroads, London, 1923, p. 8.).
Therefore we can discount such fantasies, being the product of orientalist propaganda fuelled by a perverse want to legitimise the crusades and stop the ‘onward march of the rampaging Arab infidels’.
Due to the strength of Islam as an idea, as a result of its divine origins, there is no need to force people to accept its creed, for when they witness and live under a system which regulates the affairs of humankind, dispensing justice and tackling problems which exist throughout the world without seeking to economically and politically subjugate and colonise populations, they will ‘enter Islam in crowds’.
Also Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) has endowed the human being with the discerning mind and provided His signs manifest in Man, Life and the universe, from the complexity of the human body, the sophistication of the animal kingdom, to the wondrous spectacle of star constellations and the alignment of planets. In everything we witness order, and such order requires organisation. The one who organises must possess attributes not present in the creation, such as the qualities of perfection, eternity and infiniteness. The principles such as cause and effect establishes that this order stems from a creator without whose existence disorder and chaos would manifest itself over the natural universe, and in this case the existence of life on earth and in the universe could not be explained away as mere chance.
Islam looks upon the subjects under its authority from a purely human viewpoint, regardless of the sect, race, or sex. The ruling policies designed for them would be founded on this basis, so that the ruling is for the benefit of humanity, thereby taking the people out of the darkness into the light. The citizens are thus equal in terms of rights and duties related to the human in his capacity as a human, as far as the implementation of the divine rules on everyone is concerned. When the judge settles the disputes and when the rulers rule, they do not differentiate between people, they treat them as equals in their quality as citizens and nothing else. This is because Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) has addressed all people with Islam in their quality as humans and nothing else. He (Subhanhu Wa Ta’aala) says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بُرْهَانٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ نُورًا مُبِينًا
"O you people, a proof has come to you from your Lord, and we have revealed to you a shining light." [TMQ An-Nisa’a: 174]
And He (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) also says:
قُلْ يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ
"O you people, I am the Messenger of Allah sent to all of you." [TMQ Al-A'raf: 157]
The scholars have agreed, especially the scholars of Usul (foundations), that the divine rules are addressed to every sane person able to understand the speech, whether he is Muslim or not, male or female.
Therefore the basis for calling peoples to Islam and/or to live under its System is founded upon a divine obligation that all of humanity should be invited to truth, in essence brought out of the darkness of organising life’s relationships by other than what Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala) revealed – under the light of Islam.
T.W. Arnold goes on to explain this when he writes "...the treatment of their Christian subjects by the Ottoman emperors (Khulafaa) at least for two centuries after their conquest of Greece-exhibits a toleration such as was at that time quite unknown in the rest of Europe. The Calvinists of Hungary and Transylvania, and the Unitarians of the latter country, long preferred to submit to the Turks rather than fall into the hands of the fanatical house of Hapsburg; and the Protestants of Silesia looked with longing eyes towards Turkey, and would gladly have purchased freedom at the price of submission to the Muslim rule...the Cossacks who belonged to the sect of the Old Believers and were persecuted by the Russian State Church, found in the dominions of the Sultan the toleration which their Christian brethren denied them."
The Non-Muslims are allowed to practice their religions in the Khilafah, to the extent that the Khaleefah is obliged to set courts for Non-Muslims that will deal by their religious texts on issues such as marriage and Divorce.
The World today yearns for a system to free them from the tired, stale solutions which have failed to deal with the manifest problems the world faces.
How we must react to such attacks
It is not allowed for the Muslims to present Islam in a manner contrary to its true reality in the hope of winning the pleasure of the disbelievers. Islam is a trust (amanah) on the necks of the Muslims and Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'aala) will account them for this trust on the Day of Judgement. Likewise, it is not right for the Muslims to abandon any part of Islam in order to save themselves from the pressure being placed upon them. This is because abandonment of a part is abandonment of the whole. If the Muslims hold onto their Deen then Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) guarantees to increase their value and raise high their status, even in the sight of the disbelievers.
Asad Latif, a writer for the Straits Times wrote in an article following a discussion of the realities of the Islamic State as propagated by numerous Islamic groups and parties,
“Today, there are two possible paths ahead for Muslims. One is for them to expend political energy trying to set up an Islamic state in order to revive the umma in its pristine form. Their attempt will place them in a position of hostility with the non-Islamic world. The other path ahead is for Muslims to ponder the broader political message of their religion in a way that is applicable to them no matter what kind of state they inhabit.”
There are two paths, the path which obeys Allah’s commands and seek to apply them in life by re-establishing the Khilafah, or to remain idle in witnessing the fruits of the pre-eminence and dominance of Kufr upon the World.
This war against Islam masquerades as ‘a war to fight terrorism’, the entire Islamic Ummah must be acquainted with the insidious effects upon our lands and people of ‘the war on Islam and Muslims’ whether that be physically and intellectually, they both must be resisted, but knowing that only the re-establishment of the Khilafah will redress the balance that has propelled the western nations to the arrogance which has reached Pharonic proportions. It is time to burst that bubble and deliver mankind from this ‘fools salvation’.
"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving the problems in a way that would bring the much needed peace and happiness.
There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins
…Its armies were made up of people of many nationalities, and its military protection allowed a degree of peace and prosperity that had never been known
…Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration.
While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent.
And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population–that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions.
This kind of enlightened leadership — leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage — led to 800 years of invention and prosperity. In dark and serious times like this, we must affirm our commitment to building societies and institutions that aspire to this kind of greatness. [Carleton S. (Carly) Fiorina, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hewlett-Packard Company,
Conclusion to the Series ‘Did Islam fail in
What occurred in
The quick defeat of the Taliban and their inability to stand firm had clear reasons:
1- Taliban had not been established by itself. It had been established by the state of
2- Taliban did not declare the establishment of the Khilafah so as to unite the Muslims. Also, the tribal Pashtun had dominated their membership. This incited other elements from the Tajik, Uzbek, Hazarah Shias and others from the population of
Not to mention the isolation of Taliban. They did not establish any links with the Muslims in the Islamic world due to their lack of political awareness. As a result Afghanistan is on the road to secularisation, any Islamic character will be seeped away under the watchful supervision of America’s keeper Hamid Karzai, a man who so fears for his life that he has asked of America to send him bodyguards. It is America who has said it will remain indefinitely in Afghanistan, and it is her bombs which strike the bodies of the Muslims there and then she denies she killed innocent civilians, claiming a Wedding congregation were ‘terrorists’.
What happened is a serious lesson from which one must learn because these actions the Taliban undertook were a fatal error. This will not happen in the Khilafah state when it is established by the permission of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’aala).
Yusuf Patel
