“The Ummah is Ready for Khilafah”
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Speech of Dr. Osman Bakhash Director of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
For the Khilafah Conference in Malaysia on 21st Rabii’ I 1439 AH – 9 December 2017 CE
It is very clear to any neutral observer that the only ideological struggle on going at the center of the global stage is between Islam and Secular Capitalism. The clash between capitalism and the Marxist-Socialism state of the former USSR was only a side show , a distraction for that matter, for Socialism is a mere knee-jerk reaction to Capitalism, but also equal to it in so far as being a proof of the bankrupt human mind when attempting to play the role of the Creator in managing peoples’ affairs; the tragedies, calamities, disasters of the 20th century are clear indictment of the secular mind both in its capitalist and communist versions.
Obviously this clash of civilizations is not fair: on the one hand the Western forces have remarkable might manifested in military powers, powerful economies, and tangible capitalist system implemented in the day to day life affairs at all levels, and equipped with ever dominating media network covering any and all feasible windows of influence in both the public and private life of the individual and community, both locally and globally. On the other hand, the Islamic civilization is totally absent from reality, since the rulers of all Muslim countries have shied away from implementing the Sharia as a way of life, and vied instead to yield to the West’s imposed capitalism. So, the question that forces itself is how do we explain the endless stream of statements issued by key world leaders: George W Bush, Tony Blair, Nicolas Sarkozy, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Charles Clarke to name a few, where all of them in various expressions have vowed to prevent the rise of the Islamic state and thus preempt any attempt to implement the Sharia?? I will only quote George W Bush when he had openly declared on 16 September 2001 (5 days after the incident of 9/11 most likely planned by the American security apparatus) “this crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while”. He had also warned that “the militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia.”
Had the prospect of implementing the Shariah been a distant dream, then none of them would need bother in denouncing it, and openly threatening to fight its return! Ahmad Tumeh, the former leader of the Syrian opposition government in exilesaid on November 11 2015, the International Order (i.e. the western powers) will never allow the implementation of the Shariah. To demand the implementation of the Shariah is impossible as per the decision of the Western power; he went on to caution that “this demand would mean seas of bloodshed to prevent it”, i.e. the western colonial powers are hell bent on fighting the resumption of the Islamic way of life.
However the Muslims believe in the basic tenet of Islamic Aqeedah: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger. Therefore the western leaders, despite all their unprecedented powers, unrivalled in recent and ancient history, yet they are fallible humans; and despite their ego they are not gods, and their military might does not empower them to make their criminal policies right, notwithstanding all the devilish media empires they have, and the latest technology in brainwashing the global public opinion.
Allah Ta’ala obliged Muslims to live according to the Islamic way of life, irrespective of the circumstances, and to work to resume it if it is absent; not only as a reaction to the oppression, but because it is only natural for believers to live according to Allah’s guidance, and to show the rest of the world the beauty of His deen.
The Muslim Ummah has rejected the destiny that was once decided for it in faraway Western capitals. A future that was concocted in the West over hundreds of years to make the Ummah abandon Islam, tear down the shield of the Khilafah State and to think and behave as others do. What now remains of the West’s edifice upon the Ummah is also weakening day by day as the Muslim world fully awakens from the disasters of the past century.
Assessing where the Ummah is at this point in time is not difficult. Multiple opinion polls and surveys all indicate the same desire for unity, and even if one was to cast doubt about the polls, there is enough evidence from the Muslim world, that the citizens are openly rejecting the West and its agents and demanding the Shariah and Islamic government. The aim of the foreign presence in Muslim lands is to sow discord and suppress the call for Khilafah.
The past decade and a half has confirmed that calls for greater westernization of the Muslim lands are proving hollow. No one can fail to be inspired by the courage of the Muslims in the Middle East. The year of 2011 saw this courage spill over into the streets in the form of defiance in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. Though some despots have been replaced and some elections carried out: the struggles are far from over. The defiance of the people was aimed at tyrannical rulers, at Western manipulation and fundamentally against the appalling systems in our Muslim countries, which have consistently failed to deliver even the most basic needs for our people.
These events also testify that the current geopolitical order, imposed by the colonial western with the aim of dividing the Ummah, has failed miserably: the hearts and minds of Muslims rush to show solidarity and sympathy with their fellow Muslims across the world: from Uyghur Muslims in Occupied Turkestan, to the Rohingya, to Central Asia, to Kashmir and Afghanistan, to Central Africa, and in the heart of it all: the Aqsa Mosque and the blessed land around it, Ash Sham as in Surah Al-Isra.
Yes the western powers devised all tricks, and invented all sorts of lies along with brutal police state led by their agents, who tried to play the cards of nationalism, socialism, democracy and capitalism, all of which have failed thus opening the way for the Muslims to fully recognize that the solution is only in Islam.
It is not surprising that Hizb ut Tahrir has participated in the heart of the Ummah struggle against the western plot. The dawah of Hizb ut Tahrir has spread far and wide being embraced by the hearts and minds of the sincere believers, men and women, old and young, in Turkestan, in Central Asia, in Indonesia, Malaysia- as this conference is a clear testimony, to Bangladesh, the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan, Afghanistan, in the heart of Tatarstan, Caucasus, in Crimea, as well as Turkey and the Arab land, reaching as far as Kenya and Nigeria.
The early seeds of this blessed dawah was planted in Jerusalem, and the big tree of the dawah quickly struck roots in the hearts and minds of Muslims in Sham, and across in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. This Magnificent Tree is currently shading the Muslim Ummah virtually anywhere and everywhere.
Hizb ut Tahrir has succeeded in truly uniting the Muslims in their emotions, beliefs, thoughts and concepts across all barriers: it does not matter where the Muslim (man or woman) comes from: he or she may come from Kenya or Bengal or Uzbekistan, he or she may follow the Hanafi school of fiqh, or the Shafi, or the Hanbali, he may be white or Malay or black…but in his inner human self- he is a believer in Allah Subhannahu wa Taala, and has willfully submitted to worshipping the Lord of the universe…and this is the beauty of Islam, being a message of mercy to humankind: not to the Arabs, or Persians, or Kurds, or Turks. Islam mandates that the Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim, and Islam is open to all to embrace without any prejudice or man-made artificial factor.
Here lies the greatest achievement of Hizb ut Tahrir: in having built the platform to truly unite the Ummah in the struggle to resume the Islamic way of life; under the Islamic Shariah it does not matter whether the Imam/Caliph adopts this particular ijtihad or that one, since all stem from the spring of the Islamic Aqeedah and Divine Revelation in the Holy Quran. Furthermore, Hizb ut Tahrir has clearly shown the detailed path to the full implementation of the sharia in addressing all issues of life. Hizb ut Tahrir has produced numerous books including the proposed constitution, and books detailing the economic system, political, educational, financial, international politics as well as carrying dawah to the world via jihad. And no we will not shy of calling for the jihad as tool to convey the message of Islam to the world; we cannot alter or twist the injunction of Allah Subhannahu wa Taala, who has stipulated in the Holy Quran the golden rule of no compulsion. People are free to reach their own conviction: whether to embrace Islam or reject it.
Hizb ut Tahrir success lies not only in providing crystal clear vision for the resumption of the Islamic way of life by implementing Sharia rule under the Khilafah state, but also in producing key generation of dawah carriers among the various sectors of the Ummah, and across the various Muslim lands. Anyone who follows the discussion of the current affairs can not miss the fact that the demand for the Islamic way of life under the Khilafah occupies the central stage.
To list the long list of TV shows, newspaper articles, fatwas (or pseudo-fatwas) issued by the pillars of the “official” clergy, who are servants to the dictators’ whims in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan to name few, is beyond the limited space available here. It is a stark testimony to the fact that the western colonial powers fear the ever rising call for Khilafah among the Muslim masses. When Saudi Arabia resorts to establishing center to combat extremism in cooperation with the White House, fires nearly 3000 imams, and open the flood gate to open secular westernization of the society under the pretext of “entertainment”, all along while accelerating the normalization of relationship with the Jewish occupiers of Palestine, these events very much prove that the Muslim world has come to a united front in confronting the agents of the western powers.
Some people have long criticized Hizb ut Tahrir for calling upon the leaders of the Muslim armies to provide Nusrah to establish the Khilafah; the recent events in the Middle East have proven the validity of this stand: from Algeria (1991) to the recent Arab Spring (2010 till now). It is abundantly clear that the strong popular demand for the resumption of the Islamic way of life has to be accompanied by support among the military forces, the very sons of the Ummah, to be able to break free from the colonial control and for the Ummah to enjoy the fruit of the Shariah, which is none but mercy for the humankind.
The western powers resorted to smearing the image of Hizb ut Tahrir by desperately trying to link it to terrorism, to justify the ruthless crackdown against our activities. Alhamdulillah our cause does not need to be defended: we have vowed from day one to follow the footsteps of the Prophet (saw) in carrying the dawah, and accordingly have clearly defined our methodology as being working with the Ummah to both build the public awareness and trust in Islam as a way of life, and the same time exposing the truth of the corrupt regimes serving the western interests; in undertaking both the intellectual and political struggle, Hizb ut Tahrir has never taken a stand based on expediency or in seeking compromises. What enabled Hizb ut Tahrir to follow this course of action is the fact that it only seeks the pleasure of Allah Subhannahu wa Taala, and, knowing fully the true nature of the corrupt regimes, Hizb ut Tahrir has denounced them all and has considered them to be illegitimate in the eyes of the Shariah.
At a time when the world capitalist order suffers from fatal crisis at all levels: political, social, and economic, the time has come for the new dawn of Islam.
We have read several statements by key American officials claiming that it is time to bury the Sykes-Picot Order, and to reshape the regional map to serve the American interests. But we say it is high time for the sincere believers of this Ummah to work with us to win the glorious honour of restoring the Muslim Ummah to its rightful place: to lead humankind from the miseries and darkness of failed secular capitalism to the light and mercy of Islam. We appeal to you all and to those who are watching us to join the cause to unite the Ummah in both understanding this Deen and in demanding the resumption of the Islamic way of life.
We equally appeal to the brave soldiers and officers of the Muslim armies to rush to win the pleasure of Allah Subhannahu wa Taala, by giving Nusrah to Hizb ut Tahrir, as evidenced in Surah Al-Anfal,
﴾يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ﴿
“O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.”
I end by reminding all that Allah swt the Lord of the universe has vowed, and His vow is the truth, that the Deen will prevail, so let’s all strive to win this honour of being the sincere worshippers of Allah worthy his victory.
﴾إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحَادُّونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَٰئِكَ فِي الْأَذَلِّينَ * كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ﴿
“Those who resist Allah and His Apostle will be among those most humiliated * Allah has decreed: “It is I and My Apostle who must prevail”: For Allah is One full of strength able to enforce His Will.”
From UQAB Magazine Issue 12