Khilafah Magazine September 2002 by kaskaa kaakas

Contents Jumada al-Thani - Rajab 1423 - September 2002

Cover Issue 9 Volume 15

Khilafah magazine

Editorial

From Darkness into Light

The Muslims living in the West face many challenges and have an immense responsibility. As for the challenges they face, these are many. Post September 11th, the spotlight has been upon the Muslim community. In Britain, demands have been made for the Muslims to accept integration or be labelled the 'terrorist'...

Reference

I remember the "Queen's Jubilee" very well. What a party we had - waving flags in our closed off street, eating cakes and sipping - well, I was not allowed to sip everything. That was the Queen's Silver jubilee 25 years ago and I was still a child then. I kept on waving my Union Jack, though, especially during the Falklands war and what a war that was for a young English patriot. How I wished, at the time, that I could have been part of the action - such glory for a teenager to imagine...

Quotes

News from around the world

1. Posturing for War on Iraq, 2. Tajik Imams interrogated 3. Karzai to visit USA, 4. Information and Disinformation in the "War on Terror", 5. Who's Responsibility?, 6. Death of Two Girls Illustrates Decay of Capitalism, 7. Earth Summit

One Global Ummah

There is no debate that the "War on Terrorism" equals a war on Islam and Muslims. US Vice President Dick Cheney made it very clear when he stated that the US is considering military or other action against "40 to 50 countries"...

The Dangers of Integration Living in Britain as Muslims, practising or nonpractising, has naturally left us vulnerable to the 'hammer' that is the capitalist society.

A Muslim under the pseudonym Aisha Khan describes these pressures. Writing in the editorial section of the Guardian newspaper she describes what she felt when she saw another Muslim in Hijab: "I envy her because I am too weak to wear the veil, too scared that doors will..

To Make Ijtihad or to Integrate

Life for the Islamic Ummah today is difficult and complex, no matter where they reside. The Islamic world today is riddled with economic, political and even security problems. It was such economic and political turmoil, drowning the Muslim world in the twentieth century that drove so many of the elder generation to the West in search of a better life. On their arrival they found many benefits but there were also new problems that they had to come to terms with...

The Inevitability of the Clash of Civilisations

Since the events of September 11 and America's new 'War on Terrorism', the focus of many political commentators, thinkers and academics has once again returned to the conflict of Islam and the West. The original proponent of the clash of civilisations was a Harvard Professor named Samuel Huntington who in an article in 'Foreign Affairs' in 1993 was the first to posit that the cold war conflict would be superseded by rivalry between the West, China and Islam...

Holding on to Islam MUSLIM YOUTH Gang Leaders or World Leaders We need to look to how the Muslim youth in the past used to be leaders, not followers of the Kuffar as some of the youth have become today and understand how the Muslim youth have the potential to be the leaders of mankind again...

A few weeks ago a man who works as a security guard was convicted of helping to dump eight pigs' heads and fake blood outside an Exeter Masjid two days after the 11th September attacks on the USA. A banner that read: "The blood of the American people is on the hands of every Muslim," and ended, "Nuke 'em George," was also erected.

Quotes

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

Editorial

Khilafah Magazine · www.khilafah.com · magazine@khilafah.com

Khilafah magazine

Published by Al-Khilafah Publications Suite 298, 56 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4UB

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu, The Muslims living in the West face many challenges and have an immense responsibility. As for the challenges they face, these are many. Post September 11th, the spotlight has been upon the Muslim community. In Britain, demands have been made for the Muslims to accept integration or be labelled the 'terrorist'. Integration has been peddled by the government and her Muslim aides without any explanation of its true implications. Like a crooked market trader, instead of being upfront about their true aims, they have tried to present integration as the opposite to terrorism. In reality, integration is to accept the basic tenets of Western culture - that is its liberal values, secular culture and democratic system - all of which contradicts the Islamic culture in every aspect. Herein lies the biggest challenge: how to maintain our Islamic identity. Maintaining our identity in the West requires from the Muslims to not repackage Islam to meet Western standards, but rather take Islam wholeheartedly in all aspects. The Muslims must resist the call by the Western scholars to a 'Western Fiqh', where Riba becomes Halal, fighting in the British and American armies just 'an opinion', and voting in a Kufr political system 'an obligation'. Unfortunately all such views have been peddled by Muslim organisations that have been groomed with little success by the Western governments. Maintaining the Islamic identity requires every Muslim to be sincere to Islam - taking all which Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) gives us and rejecting all they forbid us from. This challenge of maintaining our unique identity is in fact the correct way of carrying the Islamic

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

Da'wah. For how do we expect to carry the Islamic message in the West if Islam merely becomes another version of the decadent Western culture? Our responsibility today is to show Islam as a clear ideological alternative to Capitalism. This is not only through our words but also through our deeds and actions. Whether this is by bringing up our children to retain their identity, or showing our character through our truthfulness in our workplaces. This is how the beloved Prophet of Islam (saw) lived in Makkah in the early days of the Da'wah. Could we imagine that the Prophet of Islam (saw) would have asked from the Sahabah to adopt Quraishi culture? Definitely not, he rather stuck to Islam and asked this of every early convert. This is why the Quraishi leaders attacked them for not 'integrating' and this stance ensured the eventual dominance of the Islamic message.

Editor Dr Imran Waheed

News Editor Samiul Muquit

Editorial Board Dr Baber Qureshi Jalaluddin Patel Asim Khan Abdul Hamid Jassat

Production and Publishing Mokbul Hussain Nurul Amin

Sisters Editorial Advisors Dr Nazreen Nawaz Ruksana Rahman Sameena Asghar

No Copyrights

May Allah (swt) allow us all to become the shining examples for Islam and forgive us for our past errors.

Since Islam rejects copyrights and patents you are free to reproduce articles contained within this publication. It is our kind request that when doing so you cite the author and source of the article.

"Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter" [TMQ Ibrahim: 27]

Jalaluddin Patel

Translation of the Qur’an It should be perfectly clear that the Qur’an is only authentic in its original language, Arabic. Since perfect translation of the Qur’an is impossible, the term ‘Translation of the Meaning of the Qur’an (TMQ) has been used, as the result is only a crude meaning of the Arabic text.

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Khilafah Magazine, Suite 298, 56 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4UB

Reference

Quotes

"For far too long we have been teaching English in a white, middle-class, racist, sexist fashion. If we want to encourage immigrants to assimilate into our society we must help them to learn our language. For this reason, the Government has decided to scrap the old A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat method and introduce a new alphabet tailored to the needs of Muslim pupils. From next term, all schools will be required to use the following system. A is for Ayatollah B is for Baghdad C is for Curry D is for Djabella E is for Emir F is for Fatwa G is for Gaddafi H is for Hizbollah I is for Intifada J is for Jihad K is for Khomeini L is for Lebanon M is for Mecca N is for nan O is for Onion Bhaji P is for Palestine Q is for Q8 R is for Rushdie S is for Saddam T is for Tehran U is for United Arab Emirates, V is for Vindaloo W is for West Bank X is for Xenophobia, Y is for Yasser Arafat Z is for Zionist Imperialist Aggressor Running Dogs of the Great Satan." The Sun, 12/11/91

Quotes

"Muslims not only despise Western secular values as decadent, materialistic, corrupt and immoral. They do not accept the distinction between the spiritual and the temporal, the division which in Christian societies confines religion to the margins of everyday life. Instead, for Muslims, the whole of human life must represent a submission to God. This means that they feel a duty to Islamicise the values of the surrounding culture. Since most of the mass immigration now convulsing Europe is composed of Muslims, it is therefore hardly surprising that antiimmigrant feeling is largely anti-Muslim feeling. The sheer weight of numbers, plus the refusal to assimilate to Western values, makes this an unprecedented crisis for Western liberalism. The crisis is forcing it to confront the fundamental questions of what constitutes a country, national identity and the very nature of a liberal society."

"Britain also has the goodwill and resources needed to play this role. The colonial period was certainly not a period of which one can be too proud, but if you consider the record of all the other colonial powers of the past two centuries, you might describe Britain as 'gentlemen' colonialist. This was a period of extreme interface between the Empire and the Muslim world. Now that we have come out of it - thankfully and gracefully - we can file and forget the negatives and build and work on the positives. Therein lie the hope and opportunities of the future. As we have often said, Muslims have a vested interest in Britain being a respected world power. We, therefore, believe that instead of frittering away the goodwill that was generated in the wake of decolonisation, we need to build on our common resources which are available neither to Europe nor even to the United States."

Melanie Phillips, Spectator Magazine, May 2002

Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain, 4/11/99

"You can be British without speaking English or being Christian or being white, but nevertheless Britain is basically English-speaking, Christian and white, and if one starts to think that it might become basically Urduspeaking and Muslim and brown, one gets frightened and angry â&#x20AC;Ś Because of our obstinate refusal to have enough babies, Western European civilisation will start to die at the point when it could have been revived with new blood. Then the hooded hordes will win, and the Koran will be taught, as Gibbon famously imagined, in the schools of Oxford."

"In winning this larger struggle, it would be a mistake to think that we could be the ones to lead the way. But, we must do what we can to encourage the moderate Muslim voices. This is a debate about Muslim values that must take place among Muslims. But, it makes a difference when we recognize and encourage those who are defending universal values. And, when we give them moral support against the opposition they encounter, we are indeed helping to strengthen the foundations for peace." Paul Wolfowitz, US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Sept 5 2002

Charles Moore, former editor of The Spectator

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

News From Around The World

Posturing for War on Iraq

American dominance over any region in the Islamic world, or on the presence of any of her military forces or other Western forces, whether it was a naval force, air force or ground troops. Aaisha Ejaz

Tajik Imams interrogated

The Bush administration insists the war on terrorism, with Iraq as the next target, is all about fighting evil and defending innocents, and that it doesn't have anything to do with commercial interests.

sons of Bukhari, Tirmidhi and other sincere scholars of that region who upheld the truth of Islam in order that it reached our very ears? These Imams are the ones who strove to preserve the Deen whilst the country was submerged under Communism. Surely they will continue to stand firm in carrying the Haq, whether the government approves of it or not. The examples are numerous in the history of Islam to motivate them: Sheikh Izza bin Abdussalam, Imam Abu Hanifa and indeed Imam Malik, who were imprisoned for carrying the Haq and accounting the tyrant rulers of their time.

While the traitor Karzai travels to the US, an American military investigation concluded that the US airforce was justified in killing 48 Afghan civilians attending a wedding party in July 2002. Will Bush Jr. now reciprocate by visiting Oruzgan province in Afghanistan, the scene of the massacre, and express his condolences?

"Verily those who fear Allah from His servants are the (sincere) Ulema" [TMQ Al-Fatir: 28].

This is the arrogance of the USA. The USA does not care for the facts - so she will kill Muslims at a wedding in Afghanistan, and she will kill the Muslims of Iraq irrespective of the facts and she will legitimise the killing of Muslims anywhere on the planet in order to achieve her interests. When she has extracted whatever benefit she can from Karzai she will do away with him as well - such is the fate of the traitors.

Ruksana Rahman However when Dick Cheney, US Vice President, said that Saddam's ultimate goal is "to seek domination of the entire Middle East, to take control of a great portion of the world's energy supplies," the US interests at stake became obvious. If we are to believe Cheney, 'Saddam's ultimate goal' is no different to America's ultimate goal - in 1944 the US State Department described the Arabian Peninsula as constituting "A stupendous source of strategic power and the greatest material prize in the world's history". The whole affair has nothing to do with a threat from Iraq, a dislike of Saddam or weapons of mass destruction. Western nations are not altruistic in their outlook when formulating their foreign policies. So while Western leaders scaremonger about Iraq's weapons of destruction it is worthwhile remembering the words of former British PM Churchill who said in reference to the use of poisoned gas against Iraqis post-World War I, "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilised tribes. The moral effect should be goodâ&#x20AC;Śand it would spread a lively terrorâ&#x20AC;Ś" Saddam is not the target of what America is doing. Saddam is in his palaces and he has all he needs in terms of food, clothing and luxuries. It is rather Iraq and its people, the Middle East region and its peoples, the other countries of the Islamic world and all Muslims that are the real target. The aim is to force Muslims of Iraq to swallow the bitter pill of humiliation. It is not allowed for Muslims, East or West, to accept that and to keep silent on it. It is not allowed to keep silent on the

The Imams of 250 mosques and 20 religious schools in Tajikistan are to be quizzed on their knowledge of the Qur'an, national customs and traditions, marriages and funerals, and the laws of the country concerning religious organisations under a government campaign to wipe out banned Islamic movements such as Hizb ut-Tahrir. The tests will be carried out by members of the Central Asian country's religious hierarchy and officials from a government commission on religion. Tajik President, Emomali Rakhmonov, last month expressed concern that more than 1,500 young Tajiks were studying radical Islam. "This form of Islam does not correspond to the one practiced in Tajikistan, which is Sunni Islam," the President said, clearly showing his ignorance in making such a statement. As a result he may think that the Imams need re-education from him and his government scholars so that they do not propagate a version of Islam that will threaten the very existence of the Tajik regime. Rakhmonov has also revised the law on religions to require the country's 3,500 mosques to re-register with government authorities or face closure. Almost 200 members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have also been arrested over the past three years. Rakhmonov is certainly learning from his neighbour, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, and as it stands the authoritarian nature of Central Asian regimes show that they have never really shaken off their Soviet methods. Does Rakhmonov not realize that these sincere Imams of Central Asia are the

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

Karzai to visit USA In his first foreign trip since a recent attempt on his life, President Hamid Karzai will travel to the United States to attend the UN G e n e r a l Assembly debate and ceremonies marking the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. He will also meet US President George W Bush to discuss the ongoing 'war on terror'. The trip to the United States follows an attack in which Karzai survived an assassination attempt in the southern city of Kandahar. Karzai's US bodyguards killed the gunman, an Afghan security guard and an Afghan teenager who deflected the gunman's aim. Presidential spokesman Said Fazel Akbar said Karzai would "express his condolences to the American people" over the terrorist attacks. Earlier in the year the USA could not hide their delight that Karzai was going to be the leader of Afghanistan. "American officials are just delighted that Karzai is going to be interim leader," said a former senior US diplomat still active in Afghan affairs. "But we can't say that and Karzai can't show it much either, because then he would be called an American puppet back home. And being seen as the puppet of any foreign power is political death in Afghanistan."

It may be recalled that when in 1988 the US Navy shot down an Iranian commercial jet, killing all of those on board, the US President at the time, George Bush Sr., refused to apologise, only saying, "I will never apologise for the United States of America - I don't care what the facts are".

The believers wait in anticipation of the day when the light of Islam rises in the entire world, placing capitalism and all those who love to live in darkness in the annals of history. Mokbul Hussain

Information and Disinformation in the "War on Terror" On Thursday 29th August, Karim Chatty, a 29-yearold Muslim Swedish citizen was arrested after a l l e g e d l y attempting to board a Ryanair flight with a 6.5 mm hand gun hidden in his wash bag. Almost instantaneously the media grinding wheel began to churn out the usual vitriol. Yet again the global terror campaign of America and Britain was given a new lease of life, after weeks of unease over an impending attack on Iraq. This time the focus was on the threat posed to the 'civilised' world a year after September 11th. When scrutinising America's 'war on terrorism', the aware ideological Muslim observes a series of contradictions and disinformation, and this can be noticed more in the lead up to the first anniversary of the attacks on America.

News From Around The World

The biggest contradiction is America's position as fighting for the people of the world. For if this was her intention then we would see the equal amount of vigour in her policies towards Israel. Instead we see the green light given to Sharon to root out 'terrorism' and the US assisting to cover up a series of massacres - Jenin being the most conspicuous. If America truly fights for its democratic values that her citizens enjoy, that is unless you are a Muslim or indeed a black American living in the countries many slums, then what of the many 'friendly' dictators littered around the Muslim World, all being propped up by the American government. If America truly holds the life of every human with equal value, then what of the destructions of the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What of the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children? What of the internment of thousands of independent Muslims in the prisons of Uzbekistan with the US plan to kill them by November? It is clear that America's war is a war for her interests, and in particular the interests of corporate America - the multinationals that require a change to the world's landscape so that they can further their profits. This is why Iraq is being fought and this is why America needs further justification for its war for her interests. This is Capitalism, where the golden rule is that the people who have the gold, rule. Muslims have a responsibility at this juncture in time to be at the forefront of exposing the contradictions of the Capitalist ideology and its colonialist worldview. Dr Imran Waheed

liable to pay damages to those affected by the September 11 attacks. They are seeking $1 trillion, which was calculated by claiming $30 million for each of the victims represented by the syndicate and multiplying that figure by three, which is apparently standard procedure in damages claims due to terrorism. Their objective is to "either convince them it's not worthwhile to fund alQaeda or perhaps obtain enough of their assets that they are no longer able to do so." The Sudanese government has rejected the allegations and the Saudi based organisations named have denounced them as amounting to financial and political blackmail. Saudi investors over recent weeks have been pulling money out of their US interests and moving them to European alternatives. A counter-suit has also been launched by a Saudi based lawyer against the US government for its harassment and detention of fifteen Saudis in America who were mistakenly tied to Al-Qaeda after September 11th. It was, and is, the American government that controls Saudi Arabia and ensures that they only apply those parts of Islam that do not adversely affect their interests. This suit therefore represents one of the following. It is either greed, incorporating an ignorance of the international political scene, or it is a political ploy to pressurise the Saudi government into compromising on Iraq, contrary to the pressure they are feeling from the Muslims of Saudi Arabia. Iraqi families of the 1 million children killed by US sanctions should launch a suit against the US government - $90 million for each child killed by US foreign policy. But this is a world where the powerful dominate over and exploit the weak, oppressed and voiceless. So proceeds the war on terrorism.

Who's Responsibility? Hani Jamal Uddin

Death of Two Girls Illustrates Decay of Capitalism

followed a long search sparked by the girls' disappearance from Soham at the beginning of August. School caretaker, Ian Huntley, and his girlfriend Maxine Carr were arrested in the early hours of Saturday 17th August. Ian Huntley was later charged with the murder of both girls and Maxine Carr faces the lesser charge of perverting the course of justice. The death of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman is not an isolated incident. Attacks on children have become a common feature of Capitalist society. Surrey police are yet to find 14 year old Amanda Dowler who vanished without trace in March. Essex police have also never found Danielle Jones, 15 years old, who disappeared 14 months ago. Going further back, Mark Tildesley, a 7year-old schoolboy abducted from a fairground in 1984, was never discovered. Genette Tate, 13 years old, a newspaper delivery girl, disappeared in Devon in 1978 and has never been found. The National Probation Service released the national figure of potentially dangerous sex offenders as 47,000. According to Children's charity NCH in the past two years at least 12 men have been jailed in England and Wales for sexually assaulting children they first met in Internet chat rooms. This stark reality is an indictment of Capitalism. Western Capitalist societies promote the cocktail of individualism, freedom and the purpose of living as maximising one's pleasure that create perverted personalities such as paedophiles and child killers. The decay in Western societies, as a result of the implementation of the Capitalist ideology, has led to a situation where it has now become unsafe for children to leave the sight of their parents. In a society which prides itself on freedom, we find the people today living in shackles. Nur al-Amin

August saw the launch of a trillion dollar lawsuit against the Saudi and Sudanese governments as well as various Islamic banks and charities. A group calling themselves the '9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism' claim that these organisations and governments knowingly funded and fund, supported and support terrorist organisations, notably Al-Qaeda, and are therefore

Earth Summit

When Rio hosted the first earth summit in 1992, there was so much goodwill surrounding the event that it was nicknamed, without irony, the Summit to Save the World. In Johannesburg, nobody has claimed that the follow-up World Summit on Sustainable Development could save the world. The question has been whether the summit could even save itself. Protesters jeered US Secretary of State Colin Powell on the Earth Summit's final day, accusing Washington of blocking meaningful action in a summit blueprint to help the poor and save the planet. "We have plans to end the despair and offer hope. Now is the time to put those plans into action to expand the circle of development to all God's children," Powell said. Hecklers chanting "Shame on Bush" twice interrupted Powell as he defended US policies from criticisms that the world's richest country and biggest polluter does not really care. "Betrayed by governments," read a banner held up by the protesters, most of whom appeared to be Americans. Bush, an ally of the oil, coal and logging industries, has been widely criticised for rejecting the Kyoto pact meant to fight global warming. He has also been criticised for plans to develop a missile shield in contravention of the anti-ballistic missile treaty. The US government is beyond doubt today's pirate of land, sea and air - does it not realise that its foreign policy and uncivilised ideology of Capitalism has turned the normal people of the world, Muslim and non-Muslims, to hate it with great enmity?

Police searching for missing girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman found two bodies near Mildenhall in Suffolk that were eventually identified as theirs. This

Walid Gubara

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

ONE GLOBAL UMMAH 8

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

It is an obligation upon the Muslims everywhere in the world to understand the Muslims as one Ummah, to the exclusion of other people.

here is no debate that the "War on Terrorism" equals a war on Islam and Muslims. US Vice President Dick Cheney made it very clear when he stated that the US is considering military or other action against "40 to 50 countries" and when he warned that the new war may last 50 years or more. So it is indeed a global war, led by America, Britain and their allies against this global Islamic Ummah.

We can see how America is utilising military tactics against the Ummah in the Muslim lands. However, what may not be so apparent are the implications of the "War on Terror" against the Muslims in the West. It would be a grave error for us to believe that the absence of a military attack against Muslims living in Europe or America means that there are no implications of the "War on Terror" for Muslims in the West. It is vital that we understand that the tactics used against the Muslims in the West are intellectual and not military. This intellectual war against the Muslims is not a new style. These methods have been used since the time of Muhammad (saw). We may be familiar with the incident where the Jew, Abdullah Ibnu Sabah, created the fitnah between Uthman (ra) and Ali (ra). One of the key concepts that the West wishes to implant in the minds of Muslims is that they are separate from the global Ummah. The West's preoccupation with the danger of global Muslim unity is not something that should come as a surprise to Muslims in the West. The then British Foreign Secretary made the West's malicious agenda for the Muslims very clear in a speech before World War Two, when he stated the following: "We must put an end to anything which brings about unity between the sons of the Muslim. As we have already succeeded in finishing off the Khilafah, so we must ensure that there will never arise again unity for the Muslims weather it be intellectual or cultural unity."

The US journalist Sam Francis wrote on October 22, 2001: "Most serious Christians and Jews would agree that they have no obligation to obey a nation or state that commands actions contrary to the laws of God, but most Christians and Jews in the United States don't feel the need to reach for that principle all the time or when we're in conflict with other, mainly Christian, states. If the Muslims who have invited themselves to this country do feel that need, they clearly aren't comfortable being here. Maybe they should go back where they belong as soon as possible, and if they don't, maybe the government and nation for which they feel so little attachment should encourage them." Integration, inter-faith dialogue, nationalism and fear of losing material interests or the benefits of status have been employed in many different ways to undermine the Muslims vision of one Global Ummah. One example can be seen in 1992 where Edward Djerejian, US Assistant Secretary of State during the Bush administration, outlined a strategy of compromise rather than confrontation to defeat the Muslims. Djerejian's recommendations included the following: 1. Use of the term 'the Muslim countries' rather than 'world of Islam' to shatter the sense of global unity. 2. Provide books about Western values in languages of Muslim countries (Arabic, Urdu, Farsi) to indoctrinate the Ummah with proWestern views. 3. Make statements about religion which 'emphasise common elements and values that unite Islam and Christianity' and ' avoid divisive factors' to destroy Muslims distinct Islamic identity. This desire to break the strength of the Muslims' worldwide bond with each other has been a consistent feature through out the colonialist exploits of the West, as practiced in the 'divide and rule' campaigns waged in our lands.

President Bush gave his indirect ultimatum to American Muslims when he addressed the international community with his "War on Terror" plans hinting that only two types of citizens were possible - those that were "either with us or against us". With these words echoing around the globe, Muslims in the West became faced with the dilemma of loyalty to their fellow Islamic brothers and sisters who were being massacred by the ever increasing might of America's terror war machine and loyalty to their host nation, be it Britain, France, USA or other Western nations. The grave implications of not making the 'right' choice were hammered into the conscience of Muslims as arrests of Muslims citizens accused of treason or similar betrayal of their nation began to appear in the media. The US made suitable examples out of US born Yaser Esam Hamdi and John Walker Lindh, who were both captured and labelled as "enemy combatants" in Afghanistan whilst fighting US occupying forces. On the 31st of August 2002, CNN reported how Lindh has now asked Americans to forgive him for the crime of daring to support his fellow brothers in Islam. President Bush awarded his expression of devotion to the American nation by supporting a recommendation of a prison term of up to 20 years. Suitable deterrents to one global Ummah can be found in the arrests of many Muslims across Europe who are suspected of being sympathetic to Muslims in countries considered enemies of that person's host nation. It is essential that Muslims in the West realise the implications of the West's "War on Terror" if we are not to find ourselves falling far short of the commands of Allah (swt) and thus eligible for His (swt) punishment. The Kuffar are attempting to undermine the Hukm Shari governing the relationship of Muslims in the West with the rest of this global Ummah. They wish to create personalities who do not feel the pain or suffering of their fellow brothers or sisters in another part of the Muslim world. They wish to September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

One Global Ummah

create a scenario, in which they will initiate aggression against the Ummah and expect the Muslims in the West to side and unite with the country that they live in. Essentially, the Kuffar desire that the Muslims of the West abandon all vision of working to unite the Ummah under one state, in order for us to accept the West as our homeland with the Kufr authority forever dominating and dividing us.

"The Example of the Believers in their love, compassion and mercy is like that of a body. When one part of the body hurts, the rest calls out in sleeplessness and fever" Bukhari

It is essential that we are aware that the Muslim Ummah is one global Ummah, even if we are from a variety of backgrounds or have linguistic differences. This is the reality of the Shari'ah obligation and any other viewpoint is invalid in the sight of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) said in Surah ale-Imran:

"Indeed your father is one, your Lord is one. There is no preference over the Arab over the non-Arab, and a non- Arab over the Arab, nor black over the red or red over the black, except in Taqwa."

witnessed how Muslims rose up on the streets of Baghdad, Amman, Tehran, London, Jakarta, Cairo, and Paris and beyond, as we were agitated to assist our brothers and sisters in Palestine and Afghanistan.

The Prophet (saw) also said: But the picture of the unity of this global Ummah is not complete. The Muslims of the West have an important role in completing this unity and achieving this concept of one global Ummah. The duty of the Muslims in the West is to maintain the identity of the Muslims and to be the ambassadors of Islam wherever they are - whether at work, at university or at home. We are obliged to follow the example of our beloved Prophet (saw) who was indeed the "walking Qur'an".

He then asked the Sahabah

"And hold fast all of you to the rope of Allah and do not be divided amongst yourselves" [TMQ AleImran: 103] Allah (swt) has verily ordered that the believers are brothers:

"Did I convey the message?" They replied, "Yes". He then said "May the one who witnessed this, convey it to the one who is absent." Then the Prophet spoke about nationalism, tribalism and patriotism and said:

"The believers are naught else than brothers" [TMQ Al-Hujurat: 10] Allah (swt) also clearly indicates that the only significant difference between Muslims is that of Taqwa, as indicated in Surah Hujurat verse 13.

"Leave it, it is rotten"

"Lo! The noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct." [TMQ Al-Hujurat: 13]

For all the Western nations' attempts to undermine the global nature of the Ummah, we still remain unified on many levels. The history of Islam is the history of all Muslims; the Seerah of the Prophet (saw) is a reference for all of us. And the Sahabah (ra) and Sahabiyat (ra) are for all of us. We cannot even count the number of the Ahkam that we implement without hesitation or force. The unity we have with respect to the love and affection for Islam is something that the Kuffar have not been successful in removing. For this is linked to our very Iman. An example of this can be seen in the feeling of the Muslims in the whole world about the affairs of the Muslims in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine and the other Islamic lands. We say their feelings and not their action because the Ummah owns its feelings, emotions and beliefs but they do not own the power to act upon their sentiments because it has been stolen and is currently it is in the hands of the Kufr Western nations and the Muslim rulers who represent them and the Shayateen.

So, if this Ummah is one, and our Deen is one Deen, and our Creator (swt) is one Creator (swt), there should not be any division in this Ummah. It was narrated in the Madinah covenant, that the Prophet (saw) said:

"The Muslim from Yathrib and Quraish, and the people that fought with them are one Ummah to the exclusion of all other Ummah." The Prophet (saw) said:

So it is an obligation upon the Muslims everywhere in the world to understand the Muslims as one Ummah, to the exclusion of other people.

The Muslims in the world are looking forward and are thirsty to aid their brothers everywhere and to remove their oppression. This global Ummah

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

The Muslims in the West have a responsibility to aid the work for the re-establishment of the Islamic state that will bring back the physical unity of this global Ummah as Allah (swt) ordered. Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib along with many other Sahabah lived in Abyssinia, which was ruled by the Christian King, the Negus. They, like the Muslims in the West ought to, maintained their identity as Muslims and never integrated or became assimilated into the Kufr culture. They were the ambassadors of Islam. They conveyed and discussed the message of Islam straight away. They were the best example in all areas of their life, which resulted in the fact that many embraced Islam, even the Negus himself. Yet they never forgot their duty to aid the work to establish Islam as a final authority unifying the Ummah as Allah (swt) had ordered. May Allah (swt) make us of those who remember our responsibility to this global Ummah and may He (swt) make us remember the words of the best of creation, Muhammad (saw), in the aforementioned hadith when he spoke to his Sahabah, as he speaks to us now:

"May the one who witnessed this, convey it to the one who is absent."

Ammar Zalloum

THE DANGERS OF INTEGRATION habbab (ra) relates in a hadith in Sahih Bukhari: "We complained to the Prophet of the increasing persecution inflicted upon us by the disbelievers of Mecca. He was reclining in the shade of the Ka'ba, having made a pillow of his cloak. We submitted: 'Why do you not supplicate for help for us? Why do you not pray for us?'

The Prophet (saw) answered:

half-life, a double-life: not quite a Muslim and not quite a Westerner. My parents raised me as a Muslim. They gave me everything I wanted but I coveted the freedom enjoyed by non-Muslim friendsâ&#x20AC;Ś 'From among those who have gone before you a man would be caught and held in a pit dug for him in the earth and he would then be sawn in two with a saw placed over his head, or his flesh would be combed away from his bones with iron combs but none of this would wean him away from his faith.'" Life as a Muslim in the West Living in Britain as Muslims, practising or nonpractising, has naturally left us vulnerable to the 'hammer' that is the capitalist society. A Muslim under the pseudonym Aisha Khan describes these pressures. Writing in the editorial section of the Guardian newspaper she describes what she felt when she saw another Muslim in Hijab: "I envy her because I am too weak to wear the veil, too scared that doors will close and that opinions will be formed long before friendships are. Islam doesn't oppress me; fear does. I live a

I have left university and now feel better equipped to cope with irreconcilable differences of being British and Muslim. You can be born and raised in this country, benefit from its education and live freely and comfortably thanks to the solid British economy. But you can also be oppressed. Stay silent when your religion is being lambasted in the press. Look on helplessly when Muslims are being persecuted in their homeland and then watch them being punished by the British Asylum system. Stuff your veil into your handbag because you'll never get that job if you cover your head. Sacrifice prayer times and fasting to keep up with the crowd and stay in with the boss."

certain key values and concepts of Islam and adopt some key values and concepts of Western capitalism. Spearheaded by Western academics, politicians and the media, an attack has been targeted at Muslims who inhabit these countries, labelling them in no uncertain terms as the 'enemy within'. Melanie Philips, a UK Daily Mail Columnist writing in the Spectator magazine puts it bluntly when she says: "Since most of the mass immigration now convulsing Europe is composed of Muslims, it is therefore hardly surprising that anti-immigrant feeling is largely anti-Muslim feeling. The sheer weight of numbers, plus the refusal to assimilate to western values, makes this an unprecedented crisis for western liberalism. The crisis is forcing it to confront the fundamental questions of what constitutes a country, national identity and the very nature of a liberal society.

The Vendetta that is Integration These pressures have taken an altogether sinister twist post September the 11th, becoming a prominent aspect of Western policy towards Muslims. The policy of 'integration' is to amalgamate or mix an ethnic or religious group with an existing community. Specifically in relation to the Muslims it means to pressurise them to reject

But the problem is that it [Islam] does not just oppose libertinism. Having never had a 'reformation', which would have forced it to make an accommodation with modernity, it is fundamentally intolerant and illiberal. As a result, it directly conflicts with western values in areas such as the treatment of women, freedom of speech, the separation of private and public values, and tolerance of homosexuality. These are all liberal fundamenSeptember 2002 Khilafah Magazine

Believing that integration means to eat the cuisine of the country in which you have come to reside, be it fish and chips or chicken curry, to speak its language fluently, to speak on equal terms with its indigenous population, to seek high-profile jobs or to play the national sport of the society is narrow, shallow and ill-informed.

tals and are not negotiable." The efforts to integrate have become more direct and sinister post September 11th. Up until very recently Muslims have felt secure in the roles they occupy in the West. In some ways immune against the vehement hatred to Islam demonstrated by the policies of these nations against the 'Islamic World'. Now a question has been carefully tabled to the Muslims. This is best described by remarks made by the UK Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Peter Hain: "Islam is now a much bigger factor than racial tension and we are going to need to resolve that together, not by targeting Muslims as Fortuyn was doing, but sending a clear message that British Muslims are welcome here and enrich our culture, but also that they must be part of our culture. Muslim immigrants can be very isolationist in their own behaviour and their own customs. That in the end is going to create real difficulties and is likely to be ripe for exploitation by extremists, whether it is followers of Osama bin Laden on the one hand, or racists on the other. It just takes two to integrate, and we need to work with the Muslim communityâ&#x20AC;Ś Equally we have got the situation where Muslims are being targeted by Nazi groups like the British National Party and racists. So we have to work together to make sure that we target both the racists themselves and the causes of racism." This represents an ultimatum of sorts to the Muslim community in Britain, either you integrate or we will view you like the 'Al Qaida' terrorists and you will be left alone to be victimised by the BNP. By integrate he means to divert from the Islamic political agenda or face the consequences. To replace the drive to impact society that Islam inspires with the lethargic, materialistic outlook on life. The incentives are state funded schools, prayer breaks, halal meat in schools and hospitals. The consequences of failure to integrate are to be stereotyped in the same category as the 'Al-Qaida' network and be made vulnerable to the far right. 12

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

The threat of the latter apparent by the gains of the BNP on the council in Burnley, a microcosm of a wider trend in Europe. One in three Muslims in the UK said they or a family member had suffered personal abuse since September 11th, a poll by ICM and the Guardian found this month. In November 2001, the Daily Telegraph reported that a group of Sikhs and Hindus from Southall, London, had begun talks with the British National Party, to counter the threat they said Muslims were posing to their society.

declared a 'holy war' on Islam. In Belgium, the Vlaams Blok has become the largest party in several cities by campaigning to reduce the number of mosques and institutionalising discrimination against Islam.

A Pan-European phenomena

Why?

Anti-Islamic sentiment is on the march in Europe. In France 6 million people voted for Jean-Marie Le Pen during the French presidential elections. Le Pen when asked on his opinions regarding the Khimar and Jilbab, which protects the modesty of the believing women, said, "it is good, it protects us from the ugly women."

Second and third generation Muslims in the West are in the midst of a revival, re-examining their roots, rediscovering their belief prompted by questions that cannot be answered in advanced secular society. They are frustrated about the situation the Ummah finds herself in, angry towards the West for creating and maintaining these problems. A recent survey found out that Muslims in the UK overwhelmingly oppose the 'war on terror' and believe it to be a war against Islam. Some 69% of Muslims feel excluded from British life according to the same June poll by ICM and the Guardian.

Pim Fortuyn, the assassinated Dutch populist leader, denounced Islam as a "backward culture." Fortuyn's party won 20 seats in the Dutch general election. His party advocates a ban to all Muslim immigration into the Netherlands, points which strike a cord with David Blunkett, the British Home Secretary who proposes citizenship training and tests. Over the Alps, the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, famously proclaimed the superiority of Western over Islamic civilisation. His government includes the Northern League leader, Umberto Bossi, who has protested about the use of public land for mosques for the "Muslim invaders". In Germany, the main challenge to Gerhard Schroder in September's elections will come from the Christian Social Union, which has insisted that German Muslims must accept the "Christian norms of Germany". A poster declaring "By the time you retire, Denmark will be a majority-Muslim nation" helped the Danish People's party leader Pia Kjaersgaard win a place in the ruling rightist coalition last November. Shortly after she

Austrians swept Jorg Haider's Freedom party into power in 1999. The party had campaigned on an anti-Muslim platform, drafting a political catchall for its hate politics, Uberfremdung ('foreignerswamping') into the electoral vocabulary.

Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil To enjoin the good and forbid the evil is an obligation on Muslims. This is what distinguishes the Muslim Ummah as a whole. Allah (swt) says,

"You are the best Ummah brought unto makind, you enjoin Al-Maroof and forbid Al-Munkar" [TMQ Al-Imran: 110].

The Dangers of Integration

"The believers, both men and women, they are protecting friends one to another; they command what is right and forbid what is wrong." [TMQ At-Taubah: 71]. This means we, the Muslims, observe that which is around us from a specific viewpoint. This is not simply to provide judgement alone. This is from the specific perspective of producing change. It is this understanding that will naturally finds its form in the way of a state, our own state - The Khilafah. By definition therefore, Muslims cannot isolate themselves; they have to interact with the society around them. Why is there an increasing trend in reversion to Islam across Europe, if Muslims isolate themselves, are absent in the public arena and do not interface with those around them. The real agenda behind wanting to integrate Muslims is so that they give up the values of Islam and adopt a secular outlook. This destroys in the process concepts related to Khilafah, Jihad and Ummah. We cannot therefore integrate. We should take steps to protect against it; examining the curricula of the schools we send our children to, being wary of promises made by politicians and councillors and careful of branding those involved with the work to foster the affairs of the Ummah as the 'fringe element'. The Islamic understanding of commanding Maroof and forbidding Munkar does not allow isolation. Following the Ahkam of Islam will naturally bring Muslims into contact with wider society, in an altruistic manner, in a manner that is unselfish and diplomatic. A Muslim by doing this will allow Islam to answer questions that Capitalism has left unanswered. We should at all times ensure that our judgements

regarding the welfare of our families, our children, our livelihoods, our studies, our worship, the situation that afflicts the Ummah emanates from the Aqeeda of Islam. As part of an Ummah that resides in the West we must not deviate from this understanding, since that is where our demise lies. Not in the threats from, Hain, Fortyn, Blunkett, Jean-Marie Le Penn or the like. Huthayfah ibn al-Yaman said that the Prophet (saw) said

see in the spiritually, socially, intellectually and politically bankrupt West, as a fact of life. Be it sexual promiscuity or redefining Islam politically, integration can only result in the triumph of Western beliefs and concepts over Islam. This really is where this vision will lead. It will erode and decay the adherence of Muslims to Islam through diluting Islam and reducing the emphasis of abiding by it. It will fragment and destroy the Islamic personality and the Muslim identity. A recent letter to the Economist dated September 2002 aptly describes where the path to integration will lead:

"By the one whose hands is my soul, you have to command the good and forbid the evil or Allah will send punishment upon you then you will ask Him for help and He will not answer you." Conclusion Believing that integration means to eat the cuisine of the country in which you have come to reside, be it fish and chips or chicken curry, to speak its language fluently, to speak on equal terms with its indigenous population, to seek high-profile jobs or to play the national sport of the society is narrow, shallow and ill-informed. Integration is to accept relationships between men and women outside of marriage as this is the personal freedom of the individuals involved and the relationship is one of mutual consent, irrespective of the views of religion or the opinions of any parent. Integration is to accept one's son or daughter, one's brother or sister to declare they are homosexual and to get the support of the state and protection of the police as a sexual 'minority' irrespective of the wishes of parents. Integration is to freely and flagrantly insult Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) through the publication of material that undermines Islam and it is to protect the apostate in the name of freedom of speech. It is to accept freedom and all its implications, as we

"Sir - As a transplanted Muslim in America, I am grateful to Western culture for helping me liberate myself from all the dogma and orthodoxy that the Koran had forced upon me. Sadly, for most of my family and friends in the West the Koran continues to work like a stop-gap, constantly reminding them that only Allah can engage in critical thinking. As a result, they are trapped in the language of absolutes, viewing the world only as black and white. Also, saddened by exile, they favour the certainties that orthodoxies provide rather than trying to understand how Western democracy works." [Danville, Pennsylvania] We ask Allah (swt) to assist us in our endeavour to re-establish the Khilafah with His Help and His Strength, and to accept from us this effort, and to overlook our mistakes. We ask Him also to guide all Muslims in the quest for the Khilafah, to honour them with the re-establishment of the Khilafah, and restoring the rule with the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw).

Dr Saqib Latif and Mohammad Akmal

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

TO MAKE IJTIHAD OR TO INTEGRATE ife for the Islamic Ummah today is difficult and complex, no matter where they reside. The Islamic world today is riddled with economic, political and even security problems. It was such economic and political turmoil, drowning the Muslim world in the twentieth century that drove so many of the elder generation to the West in search of a better life. On their arrival they found many benefits but there were also new problems that they had to come to terms with.

At the forefront of the challenges facing the Muslims in the West are the continuous calls for complete integration, thereby abandoning any overt form of an Islamic identity or character. Debates in Governments and media on how to integrate the Muslims are frequent and indicative of the prevailing environment in the West. Even the reaction of Muslims to diverse controversial events, such as, the publication of "The Satanic Verses", the war in Kosovo and the discrimination of Muslims in society have been addressed in a way to provide further justification for integration. Many Muslim groups and personalities have been incorporated into this campaign to integrate the Muslims living in Western society - when they have refused to support such a cause, others have been found by the Governments to replace them. Consequently, so-called representative Muslim organisations and individuals have ended up towing the government line, even going so far as supporting the killing of Muslims elsewhere as seen during the war against Afghanistan. The issues that Muslims face in the West are major problems that need to be addressed. Indeed, this is not unique to Muslims in the West but is also a problem for Muslims across the world. As a challenge, there are some individuals and 14

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

groups, who with sponsorship, from the Western states, have embarked on devising a methodology, to address these issues. Some Muslims claim that since Muslims in the West are minorities, this constitutes grounds for establishing a "Minority Fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence]". For instance, a preposterous claim is made that some of the rules of "traditional" Fiqh cannot be applied in a nonIslamic society, including the rules of divorce and riba. Dr. Taha Jabir al-Alwani on the purpose of Fiqh Al-'Aqalliyyat (Fiqh of Minorities), in a document entitled "Muqadimah fii Fiqh al Aqalliyyat", states that the purpose was not to "recreate Islam, rather it is a set of methodologies that govern how a jurist would work within the flexibility of the religion to best apply it to particular circumstances". This approach makes the particular reality faced, or the environment, the source of legislation. As a consequence certain rules will be neglected and this approach has led to the contradiction of established rules from the Qur'an and Sunnah. For example, the issue of the marriage of Muslim women to a disbeliever. It is clear from the ayah of the Qur'an that it is not lawful for Muslim women to be married to disbelievers:

"O you who believe! When believing women come to you as fugitives, examine them. Allah is best aware of their faith. Then, if you know them for true believers, do not send them back to the disbe-

lievers. They are not lawful for the disbelievers, nor are the disbelievers lawful for them" [TMQ Al-Mumtahinah: 10]. This ayah holds one single meaning - that such marriage is considered null and void and holds no value whatsoever. But according to "Minority Fiqh" this answer, needs to be "reworked" by another "reworked" question. So as Taha Jabir al-Alwani mentions: "However according to the "Fiqh of Minorities," in this particular case the circumstances are as follows: The woman has just converted to Islam and she has a husband and two young kids. The husband is very supportive but is not at this time interested in converting. The woman was told immediately after converting that she had to divorce her husband of 20 years. Within these circumstances the question should have been: Is it worse for a Muslim woman to be married to a non-Muslim husband or for her to leave the religion? The answer is that leaving the religion is much worse, therefore, it is acceptable for her to continue with her marriage and she is responsible before Allah on Judgment Day" [document entitled "Muqadimah fii Fiqh al 'Aqalliyyat" by Dr Taha Jabir Al-Alwani] A quite unthinkable verdict based on what is called the "Fiqh of Minorities". The issue, such as a British woman accepting Islam while her husband remains a non-Muslim is not a new issue to Islamic jurisprudence. This problem occurred at the time of the Prophet (saw) when his (saw) daughter Zaynab (ra) accepted Islam while her husband remained a non-Muslim. He (saw) instructed her to leave and did not go against the

definitive command of Allah (swt), because going against the explicit command of Allah (swt) is the greatest evil which can occur here, an evil which "Minority Fiqh" seems to agree with. Therefore, in order to solve this problem today, we need to go back to the legal texts and study them in order to acquire the Islamic ruling. This applies to all other issues as well.

"And We have sent down to you the Book (the Qur'an) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings of those who have submitted for those who have submitted themselves to Allah" [TMQ An-Nahl: 89]. And He (swt) said;

The Correct Approach The correct approach to deal with issues of Muslims in the West and throughout the world needs to be firmly grounded in the rational creed of Islam. Any deviation from this is a fatal mistake. The Shari'ah from the Arabic language means the clear path or path leading to the source. The linguistic meaning of the word Shari'ah is a non-exhaustive source of water from which people satisfy their thirst. Thus, the linguistic significance of Shari'ah is that the Islamic laws are effectively a source of guidance. As water is the fundamental basis of life, the Islamic laws are an essential source for guiding human life.

"Nothing have we omitted from the book" [TMQ Al-An'am: 38].

Shari'ah is composed of all the laws derived from the legislative sources of Islam. These laws are not just limited to areas covering marriage or divorce - rather the Islamic law covers every action performed by an individual or a society. Allah (swt) describes this:

Thus, the Islamic Shari'ah did not neglect a single thing from the actions of the servants of Allah (swt) whatever they may be.

"O you who believe! Answer Allah (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he calls you to that which will give you life. And know that Allah comes in between a person and his heart. And verily to Him you shall (all) be gathered" [TMQ Al-Anfal: 24]. The Shari'ah is a Comprehensive and Perfect Source of Law The Islamic Shari'ah contains rules of all past events, current problems and all possible incidents that may happen. Nothing has happened in the past or is happening at present or will happen in the future except that each and every one of those things has a ruling from the Islamic Shari'ah. The Islamic Shari'ah encompasses all actions of man, completely and comprehensively, at every time and place. He (swt) said:

taken based upon the divine texts. The reality must not be the source of the Shari'ah rules, as is too common for those who advocate the re-invention of Islamic jurisprudence. The perfect Shari'ah, which contains all the rules for all our problems, requires the Mujtahid to perform Ijtihad. The obligation of Ijtihad is established by several Ahadith. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,

And He (swt) said: "When the judge is about to judge and he performs Ijtihad and arrives at the right conclusion, he will receive two rewards, and if he judges and makes a mistake, he has one reward" [Sahih Bukhari & Muslim]. "This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and chosen for you Islam as your way of life (Deen)" [TMQ AlMa'idah: 3].

The Shari'ah either states an evidence for the action as a text in the Qur'an and the Hadith, or it places a sign in the Qur'an and the Sunnah to indicate the aim of an action, and the illah, reason of its legislation. So the Shari'ah rule applies to any and every action that includes that sign or that reason. It is not possible that a human action does not have an evidence or a sign that indicates its rule. This is due, to the general, and definite meaning of Allah (swt) saying

In addition, the Messenger (saw) said, "And a man who judges among people with ignorance, he is in Hell" [Abu Dawud], emphasizing that the judges must be knowledgeable about what they judge by.

"exposition for everything" [TMQ An-Nahl: 89], and due to the explicit text that Allah (swt) has completed this Deen. To this effect, Imaam Sayf ud al Amidi (d.631 Hijri) writes, in his famous work on jurisprudence, al-Ihkam fi Usul alAhkam 1: 113 "You should know that there is no judge (or arbiter) except God, that there is no judgement but His. A necessary entailment of this (proposition) is that human reasoning cannot declare things to be good or bad and that it cannot necessitate gratitude towards the conferrer of bounties. There is indeed, no rule (or judgement) before the revelation of the Shari'ah." The Need for Ijtihad The Islamic Shari'ah made Ijtihad, for the purpose of deriving the divine rules, an obligation upon Muslims. This methodology needs to be under-

It was also narrated, when the Prophet (saw) sent Mu'adh and Abu Musa Al-Ashari to Yemen, that he (saw) said, "What are you going to rule by?" They said, "If we don't find the rule in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, we will compare a case to another and whatever is closer to the Haq, we will act upon it." This analogy made by the Sahabah (ra) and approved by the Prophet (saw) described the process of Ijtihad in deriving rules. Also, it was narrated about him (saw) that, when he sent Mu'adh as a governor to Yemen, he (saw) said to him, "What are you going to rule by?" Mu'adh

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

Ijtihad

said, "By the Qur'an of Allah." The Prophet (saw) then asked, "If you don't find (the rule)?" He said, "By the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saw)." The Prophet (saw) said, "If you don't find (the rule)?" Mu'adh said, "I exert my utmost and give my opinion." The Prophet (saw) said, "Alhamdu Lillah (Praise be to Allah) that He led the messenger of Allah to that which Allah and His Messenger like" [Al Baihaqi, Ahmad and Abu Dawood]. This Hadith clearly permits Mu'adh to perform Ijtihad. Moreover, knowing the Hukm Shari' (divine rule) is inextricably linked with Ijtihad to the extent that it is not possible to know the Islamic rules without it. Consequently Ijtihad becomes an obligation because of the Shari'ah principle, 'That which the obligation cannot be accomplished without becomes an obligation itself' [Shaksiyah Islamia Volume 3 by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani]. Ijtihad is an obligation and only the Mujtahideen are authorized by the Shari'ah to extract rules. The scholars of 'Usul al Fiqh (foundations of jurisprudence) stated that Ijtihad is a collective duty (Fard Kifayah) and that the Mujtahideen should exist at all times. The Muslim Ummah would be in sin if it abandoned Ijtihad, as Ijtihad is the method of extracting Akham Shari'ah. If no Mujtahideen could be referred to for learning the rules of Islam during a given period of time, this would result in the non-implementation of the Shari'ah, which Islam prohibits. In addition, the texts of Shari'ah obliges Ijtihad upon Muslims because these Shari' texts (the Qur'an and Sunnah) encompass all issues of mankind at the time of Revelation and later generations. In addition, in most cases, the text provides guidelines from which rules can be derived for a specific incident. The text did not address each and every incident in a detailed manner. Understanding and deriving the rules of Allah (swt) from the Qur'an and Sunnah requires exhaustive research in every incident. However, while Ijtihad is laborious, it is not an impossible task because it involves one's utmost exertion in extracting the "most likely" rule, which is within every Mujtahid's ability.

Asif Khan

MUSLIM YOUTH GANG LEADERS OR WORLD LEADERS? ions) of the Prophet (saw) and our other great predecessors.

"You are the best of the nation raised up for mankind because you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah" [TMQ AleImran: 110] Allah (swt) tells us in this verse of the Qur'an that we are the best nation raised up from mankind. When many people look to the reality of the Muslims today and in particular the reality of the Muslim youth in the West, they think to themselves, 'how can these people be the best people raised from mankind?' When they see the Muslim youth involved in gang culture and drug culture, they can't see the difference between them and the non-Muslim youth in society. We need to look to how the Muslim youth in the past used to be leaders, not followers of the Kuffar as some of the youth have become today and understand how the Muslim youth have the potential to be the leaders of mankind again. Some of the Muslim youth today have lost touch with their roots. They have lost touch with Islam and the Islamic history. Unfortunately they know more about Western personalities, and take them as role models to follow, than they know about the greatest people in history, the Sahabah (compan-

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

Various groupings or 'crowds' exist amongst the youth today. There are those who emulate hip-hop stars and are 'wanna be gangsters', walking around with pride, using foul language, thinking its cool to take drugs and be involved in crime. Others are into the clubbing scene and act like wild animals as if they are not going to be accounted for what they do. Boyfriend-girlfriend relationships have become the norm where it is seen as odd if one is not 'going out' with the opposite sex or at least attempting to. Time wasting has become the favourite pursuit where music, computer games, movies and 'chilling' have become the normal pastimes. Rebelliousness to parents has reached new levels, where children are almost strangers to their own parents and feel more comfortable with their friends than with their own flesh and blood. The Muslim youth living in Western societies learn how to think and act in a way alien to Islam as they are continuously bombarded with Western culture via the television, school and society at large. Many of the youth glorify gangsters, pop stars, actors, sports personalities and even fictional characters. If we were to give two lists of people to some of the Muslim youth today and ask them what they know about the people mentioned in the list, think about what the response would be:

Muslim Youth

List 1: Dr. Dre, Tupac, Eminem, Snoop Doggy Dog, Notorious B.I.G, Puff Daddy, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, David Beckham, and Kylie Minogue. List 2: Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Mus'ab ibn Umayr, Zubair ibn al-Awwam, Khalid ibn Walid, Asma bint Abu Bakr, Zaid ibn Thabit, Usamah bin Zaid, Muhammad al Fatih and Tariq bin Ziyad. Unfortunately many of the youth would know much about the people mentioned in the first list and very little about those in the second list. Some would even look up to the people in first, even though they are Kuffar who follow the ways of the Shaytan and promote indecency. The Muslim youth need to look up to the right people and must have the right role models. The youth should be acquainted with the Muslims of the past who used to be the leaders of humanity. There are many examples from young Muslims of the past to look to. In fact most of the early converts to Islam were young - most of them were under 30 years of age. Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) One of the earliest converts to Islam was Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) - he converted to Islam of his own accord when he was only eight years of age. When people think of eight year olds today they imagine children who spend their time thinking about WWF wrestling, Pokemon, computer games or the latest movie. Contrast this to the example of Ali (ra). Ali (ra) embraced Islam even though his father, Abu Talib remained a non-Muslim. When he was asked, "Aren't you going to ask the permission of your father to embrace Islam", he answered confidently, "Allah didn't ask the permission of my father when he created me, so why do I need my father's permission to worship him?" He stuck at the side of the Prophet (saw) in the early days of the Da'wa (Islamic call) in Makkah, even when the numbers of Muslims were few and the society was hostile. He was a man of courage, even at a young age. In one incident there was a gathering of about forty leaders of the Quraish these were the most notable people in the society, similar to the most prominent politicians and celebrities of today. In this gathering the Prophet (saw) invited them to Islam, but they rejected his message. In this gathering Ali (ra) stood up and looked at all of them in the face and said, "I believe in him and I stand behind him". Imam Ali (ra) went on to become one of the greatest of the Sahabah, he was known as the one

of the most knowledgeable. He also became the fourth Khalifah of the Muslims who ruled the people with Islam and carried Islam to the world.

you wish I shall go out tomorrow and do the same." "You have done enough," they said. "You have made them hear what they dislike."

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (ra)

Abdullah ibn Masoud went on to become one of the best reciters of the Qur'an of whom the Prophet (saw) said,

Those 'Wanna be Gangsers' who drive around in lowered cars blasting out satanic music who think that they are 'hard men' should look to the example of Abdullah bin Masoud (ra) to see true bravery. Abdullah embraced Islam when he was only 14 years of age. He used to roam the mountain trails of Makkah far away from people, tending the flocks of a Quraishi leader, Uqbah ibn Mu'ayt. He was also known by the Kunya (nickname) of Ibn Umm Abd. The companions of the Prophet (saw) were together one day in Makkah. They were still few in number and oppressed. They said, "The Quraish have not yet heard the Qur'an being recited openly and loudly. Who is the man who could recite it for them?' "I shall recite it to them," volunteered Abdullah ibn Masoud. "We are afraid for you," they said. "We only want someone who has a clan who would protect him from their evil." "Let me," Abdullah ibn Masoud insisted, "Allah shall protect me and keep me away from their evil." He then went out to the mosque until he reached Maqam Ibrahim (a few meters from the Ka'ba). It was dawn and the Quraish were sitting around the Ka'ba. Abdullah stopped at the Maqam and began to recite:

"In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful). He has taught the Quran. He has created man and taught him the clear speech. The sun and the moon run on their fixed courses calculated with measured out stages for each..." [TMQ Ar-Rahman] He went on reciting. The Quraish looked at him intently and some of them said: "What is Ibn Umm Abd saying? Damn him! He is reciting some of what Muhammad brought!" They went up to him and began beating his face as he continued reciting. When he went back to his companions the blood was flowing from his face. "This is what we feared for you," they said. "By Allah," replied Abdullah, "the enemies of Allah are not more comfortable than I at this moment. If

"Whoever wants to read the Quran as fresh as when it was revealed, then let him read according to the recitation of Ibn Umm Abd." He also became one of the most knowledgeable in the Quran and strove to gain the knowledge of Islam. Zaid ibn Thabit (ra) Those youth who waste their time gaining useless information like that related to the lives of pop stars and engaging in shallow activities such as watching TV like zombies should take lessons from the life of Zaid ibn Thabit (ra). In the second year of the Hijrah, Madinah, the city of the Prophet (saw), was buzzing with activity as the Muslims were preparing for the long march southwards to Badr for Jihad. The whole atmosphere in the society was based on Islam, not like today where the whole atmosphere is dominated by organised distractions like football, where the majority of discussion in the media and society surrounds a game where twenty-two people kick a leather ball around a pitch. Today the atmosphere in the non-Muslim and Muslim world is generated around shallow activities. Pop concerts, Olympics, football tournaments and the like are promoted in the media to the extent that people come to know every detail and strategy as if they were studying a war. In the past under the Islamic rule, under the Khilafah, the atmosphere was dominated by Islam, the major events of the society were not who is playing who in the next match, rather it was Jihad, which land are we going to bring under the authority of Islam next? The noble Prophet (saw) made a final inspection of the first army to be mobilized under his leadership to wage Jihad against those who had tormented the Muslims for many years and who were still bent on putting an end to his mission. A youth, not yet thirteen, walked up to the ranks. He was confident and alert. He held a sword that was as long or possibly slightly longer than his

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

Muslim Youth

he entrusted Zaid with the weighty responsibility of recording the divine revelation and he became a scribe of the Prophet (saw) who used to write the verses of the Qur'an when they were revealed. Other examples There are many other examples from the Sahabah of youth, men and women, who were leaders for Islam. Mus'ab ibn Umayr (ra) was only 24 years old and was sent by the Prophet (saw) to Madinah to spread Islam, Aisha (ra) the wife of the Prophet (saw), Asma bint Abu Bakr - the daughter of Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra), Az-Zubayr bin-Awwam who was only 12 when he embraced Islam, Sa'd bin AbiWaqqas who was 17, Usamah bin Zaid who was only 17 when he led the senior Sahabah like Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra) as the Amir of an army of Jihad, and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib who at the age of 20 was able to stand in the court of king Negus of Abyssinia and eloquently represent and defend the Muslims.

own height. He went up to the Prophet (saw) and said, "I dedicate myself to you, Messenger of Allah. Permit me to be with you and to fight the enemies of Allah under your banner." The noble Prophet (saw) looked at him with admiration and patted his shoulder with loving tenderness. He commended him for his courage but refused to enlist him because he was still too young. The youth, Zaid ibn Thabit (ra), turned and walked away, dejected and sad. Zaid bin Thabit (ra) knowing that he was too young to join the armed forces still wanted to aid the Prophet (saw) and be close to him, so he turned his mind to gaining knowledge and memorising the Qur'an. The Prophet (saw) then set him a task that required intelligence, skill and persistence.

However we should realise that the great personalities from amongst the youth continued even after the time of the Sahabah. Imam As-Shafi, one of the greatest scholars of this Ummah, memorised the Qur'an when he was 7, and was a Mujtahid, a scholar, with the ability to derive solutions from the Quran and the Sunnah at the age of 14. Today it is difficult for people to imagine going to a 14 year old to ask him about Islamic law. Tariq bin Ziyad conqueror of Spain and Muhammad al-Fateh, the conqueror of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) were young men. There are many other examples of Muslim youth who stood up for Islam and achieved great things for the sake of Allah (swt). The important thing to bear in mind is that in the past under the rule of Islam this was the norm for the youth.

perceive Islam, it is not a belief that we are not allowed to question and merely based on blind following. Islam is the thinking man's belief. Ibn Abbas one of the companions of the Prophet (saw) said, "The light of Iman (belief) is thinking". Allah (swt) says,

"Lo in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and in the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth are signs (of Allah's sovereignty) for people who have sense." [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 164] We need to believe with full conviction and understand how to prove that Allah (swt) exists and that the Qur'an is the word of Allah (swt). We have to also know about the Shari'ah rules and our duties in life. All over Britain there are many members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, brothers and sisters, who are available to practically help you develop Islamic personalities. Islam is a Deen of collectiveness and helping each other - therefore as Muslims we must seek help when we need it. Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain regularly organise study circles in many areas where we discuss many relevant subjects that aid Muslims in following Islam and advance their understanding.

Practical steps for the youth to change

"Zaid, learn the writing of the Jews for me." instructed the Prophet (saw). "At your command, Messenger of Allah," replied Zaid who set about learning Hebrew with enthusiasm. He became quite proficient in the language and wrote it for the Prophet (saw) when he wanted to communicate with the Jews. Zaid also read and translated from Hebrew when the Jews wrote to the Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) instructed him to learn Syriac also and this he did. Zaid thus came to perform the important function of an interpreter for the Prophet (saw) in his dealings with nonArabic speaking peoples. Zaid's enthusiasm and skill were obvious. When the Prophet felt confident of his faithfulness in the discharge of duties and the care, precision and understanding with which he carried out tasks,

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

These practical steps are an advice for the Muslim youth. For those who do not practise Islam, inshallah it will help them to begin and those who are already practising, inshallah it will aid them to enhance our worship of Allah (swt). 1) Educating yourself about Islam The Prophet (saw) said,

"Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim" [Ibn Majah] All of us have to be continuously gaining knowledge about Islam, as it is the most important thing in life. So we have to know about the Islamic Aqeedah (belief). Contrary to how some youth

2) Linking our actions to the consequences in the Akhirah (hereafter) A Muslim must link his actions directly to the consequences, the rewards and punishments in the hereafter. He should visualise these when even thinking about performing any prohibited action; this consciousness of Allah (swt) and the afterlife should be a shield to protect us from sin and should encourage us to earn reward. If we are about to act rebelliously to our parents in a haram way, we should know what the Prophet (saw) mentioned about this. It was narrated by Anas (ra) that Muhammad (saw) was asked about the most serious and detestable sins. He (saw) replied,

"To associate anyone with Allah, to disobey the parents and cause them pain or injury; to kill unlawfully and to give false evidence." (Bukhari) Also, Abi Bakrah Nufay ibn Al-Harith said, "The Messenger of Allah asked us three times, shall I tell you the greatest sin?" We said, "Yes O Messenger of Allah." He (saw) replied,

"Associating partners with Allah disobeying ones parents." (Agreed upon)

and

If we are about to miss the obligatory Salah (prayers), we should remember that the Prophet (saw) equated missing Salah to disbelief. The Prophet (saw) said,

Whosoever drinks it; his prayers will not be accepted (by Allah) for forty days. If he died and there is wine in his stomach, he has died the death of Jahilliyah (ignorance)."

will make mistakes. Islam wasn't revealed for angels, it was revealed for human beings.

3) Being in a good environment

Some people have the misconception that following Islam means that you have to turn into robots or monks and are not allowed any relaxation. Islam allows relaxation and leisure but as long as it is according to the Shari'ah and does not distract us from obeying Allah (swt).

Remaining in a correct atmosphere is vital for a Muslim to be able to avoid the temptations that the Shaytan puts forward. The type of atmosphere that exists amongst some of the youth today is very corrupt and is dominated by drugs, alcohol, lewd music and free mixing with the opposite sex. Often what is discussed is related to the opposite sex, music, television, movies, computer games and the like. It is very rare that serious discussions about life take place.

5) Following Islam doesn't mean becoming robots

Abu Musa narrated that the Prophet (saw) said,

Aisha (ra), the mother of the believers, narrated, "Three worldly things used to give pleasure to Allah's Messenger (saw): food, women and perfume. He acquired two, but one he did not acquire. He acquired women and perfume, but not food." [Musnad Ahmad]

"The example of a good companion in comparison with a bad one, is I like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith's bellows (or furnace); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof." [Bukhari Volume 3, No 314]

The Prophet (saw) would relax with his companions and his wives. The Prophet (saw) even allowed various types of sports like target shooting. However we should be careful not to become obsessed with entertainment and relaxation as the Kuffar do. Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet (saw) informed,

"The covenant between myself and yourself is the Salah, whoever abandons the prayer commits an action of disbelief." [Musnad Ahmad] If we are tempted by intoxicants such as alcohol or drugs whether in large or small quantities, we should be warned by the words of the Prophet (saw):

"All intoxicants are unlawful, of whatever thing a large quantity intoxicates, even a small quantity is prohibited." [An-Nawawi] The Prophet (saw) also said,

"An intoxicant is the mother of all vices.

We must realise that our friends in the Dunya will be our friends in the Akhirah (herafter). The true meaning of friendship is not to allow each other to get closer towards hellfire and to help each other in getting closer to Jannah (paradise). Sometimes what people perceive to be as their closest friends can be their worst enemies if they are making them earn the displeasure of Allah (swt).

"There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good." [Bukhari]

4) Carrying Da'wa to others

Valuing your Youth

When studying Islam, we also need to carry it to others. The Prophet (saw) said,

Whilst we are young we have the potential to follow Islam by advancing our understanding and carrying Islam to others. Youth doesn't last forever so we must make good use of it before it is gone. We have to ensure that we follow the footsteps of the great Muslim youth of the past who used to be leaders of humanity.

"Even if you know one verse propagate it". Many of the Sahabah began calling to Islam as soon as they embraced Islam even though they had very little knowledge of it. Carrying Islam to others, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil is an obligation and in reality makes us more conscious of our own actions.

Abdul-Hamid Jassat

We should know that we can never be perfect - we

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

From Darkness into Light seek and live wholeheartedly by it. The Western culture belittles truth in favour of the freedom of all men to live in error and confusion. The reality of this error and confusion will be detailed in other articles in this issue. The inescapable irony, however, is that Western culture, though it replaces certainty with doubt, demands of Muslims the acceptance of its own creed of secularism and the rejection of the concept of "one Ummah". remember the "Queen's Jubilee" very well. What a party we had - waving flags in our closed off street, eating cakes and sipping well, I was not allowed to sip everything. That was the Queen's Silver jubilee 25 years ago and I was still a child then. I kept on waving my Union Jack, though, especially during the Falklands war and what a war that was for a young English patriot. How I wished, at the time, that I could have been part of the action - such glory for a teenager to imagine. Strange days they were for an Englishman living in memoriam of past Empire and locked in an arms race towards mutually assured nuclear destruction thanks to the then threat of communism. It is hard to convey the unshakeable, yet equally unfathomable, pride in being an Englishman - clearly superior over, yet benevolent towards, all foreign types! You have to remember that these were the days when one would say, "thank God for England's National Health Service because it is the best in the world". That may have been true though younger readers will find it difficult to imagine. Of course the NHS does still compare favourably to health care in a third world country!

It was while visiting a third world country, a former British mandate territory, that I came to belong to another people and I put away my flag forever. It is a strange reversal of positions when today some young Muslims are speaking so proudly of 20

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

Britain as "our country". They want to be British Muslims - I once held the British identity, which is characterised by secular values, and now I am Muslim and that is enough for me! Should I integrate? I was integrated once when I believed in the Western system of life. I used to be proud of democracy and the free market economy. I once believed in the intellectual basis upon which the Western way of life is built. I drank deeply from the philosophy of the West and its way of thinking was my way of thinking. So then I was integrated, not by the clothes I wore or the drinks that I drank, but by my belief in what was specific to the culture of the West. Capitalism provided a complete way of life built on the secular premise of man's freedom to govern himself according to his own will without the imposition of religion. Christian, Muslim, Jew or atheist made little difference to me because religion was a matter of personal taste and indeed the whole of morality is just a matter of taste for believers in such a system. So pervasive is this mindset that people of religion succumbed to it before Muslims arrived on Britain's shores. Are Muslims next into the melting pot? Well not me. I jumped out of the melting pot and have no intention of merging Islam's distinct thoughts and solutions for life with those of the Jahilliyah, which, by the favour of Allah (swt), I left twelve years ago. Can there be any basis for a Muslim to integrate into the Western host culture? Islam values truth above all else and develops in man a mindset to

When I debated with Muslims I came with a sense of intellectual security. My confidence sprang in part from my graduation from a British University with a B.Sc honours degree and my offer of employment as a research assistant with the University of Oxford. After all, science is the most boasted achievement of the West and I was about to launch myself into the middle of it with my research on Foot-and Mouth Disease virus. However, within minutes of beginning discussion my illusions were shattered. The way of thinking of the Muslim minds in front of me was far surer than was my own. It took a matter of days for me to comprehend in a decisive manner the truth of Islam. I was in a state of intellectual shock. Having discovered the simplicity and certainty of the truth of Islam I could not at first comprehend how the strong and convincing thoughts of Islam could ever have been hidden from me. The country of my birth had ruled directly over the Muslim peoples of so many lands, dug up riches in abundance from them, yet had not brought back Islam. I saw the world in a new way, not through the mania of a dubious emotional experience, but with clarity and proof. The Western philosophers had struggled to convince themselves of even their own existence, until after many centuries Descartes arrived at "cogito ergo sum" (I think therefore I am). To this day, however, Western philosophers are not sure that anybody else exists, let alone a Creator! They fear that the material world may not really exist

From Darkness into Light

We must not isolate ourselves and neither must we integrate into the flawed host culture. Rather we should interact with those around us wisely so that many more may be led out, like me, from darkness into light. Dr.Abdullah Robin, Member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Britain

and that what we think to be "real" is just a figment of the imagination. Such doubts are an excuse for their ridiculing the idea that we can be sure that a Creator has given man a system to live his life by. The Capitalists of the West, however, are sure that great wealth exists in the world even if they seem not to notice most of the other people who live in the world and need a share in its resources. This Capitalist greed is what fuelled all conquering voyages of discovery, which led to the enslavement of peoples all over the world. The Western way of life is not built upon reasoned thought about reality but upon doubt in man's ability to answer the fundamental question about our life and the existence of this world that we sense. Curiously, rampant greed and selfishness fill the vacuum left by the fanciful philosophy of the West. Allah (swt) said,

"Say: Are the blind and the one who sees equal, will you not then take thought?" [TMQ Al-An'am: 50] Many other ayat call upon mankind to think and use his reason and like this ayah build thinking upon the sensation of reality.

"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of understanding" [TMQ Ale-Imran: 190]

their British identity, who will interact honestly with the British people and help them to see the fallacy of their empty way of life? Who will offer them a correct intellectual basis for life? Who will show them the glaring contradictions in the Capitalist system and explain to them the alternative ideology of Islam? "Will they not look at the camels, how they are created? And at the heaven, how it is raised? And at the mountains, how they are rooted and fixed firm? And at the earth, how it is spread out?" [TMQ Al-Ghashiyah: 17-20]

"So let man reflect from what he is created. He is created from a gushing fluid. Proceeding from between the back-bone and the ribs" [TMQ AtTariq: 5-7] The Qur'an showed us how to discuss with nonMuslims. We should reason with them to help them see the irrationality of their doctrines and systems. We should show them that their way of life is absolutely not built upon reason. They have sanctified science but science did not give them a political philosophy or an answer to the real question of existence. Scientific investigation itself, which the once dominant Church so rigidly suppressed, is not unique to the West. The Muslims once pioneered in all areas of research while Europe at that time stagnated. The current backwardness of the Muslim countries could only be rectified by returning to Islam and not by adopting Capitalism. To be actively engaged in ground breaking scientific research would be natural for a Muslim living in Britain with access to a laboratory. As for integration, that is characterised by a culture that is flawed intellectually and produces great inequality and discontent in the lives of people - that is not natural for a Muslim.

Some may say that Muslims should respect the protection they get from living in Britain and be grateful for that. If we are in any way grateful to the host country should we not offer them the best of what we have which is Islam? Should we not do this with clear and uncompromising intellectual argument? Allah (swt) has charged the Muslim Ummah, above all others, with the responsibility and honour of conveying His (swt) Deen to all mankind.

"You are the best of the nation raised up for mankind because you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in Allah" [TMQ AleImran: 110] We must not isolate ourselves and neither must we integrate into the flawed host culture. Rather we should interact with those around us wisely so that many more may be led out, like me, from darkness into light.

Dr Abdullah Robin

While some Muslims are so earnestly asserting September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

The Inevitability of the Clash of Civilisations ince the events of September 11 and America's new 'War on Terrorism', the focus of many political commentators, thinkers and academics has once again returned to the conflict of Islam and the West. The original proponent of the clash of civilisations was a Harvard Professor named Samuel Huntington who in an article in 'Foreign Affairs' in 1993 was the first to posit that the cold war conflict would be superseded by rivalry between the West, China and Islam. Huntington said in the aforementioned article:

"It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in the new world will not be primarily ideological or purely economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilisations. The clash of civilisations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilisations will be the battle lines of the future." Huntington's article and then subsequent book has generated a huge volume of criticism by many who have dismissed his theory as intellectually simplistic and factually incorrect. They claim that there is no inevitable clash of civilisations in a world where values and goals have become universal and where disputes are resolved through agreed international rules and conventions. This view has been more pronounced when commenting on the inevitability of a clash between Islam and the West. The advocates of this view seek to argue that the West has no problem with Islam, that in fact Islam is a great religion and that Muslims play a positive role in Western societies. So for example after the events of September 11th both President Bush and Prime Minister Blair went out of their way to show solidarity with the Muslims. Bush immediately visited an Islamic centre in Washington and made many statements indicating that the 'War on Terrorism' was not a war against Islam. Blair even quoted the following Quranic ayah to describe Islam as a religion of peace:

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

"Whoever kills a soul for other than a soul or (to spread) mischief in the earth, it is as if he killed all of mankind" [TMQ Al-Ma'idah: 32] Many academics have also asserted that confrontation between Islam and the West is a myth. The following is an extract of an answer in an interview that took place with Professor Fred Halliday: 'NATO as a military alliance has been to war thrice, once over Bosnia, the other time in Kuwait and then Kosovo, in effect the war against Iraq in Kuwait was effectively a war fought by NATO using NATO tactics transplanted to the Arabian peninsula. So you have the extraordinary fact that the only three times NATO has been to war has been in defence of Muslim people. I think it is ironical and it undermines the idea that the West or NATO is anti-Islamic. If we look at the role of the US and the CIA over the last 20 years, by far the largest covert operation was in support of the Afghan mujahideen, a very nasty bunch of people in my view. Over $4 billion was spent in support of them. So it goes against the idea of the US or NATO being against Muslim fundamentalism' The attack on Huntington's key thesis is not just restricted to non-Muslims, as many Muslims have also stated that Islam and the West share many values and therefore view Huntington's theories as simply scare tactics designed to drive a wedge between Islam and the West. Many of these Muslims regularly attend inter-faith gatherings which promote the equality of civilisations, participate politically within the democratic process, meet regularly with Government ministers and ensure that when commenting on international issues relating to Muslims, they toe their host country's line. Consequently it is clear from the above that a significant propaganda effort is being made to convince Muslim public opinion that there is no risk of a clash of civilisations, that Islam is completely compatible with Western culture and that Muslims can happily coexist in a liberal society. This view however is at complete odds with reality and the role that Allah (swt) has given the Muslim Ummah.

Why the Myth of Confrontation is not a Myth This can be tackled from a number of ways 1) Ideological By the very nature of ideologies, it is clear that it is inevitable that ideologies must clash. This is because ideologies by their definition have distinct viewpoints about life, which are completely opposite to other ideologies. So for example, Capitalism believes in detaching religion from life and from this, personal benefit and the pursuit of sensory pleasure emanates as their criteria and goal for all actions. Islam in contrast believes that you cannot separate the spiritual aspect from the political aspect and as such the implementation of laws restricting monopolies as part of the economic policies of the state is extracted from the same source (i.e. the divine texts) as the laws that relate to prayer. Consequently it goes without saying that the Islamic viewpoint about life cannot coexist within the same society as the Capitalist viewpoint. It is only those who engage in intellectual dishonesty and try to portray Islam as simply a religion that can really dispute this fact. Indeed what shapes behaviours in a society is not religion (this only affects one's personal behaviour), language, or history but ideologies as these shape the values contained in societies while at the same time providing the vision and roadmap to achieve its higher goals. Consequently Huntington is actually wrong to downplay ideologies, as societies with the same ideologies will have common values and behaviours, thus making it less likely that a permanent clash will occur. However different ideologies with distinct viewpoints and different values are bound to clash. This is because ideologies by their nature seek to dominate due to their adherents behaving according to their ideological criteria for action. So for example, Capitalism seeks to dominate due to the Capitalist's insatiable appetite for personal benefit - this explains why colonialism has always been their method to achieve this. This explains why America seeks under the pretext of a 'War on Terror' and a 'War against Iraq' to obtain access to strategic energy reserves both in the Middle East and Central Asia so as to provide Corporate America with cheap oil. This is also why Britain in the last century under its Empire raped and looted Africa for raw materials and precious minerals ensuring its future wealth. Islam also seeks to dominate but not as a result of benefit but as a result of it adhering to its ideological criteria for action (the divine texts) which state that Islam must be conveyed as a way of life to the whole world. It is therefore clear that because ideologies all seek to dominate, that inevitably there will be a clash since adherents of both ideologies are determined to ensure that their goals are achieved,

Clash of Civilisations

The clash of ideologies is not only inevitable but a requirement so as to rid the corruption that emanates from illegitimate viewpoints such as Capitalism.

which therefore must occur at the expense of the other. We therefore see from the actions below that it is inevitable that belief in ideologies will drive their followers to initiate actions to ensure that only its distinct goals can occur while ensuring that competing ideologies are never successful. 2) Intellectual Actions The intellectual clash is the basis for all other struggles. As was mentioned before, ideological differences are all, in origin, intellectual and are related to the concepts of each ideology. This struggle is apparent between Capitalism and Islam in the media, amongst academics and through the Western agents amongst others. It is clear from reality that the Capitalist media seeks to attack Islam at any opportunity by constantly linking it to terrorism, fanaticism, militancy and backwardness. The media which is either owned directly by the Capitalists or indirectly by them through the state holds control over these channels and uses them for attacking and distorting Islam and for propagating its own ideas. Some of these intellectual styles seek to present Islam as a religion and in a favourable light so as to dilute the Islamic viewpoint and its associated concepts of Khilafah and Jihad. In this they are ably assisted by Muslims who for the sake of coexistence and pluralism, prefer to allow the Capitalist viewpoint to remain unchallenged throughout the world. 3) Political Actions Other actions that indicate that ideological nations will seek dominance are political ones. So for example, the Western powers notably Britain and France exerted significant energy and resources to demolish the Uthmani Khilafah, which they finally managed in 1924. The destruction of the Khilafah created a vacuum in international relations as it removed a state that had a competing world vision as opposed to the Capitalist nations. The Capitalist colonialists also occupied the lands of the Muslims, reforming their educational systems to ensure that their own ideological viewpoint and values would permeate through society. When they physically left these lands, they ensured that they left behind hand picked people who would continue to do their bidding even after 'independence'. Both these actions were driven by the need to ensure that their commercial interests were maintained and to ensure that the Khilafah did not arise again so as to guarantee that there would be no competition against the Capitalist's world agenda.

4) Economic Actions The economic struggle carried by the Capitalists has become one of the most destructive and awful types of struggle. The Western nations have used it comprehensively in the fight for their interests and have killed millions of people in the process. This struggle is maintained by the West through dominating the supply of raw materials, preventing the development of industry in the developing world and crushing the poor countries under the huge burden of debt, though these are only a few amongst many others. Contemporary IMF and World Bank policies in Islamic lands indicate that the Capitalists seek through these institutions to subjugate a country thus taking over its sovereignty in all of its affairs. This ensures both that the Capitalist countries benefit directly through gaining significant economic fruits (billions of dollars in interest, cheap assets through privatisation, access to lucrative markets) as well as ensuring the continued weakness of the countries in the Islamic lands to ensure that a future Khilafah will not appear.

achieve this. Allah (swt) says:

"He is the One who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Deen of truth so that it prevails over all other deens even if the polytheists detest!" [TMQ At-Taubah: 33] And He (swt) says:

"And we revealed to you the Book in truth confirming the Scripture that came before it and dominating over it" [TMQ Al-Ma'idah: 48]. And Muhammad's (saw) saying;

5) Military The final type of conflict is the military conflict. We have seen many times in history from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), that the opponents of Islam have sought to engage in a military struggle against the Islamic State. This continued with the Crusaders in the 11th century, the colonialist wars from the 18th century and continues till today with the Capitalist nations having already plundered the benefits from the first Gulf war in 1991 now contemplating another attack on Iraq. The Role of the Muslims These then are the types of struggle that we can see and any aware observer can see that ideologies by definition seek to dominate and ensure that other ideologies do not succeed. This is what the Capitalists did to the communists and this is what the future Islamic State using all its tools and resources at its disposal will do to the Capitalists. Consequently the clash of ideologies is not only inevitable but a requirement so as to rid the corruption that emanates from illegitimate viewpoints such as Capitalism.

"O my uncle, by Allah I swear, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, (so) that I abandon this matter, I would not do that until it prevails or I perish in the attempt." This dominance of Islam means that the Islamic Ummah must become dominant in each of these struggles and hold tight to Islam. This means that we should not compromise with Capitalism, indeed we must purify our own concepts, and establish the Khilafah in order that we can challenge the Capitalist nations intellectually, economically, politically and militarily until we defeat them, thus liberating their peoples from the darkness and subjugation and fulfilling our own covenant with Allah (swt).

Sajjad Khan It is evident from the Kitab and the Sunnah that Islam has come to dominate this earth and that the Muslims must sacrifice everything in order to September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

Holding on to Islam few weeks ago a man who works as a security guard was convicted of helping to dump eight pigs' heads and fake blood outside an Exeter Masjid two days after the 11th September attacks on the USA. A banner that read: "The blood of the American people is on the hands of every Muslim," and ended, "Nuke 'em George," was also erected.

argued that their non-Islamic civilisations were far superior to the Islamic civilisation and that Islam is regressive and barbaric. They dubbed this war on Islam a "Crusade". All this added to an already tense atmosphere that existed amongst the Ummah living in the West. Thus these factors put the Muslims in severe pressure from many perspectives.

The Masjid chairman received two midnight telephone calls saying, "The blood of American children is on your hands".

Furthermore, there were reports that many Muslims were shot at and even killed in America after 9/11. A non-Muslim was shot and killed mistakenly because some American thought he looked like Osama bin Laden.

The following day a note was found pinned to the mosque's door reading, "This is the start of the end for all Osama bin Laden supporters". This sinister incident was just one of the myriad of actions committed by those who were bent on fighting Islam and Muslims post 9/11. This very cruel act received some media coverage and was dealt with by the local authorities according to the law of the land. However there has been a multiplicity of such incidents that took place post 9/11, which received no media coverage whatsoever. Neither was any punitive action taken on the perpetrators of these vile acts; nor is it ever likely to take place in the future - at least not in this life. There have been cases of both verbal and physical assaults upon Muslims on the streets, in the neighbourhoods, at the workplace, in the supermarkets and so on and so forth. Many Muslims lost their jobs and others were made to feel that they were somehow criminals or "terrorists". There were even many emails circulated by the Kuffar mocking Muslims and Islam. Of course the majority of these incidents were not in the media spotlight at all. Hence those who have taken the brunt of these assaults had to endure in silence and many others still continue to endure a sense of living in fear. The leaders of the Western world, particularly the Americans, indirectly incited their citizens to attack Muslims and Islam by making public statements condemning Islam and Muslims. They 24

Khilafah Magazine September 2002

Origins of the Struggle Indeed the struggle between Iman and Kufr is old, commencing from the time that Adam (as) was created and from the time that Iblis (Shaytan) was ordered to prostrate to him. Shaytan refused in his arrogance and hence disobeyed his Lord (swt). His arrogance and pride led him to commit a whole host of sins, it made him expend every effort in misleading the children of Adam and made him beautify and embellish sins such that they accepted them and eagerly committed them. Thereby fulfilling his challenge he made with Allah (swt) by saying:

Insecurity, fear and apprehension became the order of the day, and still continue to be so for many Muslims living in the West. There was a tremendous feeling of uncertainty about the future of residing in the West post 9/11. Some Muslims even contemplated migrating to their countries of origin. The Americans coined this notion that the world had somehow changed post 9/11 and got their media machine to propagate this to the world, but in reality what had changed was the intensity of the war on Islam and the Muslims. The Kuffar went into warp-speed in attacking the Ummah globally. They undertook military operations against Muslim countries and launched an ideological onslaught upon the Muslims in the West with the view to force the Ummah to either renounce Islam and integrate fully within their societies or adopt the secular version of Islam that they propagated. They simply terrorised the Muslims with many intimidation tactics.

"(Iblis) said: 'Because you have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You).' (Allah) said (to Iblis) 'Get out of this (Paradise) disgraced and expelled. Whoever of them (mankind) will follow you, then surely I will fill Hell with you all'" [TMQ Al-A'raf: 16-18]

So how should a Muslim react to such events? The Muslim should neither be surprised nor be in total despair by these events that befell upon the Ummah at large and in particular in the Western world. This is because he will be aware that all this is a direct result of saying and upholding the Truth of "La ilaha illallah Muhammadan Rasoolallah" and that this struggle had began a long time ago.

Thus what we witness and experience today is nothing new. It is the ancient in modern form. It is Shaytan doing his usual handiwork. It is Shaytan merely attempting to divert the believers towards his wretched path. He has managed to gather his forces - those who harbour immense hatred for Islam and the believers, those who love to fight the truth and the carriers of the truth with their might and wealth. Indeed Shaytan has formed a

confederacy, similar to the one the Quraish had formed at the time the Prophet (saw), with all the Kuffar on this earth against the believers in order to stifle their adherence to their Deen, deviate them towards sin and take all of humanity to the Fire with him. This is his ultimate aim.

"Whoever takes Shaytan as an ally instead of Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss" [TMQ An-Nisa: 119] The Struggle of the Messenger of Allah (saw) Indeed the incidents mentioned above would surely remind the Ummah of Muhammad (saw) of his own struggle against the forces of Shaytan of his time, the Quraish. Is it not the case that he (saw) and his Sahabah had to face severe hardships to establish Islam and then make it dominant on this earth? Indeed they suffered much, and the Kuffar of Makkah were just as ferocious as the Kuffar of today. The house of Allah's Messenger (saw) was stoned and Umm Jamil, wife of Abu Lahab, used to throw impurities outside his home. Abu Jahl once threw a goat's uterus, slaughtered as a sacrifice to the idols, at Allah's Messenger (saw). He (saw) bore it all, and would go to Fatima's house so that she could clean him up. They plotted and planned against the Prophet (saw) in order to suppress and destroy Islam. They tried to derail him from his noble mission by enticing him with many worldly incentives. They had even plotted to kill the Messenger of Allah (saw). All this only strengthened Allah's Messenger's (saw) resolve and made him more eager towards the Islamic call.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said in one Hadith,

fruit of Iman. A tree that does not bear any fruit has no value, similarly; belief becomes meaningless without practice. Steadfastness is the mark of perfect belief."

"There will come a time when holding on to your Deen will be like holding onto ember (a burning piece of coal)." Those of us who live in Western societies know only too well the many obstacles and temptations that are laid in our path in order to divert our focus away from the path of Allah (swt). We are constantly bombarded with non-Islamic beliefs, concepts, values, customs, habits, and Akhlaq. Our Deen or an aspect of it is constantly attacked in the Western societies on a daily basis, consequently leading to disastrous effects on the Muslim mindset. This naturally produces an atmosphere of a severe inferiority complex amongst the Muslims at large to the extent that many Muslims end up twisting Islam in order to make it more palatable for Western tastes. Despite all the hardship a Believer may face, he is constantly reminded by Allah (swt) to resist all forms of misguidance and false enticements. He (swt) also reminds us that He (swt) will test us in many ways and He (swt) reassures us that He (swt) will indeed help us stay firm if we remain steadfast:

"Be sure We will test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss of goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil) but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere" [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 155].

"Verily in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example for everyone who looks for Allah and looks for the Last Day and who mentions Allah much." [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 21].

"Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter" [TMQ Ibrahim: 27].

Our struggle to stay firm on the Deen of Allah

Great rewards awaits the Steadfast

There is no doubt that the Islamic Ummah is going through great hardships and immense sufferings all over the world. The Ummah is going through unprecedented humiliation at the hands of the Kuffar be it in the East or West, in the Muslim countries or non-Muslim countries. All this has plunged the Ummah into great trials and tribulations.

It is said by the learned 'Ulema: "Steadfastness means adhering firmly to the injunctions of Islam, to act upon what is ordained and avoid what is prohibited, to perform dutifully orders in respect of obligations (Fara'id) and what is regarded desirable and avoid what is unlawful (Haram). Iman is not a mere expression of Shahadah. The real belief is one that is coupled with its actual practice, because practice of the Deen is in fact the

"Verily, those who say: 'Our Rabb is Allah (Alone)', and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): 'Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Jannah, which you have been promised! We have been your friends in the life of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have (all) that your inner-selves desire, and therein you shall have (all) for which you ask. An entertainment from (Allah), the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful'" [TMQ Fussilat: 30-32]

"Verily, those who say: 'Our Rabb is (only) Allah,' and thereafter stand firm and straight (on the Islamic Faith of Monotheism), on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. Such shall be the dwellers of Jannah, abiding therein (forever), - a reward for what they used to do'' [TMQ Al-Ahqaf: 13-14] Sufyan bin 'Abdullah (ra) reported: "I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, tell me something of Islam which I will not ask anyone else about it.' He (saw) said,

"Say, 'I believe in Allah' and then be steadfast" [Muslim].

Saleh Ahmed

September 2002 Khilafah Magazine

Quotes "The U.S has been the most successful country in assimilating and integrating huge numbers of different ethnic and racial groups. We achieved this by turning foreigners into Americans who were educated in English, did business in English, accepted the American creed and its values, and subscribed to the American constitutional system. And thank God it was that way."

"The (British) Home Office must know that some of their Muslim beliefs at least at face value are not compatible with a pluralist society; Islam does not know how to exist as a minority culture for it is not just a set of private individual principles and beliefs. Islam is a social creed above all, a radically different way of organising society as a whole." The Times, 8/789

Duignan, Peter, The dangers of Multiculturalism, vital speeches of the day, 6/1/95 "We now realise that Islam in France is a French reality and not just a foreign issue or an extension of foreign problems… So it is not enough to have an Islam in France they should be a French Islam." Charles Pasqua, French Interior Minister, New York Times, 29/10/95 "We must prevent Islamic fundamentalism from turning itself into an ideological challenge to the Western world and us" Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy

"We need a place to teach and explain Islam in European context…What we need is a modern and moderate Islam…for example, the punishments mentioned in the Quran are not relevant. We can accept secularity, monogamy…We admire the civil traditions of Europe…its great principle of democracy, freedom, and reason…We will give Islam an interpretation most adaptive to European society. We feel that our Jewish friends once faced the same intolerance we face today…Islam will be as accepted in France as Judaism" Zuhair Mahmoud, L.A Times 1/8/92 "Contemporary Islam…is a truly frightening force…To worry about contemporary Islam is not mad. It would be mad to do otherwise." Peregrine Worsthorne, Telegraph, 1997

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Khilafah Magazine September 2002

Clare Hollingsworth, defence correspondent, IHT "The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. it is Islam, a different civilisation whose people are convinced of the superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their power." Samuel Huntington, Harvard University, The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking of World Order "We do not know who primed and put the Oklahoma bomb in its place; we do know that they were, in the fullest meaning of the word, fanatics. Unlike most of us, they do not in the least mind being killed; indeed, they are delighted, because they believe that they are going to a far, far better place … Do you realise that in perhaps half a century, not more and perhaps a good deal less, there will be wars, in which fanatical Muslims will be winning? As for Oklahoma, it will be called Khartoum-on-the-Mississippi, and woe betide anyone who calls it anything else." Bernard Levin, columnist

"Muslim fundamentalism is at least as dangerous as communism once was. Please do not underestimate this risk ... at the conclusion of this age it is a serious threat, because it represents terrorism, religious fanaticism and exploitation of social and economic justice."

"May I say in parenthesis that this idea of dividing the world between Islam and the West or the West and the Rest is not just simply jingoistic, but it is also untrue. Muslims are as much an inseparable part of the West as the West is so intricately interfaced with the world of Islam. It's not a question of the twain not being able to meet, it is a question of the twain not being able to separate from each other."

Willi Claes, Former Secretary General of NATO

Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain, 4/11/99

Daily Telegraph, 1996

Please address your letters and questions to the Editorial Team, either by email or post at the following addresses:

"Muslim fundamentalism is fast becoming the chief threat to global peace and security as well as a cause of national and local disturbance through terrorism. It is akin to the menace posed by Nazism and fascism in the 1930s and then by communism in the 1950s."