Khilafah Magazine June 2003

4EDITORIAL

5REFERENCE

6NEWS

8ROADMAP

AIMS TO STRENGTHEN ISRAEL

AND FACILITATE US GRIP

OVER THE REGION

11BOYCOTTING COMPANIES

THAT SUPPORT ISRAEL

13MULTICULTURALISM

16BRITISH BORN

TEL-AVIV BOMBERS

19CAREERS FOR MUSLIM

WOMEN

22O DUNYA! A GREAT MAN HAS QUIETLY

DEPARTED FROM US!

HIZB UT-TAHRIR

ANNOUNCES THE DEATH OF ITS

AMEER

23SACRIFICING

ALL FOR EXAM SUCCESS?

25AMERICAN JUSTICE

Con

tents

Rabi al-Thani – Jumada al-U’la 1424 - June 2003

Khilafah

3

magazine

Cover Issue 6 Volume 16

June 2003 Khilafah Magazine

This month's Khilafah magazine goes to printamid countless global terror alerts streaming outof the White House and the Pentagon. These

follow what has been termed as an 'unprecedented'period of bombings across the Muslim world inMorocco, Saudi Arabia and Palestine. If the alerts arenot regarding an imminent attack in Jeddah, they'reabout raising the domestic terror status in the US from'elevated' to 'high', fourth on a five-scale terror alert.The media has utilised all of these events to portray asense of global crisis and an opportunity to demoniseIslam.

Referring to the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia, theeditorial of the Independent newspaper stated on May14, "Why are more and more Saudi young men beingfed with radical ideas? Who are the peoplebrainwashing them? How are they being radicalised?".The editorial of the New York Post said on the sameday: "There is no appeasing the ultimate Islamist aim ofoverthrowing the ... kingdom and restoring thecaliphate. This is a war to the death betweengerontocracy and theocracy."

The Muslim community in Britain came into focusfollowing alleged reports that two Muslims, born andraised in Britain, had travelled to Tel Aviv to engage inthe first of this wave of 'suicide bombings'.

The Times editorial proclaimed that the bombers, were"British converts to terror" and "young, disaffectedMuslim Britons", had discarded Western clothes andworn robes, grew beards and visited mosques and hadadopted the "corrupting message of Jihad".

The Muslim community in Britain has subsequentlyexperienced a period of intense suspicion, scepticismand witnessed a vitriolic attack on Islam by mediacrusaders, from tabloid to broadsheet. The onslaughtdemanded Muslims apologise for Islam as Muslimsfound themselves subject to a campaign aimed atembarrassing them for the belief in Islam and itsShari'ah rules. The media demanded 'voices ofcondemnation'.

The Telegraph wrote, "It is no longer enough forMuslim community leaders to take to the airwaves afterevery atrocity involving Islamic fundamentalists toargue that they represent a small minority. Thefundamentalists need to be confronted directly in their

Edito

rial communities by those who represent a law-abiding

majority largely cut off from the predominant culture".

The media frenzy exposed the fact that there exists,between Capitalism and Islam, a monumental clash ofideological values and beliefs. Although academicshave commented on such a clash, its reality becameapparent in the context of these recent events. In anarticle entitled 'We must end this Plague' Kevin Tooliswrote in the Daily Mail, "We are fighting an idea, aform of Political Islam that sees the West andeverything we stand for as corrupt, degenerate andcontemptible."

In the context of this clash and huge gulf between Islamand the Capitalist West, Muslims in Britain found thatthey were questioned about their identity and aboutwhere their loyalty and allegiance lie. One editorialcomplained that "Sadly, a considerable number ofyoung Britons have two identities: they are Muslimfirst, British second".

The fact that a conflict exists between Islam and values,beliefs and systems which are derived from ideologieswhich fundamentally differ with it, is a fact for theMuslims as Allah (swt) states in the Qur'an:

"Nay, We hurl the Truth against the Falsehood, so itknocks out its brains, and behold, the Falsehoodvanishes." [TMQ Al-Anbiyah: 18]

There is a conflict between Islam and falsehood - it hasand will continue. What is necessary for Muslims is toabide by Islam and not to allow emotions, short-termism nor fear to predominate over our choice ofactions. It requires that we clearly understand ouridentity.

The media has used these events to corner andembarrass Muslims through regular bombardments,often vitriolic language and through attacks on Islamitself. Muslims have been asked to answer for othersand to make Islam palatable to western standards ofjustice.

Muslim should resist the media onslaught against Islamand resist attempts to dilute Islam through corneringMuslims into adopting values opposed to the Islamicbelief. It is necessary for Muslims to realise which sideof this clash they stand on, not to compromise Islamand to articulate Islam clearly and concisely in the wayit has been revealed.

"Let not the fear of people stop you from speaking thetruth when you see or witness something. Verily,speaking the truth or reminding about a great matterwill not draw death closer or deprive someone from hisprovision (rizq)." narrated by Ahmad z

Akmal Asghar

Khilafah Magazine June 20034

Khilafahmagazine

EditorDr Imran Waheed

Deputy EditorAsif Dawood

Editorial BoardAsif KhanAhmad JassatJalaluddin PatelAbdul Hamid JassatSajjad Khan

No Copyrights

Since Islam rejects copyrights and patents you arefree to reproduce articles contained within thispublication. It is our kind request that when doing soyou cite the author and source of the article.

Translation of the Qur’an

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

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Published by Khilafah PublicationsSuite 298, 56 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4UBwww.1924.org · [email protected]

Khilafah Magazine is a monthly magazine publishedin London with a wide distribution across the Muslimand non-Muslim world. The magazine is dedicated toarticulating the case for Islam as an ideology thatdeals with all human problems, whether individual orsocietal. Islam must be understood ideologically andhas a defined political and ruling system – theKhilafah System. We maintain that the 'Clash ofCivilisations' is not only inevitable but imperative. Asthe Capitalist ideology dominates the world today, theonly challenge to it must come from Islam.

We write to inform, inspire and create a movementfor true intellectual revival.

Sisters EditorialAdvisorsDr Nazreen NawazRuksana RahmanSameena Asghar

News EditorDr Samiul Muquit

Production and PublishingMokbul HussainKosser Mohammed

June 2003 Khilafah Magazine 5

Referenc

e

TTUURRKKEEYY-- NNUULL PPOOIINNTTSS

Riga, the Latvian capital was host tothis year's Eurovision song contest,with European and many peri-European countries being representedby pop-artists. Although generally seenas a joke, this contest does well timeafter time in arousing nationalisticfeelings with millions across thecontinent watching the show aired on aSaturday evening.

On the night, however, there wasshame and humiliation as the UKcontingent failed to gain a single vote,apparently the UK's worst everperformance despite having groups inprevious years with the same level of socalled 'talent'. As the number '0' flashedrepeatedly from across Europe on theUK scoreboard, excuses were quick toappear. The singers claimed technicaldifficulties for their 'tone-deaf'performance whilst those of a slightlyhigher intellectual disposition offeredthe analysis that this was Europeanrevenge for the Iraq war.

Despite the UK's humiliation onSaturday, this was not the mostdegrading of humiliations. Thishumiliation was reserved for theMuslim Ummah as the scores revealedTurkey to be the winner.

Although Turkey was included in theEurovision song contest, it has failedand will continue to fail in its plea tobecome an EU member, one of thefactors being an economy sunken withforeign debt and capable of drowningmany other nations in Europe.Enthused by this win, PresidentErdogan announced a few days laterthat Turkey can become an EU memberby the year 2012 if it undergoes certainreforms.

Turkey has been undergoing reform formany years, not only in its politics bythe adoption of democracy, but alsoculturally. Ankara is now reminiscentof European cities, with clubs and pubsaccommodating an easy transition intothe western lifestyle. Euro-visionreflects the blind following of all thatthe West has offered, with a push tobecoming more western and rejectionof an Islamic heritage.

Surely in misleading the capital of theformer Islamic State the true winnerhas been the UK. Turkey, on the otherhand, scored 'nul points'.

Dr Samiul Muquit

SSEERRTTAABB EERREENNEERR WWOONN TTHHEECCOONNTTEESSTT

A New EU Constitution or theformation of the United States ofEurope?

The long awaited draft constitution ofthe European Union was finallypublished by a convention on the futureof Europe on 26th May. Theconvention was set up after the EU'sLeaken Summit in December 2001 toaddress the problems of theorganisation and structure of the EUbefore the admission of 10 newmembers in 2004.

Despite denials of Europe headingtowards the creation of a 'United Statesof Europe' or the formation of afederation, the constitution proposalsincluded electing a powerful president,a EU foreign minister, common foreignpolicy, and the incorporation of acharter of fundamental rights.

The progressive unity of Europeillustrates the hypocrisy of westerncapitalist nations; they promoteseparatism, independence andnationalism throughout the world -especially to Muslims, as a solution toproblems, whilst they work tirelessly tounite their own countries in order tofurther their economic and politicalinterests, and enhance theirinternational standing. The predecessorof the EU, the European Community,was formed in 1957 by the Treaty ofRome, at a time when nationalism waspushed throughout the Muslim worldleading to break-ups of Muslimcountries like Pakistan and the furtherpromotion of Arab Nationalism.

It is clearly unity that gives rise topower and strength. But can the path ofEurope be used as a model for theMuslim countries to unite through aUnion of Countries?

An alliance federation of nation statesis a very weak unity since its bond issuperficial, based on common interests.It has taken Europe half a century tounite 25 countries. Even today memberstates argue over national sovereigntyin the face of European unification.Presently small countries fear theassignment of a permanent president,whereas larger countries such as

Britain, France and Germany see this astheir opportunity to take leadership ofEurope; anti-federalists want morepower to remain with nationalgovernments. The recent war on Iraqclearly proved the spider-web nature ofthis alliance as nations split bitterlyover the invasion of Iraq based onnational interest

True unity can only arise when thenature of the unity is on an intellectualbasis, not on mutual interests as we seein the west. For Muslims this is theIslamic 'Aqeedah, and the formation ofone single State based on Islam, not thefederation of secular Muslim nationstates.

Suhel Ahmed

TTOORRIIEESS HHOOLLDD EEIIDD PPAARRTTYY

On the 15th of May an Eid Milad an-Nabi party was held by theConservative party at its central office.Some Muslim organisations andprominent figures were invited withleading members of the Conservativeparty, which included its leader, IainDuncan Smith, chairperson TheresaMay and members of the shadowcabinet.

Tory party members were said to havebeen there to "recognise a contributionmade to mankind by ProphetMuhammad (saw)". Also theConservative Party leader in a shortaddress was said to have brieflyoutlined the life and character of theProphet and his contributions tohumanity.

The truth about the gathering is that itwas more in relation to the build-up tothe June 2005 General elections ratherthan the Conservative Party's love forProphet Muhammad (saw). Thegathering is an initiative by the party togain popularity amongst the Muslimvoters in a time where it seems theLabour party has let the Muslims downby treading the path of war in Iraq.However, it was the Tory party that wasthe government's biggest supporter ofthe war on Iraq and held a pro-warstance on this issue.

Whether the Labour party or theConservative party the overallobjective of gatherings such as theseare the same: to de-politicise theMuslims of Islamic politics andpoliticise Muslims in the politics of theWest. Iain Duncan Smith said withregards to the Muslims, "I am lookingto get more candidates in, there is noquestion," and went on to say that in the

next election he expected to haveMuslims in parliament. Muslimsshould not be naive in falling for thesestatements as the true meaning behindthe integration into western politicsmeans to reject Islamic politics, thepolitics of the Prophet Muhammad(saw).

Kosser Mohammed

EEAARRTTHHQQUUAAKKEE IINN AALLGGEERRIIAA

On Thursday May 22nd, more than2,000 people lost their lives and almost9,000 people were wounded in theworst earthquake to hit Algeria sincethe 1980 quake that killed almost 2,500people.

The earthquake registered 6.7 on theRichter scale. Numerous townsthroughout the Boumerdes region eastof Algiers were devastated, and inAlgiers, several buildings collapsed,reducing homes to piles of rubble.

After the original quake, there wereseveral powerful 'after shocks' whichhave rendered more than 100,000people homeless.

This is not the only kind of disaster theMuslims of Algeria have had to suffer.In November 2001, more than 700people were killed in flooding aroundthe capital.

The people in Algeria are outraged atthe incompetence of the regime toprepare for a catastrophe on the scale ofthe recent quake. El-Khabar, El-Youmand Al-Fadjr are some of the dailynewspapers that have attacked thegovernment for the gross lack ofdigging and rescue equipmentavailable.

In contrast, if we look at the quake thathit Japan on the 26th May, we see avery small number injured with nofatalities despite the quake being moresevere in magnitude than the Algerianone.

Japan's minister of disastermanagement, Yoshitada Konoike, tolda news conference that it was it was"absolutely inconceivable that therecould be damage similar to that afterthe Hanshin Awaji earthquake" which

New

s


devastated Kobe in western Japan in1995 and left 6,430 dead.

The quake has 'shaken' the politicalfabric of Algeria and exposed to theworld what the people of Algeria havealways known. The fact that thegovernment is not concerned to investmoney and facilities or developprograms to look after the affairs of thegeneral public.

El Watan newspaper wrote, "Livescould have been spared had thegovernment put in place effectivelegislation and oversight measures. Wehave witnessed quite the opposite."

Not only has the Algerian regime let theMuslims down, but we did not see asingle other Muslim government raceto help the victims of this disaster bysending rescue teams or donatingmoney for desperately needed cleanwater, basic food and medical supplies.

Shamim Ghani

BBLLAAIIRR''SS ''HHIISSTTOORRIICC'' VVIISSIITT TTOOBBAASSRRAA

Tony Blair visited the British crusadingforces in Basra in an attempt to boosttheir morale and called this crusade"one of the defining moments of thecentury". While Blair and Bush madeSaddam's weapons a central part oftheir case for taking action against Iraq,it appears that the issue of WMD hadbeen nothing but a cheap lie. TonyBenn, an ex-Labour MP spelt out thefeelings prevalent amongst many, "Ibelieve the Prime Minister lied to us.The whole war was built uponfalsehood."

Since there are probably no WMD to befound to validate this crusade, the focushas been diverted from this issue. Blairsaid, "Our priorities in Iraq are less todo with finding WMD and more to do

with humanitarian and politicalreconstructions". This clearly showsthe true motives, which were purely forreshaping Iraq and exploiting itsresources according to the interests ofthe crusaders.

Meanwhile, the latest report fromAmnesty International condemns theUS and UK for their ‘human rights’abuses since the 'war on terror' began."What would have been unacceptableon 10 September 2001 is nowbecoming almost the norm", said IreneKhan, Amnesty's secretary general."We have exposed the hypocrisy,selectivity and double standards ofgovernments, and the situation wherethe US and UK attack Iraq supposedlybecause of weapons of massdestruction but continue to sell deadlyweapons to known abusers of humanrights. The US continues to pick andchoose which bits of its obligationsunder international law it will use, andwhen it will use them."

The report said that in the UK thirteen(Muslim) foreign nationals had beeninterned without charge in "inhumanand degrading conditions" in high-security prisons under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act.

Despite all the attempts by thecrusaders to conceal their true agendain the so-called 'war on terror', eventheir own organisations like AmnestyInternational, whose criteria are basedupon the same liberal values, areexposing their crimes. It should beperfectly clear to us that the West doesnot act upon an altruistic basis and doesnot 'liberate' people, as Islam did in thepast. Rather committing atrocities andgenocides to fulfil materialisticinterests are intrinsic to Capitalism.

Wakil Ahmed

AA NNAATTIIOONNSS IINNTTEERREESSTT

In the latest chapter in the tale of theUS-UK occupation of Iraq, some issuesregarding the nature of the occupationhave arisen. Within the UK the debateon the actions pre-war and post-war inIraq was intensified following theremarks of Lord Goldsmith, theAttorney-General, warning that anyoccupation would be illegal withoutapproval from the United NationsSecurity Council.

In the memo to Tony Blair, LordGoldsmith made clear that all post-warUS and British activity in Iraq, beyondessential maintenance of security,would be unlawful without UN

authorisation. This is based on the twomain pillars of international law, theGeneva Convention and the HagueRegulations.

The Attorney-General also stated: "Myview is that a further Security Councilresolution is needed to authoriseimposing reform and restructuring ofIraq and its Government." Aspokesman later said: "we would pointout that the Attorney-General is onrecord saying the military action in Iraqwas legal and is satisfied that theGovernment has acted in accordancewith international law."

The UN and its members have nowaccepted the new resolution on Iraqputting the US and UK in control of theregion and resigning the UN to just aconsultative role. This is the case eventhough Britain and America wentagainst the UN and went to war withoutits approval and used lies and deceptionto attack Iraq. Day by day the truemotives of these nations are becomingmore and more apparent.

It is very clear the UN and suchinstitutions are imperialist institutionsdesigned to legitimise the interest ofnations such as the Britain andAmerica. History is continuouslyshowing such nations do not believe inthe concept of international law and theUN when they do not fall in line withthe nation's own interest.

Fawzi Jeeachee

AABBUU MMAAZZEENN AANNDD SSHHAARROONN MMEEEETT

Having branded the PalestinianAuthority as irrelevant the IsraeliPremier, Ariel Sharon, has nowexpressed cautious optimism followingthe recent appointment of Abu Mazen.Yet why has his appointment to the roleof 'Prime Minister' been soenthusiastically received whenSharon's government has repeatedlyrefused to meet any Palestinianrepresentatives for months? The entireidea of having a Palestinian PrimeMinister is the brain child of Israelwhose suggestion was quickly taken upby Washington. Having beenhandpicked for the role Abu Mazen'spolitical views and repeated

concessions to the Israeli's are wellknown. Herein lies the secret to theirjoy behind his appointment.

US Assistant Secretary of State RichardArmitage told reporters that Abbas isAmerica's choice, because, the UnitedStates would want to see a leader whocould "speak authoritatively for thePalestinian people." A good primeminister, Armitage added, "would be agreat help to the Palestinian people andalso allow them to talk to Israel." YetAbu Mazen is widely despisedthroughout Palestine. Shortly after hisascension to power he began work on a$1.5 million villa for himself, fundedby 'unknown' sources. It standsamongst some of the world's mostdesperate poverty - hardly the actionsof an altruistic leader.

The distrust does not stop there. He hasbeen known to have authored several ofthe proposed peace plans havingworked alongside Israeli generals in theprocess. In them he openly calls for therelinquishing of political rights of thePalestinians, and advocatesmaintaining the occupation intact. Itwould appear that whilst those whomhe is supposed to represent, thePalestinians, despise him it is the Israelipress who are keen to celebrate his newrole. They have noted his willingness torepudiate Palestinian refugees' right ofreturn to occupied territories.

Hence Sharon was more than willing,when offered the opportunity to meetwith Abu Mazen. He represents nothreat to the Zionist agenda and will dolittle to reverse the current plight of thePalestinians. Arafat could simply nolonger be regarded as competent insecuring the Israeli objectives. Sharonwill now be hoping that where Arafathas failed Abu Mazen can succeed.

Shiraz Maher

New

s


ABID MUSTAFA

ROADMAPAIMS TO STRENGTHEN ISRAEL AND

FACILITATE US GRIP OVER THE REGION


Soon after the fall of Baghdad, the Americangovernment announced its detailed vision fora separate Palestinian state to be achieved by

the year 2005. The steps regarding the achievementof Palestinian statehood were contained in themuch-lauded 'road map' for peace - whose authorsare Europe, Russia, America and the UN. America'scommitment to peace follows a succession ofbelligerent statements directed at Syria and Iran. Inhis speech in Washington to the main pro-Israelilobby group, the America Israel Public AffairsCommittee, US Secretary of State Colin Powell saidthat the US wanted to see "more responsiblebehaviour", a diplomatic phrase meaning a radicalchange of policy. He made specific demands. "Syriafaces a critical choice," he said. "It can continuedirect support for terrorist groups and the dyingregime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on adifferent and more helpful course." His message toIran went further. Not only did he say that "Iran(must) end its support for terrorism", but he added,"Tehran must stop pursuing weapons of massdestruction and the means to deliver them." Clearlysuch announcements from the US administrationsend mixed signals to the people of the Middle East.On the one hand, the US administration is hoping toplacate the Arab masses and indeed the Muslimworld that she is prepared to bring peace to theregion by solving the fifty-five year old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While on the other hand,America has strongly hinted that she is prepared touse force to end the regimes of Iran and Syria if theydo not desist in their support for terror. As far as thepeople in the Middle East are concerned they aredeeply sceptical of American intentions and viewher as a colonial power determined to shape theregion in her image. Conversely, the people in theUS and Israeli governments argue that peace canonly be achieved, if regimes of Syria and Iranwithdraw their support to Palestinian militantsoperating in the occupied territories. So who isright?

Unlike previous US sponsored peace plans; the

current road map focuses on establishing peacebetween the Israelis and the Palestinians and notbetween Israel and the neighbouring Arab countries.In fact, America has split the peace process into twoseparate tracks, i.e. an Israeli-Palestine track and anIsraeli-Arab track. However, the common elementin both tracks is the insistence by both the Israelisand the Americans that there must be a cessation ofviolence by the Arabs before any negotiation canbegin. This means that the neighbouring Arabcountries like Syria and Lebanon cannot resolvetheir territorial dispute with Israel, until theirsupport for Palestinian militants is stopped.Therefore, the present US administration regardsIsrael's security of paramount importance.Condoleezza Rice Bush's National Security advisorrecently remarked that, "the security of Israel is thesecurity of the world", it is within this context thatAmerica plans to bring the Israeli and Palestinianconflict to an end and reshape the entire region.

America has already destroyed Iraq's ability tothreaten Israel by destroying its weapons of massdestruction (WMD) through UN inspections. Shenow plans to significantly weaken other Arab states

such as Syria along with Iran, so that all forms ofthreats to Israel are eliminated. Inevitably this willbolster Israel's security and enable her to extend herdominance over her neighbours. It would also leaveArab countries like Syria and Lebanon in anextremely weak position when it comes to resolvingtheir territorial dispute with Israel.

AMERICAN PRESSURE ON SYRIA

With this in mind the Secretary of State ColinPowell, visited Syria and Lebanon in May and heldextensive talks with the Syrian President Bashhar AlAssad and also the Syrian Foreign Minister Faroukal-Sharaa. During his visit he made a list of thefollowing demands:

1. To end the presence of Hezbollah on the borderbetween Lebanon and Israel. "The time has come forthe Lebanese Army to deploy along the border withIsrael and put an end to Hezbollah's armed presencethere", U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powelldeclared. He also said,"We have emphasizedstrongly our concern about the continuing terroristactivities of Hezbollah, in the region and around theworld."

2. To close down the operations of all pro-Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad andothers operating in Syria. Powell told reporters inBeirut, when asked whether Syria had taken actionagainst Palestinian factions, "They did someclosures. I expect them to do more with respect toaccess and appearances of various officials of theseorganisations".

3. All weapons of mass destruction must beeliminated from Syria. Both the Israeli and the USgovernments have accused Syria of possessing suchweapons. In April the US Undersecretary forInternational Security, John Bolton, made specificreference to Syria, which according to CIA reportsto Congress has a chemical weapons programme.


roadmap aims to strengthen israel and facilitate us grip over the region

He said, "We are hopeful that a number of regimeswill draw the appropriate lesson from Iraq that thepursuit of weapons of mass destruction is not in theirnational interest. It is a wonderful opportunity forSyria to foreswear the pursuit of weapons of massdestruction". Days later Mr Sharon's spokesman,Raanan Gussin, told Israel radio that Syriacontinued to develop and purchase weapons of massdestruction and possessed missiles "that cover thewhole range of the state of Israel". Syria's "arsenalof chemical weapons", he said, was "large".

4. Syria must deport or hand over any wanted Iraqisin the country. This demand was made in response toBush who said, "Syria just needs to know we expectfull co-operation and that we strongly urge them notto allow for Baath Party members or Saddam'sfamilies or generals on the run to find safe haventhere".

The US Secretary of State made all of thesedemands without offering anything in return to theSyrians. A State Department official with Powell,when asked whether any incentives had been offeredfor Syria to join Washington's plans for the region,responded, "We didn't come here bearing carrots."Rather, he said, they came to express U.S. PresidentGeorge Bush's concerns about Syria's behaviour "inthe strongest possible terms."

In the coming weeks, America will be monitoringSyria's commitment towards fulfilling thesedemands. Colin Powell said to ABC television,"What I said to him is that we would be watchingand we would measure performance over time to seewhether Syria is prepared now to move in a newdirection in light of these changed circumstances."

If Syrians do not meet these demands then the wayis open for America to use military action. Powellsaid that there were many ways to confront acountry, including diplomatic, political, economicand military ones. "The President has all of hisoptions on the table," he said. Thus, America isdetermined to remove all types of threats posed bySyria to the security of Israel.

AMERICAN PRESSURE ON IRAN

The American administration is applying similarpressure on Iran. Recently the media has been rifewith reports that the United States and Iran areholding secret discussions in Geneva. It has beensuggested by the American press that the secret talkscovered a range of subjects, including the issue ofIraq. Whereas the British newspaper TheIndependent reported that the current round of talksbrings the total number to three so far this year. Asenior US State Department official, who isaccompanying Secretary of State Colin Powell, onthe Middle East tour, told reporters, "We have hadseveral meetings with the Iranians… The mostrecent one was nine days ago approximately. We arediscussing things that are important to the UnitedStates, such as Iraq". On May 12th, the Iranianforeign ministry spokesman finally acknowledged

the ongoing clandestine talks when he said that thetwo countries discussed Afghanistan and thepresence of an Iranian armed opposition group inIraq. Given the current political climate of the regionit is more than likely that the talks focused on fourmajor issues, namely nuclear facilities, withdrawingsupport to Hezbollah and preventing the activities ofMujaheddin-e Khalq (an Iranian opposition groupbased in Iraq) and handing over Al-Qaida membersto the US. The issue of Afghanistan has also beenpart of the discussions, but they are not relevant tothe immediate threat perceived by the Israelis totheir security. The summary of these points is asfollows.

CONTROLLING IRAN'S NUCLEARFACILITIES

Over the years, Iran's nuclear program has been asource of major concern both for the Israelis and theUS. However, given the new American policy toreshape the Middle East a nuclear armed Iran isviewed as a threat to both Israeli and Americaninterests. On May 8th, George Bush said; "I'vealways expressed my concerns that the Iranians aredeveloping a nuclear program. One of the issues wemust do is work together to stop the proliferation ofweapons of mass destruction." America wants toensure that the Muslim countries neighbouringIsrael must not be able to pose any type of threat toher security. The New York Times quoted a senioradministration official saying, "It's not just that Iranis speeding up its nuclear plans. It's also that we'veonly recently learned some things about theirprogram that have been going on for two years.There's also a lot of hammering from the Israelis forus to take this problem seriously." Of greatestconcern is the recent disclosure that Iran has built auranium enrichment plant at Natanz in central Iran,a site not known to nuclear experts until last year.The Americans regard Natanz site to be moreworrisome than the Russian-assisted nuclear reactorat the Gulf city of Bushehr, which they say has thepotential of producing weapons-grade plutonium.Although the Iranians maintain these nuclearfacilities are for peaceful purposes, the Americansare exploiting the issue to put further pressure on theIranian regime. To achieve this, the US is puttingpressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) to declare these sites as a weapons facility.In this respect George Bush in his speech pointedout that the IAEA, the UN body overseeingcompliance, meets in June, "We'll wait and see whatit says", he remarked. The Americans are alsosoliciting the help of Russia to get these facilitiesbanned. So far the Russians have insisted that thefacilities are for peaceful purposes. On May the14th, the Day when Colin Powell was expected toraise the issue with Putin and Russian ForeignMinister Igor Ivanov, Alexander Rumyantsev, theRussian minister of atomic energy, said, "Ministryof Atomic Energy closely follows theimplementation of the nuclear program of Iran,where Russian specialists are assembling the firstpower-generating set of the Bushehr Nuclear PowerPlant. During regular bilateral contacts the Iranian

side invariably assures us that Iran's nuclearprogram is entirely peaceful". However, theRussians want to keep their options open with theUS and may want to use the issue as a bargainingploy in the future. Alexander Rumyantsev furthersaid, "If the international community adducesweighty arguments contrary to Iran's nuclearprogram, we will be prepared to discuss them withinthe IAEA framework." From these statements it isevident that America intends to use the IAEA topressurise Iran to halt its nuclear program. This is apertinent point in US-Iran relations as the merepossibility that Iran could produce weapons of massdestruction would give America the pretext todestroy Iran's nuclear program, remove theconservatives from power and replace them with themoderates who are more loyal to the US.

WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT TOHEZBOLLAH

America is also determined to disarm Hezbollah,which poses a constant threat to Israel's Northernborder. Concerning this issue, US secretary of state,Colin Powell, is on record as saying, "Iran (must)end its support for terrorism". In this respectAmerica wants to terminate this movement bycutting off its finance, making recruitment difficultand withdrawing support from its backers such asSyria and Iran- the lifeline of Hezbollah. Hence, theunprecedented visit of Khatami to Lebanon, the firstby an Iranian leader since 1979, is a clear sign thatthe Americans are pressurising Iran to removesupport to Hezbollah. This is because the Iranianshave a significant influence on the group, as it wassetup by Iranian inspired clerics in the early 80s,who wanted to mimic an Iran style revolution forLebanon. Both Khatami and Hariri, the LebanesePrime Minister, are moving towards disarmingHezbollah. Rafik al-Hariri declared after talks withMr Khatami that neither wanted to inflame tensionsin the region but would press for a diplomaticsolution. During his visit Khatami made somereferences to the disarming of Hezbollah. He made adistinction between legitimate "resistance" andterrorism that is made under the cover of religion.He explained that "terrorism that comes in the nameof religion to stand before freedom and progressconstitute a great danger." Khatami stressed that"resistance will continue as far as there isrepression," stressing "honouring any decision takenby the Lebanese leaders and any they will adopt."Such remarks indicate that Iran will honour anysteps taken by Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.Concerning the future of the region, Khatamis'vision is similar to the American vision. He said,"On the ground of our religion and culture we havedecided to work for consolidating the pillars ofdemocracy, independence, freedom and progress inour country and we are also determined to continueforward into peace and stability being inside ourcountry, in the region or the world." Thesestatements indicate that Iran supports the disarmingof Hezbollah and other Palestinian militant groups.What remains to be seen is whether the pace of theircompliance will be acceptable to the Americans.


roadmap aims to strengthen israel and facilitate us grip over the region

USING MUJAHEDDIN-E KHALQ AND AL-QAIDA

As a gesture to the Iranians the US has sought aceasefire with Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MKO) - Iran'smain armed opposition group, which has had basesin Iraq since the 1980s. The US has also placed thegroup on its terrorist list. This is meant to send theconservative leadership in Iran a message thatAmericans will use MKO to strike against Iranianinterests, unless her demands are met. In addition,the US administration is increasing the pressure byaccusing Iran of giving sanctuary to Al-Qaidamembers who fled US troops across the border fromAfghanistan. Donald Rumsfeld, the US DefenceSecretary, has alleged that Al-Qaida operatives inIran were behind the bombing of westerners inSaudi Arabia.

Thus, the American government is using hermilitary presence in Iraq to give teeth to herdiplomatic manoeuvres in neutralising the Iranianthreat from the region. However, if this fails the USgovernment has already made it clear that she isprepared to use force to fulfil this objective. In thelong-term the US will use her presence to encourageturning Iran into a republic by encouraging themoderates to revolt against the conservativeleadership.

Nevertheless, there will be no measurable progresstowards the attainment of the goals set out in theroad map, unless Israel feels secure from Syria andIran. Therefore the American administration willhave to force the pace of disarmament of theseregimes.

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

In terms of solving the conflict the road map is notnew and affirms America's long favoured two-statesolution to the problem. In this solution, thePalestinian state will be a minuscule state enjoyingalmost no sovereignty and completely dwarfed by apowerful Israeli state. The Israeli state will controlall the major functions of the new Palestinian state.In this way, America will legitimise Israel'soccupation of Palestinian land; restrict Israel'sability to expand beyond the fixed borders, therebyensuring that Israel would be unable to affect herinterests elsewhere in the region. The same can besaid of Bush's Middle East Trade plan. Whileunveiling the plan, President Bush said, "The Arabworld is ... missing out on the economic progress ofour time". This statement is misleading becauseAmerica knows full well that for Israel to thrive inthe region she must be able to trade peaceful withher neighbours. So under American auspices, theIsraeli economy will end up dominating weak Arabeconomies and the people of the region will end upas slaves to the Jews as well as Americanmultinationals.

With regards to its implementation the Israelis andthe Palestinians have reached a stalemate. ThePalestinians accuse the Israelis of demanding an

unconditional ceasefire, while simultaneouslycarrying at executions of militant Palestinians.Meanwhile, the Israelis accuse the Palestinians ofnot doing enough to crackdown on the militants andhave put unacceptable conditions like; thePalestinians must waiver the right of return. In spiteof new assurances from President Bush to take onboard Israeli concerns, it is unlikely that the Israeliswill accept the whole road map without makingmajor revisions to it. Already Sharon's governmenthas stipulated that it accepts the road map but withqualifications. Speaking soon after the Israeligovernments acceptance of the road map,Palestinian spokesman Michael Tarazi said,"However, we certainly will not take into accountany Israeli unilateral conditions, and we've beenassured by the authors of the road map there will beno changes to the text, and we expect thatcommitment to be honoured." The real cause of thedeadlock is not due to the Israeli intransigence or PAinability to stop the violence. The poor progress ofthe latest peace initiative can be attributed to twomain factors.

Firstly, for successful implementation of the roadmap, Israel needs to be cajoled by the US intoaccepting the map. So far, the US is unwilling tochastise Israel and force Aerial Sharon to accept theterms and conditions of the map. This is because theUS president faces elections soon and will need thevotes of the Jewish lobby as well as the Christianright, who fervently support Israel. Carl Roff, thefirst advisor to domestic affairs, who wasresponsible for the Bush's election stated, "Thefocus now is on re-electing the president." Added tothis, more than 300 congressmen and 88 out of 100senators signed a letter calling on Bush to demand acomplete end to terrorist attacks on Israel. There arealso splits within the US administration notablybetween Colin Powell, who advocates diplomacyand Donald Rumsfeld and the like, who want tosignificantly reduce any form of threat posed byArab states to Israel before peace is given a chance.Sharon fully aware of these facts is looking tocircumvent the conditions contained in the roadmap. Sharon has already demanded that the roadmap be revised and extra 14 conditions must beincluded. He arrogantly affronted Colin Powellrequest to halt the building of settlements by saying,"So you want settler women to have abortions".Sharon, speaking to the Jerusalem Post, said allIsraeli governments had gone ahead withsettlements in some form, even during periods ofpeace diplomacy and that the issue was therefore"not on the horizon". Israel's Foreign MinisterShalom also raised with Powell, Israel's demand thatthe Palestinians give up their demand to a "right ofreturn" for Palestinian refugees to Israels' borders, asa precondition to even an interim Palestinian state.Powell would only comment that it was too soon todiscuss such matters, saying that it was a difficultissue that needed to be clarified by the two sides.The US administrations' reluctance to put pressureon Israeli government's intransigence is paving theway for Israel to stall the road map. By all accounts,the latest peace initiative is not a serious attempt bythe US at solving the dispute. Rather it has been

proposed to give to Bush a positive image before theupcoming US election and also to placate worldpublic opinion, especially amongst her allies inparticular Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister.America will only give serious consideration to theroad map after the elections.

Secondly, a gulf has emerged between the EU andthe US regarding the role of Yasser Arafat in the newround of peace talks. Both Israel and the US despiseArafat and prefer Abu Mazen to lead the Palestinianauthority. The rightist Israeli Hatzofe newspaperepitomises this view about Mr Arafat's influence."No progress towards peace can be expected so longas Arafat pulls the strings in the Palestiniangovernment behind the scenes," it says. ColinPowell on his visit to Ramallah met with Abu Mazenbut refused to meet Yasser Arafat. However, whenEU Foreign Policy chief, Javiar Solana, visitedIsrael he made a point of visiting Arafat and wassubsequently snubbed by Sharon who said he wastoo busy to meet him. These differences have alsomanifested themselves in rupturing the Palestinianauthority, especially over who will take charge ofsecurity matters. No doubt this will weaken theability of the PA to crackdown on the militants. Onlytime will tell how long the Europeans continue tosupport Arafat knowing full well that their ability toinfluence a successful outcome to the conflict can atbest be described as weak.

In conclusion, it is clear that America at the presentmoment is not serious about the road map, but afterthe forthcoming elections, America will inject newlife into the peace effort. It is also evident thatAmerica aims to remove all forms of threats againstIsrael, whether they are posed by militant groups orneighbouring Muslim states. America also seeks tostrengthen Israel over the entire region bypreserving Israelis weapons of mass destruction,while disarming Muslim countries that possessthem. All the rulers of the Arab and non-Arab worldsupport this treachery against the Muslims ofPalestine. Not a single one amongst the rulers hasapposed the road map, rather they have allwelcomed America's plan to legitimise Israel'sexistence, her spilling of Muslim blood and herusurping of Muslim land. Nor have the rulers anycourage to stand against America, knowing full wellthat collectively they can easily thwart America'snefarious plan for the region. Instead, they choose towait their turn to be dealt a fatal blow by America'smilitary might, in her quest to reshape the region inher image.

The time has come for the Muslim Ummah to decideher own affairs, to engage in her own politics and towrite her own history. This can only be done if sheworks to establish Khilafah Rashida. Only theKhilafah can unite the Muslims to stand againstAmerica and engage in political actions that trulylook after her affairs. z

BOYCOTTING COMPANIESTHAT SUPPORT ISRAEL

SARFRAZ AHMED & AHMAD JASSAT


Lord Marcus Sieff, a long time Chairman ofMarks and Spencer, said that one of thefundamental objectives of the company is to

aid the economic development of Israel. Marks andSpencer which supports Israel with over $230million trade every year is not alone. Coca Cola andPepsi likewise are well known supporters of theZionist State of Israel. Pepsi, for example is used asan acronym by some as 'Pay Each Penny to SaveIsrael' due to the benefit the state of Israel receivesfrom the company.

In reality the list extends well beyond the commonlyknown pro-Israel brands mentioned above to lessidentified supporters like Levi, Intel and Nokia toname a few. In response to such economic supportbeing given to Israel to perpetuate humiliation uponour Ummah, and as anger intensifies towards Israeland the US, it is a positive development thatMuslims all over the world are scrutinising theproducts upon which they spend their hard earnedcash. In order for our actions to achieve the intendedaim of worshiping Allah (swt) it is important toclarify the Shari' basis upon which this issue must bemeasured. Allah (swt) has declared:

"Allah will never permit the disbelievers to have anyway over the believers" [TMQ an-Nisaa : 141]

Thus for the Muslim who lives in the West it is notallowed to buy products of western companieswhich deal with Israel with that which strengthensIsrael such as weapons and strategic resources,energy and mines for industry and the like whichstrengthens Israel. This is because dealing with thesecompanies strengthens the enemy and causes harm

to the Muslims. As for western companies whichdeal with Israel in non-strategic goods then it isallowed for the Muslim living in the West to buytheir products. If we choose not to buy productsfrom even these companies then surely this is a goodthing if it is done in order to strengthen ourrelationship with Allah (swt).

In the Muslim countries, it is not allowed for theMuslim to buy products of companies which dealwith Israel in terms of trade with any goods whetherthey were strategic or not. This is because it is notallowed to have in Muslim countries westerncompanies which deal with Israel. Buying from suchcompanies encourages them to stay in the Muslimcountries whilst they are dealing with a state whichoccupies Islamic land. This is a harm to theMuslims.

On the receiving end of such consumer rejectionhave not only been brands most readily identified asAmerican or Israeli, such as the fast food restaurantchain McDonald's, Burger King, or as alreadymentioned Pepsi and Marks & Spencer, but the listof targets has extended to a comprehensive list. Sofar this has had some effect as evident by, forexample, the Saudi chain of McDonald's restaurantsshowing ownership by Saudis on the company

website and advertisement that part of the profits goto Palestinian welfare causes, in a desperate attemptto halt declining sales. In Egypt police forces wereordered to guard the entrances to restaurants, afterstone throwing incidents took place. This exampleshould make us realise that due to the reality thatarises from the principles of the free marketorientated capitalist system in our lands, it is alsoour own governments that come under influence ofthe corporations. This is due to the fact that most ofthe wealth in the economy is maintained in thehands of the few that already possess the majority ofit. As a result, all capitalist governments, includingthe democracies of the West, come under theinfluence of those who have the wealth. For examplethe WTO is supposed to be a neutral governmentbody overseeing world trade to ensure fair practicesare adopted. In reality, due to the inherent flaws inthe capitalist system, everything including justice,humanity and other values becomes subjugated bymoney.

Helmet Maucher, president of the InternationalChamber of Commerce, the body representing theworld's largest multinationals said in an interview"We want neither to be the secret girlfriend of theWTO, nor should the ICC have to enter the WTOthrough the servant's entrance". This unashamedadmission captures the true direction of the masterslave relationship of business over government.Countless examples can be cited where governmentshave bowed to corporate interests over those of thepublic. Allowing Monsanto Corporations GM milkinto schools in the US marketplace, despite negativeresearch findings, is just one of many examples thatcan be sited of how governments are bowing downto merciless corporate pressure.


The implications of corporations heralding thevirtues of deregulated markets in their defence, isthat our economies also become subservient to thewestern economies as the economic powers thatcontrol the rulers in the West end up very easilycontrolling our rulers and hence our economies.

Here it is appropriate to identify the way in whichour economies benefit the economies of the westernworld due to the flaws in the capitalist system itself.A brief insight touching on some of the many areasof exploitation shows that the relationships that existbetween the economies of the Muslim world are forthe interests of the western economy at our expense.Such exploitation is ensured by the Muslim rulerswho are protected and kept in power as a result.

Take for example the debt business. When Muslimcountries want money from the IMF they mustsubmit to "structural adjustment". The effect of suchmeddling is that our economies turn into exporteconomies trying desperately to raise foreignexchange to service the debt. The western statesthrough the IMF decide on what our countriesshould produce, ensuring a high supply and lowerprice and at the same time ensuring we import theirfoodstuffs having devoted our agriculture to cashcrops production. The flaws in the decision makingfor what the original money borrowed goes into isnever addressed as it served the interests of oursquandering rulers who take a cut and are kept inpower as a result.

In terms of such investment decisions, ourgovernments purchase products which serve theinterests of those multinational corporations that arestruggling to make sales in saturated westernmarkets. Such projects do not make business sensein our countries, yet we spend billions of dollars tohelp western firms at our expense. For example takethe lucrative arms industry. In the case of SaudiArabia for example, annual military expenditurefrequently approaches $20 billion. For the 1987-97period, Saudi Arabia spent a colossal $262 billion onits military. This period included the first Gulf warwhere the Saudis were told that they had adangerous neighbour in Saddam, but it was the USthat still insisted on being the force to protect theregion, allowing the squandering Saudi governmentto leave the 'wrappers on' their expensive purchases.

With respect to international conventions that are

openly flouted by the US administration such as theUN sponsored Kyoto climate protocol, ourindustrial growth is thwarted so we remaindependent on western finished goods. For examplethe Earth summit that took place in Brazil in 1992,said that manufacturing methods employed byEgypt were degrading for the environment and

Egypt should turn its focus on lighter industriesleaving the way open for dependence on westernimports despite the US being the biggest polluter onthe planet.

HIDDEN DANGER OF THE BOYCOTTCAMPAIGN

Understanding the wider makeup of the worldeconomy helps us to appreciate that there could be ahidden danger to the boycott campaign - that by onlyfocusing on the boycott in a narrow way, oneexcludes the Islamic solution to the root problem.This danger exists as those who would otherwisethink more deeply about the current situation of thisnoble Ummah and how to change it, may feelconsoled that they have 'done their bit' by avoidingMcDonalds. This hidden danger, which leads tocomplacency in the Muslims, needs to be exposed inthe discussions that occur over this solution. Thedanger appears when these actions take the centrestage and are seen as an alternative to the actualmethod for bringing change to our lands, which isthrough political work as defined in the Sunnah ofthe Prophet (saw). This method requires that we asan Ummah should struggle against the corruptcapitalist doctrines and systems in our landsideologically and politically in order to removethem.

The analysis presented should leave us in no doubtthat the appropriate actions to take built on thedivine texts and the understanding of our problem isthe work to restore political authority in our lands tothe Khilafah State. Furthermore this work cannot besubstituted by the boycott campaign. Rather theboycott campaign with every other action we asindividuals perform should complement the methoddefined in the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) in whichwe find an elaborate strategy for moving from aposition of weakness to a position of strength in thestruggle for authority and the establishment of thepractical face of the Deen of Islam which lasted for1300 years until its destruction in 1924.

The Trade policy of the Islamic State and the impactit could have on the Western economies

When any State adopts trade policies that further itsown interests, huge leverage can be obtained. Takefor example the effect that the western States had incrippling the apartheid state of South Africa and inbringing an end to racist policies of whites overblacks via trade embargos.

The Islamic State has a well defined trade policybased on the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) whichbars trade with traders from enemy states such asIsrael and trade which harms the interest ofMuslims.

As for monitoring trade in and out of the state, theKhilafah had control centres, referred to by jurists asMasalih, set up to monitor the traders and goodswere looked at according to the status of the traders,whether they were from hostile states or states withtreaties. Also, consideration was given to the natureof the goods being exported to foreign marketsduring times of internal shortages and war, andproducts that could help enemies were barred fromexport.

Today, our states lack the political will that existedunder the mighty Khilafah State. For example, itcould obtain huge leverage by imposing an oilembargo, or develop heavy industry exposing thedual standards that exist to become self-sufficient.Also the State would look at projects that benefit oureconomies rather than non-productive projects likepresidential palaces. The list of opportunities awaitsus as challenges for the newly established KhilafahState when it returns, inshallah. z

boycotting companies that support israel

Understanding the wider makeup of the world economy helps us toappreciate that there could be a hidden danger to the boycottcampaign. That by only focussing on the boycott in a narrow way, oneexcludes the Islamic solution to the root problem.


Recently Muslims in Britain, walking thestreets would have seen a large billboarddepicting an Asian girl wearing a scarf

with a Union Jack pattern on it. The advert wasfor the Nat West EMMA awards, a set of awardscelebrating multicultural entertainment in Britainand the achievement of the different races ofpeople who work within the entertainmentindustry. The advert is a powerful message for allBritons, including Muslims in Britain, to give animage of Britain as the multicultural land whereall races and peoples are free to live as theychoose, in harmony with one another. The awardsare meant to make the different races and peopleproud to be part of a nation that has acceptedthem into mainstream life.

The whole ethos is to make Muslims feelwelcome and part of the country in which theyreside and to be part of that community bysharing their ethnic values and adopting some ofthe values of the host country - very much abargain whereby the migrant communities enrichthe culture of Britain and Britain in returnprovides the benefits of a host nation that iswilling to open its borders to all those that willadopt its values.

In recent years we have seen the introduction ofdiverse practices and changes in thinkingamongst all levels of British society - from PrinceCharles presenting awards to ethnic schoolchildren to the introduction of a large number ofblack footballers into the Premier League, there

is a show of an accepting nation and way of life.

So whereas previously in religious education theschool children would be learning aboutChristianity, the Crusaders and how theyliberated the world, they are now learning aboutthe 'common values' of Islam, Judaism andHinduism. The school children now get holidaysfor Eid and other religious festivals. But shouldthe Muslims be rejoicing at living in a countrythat is working to include all?

ISLAM - A CULTURE AMONGCULTURES?

Many people of different cultures and beliefswould find themselves discriminated against inthe work place, especially Muslims. Yet for manyMuslims they would have seen a change inattitudes - now they are welcomed and allowed topray. It only takes a person to approach hismanager and inform him that on Fridays it is anobligation for Muslims to go to read the Fridayprayers and the managers, fearing being labelledas anti-Muslim or having some discriminationlaw suit brought against them would instantlyoblige and give the Muslim time off to go andperform the Friday prayers. It has become sowidely accepted in certain areas that there havebeen incidents where non-Muslim managers askMuslim staff if they have prayed or not,reminding them that they must pray. The idea ofa Muslim praying is not seen as an alien event,

but rather a cultural issue and of the values thatthe practising person holds, that should berespected by all. So the Muslim is expected toaccept the beer culture of the Kuffar and in returnthey learn to respect the 'religious' values of theMuslim.

More than just social acceptance we see many ofthese issues being enshrined in legislation withthe UK Race Relations Act now coveringMuslims and their right to practice their religiousbeliefs. In many companies we have seen theintroduction of prayer rooms for the employeesin order to make them feel more involved.

So it would seem that there is an attempt to makeMuslims confident of their Islam and practicetheir belief with the view that the host nation iswilling to accept that Islam has values andtraditions that Muslims practice, as long asMuslims go some way towards accepting thevalues, and in particular the political values, ofthe host nation.

The most recent example of this concerted efforthas been where some Muslim organisations inthe UK attended a 'Milad-un-Nabi' functionorganised by the Conservative Party atConservative Central Office on 15 May 2003.Theresa May, Chair of the Conservative Party,members of the Shadow Cabinet and a number ofMPs also attended. This was the first time anevent celebrating the birth of the ProphetMuhammad (saw) had been organised by a Kufr

MULTICULTURALISMSAMI-UR REHMAN


political party.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative leader,asked Muslims to work closely with theConservative Party as the Muslim communityshared common values on a number of importantissues. He said: "Today's celebration is but asmall step in what I hope will be an ever-deeper,

and ever more friendly association betweenConservatives and British Muslims.... The soonerI have Muslim Conservative MPs, the sooner Iwill have a Muslim minister."

Mr Duncan Smith went on to address the issue ofPalestine stating his corrupt two-state solutionview, as if the Prophet (saw) would haveapproved of his view on world peace, "Thespotlight of the world, though, is now movingonce again to the nearer Middle East. Peacethere, and peace in the wider region, is not goingto come until a lasting settlement is reachedbetween Israelis and Palestinians. I want to see aproper, viable Palestinian state; and I want to seea secure Israel living alongside it. Israel within itsborders, safe and secure: Palestine as a viablecountry, living beside it."

He also addressed the Halal meat issue, rebuttingthe Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC)suggestion to introduce stunning of all animalsprior to slaughter: "Conservatives stronglysupport efforts to improve the welfare of farmanimals but you can be assured that we willoppose any attempts by the Farm Animal WelfareCouncil to compromise religious freedom."Furthermore he discussed a whole host of socalled 'common values and issues' that theConservatives and Muslims apparently share,like family issues, and in particular theimportance of the institution of marriage.

IS ISLAM JUST A 'RICH CULTURE'?

In all the narrations and discussions on the idealsof multiculturalism there is one basic premise;that all cultures in the world should agree with

the 'universal' concepts of human rights, freedomand democracy. Jack Straw, British ForeignSecretary, speaking at a conference of Foreignand Commonwealth Office staff said, "The truthis that when it comes to the common rights of allpeoples there is no 'clash of civilisations'.Freedom, democracy, respect for human rightsand the rule of law are universal values."

Thus Islam is considered by them a culture justlike other cultures. Just as Christians havetraditional values and are good to theirneighbours or people from Pakistan are seen aswearing shalwar kameez and eating spicy food,Islam also is just part of the Muslims heritage andcultural upbringing and no more. So the Muslimsare free to eat Halal meat and have large mosqueswhere they can congregate for Friday prayers.The spiritual aspects of Islam are encouraged andseen as productive for the society. We often findpoliticians making statements informing societythat the vast majority of Muslims are law-abidingcitizens and hold peaceful values, as Islam meanspeace. All of this is fine providing that Muslimsaccept that the concepts of democracy, freedomand human rights are superior to Islam such thatif there were a clash between these concepts andthe Islamic concepts they must abandon theIslamic concepts, otherwise they would be calledextremists. Thus the aim of multiculturalism inEurope is to establish a new Islam - EuropeanIslam. This was stated explicitly in an article inProspect Magazine by Jack Straw, the UKForeign Secretary, in October 2002, when hewrote, "At the same time, too many within theyounger generation appear to show anunwillingness to integrate into mainstreamBritish society. Together with Muslim leaders,we must do more to counter the influence offundamentalists over disenchanted Muslimyouth. Democrats can never accept that religiousinjunctions take precedence over temporal laws.As British Muslims and their Europeancounterparts become more and more integratedinto the fabric of our democracies, we may overtime see the emergence of a distinctly EuropeanIslam."

This concerted effort to slot Islam into the modelof the multicultural society where all cultures areequal is misleading. In fact the notion that theconcepts of democracy, freedom and humanrights are universal values shared by all culturesis not true for any culture. Neither is it true thatthese concepts are the superior concepts - ratherthey are the degenerate concepts that are leadingto degenerate behaviour in western societies.

What is primarily being advocated is that when itcomes to issues regarding legislation this cultureshould be subject to the same rules and laws asother cultures and views. What is constantlypropagated in society is that people can holddiffering values and traditions and still livewithin the British society as British citizens. Butthis can only exist if done within the secularframework and with the distinct values of thesecular system. Thus the actual meaning ofmulticulturalism is that the secular culture is thesuperior culture and all other cultures (especiallyIslam) must submit to that.

Thus the results of multiculturalism aredisastrous. Recently, the Central Council ofMuslims in Germany issued an Islamic charter inwhich they acknowledged German society'spluralistic character and instructed Muslims thatthey had a "duty to integrate themselves into thesociety".

Here we find a marked difference between whatIslam requires of the Muslims and what thecurrent system of Capitalism is laying as thebenchmark for a stable system and society. Thesociety and government recognises Muslims asone of the largest groups of people numberingclose to 1.6 million who have not yet wholesaleadopted the British culture.

"You (O Muhammad) will not find any peoplewho believe in Allah and the Last Day, makingfriendship with those who oppose Allah and HisMessenger (saw), even though they were theirfathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or theirkindred (people)" [TMQ Al-Mujadilah: 22].

Pluralism is the concept that is often bandedaround in this society to describe the ideal that

multiculturalism

Thus the actual meaning of multiculturalism is that the secularculture is the superior culture and all other cultures (especiallyIslam) must submit to that.


belongs to Allah (swt).

"The rule is to none but Allah (swt)" [TMQAn'am: 57].

The rule, judgement and supremacy are to Allah(swt) alone.

"If anyone rules by other than what Allah hasrevealed they are kafiroon (unbelievers)"[TMQ Al-Ma'idah: 44].

Islam with its view does not allow for a law orvalue to rule over the values of Islam. Thecorrupt ideas and the pure ideas of Islam are notconsidered equal. So Islam has come to dominateover all other ways and values and traditions areto come from Islam.

"But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith,until they make you (O Muhammad (saw)) judgein all disputes between them, and find inthemselves no resistance against your decisions,and accept them with full submission" [TMQ An-Nisa: 65].

MULTIPLE PARTIES CAN EXIST INISLAM

In Islam it is permitted to establish multiplegroups and parties but all these must beestablished on the basis of the Islamic Aqeedah.Islam permits a multiplicity of parties andmovements to exist within the Islamic State butdefinitive guidelines apply: they must be basedon the Islamic Aqeedah and must not work toundermine the system of Islam. The groups'opinions must emanate from the revelation thatAllah (swt) has sent man. However this is farremoved from the capitalist view of pluralism.The corrupt idea of pluralism emanating from thecapitalist doctrine, allows the establishment ofparties and groups that call for Kufr or are basedon the Kufr of secularism. The Kuffar havemultiple parties that are based on the corrupt

ideas of nationalism or movements that call forsexual perversion, gambling or other corruptideas.

The Muslims cannot accept the capitalistunderstanding of multiculturalism or the idea ofpluralism and the basis from which these ideasemanate. The groups that look for representationthrough a Kufr system are in blatantcontradiction with the Islamic Aqeedah and thelaws of the Creator, Allah (swt). Regardless ofthe comfort factor and the enticement of the Kufrsystem for Muslims to be active participants, theMuslims must seek to protect their Deen and notbe misled even in the smallest of ideas orpractices. Living in a mixed society the Muslimsmust make Da'wah to other cultures with thetruth of Islam. Thus no Muslim would evenconsider being part of an organisation or politicalparty that would call for the right of man to makelaws. Hence the mainstream political partieswould be seen to contradict the Islamic belief andvalues. It would also be inconceivable that aMuslim would take membership in a party ormovement that may have an Islamic name yet beinvolved in trying to represent the Muslims in theKufr system based on the ideals of pluralism. z

the British capitalist society seeks to implement.It is through this idea that it is hoped the Muslimscan be included and be given the participation inthe society that would make them an active anddynamic community living like proper Britishcitizens.

The concept of pluralism emerged in the mindsof the capitalists due to their approach to society.Society is seen as a collection of individuals,where these individuals naturally will havediffering values, beliefs, practices and opinions.This is not considered a bad thing since in theirview to have multiple views and groupings insociety is considered healthy and all are requiredto contribute to the well being of society. The keyissue is how these groups seek to take care oftheir affairs, for this the capitalists view politicalrepresentation as the key. All groups should berecognised and their political participation iswelcomed.

This multi-party system is in stark contrast to thedictatorial one party regimes of the Muslimworld. However as the foundation for thesegroups they should all recognise the capitalistsystem as the sole arbitrator in their affairs.Therefore all groupings are allowed providingthey are in the framework of the capitalistsystem. No group is permitted to exist within thestate and the system that does not work on thisbasis. We find groups that do not accept theseprinciples to be considered outcasts. A verypertinent example of this was the FIS party inAlgeria. Even though they were able to win themajority in the elections they were considered anillegal party, as they would seek to change theprinciples by which they were elected. Recentlywe noted an American adviser discussing theissue of Iraq informing the press that the Muslimsof Iraq were free to choose their government aslong as this was democratic despite the fact thattens of thousands of Muslims were on the streetsof Baghdad calling for the rejection ofdemocracy in favour of the Islamic State.

ISLAM

In this corrupt idea of pluralism man is the onemaking laws. Islam comes with a completelydifferent viewpoint. Muslims unlike the manyother ethnic and religious groupings cannotaccept to work in this secular framework. Theframework whereby the sovereignty is given toman cannot be accepted as all sovereignty

multiculturalism

BRITISH BORN

TEL-AVIV BOMBERSRUKSANA RAHMAN


Mike's Bar in Tel-Aviv was the setting fortwo British born bombers to launch theirmartyrdom operation. The Israeli security

services said the attack in April 2003, was carriedout by Asif Muhammad Hanif, 21, from Hounslow,West London, and Omar Khan Sharif, 27, fromDerby. The explosion is alleged to have killed 3Israelis and injured 55 others. Asif Hanif died in theexplosion, while Omar Sharif was hunted by Israelipolice after the bomb he was carrying failed todetonate. He was later found dead on a Tel Avivbeach when his body was washed ashore.

This news has been in the headlines and comes as anutter shock for many in the West. With pounds anddollars put into the "war on terror' and on styles andmeans to integrate Muslims into western society,this case more than anything has shown that thoughthe Kuffar wish to seduce the Ummah away from theproblems Muslims face with corrupt western ideassuch as nation statehood and the 'British Muslimidentity', it has certainly not deterred these twoyoung men who grew up in Britain.

Omar Muhammad Sharif, son of a wealthybusinessman, who received private and stateeducation in Britain and came to practice Islam as aresult of his encounters with other Muslims atuniversity, and Asif Hanif who also receivedschooling in Britain are examples of the unrest andanger Muslims in the West feel towards this twentyfirst century crusade and occupation that plagues theMuslim world today by the western powers and theIsraelis. The question echoing in Western capitalsmust be 'What is the real cause behind the bombersundertaking such operations?'

THE CAUSE BEHIND THE BOMBINGS

There have been many reasons given as to whyyoung men such as these would give their lives for

this cause. The most that the British governmentcould offer to its citizens as an explanation was yetmore anti-Muslim fervour - that they are anotherexample of terrorists who need to be hunted down inBritain and that the more they commit these acts ofterrorism, the tougher the government will get. But,the irony is that what is missing in their explanationis the root cause of this feeling present in theMuslims in the West. The real cause behind thebombing is that the western culture, most notablynationalism and nation statehood, has failed toconvince Muslims that their allegiance lies with thestate they live in and not the Ummah. The Muslimsin Britain and the West view their allegiance to liewith the Muslim cause and their plight.

Post 9/11, the government introduced newlegislation for the teaching of 'citizenship classes' aspart of the National Curriculum, and further to thiswas the use of the media to promote the idea of the'British Muslim' through documentaries such as'Why I became Muslim' and 'The hidden Jihad',where allegiance is built with the host state and not

the Muslim Ummah. In the first generation ofeconomic migrants that landed on British shores, itwas observed that the western states were able tocontain this feeling of 'One Ummah' by directingtheir energy and resources into the economy and thelabour workforce and the making of an Islamicenvironment for their individual needs such as Halalmeat, welfare associations and mosques.Organisations which had a political overtone weresilenced by charities, schools and welfareassociation on a local level. But even in thatgeneration one saw that the government wasunsuccessful in extinguishing the feelings of theMuslims residing in Britain towards the MuslimUmmah as a whole.

The aim to change our orientation and concern moretowards local domestic issues and away from theconcerns of the plight of Ummah, such that webecome indifferent to her suffering, has certainlyfailed. The feelings of the children of the firstgeneration migrants who reside in Britain bearstestimony to this fact. The response of the Muslimcommunity in Britain in reference to the Tel-Avivbombers is proof of this.

When one Muslim was asked by a BBC journalistwhy he thinks the bombing took place. His replywas: "Some British Muslims would be prepared totake violent action against Israel because of itsoccupation of Palestinian areas … A Muslim's aMuslim. Even us sitting here, we feel the pain of ourpeople over there."

And Allah's (swt) words truly are a reminder of theaffection placed by Him between the believers;

"And He hath put affection between their hearts: not


if you had spent all that is in the earth, could youhave produced that affection, but God has done it:for He is Exalted in might, Wise" [TMQ Al-Anfal:63].

The war on Iraq more than anything has shown thetrue Islamic sentiments of the Muslims of Britain.Their actions speak as loud and clear as their words.Those very organisations tailored to keep theMuslim occupied with domestic issues have alsoturned their attention to raising money for Iraq,Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya and Gujarat. The waron Iraq saw demonstrations and rallies organised byMuslims in various cities across the UK calling forthe removal of the corrupt rulers of the Muslimworld who aided the American led war effort. IfMuslims in Britain were affected by such ideas asnation statehood, surely each Muslim would havehad more concern for the Muslims from his countryof origin than for the plight of other Muslims.

REJECTION OF THE CALL OFNATIONALISM BY MUSLIMS IN THEMUSLIM WORLD

Scores of demonstrations have taken place againstthe US led war on Iraq in the Muslim world. ManyMuslims have vented their anger at their owngovernment's lack of action to stop the war and havecalled on them to stop assisting in the war byproviding military bases. In countries wherepreviously demonstrations were unheard of on thestreets due to the regimes' silencing of politicalviews, such as Egypt, Syria, Qatar and Kuwait,thousands came out to the streets to show anger attheir impotent rulers over Iraq. In Pakistan,demonstrations took place almost every day, thelargest of which was attended by some 1 millionMuslims.

The Nation, a Pakistani English-languagenewspaper, fronted the editorial headlined "Thedogs of war," which said; "...the Muslim states mustdecide whether they will combine for their commondefence, or be picked off one-by-one, at theaggressor's choice". As for the Muslim countries itseems they have already opted for the latter. Manyother papers around the Muslim world had similarreports.

The focus here is not to examine whether suchactions lead to change, but that such actions showthe true Islamic sentiment of unity held by theUmmah, despite decades of acculturation by theKuffar in the Muslim lands of the concept of nationstates and nationalism through the use of theeducation system, puppet rulers and the media, it hasfailed to extinguish the concept of unity. Thebeloved Prophet (saw) said:

"The Muslims are like one body in their

affection, compassion and sympathy towards oneanother, if one part suffered, the rest of the bodyreacts with sleeplessness and fever." [Muslim]

Indeed, this mentality is reflected in the Muslimmasses, despite the rulers' attempts to tarnish thisvision. The pill of nationalism and national interestis an oft repeated weapon during war by rulers of theMuslim world. President Pervez Musharraf was noexception - on the 11th of January 2002, in hisaddress to the nation, the General went to greatlengths to emphasise, more probably to try toconvince himself rather than his audience, of the factthat he had strived, ever since he "assumed" office,to "project Islam in its true perspective", and that hehad taken various decisions in the national interestof Pakistan and that Pakistan 'comes first'. TheGeneral said: "We must remember that we arePakistanis. Pakistan is our identity, ourmotherland… Pakistan is our land, it is our soil, ifwe forsake it, we will face difficulty…"

The Muslims of Pakistan were well aware that aPakistani passport is not a guarantee to Jannah, andnor does it offer any solutions for the societalproblems that Pakistan and the Muslims worldwideare faced with. The General's rhetoric was anobvious attempt in distancing the Muslims ofPakistan from being concerned for their brothers andsisters in Afghanistan. We saw the miserable failureof this attempt by the use of nation statehood, asmore than 9,000 Muslims headed for the borders ofPakistan and Afghanistan to go and aid in fightingthe aggressors. Verily, they understood the saying ofthe Prophet Muhammad (saw):

"The blood of the Muslims is one. The nearest aswell as the furthest of them gives protection (toanyone) in their name. And they are one handagainst the rest."

The Muslim Ummah has become accustomed totheir rulers' abandonment of the words of Allah(swt). Each country has vowed that the countrycomes first in their line of priority. Whether it isJordan first or Turkey first, the regimes of theMuslim world still remain in solitary confinement,far away from the Ummah's sentiments.

Turkey shamelessly sold herself during the Iraq warwhen she bartered with the US regarding how muchto be paid in exchange for her support. This was afee in exchange for the slaughter of the Muslims inIraq. In a press conference held on 23rd April 2003,White House spokesman Ari Fleischer briefedreporters on the conversation between PrimeMinister Erdogan and US President George Bush."The two reaffirmed their strong relations betweenthe US and Turkey, long-time friends and allies," hesaid. "Bush expressed appreciation for Turkey'songoing supply of US forces in northern Iraq, and hewelcomed Turkey's desire to work closely with theUS in support of Iraq's security, stability, and

reconstruction." "Erdogan expressed thanks to theUnited States for [its] ... support of Turkey,including the $1 billion of assistance included in therecently passed supplemental legislation," said theWhite House spokesman.

Modern Turkey is founded upon the principles ofMustapha Kemal Pasha, who assumed the nameAtaturk - father of Turkey. He abolished the IslamicKhilafah and implemented by force a secular stateon the 3rd of March 1924, and the Turkishgovernment to this day upholds Kemalist thoughtssuch as nationalism, whilst the Ummah vehementlyreject them. Muslims of Turkey also took to thestreets to openly reject such underhand deals. Doesthe example of Turkey not speak for itself? Acountry built on the pillars of nationalism and nationstatehood, founded by Mustafa Kemal who was thecornerstone in aiding Britain and France indestroying the true unity Muslims enjoyed under theKhilafah state, has bred a population which stillharbours the Islamic sentiment of unity.

ORIGINS OF NATIONS AND NATIONALISMIN THE MUSLIM WORLD

The first seed of nationalism implanted in theMuslim world were carried to the Islamic State bymissionaries. Their intention to enter the IslamicState was two fold; firstly to separate the Muslimfrom her 'Aqeedah, and secondly to divert theMuslims from the real bond of Islam towards bondssuch as the nationalistic bond. Their first objectivewas over ambitious and did not achieve many resultsdespite arduous work undertaken for almost twohundred years. The second objective was howeversuccessful in aiding the destruction of the Khilafahand the carving up of Muslim land. The missionariesused various styles to achieve this; from setting upschools in areas like Lebanon and Syria to formingassociations which promoted the mentality of Arabsuperiority. In 1857, the 'Syrian ScientificAssociation' was formed adopting a slightlydifferent method to other associations opened bymissionaries. That was that no foreigners (non-Arab) were allowed to join. Its programme wasdesigned to accommodate all sects and to serve as aspark for Arab nationalism. However its covertobjective was colonial and missionary draped in thename of science. The colonialists were watchfulover the success of the missionaries and towards theend of the nineteenth century increased their fundingto the missionaries. France displayed a great deal ofinterest and in 1882 a French official commented:

"The spirit of independence is well spread and Inoticed during my stay in Beirut in dedication ofMuslim youths in establishing schools and clinicsand in reviving the country. What is worthmentioning here is that this movement is free of anysectarian influence, this association welcomes themembership of the Christians and relies on them toparticipate in the nationalist activities."

Their endeavour to destroy the unity of the IslamicState also resulted in the formation of groups and


parties based on nationalism such as the 'Union andProgress' party and the various other Arabmovements.

The end of the Islamic rule in 1924 created manyartificial Muslim states that used nationalism as abasis for their very existence. However, these stateswere far from the 'independence' that their creatorsfought for against the Uthmani Khilafah State. Thereal intent of the West was to colonise the Muslimworld culturally, but when the Islamic State camewithin the reach of their claws, they settled fornothing less than the physical invasion of theMuslim lands. Enshrined in article 22 of the Leagueof Nations after the First World War is the following:

"Certain communities formerly belonging to theTurkish Empire have reached a stage of theirdevelopment where their existence as independentnations can be provisionally recognised subject tothe rendering of administrative advice andassistance by a mandatory, until such time as theyare able to stand alone."

The true objective to destroy the Islamic unity underthe Khilafah was mentioned by the then BritishForeign Minister a few years following thedestruction of the Khilafah in 1924 when he said:

"We must put an end to anything which brings aboutany Islamic unity between the sons of the Muslims.As we have already succeeded in finishing off theKhilafah so we must ensure that there will neverarise again unity for the Muslims whether it beintellectual or cultural unity."

IMPACT OF NATIONALISM IN THEMUSLIM WORLD

Over the past hundred years, the western powershave exported nationalism to the Muslim world andcreated nation states - hoping to divide and rule.This was observed in the division of India into Indiaand West Pakistan and East Pakistan. The effect ofthis incitement of nationalism subsequently turnedthe Muslims of East Pakistan against the Muslims ofWest Pakistan, and after bitter war and killing, uponthe blood of innocent Muslims stood yet anotherstate known now as Bangladesh.

The impact of taking on such an idea as nationalismhas resulted in our ruin, division, disunity andbloodshed. For the colonialist it has secured afoothold to comfortably rule over us. It has led tomany wars between Muslim states such as the Iran-Iraq war which was also fuelled by the westernpowers and the first Gulf war.

One recent example of the way the western powersuse division of Muslims to their advantage is duringthe war waged on Afghanistan. The Kuffar werehappy to see the Northern Alliance standing awayfrom the ranks of the Islamic Ummah and standingside-by-side with the Kuffar and further aided theirefforts. America is an open enemy to Islam and theMuslims yet the Northern Alliance have sought her

friendship and protection while boycotting Muslimsand laying siege to their towns and villages. Thismuddled logic is a direct consequence of the culturalcolonisation and the poisoned pill of patriotism andnationalism plaguing our lands.

THE PROHIBITION OF NATIONALISM INISLAM

Islam rejects the concept of nation states. This ideadid not emanate from Islam rather it was concoctedby the West, and implemented in their ChristianKingdoms in the eighteenth century. This was thenconveyed to the Muslims once we had lost the veryentity which unites us: the Khilafah. It is Haram fora Muslim to adhere or believe in nationalism sinceunity of the Ummah is a life and death matter.

Nationalism is a concept alien to Islam, because itcalls for unity based on family and tribal ties,whereas Islam binds people together on the'Aqeedah, that is belief in Allah (swt) and HisMessenger (saw).

There are many examples in the Seerah where theMessenger of Allah (saw) had rebuked those whoadvocated nationalism. On one occasion a party ofJews conspired to bring about disunity in the ranksof the Muslims after seeing the Aus and Khazrajunited by Islam. A youth from amongst them wassent to incite remembrance of the battle of Bu'athwhere the Aus had been victorious over the Khazraj,and he recited poetry to bring about divisionbetween them. As a result there was a call to arms.When the news reached the Messenger of Allah(saw), he rebuked them and reminded the Muslimsof how Allah (swt) had guided them to Islam anddelivered them from Kufr. When they heard thisthey wept, and embraced each other. This incidentclearly highlights how the Messenger of Allah (saw)rebuked any forms of tribalism. Allah (swt) thensaid.

"O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should befeared and die not except in a state of Islam. Andhold fast together all of you to the rope of Allah, andbe not divided among yourselves...." [TMQ Ale-Imran: 102-103]

Not only does Islam forbid people from groupingbased on nationalism, but it also forbids theestablishment of more than one state. The onlylegitimate state for the Ummah is the Khilafah Statewhere the rules are in accordance with Islam and theMuslims are united under one leader. In a hadithnarrated by Abu Said al-Khudri, he said that theMessenger of Allah (saw) had said:

"If a bay'ah is taken for two Khaleefahs, kill thelatter one." Also 'Arafaja said that he heard the

Messenger of Allah (saw) say:

"If someone comes to you when you are unitedover one man and wants to break your strengthand divide your unity, kill him."

Furthermore, the obligation for having one state, andnot many nationalistic states, also comes from theIjma' of the Sahabah. When the Prophet (saw) died,the Sahabah convened to discuss the appointment ofa Khalifah in the court of Bani Sa'ida. Al-Habbabibn Munthir, one Ansari said to Abu Bakr; "OneAmir from our people and one Amir from yourpeople." Upon this Abu Bakr said; "Woe to you! It isforbidden for Muslims to have two Imams." So theSahabah never allowed more than one ruler, andtheir consensus is a legitimate evidence for us.

Therefore it is not allowed to accept the status quotoday of a Saudi state, a Pakistani state or a Turkishstate. The call should be one of unity of our landsand the Muslim army under one system and oneruler.

THE WEST HAS LOST THEINTELLECTUAL BATTLE

It is plain to see that though the western powersspend their efforts to disunite the ranks of theMuslims and attempt to re-export nationalism or theconcept of nation states; the Ummah has seenthrough their treacherous ways. The Ummah hasawoken from its deep sleep and calls for unity underan Islamic State. Despite the attempt to legitimisethe 'Road Map' for the creation of a PalestinianState, the Ummah has rejected such solutions. Thecolonial days of the Kuffar are numbered and theunification of the Ummah under a sincere leader issurely near. z

DR NAZREEN NAWAZ

CAREERS FOR

MUSLIM WOMEN


The topic of what constitutes a successfulwoman has been a hotly debated issue overthe past century. The current dominant view

held in the West is that the successful woman is theone who has achieved a successful career, who isfinancially independent, and who owns her ownhouse and car. Personalities such as Cherie Blair,who has apparently managed to juggle achieving asuccessful law career with being a mother of fourand wife to the Prime Minister, are often quoted asrole models. Alongside this is the belief that to bedependent upon a husband or father gives thewoman an inferior status within society. There is thesentiment that a woman who is a mother or wifewith no career has sold herself short in life or is evena failure. This may not be expressed openly but isevident in the manner by which many women feelabout themselves when asked the question, "What isyour occupation?" and the uneasiness they feel whenthey respond, "I'm just a mother" or "I'm only ahousewife".

There is also an increasing shift in attitudes towardsthe gender roles in society, with the belief that thewoman should have as much right to be thebreadwinner within a family as the husband. A 1996Cambridge University study, found that the beliefwithin society that it was the man's role to earn themoney in a family fell from 65% in 1984 to 43% in1994. 45% of British mothers are in paid work andin the US, 78.7% of women with children between 6and 17 are in the labour force.

Such a view of success is encouraged within thesociety by the western governments who both praisethose women who have achieved successful careersin their life and provide financial incentives formothers to enter the workforce. The current UKLabour Government introduced a "NationalChildcare Strategy" in 1998 to provide thousandsmore child care places that would provide themothers of the society a place to leave their childrenwhile they pursued their careers. They have alsoprovided financial benefits such as the workingfamilies tax credit to make childcare moreaffordable. Jill Kirby of the "Full-Time Mothers"organisation commented, "There are financial

incentives to go out to work but no financialincentives to stay at home."

Unfortunately, many Muslim women living in theWest, having been affected by this mindset, have settheir aspirations in life to pursue a successful careerabove all other goals. The belief is that it is a careerthat gives her status and respect within the society,so she will delay marriage or avoid marriage, seeingit as a hindrance to her career objectives. She willdelay having children, have fewer children, or nothave any at all with the belief that they will preventher chances of promotion or excelling in her career.Those who do not work feel a consistent pressurefrom society to do so. The larger Muslimcommunity has also been affected to a certaindegree by this idea of what constitutes the successfulwoman, the result being, many parents pressurisingtheir daughters to pursue a successful career, whilethe girl may want to seek an early marriage and therewards of motherhood.

THE EFFECT OF THE WESTERN VIEW OFTHE SUCCESSFUL WOMAN IN THEMUSLIM WORLD

A number of Muslim women living in the Muslimworld have also been affected by this belief thatcareer defines the successful woman. A recentedition of the magazine, "Working Mother"contained an article entitled, "Courageous AfghanMoms Reclaim Career". The editor in chief of themagazine wrote, "Many women are pulled back to

work by economic need. But, a growing group ofAfghan women...are returning to their careers toregain the sense of accomplishment...they wereforced to give up under Taleban rule." One sisterinterviewed for the article commented that sheencourages Afghan women to fight for their rights,"I try and tell women to stand on their feet, that theyare equal to men. I tell them, 'Don't sit under yourburqa. Don't sit inside the house. Get out and showyour husband and children that you are a woman.You can work and make your own decisions'". Sucha view is encouraged in the Muslim world byorganisations such as UNIFEM, the UN PopulationFund, the UN Development Programme (UNDP)and other Non-Governmental Organisations. In asurvey performed by UNDP in 2001 on the"Portrayal of women in the media" in Pakistan, theycommented that women need to be portrayed andprojected in bold and assertive roles in drama andother programmes on television and to breakdownthe idea that the successful career woman isincompatible with the ideal wife and mother.

THE SOURCE OF THE WESTERNVIEWPOINT OF THE SUCCESSFULWOMAN

This view that the successful woman is the one whoholds a successful career emanates from thecapitalist way of life that evaluates actions uponmaterialistic benefit and profit. Hence the womanwho is a business woman, doctor, lawyer oraccountant is seen as a success as she contributeseconomically to the society either in the service thatshe provides or the taxes that she pays to the state.However, the role of mother and wife does notdirectly contribute financially to the society andtherefore is viewed in a negative light and not as asuccess. This is clearly reflected by a reportpublished by the Institute of Fiscal studies in 2002 (abody that provides advice to the UK government)that commented "…having children remains asignificant barrier to the employment opportunitiesof mothers; and the lack of accessible and affordablechildcare is having an adverse impact on mothersreturning to the labour market. Put more bluntly -

ability because she is so tired, stressed, andmiserable. In a book by Lisa Belkin called "Life'sWork: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom", shewrites, "Not a one of us seems to be able to give100% of themselves to their job and 100% ofthemselves to their family, and 100% of themselvesto taking care of themselves".

EVALUATING THE CONCEPT OFEQUALITY

The idea that equality of gender roles in societyshould be viewed as the way forward for the womanis a grave mistake.

The equality of rights of individuals under anygoverning system that is man-made can never beachieved whether it is between men and women,black or white, young or old. This is because whenthe human being makes the laws it will always bebiased towards himself over others. So we see thateven though Equal Pay Legislation has been in placefor thirty years in the developed countries, womenstill continue to earn less for doing the same work asmen. It also explains why after over a century ofcalling for equality and women's rights, thetwentieth century in the UK ended with only 4% ofjudges being women, 11% of managers, and 2% ofFTSE 100 directors being women.

In addition, how can equality of roles be applied tothe man and woman who are physiologically andanatomically different in their nature. As one writerwrote, "A built-in tension exists between thisconcept of equality, which presupposes sameness,and this concept of sex which presupposesdifference. Sex equality becomes a contradiction interms, something of an oxymoron." It is likesuggesting that the sun and the earth should have thesame roles even though they are different in nature.When roles and duties in life are set in a manner thatdoes not take into consideration the differing natureof the man and woman then this would causeoppression and misery as already discussed.

ISLAM AND THE CORRECT VIEW OF THESUCCESSFUL WOMAN

Islam does not evaluate an action, a duty or anindividual on the basis of how much they cancontribute to the economy of the state. It evaluatesan individual male or female based upon whethertheir action conforms to the command of the Creator(swt) and their level of taqwa (obedience to theCreator (swt)). The Prophet (saw) said in his finalsermon,

"An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arabnor a non-Arab has any superiority over anArab; also a white has no superiority over blacknor a black has any superiority over a whiteexcept by taqwa and good action."


careers for muslim women

the current strategy is not working and there is asignificant economic cost."

The re-definition of gender roles corresponds to theunderstanding that the woman in society shouldhave the right to pursue a career even as a motherand wife as much as the men in society and thehusband and father. This view has its route in theconcept of equality. Inherent in this idea is the beliefthat gender should not have an impact on how theroles of men and women in society are defined butthat the roles should be equal and decided by theindividual. The idea is that the women should haveequal access to employment as the man, be able toperform the same types of jobs and duties as theman, and even decide for herself the role that she

wants to take on within marriage - the breadwinneror nurturer of the children. The concept of equalityin itself arose as a result of the oppression thatwomen faced under the man-made laws ofcapitalism that were biased towards the man andtreated the woman harshly. She was subject to direliving conditions, violence, and poverty and was noteven viewed as a citizen under English law until1850. As a consequence, a call for women's rightsand equality arose with the belief that a womancould only achieve a better standard of living if shewas able to have her own career and becomefinancially independent as well as adopt equal roleswith the men of the society.

Around the Second World War, women wereencouraged to enter the workforce to contribute tothe economy of the country. Even in the Muslimworld, the original call for liberation and equality ofthe Muslim woman by the western powers in theUthmani Khilafah and following the destruction ofthe Islamic State was less to do with improving herstatus and welfare, and more to do with improvingthe economy of colonised lands. Bernard Lewis inhis book, "The Middle East", writes in the Chapterentitled, "From Freedom to Freedom", "A majorfactor in the emancipation of women was economicneed...Economic modernization brought a need forfemale labour, which was augmented bymobilization for modern war... The economicinvolvement of women and the social changesresulting from it continued in the inter-war periodand after, and even brought a few legislativechanges in favour of women. These had some effectin social and family life."

THE EFFECT OF THIS VIEW OF THESUCCESSFUL WOMAN UPON THE FAMILYSTRUCTURE

Placing the pursuit of a career as the main goal in awoman's life has resulted in a number of problems

within the western societies. It has caused a strain onmarriages and increased divorce due to the limitedtime the husband and wife spend with one another.Such a view has also caused problems in the rearingof children and the parent-child relationship withinfamilies due to the limited time the parents spendwith their children.

These problems have also affected Muslim families.The lack of clarity of the role of the husband andwife within the family has led to frequent argumentswithin many marriages unfortunately leading todivorce in a number of cases. With regards tochildren, the development of the close bond thatshould exist between mother and child and thenurturing of the Islamic personality is compromised.

This is due to the limited time the mother spendswith them and the parents having to resort to childcare facilities as they both pursue their careers. Theconsequence is dire: the children adopting a non-Islamic identity, disobeying and neglecting theparents, and even engaging in actions such asdrinking alcohol and drug abuse as they grow older.

THE SUFFERINGS OF THE SUPERWOMAN

Those who originally formulated the concept ofequality between men and women believed that itwould raise the woman out of the misery that shehad been living in for years. However, the careerwoman today is no less miserable - only the reasonsare different. The decision to delay having childrenor to not to have children at all due to career does notagree with the procreation instinct present in everywoman and produces misery.

The career woman, who does have children, feelsconstantly guilty about the limited time spent withthem. In addition, she finds her life is a continualjuggling act between being a wife, mother, and herwork. In most families, her status as a career womanhas not reduced her household duties. Thesociologist, Joseph H. Pleck comments, "Allscholars agree that even in studies suggesting thathusbands of employed wives do statistically more(housework), the increase is small in absolutemagnitude and employed wives continue to do thebulk of the family work". Her day is spent rushingfrom one responsibility to another: making breakfastfor her family, preparing lunch for her husband andchildren to take to school, getting the childrenwashed and dressed, doing the school run, rushingoff to her job, performing a full days strenuouswork, rushing to school to pick up the kids, takingthem to after school classes, making the dinner,getting the children ready for bed and then theroutine starts all over again. She feels that she is notable to perform any of her duties to the best of her

It is a well known fact that a Muslim woman can have a career ifshe wishes as long as she does not compromise her primary duty asa mother and wife.


careers for muslim women

The successful woman is therefore the one who isdevoutly obedient to the commands of her Creator(swt). Considering the fact that it will be our deedsthat will be the deciding factor of our destiny afterdeath - paradise or hellfire - this is the correct viewof success.

In Islam, where the man and the woman sharesimilar qualities in their nature, the obligationprescribed to both is the same such as the prayer,fasting, and Hajj. However, where the nature differsthen different duties have been prescribed. So, thehusband or father has been obligated with theresponsibility of protecting the family and providingfor them financially. The woman has been obligatedwith the primary role of looking after the house ofthe husband and his children - looking after theirwelfare and nurturing them with the Islamic culture.Allah (swt) has said:

"Men are the protectors and maintainers of womenbecause God has given one more (strength) than theother, and because they support them from theirmeans. Therefore the righteous women are devoutlyobedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence whatGod would have them guard" [TMQ An-Nisa: 34].

Hence, in Islam the duty prescribed to the man is notviewed as better than the role of being a mother andwife but rather as a responsibility that needs to befulfilled for which the man will be accountable toAllah (swt). Both duties compliment one anotherand are crucial for the family and society to functionproperly and with tranquillity. Allah (swt) says:

"And wish not the things in which Allah has madesome of you excel others. For man is allotted fromwhat they have earned, (and likewise) from thewoman there is allotted from what they have earned"[TMQ An-Nisa: 32].

With regards to the idea of equality, as discussedabove, this is a concept that arose from the humanbeing making the law with his biased nature. Such aconcept is therefore irrelevant and alien in Islamwhere all commands have been ordained by theCreator (swt) who is unbiased towards the man orwoman. Furthermore, Islam does not allow thehuman being to decide for him or herself the roles insociety that they adopt but rather it is prescribed byAllah (swt). Allah (swt) says:

"It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, whena matter has been decided by Allah and HisMessenger, to have any option about their decision.If anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he isindeed on a clearly wrong path." [TMQ Al-Ahzab:36]

THE ISLAMIC RULING ON PERMITTEDCAREERS FOR THE WOMAN

It is a well known fact that a Muslim woman canhave a career if she wishes as long as she does notcompromise her primary duty as a mother and wife.However, Islam has defined certain jobs or careersthat the woman is not allowed to perform:

(1) Positions of ruling such as the Khalifah, Wali(governor), and Amil (mayor).

This is not because the woman is inferior to the manin the Islamic society but because there is a specificIslamic evidence forbidding it. In a hadith narratedby Abu Bakra (ra), the Prophet (saw) said,

"People who appoint (with the authority ofruling) a woman on them will never succeed".

The position of ruling in Islam is not viewed as oneof honour and superiority but rather one ofguardianship, responsibility, and accountability.

(2) Any profession that exploits her femininity.

The woman cannot engage in certain careers such asmodelling and advertising where her femininity isthe basis upon which the job is performed. Nor canshe engage in any profession that involves herrevealing her awrah (anything apart from the handsand face) or attracting attention to her beauty tothose who are non-mahram to her (those she canlegally marry). This is because the woman is viewedas an honour in Islam to be protected and her beautyor femininity is therefore not viewed as an economiccommodity.

In addition to these two points, the Muslim womanshould ensure that any job or career that she adoptsis in line with all the other ahkam (rules) of Islamincluding the other limits of the Islamic socialsystem. She should ensure that it does not involvebeing in khulwa (isolation) with a non-mahram man,that it does not bring doubt upon her reputation, thatit does not involve socialising with men, and that asfar as possible it does not require a close workingrelationship with the men of the society.

Other than these restrictions, the woman is allowedto engage in various professions such as abusinesswoman, doctor, nurse, engineer, scientist,teacher, or lecturer. Furthermore, within acommunity Muslim women have a great role to playwith regards to caring for the interests of thecommunity. How ironic it is that those men, who areuncomfortable about allowing their womenfolk to

study and work, then complain about the lack offemale Muslim doctors. Thus it would be incorrectfor husbands and fathers to prohibit their womenfolkfrom working especially since this is a right given tothem by Allah (swt) and if these sisters haveintelligence, abilities and skills which would be ofgreat service to the community.

There were many Muslim women who performedvarious jobs during the time of the Prophet (saw).Saudah (ra), the wife of the Prophet (saw) used totan the skins of animals and sell them making aconsiderable profit. There was a woman called Qilahwho would buy and sell goods and was reported tohave asked the Prophet (saw) a number of questionson the economic transactions permitted in Islam.Jabir ibn Abdullah's aunt used to perform farmingand harvesting. There were various women whowould nurse the injured during the battles. Duringthe Khilafah of Umar (ra), he appointed a womancalled Ash Shifa as the Qadi Hisba (judge of themarket place).

CONCLUSION

The career woman in the west is viewed as no morethan an economic commodity and is valuedaccording to what she can financially contribute tothe economy. Islam does not evaluate the woman insuch a belittling manner but rather according to herobedience to the Creator (swt). She does not viewherself as inferior to the man and therefore aspire toadopt his role and duties in society. Yes, she canhave a career but she will not define her identity,success, self-worth nor measure her status by hercareer. In addition, she will not seek employmentdue to the pressure of the negative stigma in societyassociated with women who are mothers and do nothave a career. She does not have to be asuperwoman. Surely it is then the identity of thewoman defined by Islam which is the choice of theintelligent woman. z

O DUNYA! A GREAT MAN HASQUIETLY DEPARTED

FROM US!

Agreat man, leading a great Hizb, working for agreat purpose, living alone, his name and rankunknown even to his friends. His grandson saw

him after a long absence but he did not hold, joke orplay with him as a grandfather would do with hisgrandson, fearing that his identity will be disclosed bya word here or a word there and reach the ears of theShaytans from the men and Jin, the spies of theZalimeen.

A great man risked his life working constantly to revivethe Ummah, strengthen her Deen, realise her dignityand protect her honour. He spent his life seeking thekhayr (good) for this Ummah, patient in the face ofrejection, anxious about her state. He used to see theUmmah trampled under the feet of the Zalimeen butshe did not move or get up. Rather she woke and sleptin a state of injustice, swallowing the bitter oppressionand neglect of her affairs, a life of misery and heavytaxes.

A great man died but only a few gathered at his deathand nor did the shoulders compete to carry the body.The escort behind was small and the gathering few.

A great man died but the numbers following behindhim was not more than in their tens. No one joined thefuneral procession as it passed them; no one paidattention to it or accompanied it. They do not know thatin it was a man whose name would shake the Zalimeenand the aim for which he worked, the KhilafahRashidah, would stun the kafir colonialist inWashington, London, Paris, Moscow and Rome, letalone their little agents who follow them.

A great man died but the Zalimeen feared his death asmuch as they feared him when living. They instructedtheir newspapers not to publish the announcement ofhis death so that their eyes do not see his name lest itmakes them dizzy as it used to do before his death.

Do not be saddened O Abu Yusuf. You are going to anabode which is better than this abode, a lofty abodewhere no one has authority except the Lord of theWorlds. By Allah's Leave there you shall find yourbeloved, the Messenger of Allah (saw), his companions(may Allah be pleased with them), the Tabi'een andthose who preceded you in Imaan. How excellent anabode and how excellent are its inhabitants.

Do not be saddened O Abu Yusuf. The Hizb which wasbuilt by your pious predecessors and whose edifice youraised by your two blessed hands; your companionafter you will raise it until we place at its top the bannerof al-'Uqaab, the banner of "laa ilaaha illallahmuhammadur rasoolullah."

Do not be saddened O Abu Yusuf. The leaders of the

army will come to visit you while flags will be tiedbearing the names of the Messenger (saw), hiscompanions and the Tabi'een. The battalion ofMuhammad (saw), Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, al-Hasan, al-Hussain, al-Mu'tasim, Salah ud-Deen, az-Zahir and al-Fatih will come to you. Also the battalionof Taqi'uddin, and Abdul Qadeem and all of thesebattalions will raise the flag tied for them. Their armieswill come in crowds victorious. They will visit yourgrave and the grave of your companion before youwhilst making the Takbeer. In honour and power theywill say: The Khilafah has been established, thehomeland of the believers and the Yahoodi entity hasbeen destroyed and Rome has been opened and theTruth has come and falsehood has vanished and Islamthe Muslims are powerful while kufr and the kafireenare humiliated.

Do not be saddened O Abu Yusuf. Those you have leftbehind from the brave shabab will continue on thesame path shown by the Messenger of Allah (saw) byrevelation from the Lord of the Worlds. They willretrace the footsteps of Allah's Messenger (saw)without deviation. They will supplicate to Allah for youday and night that Allah (swt) covers you with HisGrace and grants you the place reserved by Allah forHis most special servants; the sublime al-Firdaws withthe Messenger (saw) and his companions. And you, byAllah's Leave, are from those who obeyed Him (swt)and those whom He (swt) loves:

"And whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger(Muhammad [saw]), then they will be in the companyof those on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace, of theProphets, the Siddiqoon, the martyrs, and therighteous. And how excellent these companions are!"[TMQ an-Nisaa:69]

Your companion after you. z

'Ata Abu RishtaAmeer, Hizb ut-Tahrir

HIZB UT-TAHRIR ANNOUNCES THE

DEATH OF ITSAMEER

"Among the believers are men who have been true totheir covenant with Allah, of them some have fulfilledtheir obligations (i.e. have been martyred), and some ofthem are still waiting, but they have never changed"[TMQ al-Ahzaab:23]

Hizb ut-Tahrir wishes to announce to the MuslimUmmah the death of its Ameer and leader, the eminentscholar Abu Yusuf Shaykh 'Abdul Qadeem Zalloomwhom Allah (swt) took unto Himself on the night ofTuesday 27th Safar al-Khayr 1424 AH correspondingto 29th April 2003. He was taken from a lifeapproaching eighty years spent in obedience to Allah(swt) and obedience to His Messenger (saw). He spenthis life as a scholar, worker and carrier of the IslamicDa'wah in the ranks of the Hizb for more than fiftyyears. As a leader of the Hizb, throughout which he hadto undergo many difficult circumstances for twenty sixyears without giving in or losing resolve, strugglingagainst the Zalimeen, far from his family and childrenin the Path of Allah, exerting his utmost effort toresume the Islamic way of life by establishing therighteous Khilafah.

Even though Allah (swt) decreed that Abu Yusufshould join his journey's companion the Ameer andfounder Abu Ibraheem 'Allamah Shaykh Taqi'uddin an-Nabhani without witnessing the establishment of theRighteous Khilafah. However, his brothers after himwill continue to traverse the same path drawn out byRasool-ul-Allah (saw) by revelation from his Lord.They are determined, by Allah's leave, to continue forthe sake of Allah without fearing the blame of no oneto establish the righteous Khilafah. To raise its bannerin all corners of the world, shading the pure dust that ison their graves and bringing Islam and the Muslimstheir honour and dignity. And then on that day shall thebelievers rejoice for the victory of Allah.

May Allah (swt) have Mercy on the first Ameer AbuIbraheem and may Allah (swt) have Mercy on thesecond Ameer Abu Yusuf and raise them up with theProphets, siddiqqeen (truthful), shuhadaah (martyrs)and saliheen (righteous) and how excellent is theircompany!

Indeed, the eyes weep and the hearts grieve and we arebereaved by your departure O Abu Yusuf! But we shallnot say anything except that which pleases our Lord: Those who, when afflicted with calamity, say:

"Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shallreturn." [TMQ al-Baqarah:156] z


Exam time is upon us again and manyMuslim students will be spending all theirtime in pursuit of exam success. In

addition to pressures from the academicinstitutions and peers, there will be pressure fromparents encouraging their sons or daughters tosacrifice their free time and revise so that theycan pass their exams. There is also a heavyemphasis on future careers with the outlook thatall other things are unimportant and can wait.

REALITY OF EXAMS

In this capitalist society there is a heavy emphasisplaced on being successful in exams. Thissuccess is linked to the seeking of the materialvalue by attaining good career prospects andlooking after oneself as a number one priority.Pursuit of pleasure is the primary goal in life andthis is seen as the reward for all the hard workand sacrifice.

Children are tested at a very early age and pushedto strive hard in exams. At 7 years of age, they sitthe Key Stage 1 exams. At 11 years they sit KeyStage 2 exams, and at 14 years of age theyundertake Key Stage 3 exams. Following thatthey do GCSEs at 16 and if they pursue furthereducation, A-Level and degree exams await. Thisis currently a debated topic with questions beingraised regarding the necessity of testing children

LIFE IS AN EXAM

The most important exam of all is life itself. Ashumans we must ponder upon our existence andask questions about our existence and thepurpose of life. Our reality is implicit of theexistence of a Creator (swt) and Islam has comeas a message to all of humanity. Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

"I have only created jinn and mankind that theymay worship Me" [TMQ Al-Dhariyat: 56].

When one accepts that the highest position is ofbeing a slave of Allah (swt) and that one'screation is for the purpose of worship to Allah(swt), then one will treat life as an exam wheresuccess or failure depends on adherence to Islam.This exam begins when one reaches the age ofpuberty (age of reasoning) and ends when onedies. The result will be given on the Day ofJudgement as to whether one passed or failed.Passing will be rewarded with Paradise butfailure will be punished with Hellfire. TheProphet (saw) left us the Qur'an and the Sunnahfor us to follow. If we stick to what we have beencommanded then we shall achieve success in thislife and the hereafter.

SACRIFICING

ALL FOR EXAM SUCCESS?AZAR HUSSAIN


as young as seven.

The whole purpose behind the capitalist examculture is to promote a society which is highlyindividualistic and where these individuals striveto benefit themselves and seek the material value.This provides an avenue for a consumer societywhich the capitalists can then exploit.

At school, children are taught to answerquestions on a variety of subjects, yet the mostimportant questions about the purpose of life andthe existence of Allah (swt) are left unansweredand trivialised as being unimportant and notworthy of discussion. This leads to thedetachment of religion from life and a secularviewpoint whereby individuals are free to do asthey please and to satisfy their desires as theyplease. Therefore, everyone who subscribes tothis view will tend towards individualism and theseeking of pleasure and personal benefit as aprimary objective.


Striving to seek the pleasure of Allah (swt) mustalso be a vital part of every Muslim's life. Islammakes worship to Allah (swt) the goal in life. Part

and parcel of this worship is to succeed in lifethrough gaining qualifications and pursue acareer in accordance with Islam. To be aproductive citizen and to look after oneself andone's family is a duty. This must all be pursuedwithout neglecting other obligations as a Muslim.

Many a time one sees parents push their childrento gain successful careers as doctors, engineers,etc. but they fail to highlight the importance ofmaintaining the Islamic identity and fulfilling theworship to Allah (swt) by keeping Islam a vitalpart of their lives.

If we look to history, we find the Muslimsexcelled under the Islamic education system. TheMuslims were the most advanced in the world infields such as: mathematics, geometry, optics,astronomy, medicine, physics, natural sciences,engineering, etc. Therefore, it is very importantfor Muslims to study and to successfully passtheir exams. Islam gives us the correctmotivation to study and pass an exam within thecontext of seeking the pleasure of Allah (swt) andmaking Islam dominant.

The Prophet (saw) commanded knowledge uponall Muslims, and urged them to seek it as far asthey could reach at all times. Following thesecommands and traditions, Muslim rulers insistedthat every Muslim child acquired learning, andthey gave considerable support to institutions andother means of education.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw)emphasised the Muslim's responsibility to futuregenerations when he said, "Of all that a fathercan give his children, the best is their goodeducation and training."

The Muslim Ummah is an Ummah of work, notsleep; an Ummah of knowledge, not ofignorance; and an Ummah of light and guidancefor all of humanity. One must strive to do one's

best in education, in work, in carrying the Da'wahand bringing back Islam as a way of life. Oneneeds to achieve success in exams that are taken

and realise that the ultimate exam of life onemust pass through the worship of Allah (swt) isby adhering to Islam.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN EDUCATEDUMMAH

A person without knowledge is like the one whowalks in complete darkness; who has no vision ofwhere he is going and is easily influenced byShaytan. This shows that the greatest danger liesin the ignorance of Islamic teachings and in theunawareness of what the Qur'an teaches and whatguidance has been given by the Prophet (saw). Ifone is blessed with the light of knowledge thenone will be able to see plainly the clear path ofIslam at every step of life. One shall also be ableto identify and avoid the dangerous paths of Kufrand shirk, which may cross it.

This knowledge determines whether one behavesas a true Muslim and remains on the straight path.It is therefore not a trivial issue which can beneglected. One does not neglect doing whateveris essential to improve one's trade and professionand academic success. Why then should one benegligent in acquiring that knowledge on whichdepends the success of the ultimate exam.

Islam has always created an atmosphere that hasencouraged seeking knowledge and education.Indeed, when the Khilafah is established,inshallah, it will be necessary to have in theUmmah the highest expertise so that the state canrival others and become the leading nation. Onemust therefore work hard to become educated inwhatever field one chooses and also to educateoneself in the matters of the deen so that one cancarry the Da'wah for Islam, which is the highestwork.

Allah (swt) reminds us in the Quran:

"Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, yourbrothers, your mates or your kindred. The wealththat ye have gained. The commerce in which yefear a decline, or the dwellings in which yedelight. Are dearer to you than Allah, or hisMessenger, or the striving in His cause- then waituntil Allah brings about His decision; and Allahguides not the rebellious"[TMQ At-Taubah: 24]. z

sacrificing all for exam success?

The Muslim Ummah is an Ummah of work, not sleep; an Ummah ofknowledge, not of ignorance; and an Ummah of light and guidancefor all of humanity.


A. DAWUD

After the bombing of American embassies inEast Africa, "September the 11th", anthraxthreats at home and now the bombings of

expatriate residences in pro-American Saudi Arabia,America seeks to drive forward, stronger than ever,continuing to attack its old and new post-Cold Warenemy, Islam.

True to America's adopted style in its war againstIslam, the Riyadh bombings were classed as beingconducted by Al-Qaida. As the examples of Iraq andAfghanistan have shown, America has identified theperpetrators without the required evidence. Thusfollowing in its new born belief that it is moreprudent to blame first than to gather evidence,allowing it to bolster its campaign without evidenceof who the perpetrators are.

It is necessary to understand that the USA realisesthe potential of the Muslims to eject it from thematerially rich parts of the Muslim world. Thereforeit is not surprising to note that America uses everypossible style to subdue the Muslim psyche bygenerating fear of the Americans and the West. Shedoes this by a variety of styles and means includingthe existence of her bases in the Muslim world andthe conducting of wars and campaigns againstMuslim countries and against Islam itself.

By blaming Al-Qaida, America is actuallyidentifying Muslims in general (and not al-Qaida),thus attempting to generate fear in all of theMuslims. America achieves this by proxy, throughmaking it clear that she has little evidence to showthat Al-Qaida was actually responsible, even byissuing the blame as soon as the event has occurred,without time to gather any evidence or intelligence.America has never been very good at "PR", oftenbeing described as a "gung-ho cowboy" who careslittle for the sentiments of others when he conductsactions. Thus the cowboy makes the smoke screenof Al-Qaida clear to the Muslims of the world sothey realise that not one of them is safe. By conducting such a policy, by intention or byconsequence, America has in fact reversed the scalesof justice, allowing herself to conduct any action on

the basis of blaming freely any one she wishes, suchas in the case of the "chemical factory"pharmaceutical plant in Sudan, or the WMD of Iraqwithout any evidence of their existence. The vastmajority of these "blames" have been in relation tothe Muslim world, with a few examples elsewheresuch as the kidnapping of the president of Panama,or the ruthless nuking of Japan.

Therefore true to its history, America is conductingthis 'war against terrorism', (i.e. Islam) with verylittle concern for justifying her "blames" or actionssuch as wars or clamp downs on Muslim groups.She hopes to silence the world to her injustice byclaiming that the horrors of the events against herjustify any means to defend herself and her interests.Therefore, nobody should bat an eye lid whenAmerica showers depleted uranium over Iraq,causing mass malformations in newly born childrenand all sorts of cancer. Similarly, it was expected forall to stay silent when she conducted her war onAfghanistan, often killing innocent "non-combatants" without any regard for checking to seeif they were fighting or not. America kills andmaims in the name of "9/11", conducting wars andcooperative campaigns against Islam and Muslims.For example, in Pakistan, she freely operates withthe blessing of Musharraf, arresting at will,monitoring Muslim groups and banning them whilealso banning certain Surahs of the Qur'an from beingtaught in the madrassa. She has clearly become thenew Fir'awn of the world, taking any "pre-emptive

strikes" she deems necessary. No matter what thecost to human life or living conditions for theMuslims, or the honour of their Deen. She is nodifferent to Fir'awn who pre-emptively declared thekilling of all male children from Bani-Israel in theland, in expectation of a male child opposition tohimself.

This is the reality of American justice - should theworld let alone the Muslims accept such a player onthe world scene?

Let us contrast this with Islam. If Muslim childrenare killed, Muslims are not allowed to respond bykilling the children of the enemy. The same is thecase when our sisters are abused or when ourbrothers are humiliated. Islam does not believe inthe "ends justifies the means." Rather it believes thatany action requires permission from the Creator(swt) of man before undertaking it - surely the onlynoble basis for the operation of a state and itsforeign policy. It is also a fixed basis that does notchange because Islam does not change, thus makingit a suitable criterion for international justice thateven the non-Muslims can accept. Some commentators have implied that Islam isresponsible for 'terrorist' events. A recent televisionprogramme claiming that the Islamic fervour ofcertain "Imams" was responsible for generating theblind extremism in the atmosphere of attractiveideals such as Paradise for the martyr or selfsacrifice for God, leading to 9/11 and the bombingof the expatriate residences in Riyadh. ThereforeIslam is tainted and demonised through extendingthe unjust killings of non-Muslims to imply thatIslam is unjust as a whole.

Thus they make the intellectually dishonestassertion that any kind of killing by Muslims isunjust and Muslims in the West must reject thekilling when Muslims undertake it, and that inaddition they should support their government (i.e.the British or American government), when it comesto killing Muslims, e.g. in Iraq, Afghanistan orelsewhere. This corruption even led some Muslims,who have forgotten the victories of Islam, to fall

AMERICAN JUSTICE

straight into this trap, even proud of their prayers"for our boys" in Iraq. How blind have theseMuslims become? If indeed it is unjust for Muslimsto kill anyone, then by those standards our Prophet(saw) was unjust, along with the Sahabah (ra) andthe Muslims of today, who defended their land andresist unlawful occupation by way of Jihad. Ratherkilling is viewed by Islam as a highly selectiveaction, and one that is necessary in certaincircumstances and upon certain selective realities,governed by the detailed rules of the Shari'ah ratherthan the capitalist hunger for greed that drives theAmerican and British Governments to maim andkill. Therefore justice is painted in the media as anon-Muslim phenomenon, not a Muslim one eventhough the reality is that only Islam holds the justice.

Islam does not permit the targeting of civilians,Kuffar or Muslim, wherever they may live.Therefore, despite the crimes of the Westerncountries towards Islam and the Muslims, it is notpermitted at all to target any non-Muslim workers ornormal residents in our countries, because Shari'ahis the arbiter for our actions, not "revenge". It shouldbe noted, however, that Islam does not permit thecolonialist agenda to be executed in our lands or theexistence of the military bases of the Kuffar there asAllah (swt) said,

"Allah will never allow the disbelievers to have anauthority over the believers" [TMQ An-Nisa: 141].

However, despite the hatred for Islam and her waragainst it, America has hit a dilemma with how todeal with Saudi Arabia. This is because she has beena staunch ally of America, aiding it in both warsagainst Iraq and being infamously silent over pro-Israeli US policy. Therefore despite this attack,Saudi Arabia has not been heralded as a terroriststate that must be attacked and destroyed. Rather,both senior Saudi and American officials came outafter the bombing in Riyadh to state that both

countries were working together to eliminate thisproblem; overcoming the initial confusion over theAmerican claim, that the Saudis were aware of theimminent threat and did not improve security in therelevant areas.

The double standards for the onlooker are glaringlyobvious. However, they are not double standards ifwe understand that America is a capitalist nationwhich seeks to maximise its interests, at home andabroad. And they are not double standards if weunderstand that they are allowed to lie in theirideology to seek their capitalist goals and objectives.By the capitalist standard America is achieving itsgoals by a standard, unified mechanism that is to lie,cheat and fool people to minimise the opposition totheir capitalist world objectives.

Indeed America has no ethical foreign policy, onlyselfish material policy that determines its friendsand foes, from whom it will tolerate terrorist attacksand from whom it will not. By the standards of thearguments proposed for the Iraq war, Saudi Arabia isa direct threat to American citizens. It has beenestablished that the alleged perpetrators of 9/11,amongst others, were bred in Saudi Arabia and eventhe Saudi Imams have been quoted as issuing thekind of fatwas and rhetoric, to breed the kind ofhatred for America that results in these types ofactions. In addition to the horrific rights records ofSaudi Arabia, to which the Saudi regimeshamelessly refers to in its defence of its argumentto suppress terrorism at home (400 arrests in the lastfew months), America had sufficient cause to go towar with Saudi Arabia. However this has nothappened, rather the event has allowed America tofurther attack Islam and its concepts about Jihad. Ithas allowed it to put all the Muslim countries underenormous pressure to further protect Americancitizens above all others and it has allowed Americato fuel its 'war against terrorism'. It has also allowedthe Americans to forge a closer relationship with theSaudi regime, just when the instability of the regimewas becoming apparent, thus allowing it to shape itsfuture more favourably to its interests.

Saudi Arabia increased her oil production during therecent Iraq war to ensure that America suffered noeconomic consequences as a result of the war. Shealso continues to hound Muslims in her country andmost openly over her strict regulation of theMuslims attending the Hajj, offering a publicwarning to those Muslims prior to the Hajj. She alsocontinues to protect the West's oil supplies andprices, being the largest producer of oil. She alsocontinues to selectively apply Islam in the region,being quite happy to apply Islam in the personalworships while being completely open to the Kufrrules in the areas of economics, crucial to allowcheap wealth extraction, and foreign policy, thusenacting the colonialist agenda by enshrining theirrules in law.

WHY SO MANY EX-PATS?

With estimates at about 30,000 British ex-pats and45,000 US ex-pats in Saudi Arabia some might askthe question, why so many? The Western interest inSaudi Arabia is not related to her wonderful heritagebut to her being the largest oil producing country inthe world, and the requirement to prosecute anddefend that interest in the shape of a massiveexpatriate community and American militarypresence, despite the dangers.

The ex-pats comprise of oil industry workers andother multinational workers amongst otherintelligence and consulate staff and local residentialoccupational staff (e.g. school teachers). They existmostly to prosecute the colonialist agenda in theregion - that is to extract the resources and protectthat process, while selling Western goods to theSaudis as well, so that even the wealth from the oilsales is partially retrieved. Many have claimed thatthe Saudis did not have the technological knowledgeof how to extract oil, process and sell it and thattherefore without the Americans or the British theywould not have prospered. However, prior to theforced British led occupation of Hijaz by the SaudiRoyal family, the land was under the rule of theKhilafah, and certainly the Muslim Ummah as awhole has the ability to extract and utilise these oilresources, given the right political will to developthose technologies.

Besides all this, it is a Muslim land and Muslimresources are for the Muslims to manage andcontrol, not the colonialists. Therefore, theAmericans and the British should be reminded oftheir dirty history in the Islamic lands, claimingindependence and wealthy progression for theMuslims, while stealing it from them in the firstinstance and maintaining the implementation of acolonialist agenda to prosecute that extraction.

Is it not time for the Muslims to craft their ownpolitical agendas for the sake of Islam and theMuslims? Is it not time for Muslims to remove thecolonialist agenda from our lands, together with allthe forms it takes such as our shameless leaders andtheir Kufr laws that execute this colonialist agenda?z


american justice

Please address your letters and questions to theEditorial Team, either by email or post at thefollowing addresses:

email: [email protected]

or write to:Khilafah MagazineSuite 298, 56 Gloucester RoadLondon, SW7 4UB

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Khilafah Magazine June 2003

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