As a former member of the
Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb-ut-Tahrir, HT), I can really sympathise with my
former colleagues and other groups in their struggle to build a genuine Islamic
State that would be a source of security, justice and prosperity for all. In
the past, the Islamic State was exactly that, a system built on the actual
teachings of Islam, where people fled to seeking sanctuary. During the Medieval
Inquisition in Europe, the Jews fled to the Islamic State seeking protection. They
were offered that and they prospered for centuries. The Muslim Spain is another
example of where the society flourished at all levels with Jews, Muslims and
Christians living side by side.
I can hardly believe my
eyes, as the events have unfolded this year in various parts of the Muslims
world. It seems the notion of the Islamic State (The Khilafah or the Caliphate)
has been completely hijacked by wild extremists acting in the name of Islam,
and their actions are far removed from the action of Prophet Mohammed (SAW),
and the actions of the early companions and the generation of Muslims rulers
that followed.
In Africa, the Boko Haram
group is running riots that have temporarily overshadowed, for the moment, the
Somali Al-Shabab group, which was responsible for the attack on the Kenyan
Shopping mall. Like bandits, Boko Haram is kidnapping school girls under the
banner of ‘Jihad’. The group is opposed to Western education, but has no qualms
when it comes to reaping its benefits, as they use the internet and the mass
media to deliver their message. If they could get their hands on Western
weapons or technology they would not complain either. This gives us a glimpse
of their primitive mindset and what is to come in their version of an ‘Islamic’
State.
Over in Syria and Iraq, we
see the rise of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Their leader has
declared the Caliphate and so far all we see is chaos and destruction and beheadings
of people without trial or without evidence, and there is no mercy. The
Christians and Yazidis are being persecuted under ISIS, after living peacefully
with the Muslims side by side, for centuries.
When I saw the early
images of Alan Henning held captive, the man who left all his possessions and
family to help the needy people of Syria, I thought maybe it was media
misinformation, because, the Muslims are known for their hospitality toward
travellers and in this case, because he was a charity worker, they would have shown
him even more courtesy. I would expect that even from ISIS if they had any form
of Islamic heritage. His execution left me speechless as did the earlier
execution of the journalists. Anyone who has read the biography of the Prophet
Mohammed would know that Alan Henning would have been given red carpet
treatment rather than held as hostage, and killing him would have simply been
unthinkable. The Prophet forgave belligerent individuals many a time. When he
was personally attacked and insulted, he did not cause riots in the street
calling for the execution of his attackers.
Now
we have the Taliban in Pakistan, who have the same aspiration of building an Islamic
State and have responded to the air strikes over Waziristan by bombing a
school, killing over 100 school children. They will argue “An eye for an eye”,
a collective response of war. By that argument, the Pakistani forces could
respond too and level Waziristan. However, I am sure many in Waziristan are
also horrified by this incident. Many of those children may have grown up and
become sympathetic to the Taliban cause. The best response is to treat the
Taliban as a group and to confine the military operation to that only. They
have clearly lost the propaganda war now.
It would have been
understandable to some extent had they attacked a military barrack containing
soldiers, rather than school children under the maxim of “An eye for eye” because we know from our
religion and history that women and children are to be spared. This was the first instruction given by the
Prophet when going to war and his companions followed this tradition. This is clearly documented. Even when there
were grounds to take such measures this was avoided, because it runs contrary
to the spirit of Islam. Take the classic example of Salahuddin Ayubi when he
recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders. He didn’t execute the women and
children or the prisoners of war in response to the earlier action of King
Richard, even though he had justification for doing so.
In any case, the if
Taliban wanted to establish the Islamic State in Pakistan so that it could govern its people with the light of
Islam, then it would be contradictory to bring death, destruction and chaos over the same people. I
remember the arguments from HT that using armed struggle to bring about an
Islamic State would bring about chaos and bloodshed of the very people you are
trying to impose Islam upon. This is what happened inside Algeria during the
time of FIS (Islamic Salvation Front), and it is happening now on a greater
scale.
All of these groups seem
to think that invoking penal code at the first opportunity, carrying out executions
without trial and waving their guns in their air symbolises the establishment
of an Islamic State. This is very crude and their actions fit the description
of the early Khawarij movement of the 7th century. They operated on
the simple principle that if you differed with them then you were an apostate
(Takfir), and the spilling of your blood was permissible. There were no courts,
and no trial, and accordingly they created havoc in society and assassinated
the fourth Caliph of Islam, Imam Ali. To
job of declaring apostasy or applying the penal code is the duty of a qualified
judge or a ruler who has legitimate authority, but even before the imposition
and application of the penal code, the society must be prepared with education
and security. It is well known that certain penal codes were suspended during
the reign of the second Caliph of Islam (Umar ibn Khattab) due to famine. What
about exercising mercy and forgiveness, which is what the Prophet ( SAW) showed
many times. Why the enthusiasm to spill
blood at the first opportunity?
As one prominent scholar
recently asked about the new ISIS, is it
a sanctuary for the ordinary Muslims or is it a sword hanging over their neck,
forcing citizens to obey their viewpoint?
London, UK
No comments:
Post a Comment