God Save The Deen
24-03-2008
Just over ten years ago, British Muslims flooded into Bosnia to assist the local
Muslim population fight for their survival against the Serbs who were carrying
out a genocide sanctioned by the silence of a watching world. The jihad brought
together Muslims from all walks of life who were simply not prepared to stand by
and allow their fellow Muslims to be butchered out of existence. Those who could
not travel to fight helped in other ways such as fund-raising, public awareness
events and demonstrations. This collective effort by British Muslims was only
part of the global Muslim effort to protect the Bosnian Muslims which was
instrumental in ending the genocide. Western intervention came very late and
only after it was apparent that that the Bosnian Muslims were gaining the upper
hand. Former US President Bill Clinton himself writes in his autobiography that
it was only the fear of the establishment of an Islamic state in the heart of
Europe which prompted Western intervention.
Just over a decade on, the plight of Muslims has escalated on a monumental
scale. On an international level, Muslims continue to be subjected to barbaric
oppression in places like Chechnya and Kashmir. Palestine has entered her 59th
year of occupation. Afghanistan and Iraq have joined her. Tens of thousands of
innocent Muslims continue to languish without charge in Guantanamo Bay, Bagram
airbase, Abu Ghraib, Diego Garcia and ghost prisons throughout the world. Not
much change then in terms of the nature of the threat we face.
What has changed however is the attitude of Muslims in the West.
Since the events of 9-11, there has been a relentless campaign launched to
reform Islam to transform it into something more palatable to Western society.
The vision is a secular and cultural Islam at peace with the world through her
submission to her oppressors rather than to Allah; an Islam devoid of jihad,
shari’ah and khilafah – the very things we are commanded by Allah to implement
in order to establish Allah’s deen on this earth. Detailed studies such as that
of the RAND Corporation in the US outline the means towards achieving this goal.
A 2003 report by RAND entitled Civil Democratic Islam categorises Muslims into
four categories:
fundamentalists,
traditionalists, modernists and secularists. Its recommendations include
- financially supporting and promoting the modernists and their viewpoints
- supporting the traditionalists against the fundamentalists
- promoting Sufism
- challenging the fundamentalists’ interpretation of Islam, revealing their links to jihad groups, demonstrating their inability to rule, portraying them as terrorists and encouraging journalists to dig up dirt on them
- encouraging division among the fundamentalists
- selectively supporting the secularists and discouraging
the secularist alliance with anti-US forces on such grounds as nationalism and
leftist ideology
A joint Home Office and Foreign Office document from 2004, Young Muslims and
Extremism, indicated that a similar strategy was at play in Britain. Codenamed
‘Operation Contest’, the document speaks of measures through which government
endorsements could be used to promote certain elements within the Muslim
community such as supporting “moderate” Islamic media outlets, promoting Muslim
organisations, individuals and forums that are seen as government friendly, and
encouraging “moderate” Muslims to challenge the “extremists”.
One is not surprised by such intricate plots by our enemies. They have been
taking place in vain for over 1400 years. The sheep should not look to the wolf
for protection. What is more concerning is the change in attitude of the
shephards of the Ummah, those entrusted with our guidance and protection, our
own Muslim leaders and imams. It seems that the events of 9-11, and more
recently 7-7, have paralysed these people and forced them to implement the RAND
and Operation Contest recommendations in record time. The very groups and
individuals named in the latter document are those we see today at the forefront
of this attempt to reform Islam.
Individuals who for years rallied the masses to stand up for justice and support
mujahideen groups around the world have suddenly not only become embarrassingly
silent but have found themselves condemning armed jihad, portraying mujahideen
as terrorists and extremists who follow a distorted version of Islam. Our
greatest error has been our silence while the world and these individuals have
equated martyrdom operations in Palestine and other occupied lands with acts of
terrorism in London, operations which are completely different in nature; one is
legitimate resistance against a brutal military occupation, the latter is
blatant terrorism. Equating the two only betrays our brothers and sisters who
have no other option but to fight or face extermination.
Post 7-7 syndrome has also infected imams who themselves took part in violent
international jihad in places like Afghanistan against the Soviets and in
Kashmir against Indian occupation, and who now call on Muslims to abandon this
noble path and to focus instead on integration. The illness has also spread to
popular speakers from Islamic Movements who today criticize Islamist parties and
governance by shari’ah and instead promote a reformation within Islam. Even
student and youth movements which consistently campaigned for Palestine and Iraq
have suddenly lost their tongues in a bid to be seen as “moderate”.
Much of this has occurred in the context of the Radical Middle Way Project, a
speakers tour funded by the Foreign Office through the Home Office with the
objective of fighting extremism or in other words, pacifying Muslims. One
example of how this Project is being used to turn people away from struggling
for justice will suffice. A few months ago, a sister I know, who is very active
in campaigning against injustices at home and abroad, was bought tickets by her
friends to attend three lectures by a leading speaker of the Radical Middle Way
Project. Her friend told her they believed she was becoming too “extreme”. I
would describe this sister as many things – active, passionate, radical – but
extreme, hardly. If it’s because of her belief in jihad, shari’ah and khilafah
that she is extreme, then the vast majority of Muslims are extremists, and I
will proudly add my name to that list.
Shockingly, while the government has repeatedly harped on about the need for
British Imams, it is funding this roadshow of scholars flown in from places as
diverse as US, Canada, Yemen and Mauritania. One should not question the
intention of the scholars themselves but it does seem that they have allowed
themselves to become pawns of the government, being manipulated by it to
complete its agenda. The roadshow has served as a platform to bash so-called
Wahhabi groups in the most cynical manner, as we begin to divide ourselves even
more upon the lines our enemies have drawn for us. In doing so, these speakers
ironically take on the very characteristics they so vehemently attack.
Running alongside all this has been the pop-nasheed culture, which sister Yvonne
Ridley has already spoken volumes about so I will not delve too deeply. Suffice
it to say that the culture is symbolic of the inferiority complex we suffer,
wishing to be more Roman than the Romans themselves, entertaining ourselves for
the sake of entertainment. The end result of all this has been a dilution of the
deen of Allah, a weak and pacified Islam willing to accept the status quo in
which Muslims are oppressed and subjugated; an Islam in which Muslims are
content to sing and sway the night away to nasheeds, to concentrate on bettering
their life in the West and to condemn the actions of their brothers and sisters
who courageously resist occupation and oppression with whatever they have. Even
making dua for them now has become a crime – how long before we are told by our
imams not to even pray for the Mujahideen?
One of the greatest military general the world has known, Salahudeen Ayubi (May
Allah have mercy on him), the liberator of al-Quds, was once asked why he didn’t
smile. He answered back that how could he smile while he knowing that Masjid al-Aqsa,
remained under Crusader occupation. How far removed are we from this attitude
today. England’s performance in the World Cup and David Beckham’s resignation
draw more tears from our eyes than the daily butchering of our brothers and
sisters. Had this attitude been present 10 years ago, Bosnia and its people
would have been completely exterminated.
In all this darkness, there is a bright light. For you see, one of the
characteristics of Islam is that the more you push it down, the higher it rises.
Muslims in Britain are now being stopped and searched, raided, arrested and
humiliated and shot in a fraction of the manner their brothers and sisters
around the world are treated. This has developed a real sense of empathy with
the plight of the Ummah. A rapidly increasing number of Muslim youth are now
realising that no matter how hard they compromise their deen to blend in with
the wider society, when things go sour, they will be treated with suspicion.
This is not scaremongering but realism. The more the government condemns
concepts of shari’ah, khilafah and jihad, the more Muslims are willing to
dedicate their lives to establishing these things. The more Muslims are
arrested, the more Muslims align themselves with the terror suspects. A recent
Times poll stated that the percentage equivalent of 400,000 Muslims in Britain
supported violent jihad around the world. One can only attribute this
surprisingly low percentage to a fear of being labeled “extremist”. It must be
understood that this violent jihad is something noble, a just war against
injustice and tyranny, of no threat whatsoever to British society and something
not only justified but encouraged by international law. Violent jihad in
Palestine, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir and elsewhere is not equivalent to the events
of 7-7 which have been absolutely condemned by all.
As an antidote to post-7-7 syndrome, British Muslims themselves organized their
own roadshow (Roles and Responsibilities of Muslims in Britain) earlier this
year in which scholars, community leaders and activists who have grassroots
support in their communities spoke. This wasn’t about foreign imams telling
British Muslims how to behave in Britain; this was about British imams, born,
raised and resident in this country, speaking to British Muslims. Despite the
record turn-outs for the tour, no support or even sign of recognition was
forthcoming from the government as in addition to condemning terrorism, Muslims
were told not to forget about Palestine, to continue to be active and to stand
up for justice, irrespective of the consequences. The masses heard the message
and are sure to spread it.
Slowly but steadily, more and more Muslims are waking up with the realisation
that it is not terrorism or extremism that is being targeted but Islam itself.
Our enemies will continue to attempt to divide us and to reform Islam as they
have done throughout the centuries. But we must always bear in mind our Lord’s
words that “they plot, but Allah also plotteth; and Allah is the best of
plotters” (Surah al-Anfal; 30)
God save the Deen.
By: Fahad Ansari
Submitted by a Mujahid