I had to lol when I saw this article. Hizb demands the West stop intimidating poor Muslims. What? So, Islam can destroy church buildings, kill Christians and non-Christians, belittle our Constitutional Republic, forbid non-Muslims to enter certain sections of their supposed holy land and encourage Jihad and we are to stop intimidating the Ummah. What a joke! This article truly shows the double standard and the elitist attitude Muslims have concocted for themselves.
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Enough with the intimidation
Monday, 03 January 2011 08:43
This past year we have seen an alarming amount of events that have put the Muslim community under intense scrutiny and pressure. Some of them include Faisal Shahzad’s attempted attack in Times Square, the attempts by Farooque Ahmed in Virginia, and most recently the incident in Portland by Mohammed Mohamud, amongst others. In the midst of these scares, the entire world is waiting, and in fact urging the Muslims for an answer. In the wake of the “Burn a Quran Day” and the Ground Zero mosque fiasco, Muslims are backed into a corner, having to either apologize for acts that they did not commit, or feel like they have to hide their Deen and make excuses for it. Some are even confused and scared, not knowing how to explain these events to their non-Muslims neighbors and co-workers and the society at large.
In fact, many non-Muslims have questions also. Do Muslims really believe in killing innocent civilians? Is it true that Muslims want to destroy America? Should they be afraid of Islam? In fact, many Americans suspect that the Muslims’ silence implies approval of these actions.
To answer these questions it’s important to keep a few points in mind:
1) The Facts Are Unknown: The facts for all of these events are completely unknown. The “War on Terror” relies on misinformation, deception, and slander. Like any counter-insurgency operation, the West is engaging the “hearts and minds” of Muslims, hoping that Muslims who are concerned with the colonization of Iraq and Afghanistan will turn their anger to so-called militants who attack women and children in schools, markets, and mosques. The alleged plots that were foiled in the United States are another example of this. The Western governments have a proven track record of lying to hide their unsavory actions such as the bombing of innocent women and children, and even their own soldiers in friendly-fire incidents as was seen in the case of retired football star Emmitt Hill.
The reality is that the real facts are unattainable and Muslims should view the reports in the media with skepticism. Even the general American public is losing trust in the official reports. The widely known documentary “Loose Change” is one example of ordinary American citizens questioning the official government stance of the events of September 11th. Furthermore, the use of private military contractors and mercenaries makes it hard to know who’s telling the truth. In fact, the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai a well-known American puppet commented on the bombings against innocent civilians in his own country saying, “In fact we don’t yet know how many of these blasts are by Taliban and how many are carried out by them (US security companies).”
2) Hype & Hysteria: The issue of terrorism is over-hyped and is a media obsession, fueling the anxiety average Americans have, famously including former NPR commentator, Juan Williams, over their safety. Politicians and pundits warn of the “Islamic threat” to Western civilization, causing even more hysteria. In fact, the West’s crusade against terror has been utterly unproductive, creating anger and resentment by launching colonial missions in Iraq and Afghanistan under the name of freedom, all the while supporting governments whose very existence is based on squashing political freedom like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt.
The truth is that former US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair recently testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee stating that the greatest threat facing the US is not terrorism, it’s the current economic crisis. His exact statement: “The primary near-term security concern of the United States is the global economic crisis and its geopolitical implications…” and how it could lead to “the instability, and high levels of violent extremism.”
To support this point, Intelligence Committee Vice-Chair Christopher Bond on the other hand said the economic crisis is now “the primary focus of the intelligence community”, fearing that they may use “military force against hostile groups inside the United States” in the event of “a multi-state or nationwide civil conflict or disturbance.”
3) Entrapment: It’s easy to see that many of the so- called “terrorist acts” that have occurred have been encouraged or orchestrated by law enforcement and intelligence agencies as was the case in Virginia with Farooque Ahmed and Portland with Mohammed Mohamud recently. The terror hysteria is largely hype, and many have concluded that it is not nearly as big a concern as it is made out to be. In fact, the government finds people who do not have the ways or means to carry out anything significant, and then like a theatrical play, the government comes in with promises of materials that the person themselves could never acquire, or often the promise of large sums of money in return for carrying out specific acts. Then when the plot is foiled, they are able to convince the American people that everything is under control. It guarantees a “successful” outcome and many people might believe that a terrorist act was prevented. The government even targets mosques and Islamic centers and uses informants and spies to incite problems and then claims victory after they “catch” someone.
In fact, an article from the British newspaper, The Guardian in 2005 said, “Of the 701 people arrested under the Terrorism Act since the September 11 attacks, half have been released without charge and only 17 convicted under the act. Only three of those cases relate to allegations of Islamist extremism.”
Despite this fact we are regularly bombarded with screaming headlines about mass terror sweeps, and it goes unmentioned that in nearly every case every so-called ‘terrorist’ is released with no evidence against them. The arrests are at the top of the evening news for days but there is no clarification or retraction when the suspects are set free. This leaves the viewer with the impression that terrorists are everywhere and that only a draconian police state can protect them against the threat.
4) Creating Doubt & Suspicion: These issues are used to divide the Muslims and break them against each other. The RAND Corporation published a report discussing how to deal with the Muslims, and it was a classic example of “divide and conquer”. It’s a classic colonial strategy and is being used worldwide against the Muslims to distract them. The goal is to discredit anyone that talks about Islam as a complete way of life.
5) Justifications: These events, in addition to putting more pressure on Muslims in the West are used to justify foreign interventions as well. By connecting these recent plots to cells in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, the government is building a case to launch more incursions into these Muslim countries. The recently discovered plot by so-called Islamic militants against European cities was traced back to Pakistan, and will likely serve as evidence to launch unilateral ground offensive in that country in the near future.
In light of this evidence, the Muslims should understand the following:
• Islam has forbidden the harming of innocent civilians at any time. Not only is it haram to attack innocent civilians, but Islam does not even allow Muslims to cut down trees, destroy infrastructure like bridges, roads, and hospitals.
• Muslims should not feel intimidated by the increasing pressure by the government because these are vain attempts to catch “terrorists” that don’t really exist.
• The Muslims should continue to defend their rights and show that Islam and Muslims are not really the problem; rather it is colonialism and oppression that is the real problem.
The real issue is that the Muslims are faced with is the absence of Islam as a way of life. The Islamic rituals and worships are still observed, but Islam is not implemented in its totality as it should be. This is the vital issue for the Muslims. The occupation of the Muslim lands of Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Palestine, the corruption of puppet Muslim rulers, the poverty and declined state of affairs, and hardships that the Muslims are suffering from are the consequences of not living under Islam.
The issue is not a lack of resources, but a lack of Islamic leadership. What we lack is the shield that RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم prescribed for us to use in order to protect ourselves. This shield is described in the following hadith:
“Indeed, the Imam (Khaleefah) is a shield, from behind whom you fight and by whom you are protected.” [Muslim]
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Verily, the knots of Islam will be undone one by one. Whenever one knot is lost then the people grabbed onto the one which came after it. The first of these knots will be the ruling and the last will be the salah.” [At-Tabaraani]
So the Muslims are obliged to work for the return of the Khilafah and not be distracted by intimidation and accusations from the non-Muslims. Similarly, the Muslims should not be deluded into thinking that violent actions will ever solve the problem. The issue of re-establishing the Khilafah is a political one and requires political work to accomplish this goal. This was the work of the Prophet (saw) and we are obliged to follow his footsteps.
So if Muslims want to make a change, they should focus their efforts on re-establishing the Khilafah which will rule them by Islam and solve their problems with the Deen of Allah. At the same time, the Muslims should not be confused or intimidated by events that are engineered and manipulated to intimidate them. We should be bold and clearly demonstrate the contradictions and problems that arise as a result of Capitalism like the global economic crisis. We should highlight the fragmented and decaying social system in non-Islamic societies. Above all, we should show that Islam is a mercy from Allah and that when implemented comprehensively as a system, the entire creation, Muslim and non-Muslim, will taste the sweet fruits of Islam.
The Hizb ut-Tahrir Watch 