The Leadership of The World Belongs to the Khilafah

“Say, O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah.” [Al- A’raf, 7:158]

Allah (swt) sent our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) with a message, to take man from the darkness of falsehood to the light of truth. The Prophet (saw) was sent with this message to rescue mankind from false and ill founded beliefs and to shape the behavior of man on the basis of revelation from Allah (SWT).

The message of Islam was not to be restricted to one nation or tribe, or to one geographic location rather it was a universal message. Today, the message of Islam does not present itself as a way of life. Activities like trade, settling of disputes and the relationships between the Muslim Ummah and the rest of the mankind are no longer based upon this call.

The world finds itself under the dark shadow of Western civilisation that has inflicted it with the incorrect belief of secularism and its bitter fruit colonialism. In this era the Western ideology goes unchallenged in the world. This is because the alternative- Islam was wiped from in the international stage in 1924 when the Khilafah was demolished. Leaving mankind to be led by the colonialist nations along with the now defunct Communist Russia.

Humanity has suffered in the absence of the Khilafah state. There is no state in the world that values the welfare of mankind in the way that Islam obliged the Khilafah state to. The Khilafah state will invite all people to enjoy the protection Islamic Shariah, regardless of their wealth or poverty or the colour of their skin. The leadership of the world rightfully belongs to Islam; it is unfortunate that the Western nations have been successful in deceiving the world that they are deserving of the leadership of mankind. The track record of Western leadership in the world needs to be judged.

The West and their Relationship with Other Nations

The leading nation in the world today is America. The values that drive it have been demonstrated all too vividly to the world in the last few years. The US has committed atrocities against mankind from its very creation. It is a nation that was founded upon the brutal genocide of millions of Native Americans (Red Indians). The agenda of the US has never been to aid mankind even though she likes to delude herself that this is what she seeks. The overriding principle of those in power in the US is not humanitarian; rather it is to see how they can exploit weaker nations to enrich American corporations and capitalists.

The US maintains dominance in the world as a hyper power, by spending billions on arms so that no one can challenge her interests. She has brought misery, chaos and destruction to every corner of the world. US values have been exported to Iraq by way of a military invasion, under the guise of spreading freedom and democracy. In Iraq the spawn of American beliefs and values has resulted in over a million civilians killed, the destruction of every type of infrastructure that is required to sustain life, starvation, death by cancers caused by depleted uranium and young girls being forced into prostitution. The politics of the country has been handed to American stooges, who are prepared to sell Iraqi resources to whoever pays the most commission. Allowing western corporations to exploit the resources Allah (SWT) has bestowed to the Muslims of that land.

The US is not alone in possessing blood thirsty greed. In the past the leadership of the world was in the hands of Britain. Britain is now a secondary colonialist power as it cannot compete with America but still vies to be influential. The British are no different to the Americans when they deal with other nations in the world and are more experienced.

They too seek to enrich their capitalist classes. Their early colonialists were funded by the wealthy British capitalists often monarchs, aristocrats, lords, dukes and the land owning classes. Their aim was to bring riches back to for these investors. The East India Company is an example of such an enterprise. It fought to secure the interests of the British capitalists. They gained control of Bengal after defeating Siraj Ud Daulah in 1757 at the battle of Plassey. Having gained control of Bengal Britain was responsible for allowing a famine to kill 10 million people in 1770. This was caused by policies that firstly increased taxes on land in a famine year and secondly by a policy that stopped traders “hoarding” foods which in truth meant holding reserves in case of famine. Then just as today, this was due to it putting the interests of its capitalist stakeholders first. The seeking of profits was put over and above the lives of millions. The East India Company was also responsible for exporting opium to China, where people were deliberately introduced to narcotics so that British investors could make profits at the price of their misery.

It can be seen that whilst nations like the US and Britain claim that they are spreading values that all mankind should aspire to. They in fact are only interested in taking advantage of weaker nations. They only export their way of doing things to weaker nations so that it makes it easier to achieve their aims- by having like minded individuals in the nation being exploited. When they claim that they want to educate other nations with skills, this is usually a form of cultural colonialism. Individuals are invited to the West and are taught to revere and incline towards the western way of life. They are then sent back to their lands where they serve the interests of corporations or the government of the country that educated them. As an example British Council facilitates such programs in many third world countries.

Western nations believe that the seeking of wealth is a primary motivation in life. Secularism leads them to believe that it is acceptable to attain wealth in anyway possible as long as they can get away with it. It is only the practical problems linked with taking what they want by brute force that makes them behave in other ways. The US has learnt from Iraq that it is easier and probably less costly in terms of men, materials and money to control a puppet ruler than to take a country by force for its oil. This is why it is likely that there will be a shift in US foreign policy away from such tactics.

The seeking of wealth and resources is the motivation that has driven these colonialist nations to cross the seas- not the seeking of good for mankind. Some may argue that the unprecedented level of technology that is available in this age is a benefit brought by Western nations to mankind. The truth of the matter is that wherever the West seeks to spread technology to other nations it seeks to monopolise markets for this technology. The spread of technology fulfils the materialistic designs of the Western powers. The developers of the technology need to have markets for its use- the motivation in exporting and spreading this technology is profit, to be made by Western corporations.

The Western nations do not deserve of the leadership of mankind because they hold an unfounded belief, secularism on the basis of which they have brought misery, turmoil and injustice to nations across the globe. Some may place hope in other nations France, Russia or China to rescue the world from the tyranny of this leadership by the US. The truth is that these nations too, only care about securing their national interest and they too would exploit weaker nations.

The Khilafah State and its Relationship with Other Nations

The Khilafah state is a state based upon the Islamic aqeeda. Unlike the Western nations it is driven by the principles and values that are based upon revelation from the Allah (swt). The Islamic State must abide by the values that Shariah has laid down. The statesmen in the Khilafah state will be conscious of the fact that they will be held to account for how they conduct the affairs of state on the Day of Judgment. They would follow the ahkam laid down by the shariah, rather than the pursuing the interests of the influential and wealthy in the society.


In contrast the Western nations are driven by raw ruthless greed that drives them to spill blood, corrupt, deceive and lie to achieve their aims. The aim of enriching various cliques in their nations is driven by their belief that they do not know or care about what happens after this life. Their secular creed teaches them that they must to acquire wealth and material so that they can indulge themselves in this life.

The relationship of the Khilafah state with other nations will be based upon sharing the Islamic shariah with them, so that they too can lift themselves from the misery of false creeds, ways of living and the tyranny of the rich and powerful amongst them. This is because Islam was sent to look after the affairs of all of mankind and is not to be confined to any one set of people. The relationship of the Muslims with other nations is not based upon using other nations for their benefit. Rather it is based upon the fact that the Muslims as a state are obliged by Allah (SWT) to share Islam with the rest of mankind. This is their sole aim when establishing relationships with other nations. The Khilafah state would help mankind to liberate itself from the forced misery they have to endure at the hands of the colonialist nations. The Khilafah would not allow millions to starve or die so that corporations could make money. The Islamic Shariah does not permit Muslims to deceive and cheat people in order to take their wealth and resources.

Muslims are becoming increasingly aware that the leadership of the world truly belongs to Islam. This leadership cannot present itself in reality until the Muslims establish the Khilafah in their lands. Muslims must establish a state with the Islamic aqeeda as the source of every law and action. Until that time, the world will continue to suffer under the misery of Western exploitation. It is only when the Khilafah is established, that the Islamic leadership can be presented to the world. Muslims must work and continually call for the Khilafah until it is established and colonial tyranny is relegated to its rightful position.

Iran, Nuclear Weapons and Western Hypocrisy

Over the past few years America, Britain, France and others have raised many concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme. They have argued that, although Iran claims that its nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes, it has the potential to allow the Iranians to develop a nuclear bomb. This they claim is a threat to them and the region. In their view Iran simply cannot be trusted and should be stopped before it is too late.

To many Muslims these objections are seen as hypocrisy by the colonialist nations. They see that the western countries continue to develop their nuclear weapons arsenals whilst on the other hand they see that other countries are stopped from doing so. The US spent a staggering $6.5 billion in 2004 on nuclear weapons, with Bush applying for a further $30 billion over the next 4 years.

In the absence of any real leadership in the Muslim World, some Muslims harbour a hope that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons. They hope that this will some how allow Iran to help Muslims around the world and stand up to colonial hegemony.

The Nature of Western Nations

The world today is dominated by nations that adhere to the capitalist ideology, which drives them to exploit weaker nations. The capitalist nations seek to take resources from others in order to enrich their capitalist elites. They rely on political manipulation of other nations, having superiority in technology and a strong well equipped military.

Colin Powell, who portrays himself to be more reasonable than the American Neo-Cons, once said in relation to US military strength and strategic objectives that “I want to be the bully on the block.” This was when he was the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman in the US military. The West uses its military strength to keep other nations from developing and to keep them open to exploitation.

They actively prevent other nations from developing the infrastructure to develop technology, by sponsoring corrupt ruling elites and poisoning the political climate in such countries. The elites in these countries serve only Western interests and not those of their people. Musharraf for instance, a western backed ruler has brought turmoil to his country. He has been responsible for creating political havoc in Pakistan and has made it impossible for that country to stand on its own two feet.

Western Powers Rely on Military force

The American President Theodore Roosevelt once said “Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far". In the context of international relations ‘Big stick diplomacy’ means that the US has to have a strong miltary to threaten other nations in order to secure favourable terms for itself and the interests that it represents. The British also have a term “gunboat diplomacy” for the actual or threatened use of miltary force to achieve what they want. The US policy of ‘Shock and Awe’ during its attack on Iraq, shows that Western Powers see military force as a vital tool for them the extend their domination over other countries. A nuclear weapon is the ultimate ‘big stick’- it can be used to threaten other nations with total destruction.

The US made its case clear to the world by anhilating the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. It is for this reason that the colonial nations seek to prevent wherever possible other nations acquiring nuclear weapons. Once a nation has its own nuclear weapons it can no longer be held to ransom by the colonialist nations as it has a nuclear detterent.

The Nuclear Club

Muslims are increasingly aware that international law and institutions are tools in the hands of a few nations that seek to achieve their own agendas. In 1968 the Nuclear Non Proliferation treaty (NPT) was enacted. Only four countries in the world are not signatories to the NPT- Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. This treaty defined the US, Britain, France, Russia and China – countries that had tested a nuclear weapon before the 1st of January 1967 as Nuclear Weapons States (NWS). The non-proliferation treaty means that most of the nations in the world are not allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, leaving only the colonialists and a handful of countries to form a club with nuclear weapons.

Under the Non Proliferation Treaty the Nuclear Weapons States are not allowed share technology or sell a nuclear device to any other nation. The NPT also stated that all nations should be committed to disarmament and that they should be allowed to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Clearly, the colonialist powers have no intention of disarming and even try to stop nations like Iran from pursuing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Britain is upgrading its Trident nuclear weapons so that they can strike at targets that they are not capable of reaching at the moment. This is an example of how Western Nations manipulate international law to maintain their rank in the world and in turn the share of the spoils from the exploitation of weaker countries.

The Case of Iran

Is Iran trying to build a nuclear bomb? Many Muslims harbour the hope in their hearts that they are. This is because the Muslims today are yearning for a leadership that will protect them from the threats, savage attacks and the misery inflicted upon them by the kafir colonialists and their installed puppet rulers.

The fact of the matter is that Iran is a very long way from producing weapons grade nuclear material. Iran’s enrichment programme produces uranium below five percent – this can only be used for civilian nuclear applications. To produce weapons grade uranium more than ninety seven percent enrichment is required. The UN Security Council met on the 23rd of April 2007 passing resolution 1747. This gave Iran a deadline of 2 months to stop enrichment- effectively denying Iran its right to pursue nuclear technology for civilian purposes. The Iranians insist on maintaining their right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In this way the fuss over the Iranian nuclear programme continues year after year.

The colonialist powers are well aware that Iran is a very long way from producing nuclear weapons. It is the Americans that keep the issue alive. It can be seen that US has cast Iran as a nuclear ‘bogey man’. This serves US interests in two ways. Firstly, it is allows the US to support its case for the continued presence of US bases in the Gulf region, by stating that the gulf countries would be under threat from Iran if they were to leave. Secondly, it gives the United States justification for the construction of a nuclear protection shield in Poland and the Czech Republic under the belly of Russia. The Muslims that harbour hope that countries like Iran will safeguard the interests of the Muslim Ummah need to have a rethink.

Only an Ideological State Can Choose its Own Actions

The question ‘should Iran disarm?’ is a false one. The fact of the matter is that Iran is a nation that finds it difficult to assert its legitimate rights under current international law, let alone develop nuclear weapons and challenge the West.

The international situation today does not have the presence of an ideological Islamic State that truly looks after the affairs of the Muslims. The colonialist nations have manipulated countries into signing treaties like the NPT that benefit them alone and help them exploit others. Iran is not a state that is based upon Islam. For this reason Iran is weak nation that seeks compromise and permission from the colonialists to even exercise its right to develop nuclear technology on its own soil.

It allows America to use peaceful nuclear development, by the Iranians as a political tool furthering US interests in the region. Muslims are increasingly aware that all the regimes in the Muslim world are subservient to the West and will not look after their affairs- Iran being no different.

The Khilafah when it is established will be state based upon Islam. It will not be dependent on other nations for its thinking. It will judge how to address the needs of the Muslims on the basis of Islam. Does Islam allow it to have nuclear development or not? It will judge if having nuclear weapons is a need for the Ummah. It will expose the conspiracies of the colonialist powers. It will decide its own policies and not be bullied by others into signing treaties and agreements that do not serve the needs of the Muslims. If Muslims are to harbour any hopes of having a leadership that will protect them and serve their needs- then the hope is not with Iran- rather hope is with the soon to be established Khilafah state.

Abdur Rahman Siakhi

Nasheeds, Western Foreign Policy and Darfur

The ‘Concert for Peace In Darfur’ held in Wembley Arena London, has been hailed by some to be a great way for Muslims to help other Muslims. This concert featured as the main performer, the nasheed ‘artist’ Sami Yusuf. Who visited Darfur, with an Islamic charity organisation. He has publicised the plight of the Muslims in Darfur and in many ways re-enforced the narrative spun by the British government as to what happening in Darfur. This is hardly surprising as one the events sponsors is the British Foreign Office.

Some Muslims, view the holding of such concerts as a charitable deed that Islam deems to be praiseworthy. They see it is an attempt to help Muslims that are less fortunate. More aware Muslims realise that often there is more than meets the eye when it comes to such events. The context needs to be examined before a sound judgement as how to view such events can be made.


Western Foreign Policy

Although the colonialist nations like the US, Britain and France make claims that they are against human suffering and misery they are ones that are usually cause it. It is blatantly obvious that they hold the interests of their wealthy capitalist classes and corporations dearer than the lives of people. One only needs to look at Iraq as an example. The case of Iraq shows that oil and natural resources mean more to these Governments than the blood of people. A figure of 650,000 is often stated as the number of Iraqi civilians that have died as result of the colonial conquest of Iraq. This figure was the average used in the report published in the Lancet, the upper range was stated to be 942,000. The report was published some time ago and the figure has probably reached more than a million innocent lives lost since then. This is in addition to the suffering and misery of millions. Iraq has become a society that has been torn into tatters, with insecurity, bloodshed and tension featuring in everyday life. The displaced have become victims of hunger and desperation. Vulnerable young Iraqi girls are being forced into prostitution in neighbouring Syria. All this suffering to feed the greed of the West, that stems from the evil of capitalism. Alan Greenspan the former governor of the US Federal Reserve admitted in his recent book that the war in Iraq was fundamentally about oil. Only the naïve would view the western nations as being altruistic and caring for the affairs of mankind.

The Case of Darfur

Why are Western Nations so concerned about Darfur? Are the people of Darfur the only ones that are suffering in the world today? The Western Nations talk about helping people in Darfur, whilst at the same time they are killing people daily in Iraq and Afghanistan. What is the significance of Darfur to the West?


Darfur is located in Southern Sudan, an area known to be rich on oil. The Colonialist Nations are exploiting the violence and consequent humanitarian crisis that has resulted. It is widely believed that it was the US that first armed rebel factions so as to create a problem to solve in the area. The tragedy in Darfur is now being exploited in various ways by different colonialist nations.

This historical backdrop for this lust for the regions oil resources began with the American company Chevron, which had been granted oil exploration rights by the Numeri regime. In the early 1990’s Chevron decided to no longer pursue its oil interests in Southern Sudan. In this period the Chinese secured major rights for oil in the region due to its increasing thirst to feed its industries. Now there is a clamour amongst different nations to secure a piece of the pie.

As always the colonialist nations compete with other to secure the right to plunder weaker nations. France and Britain are keen to send troops to Darfur, the US has already has troops in the region although not in Darfur. The Chinese have a small amount of soldiers in Sudan to protect their interests, the British and the French have very little military influence in Darfur.

That is why the French and British welcomed the passing of UN resolution 1706 in August 2006 calling for the deployment of UN 'peacekeepers' to supplement the 7000 African Union troops. It is thought that the US is not keen on allowing UN troops into the region as it will allow the issue to be internationalised allowing the British and French to have share of the future spoils. France held a conference about Darfur on 25th June 2007 in which they proposed to use the French military to open ‘humanitarian corridors’ to Darfur from their bases in Chad. No one from Sudan, the Darfur rebels or the surrounding countries such as Chad was even invited to attend this conference.

The British for their part have been highlighting the plight of the people in Darfur by using various means to publicise the humanitarian issues. Hoping that this will create a favourable public opinion for future military intervention.

Nasheed Concerts and Muslims in Britain

Whilst the organisers of concerts such as the one in Wembley, may have been blissfully unaware of the background to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Muslims in Britain are increasingly aware about the nature of the society that they live in and the government that rules over them. They are aware that the British government has an agenda for them, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. The British government knows from is murderous misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, that it is better to have Muslim public opinion on its side. It is for this reason that they wish to win Muslim hearts and minds. Wouldn’t it be great for the British government if British forces were to occupy Darfur, that Muslims in Britain viewed it as a humanitarian intervention rather than a colonial aggression against their brothers and sisters?

Muslims are increasingly realising that these pseudo Islamic events are not going to solve the problem for Muslims in Darfur. The organisers may well have the well being of the Muslims in Darfur at heart, but they need to understand the context in which they do their actions. Those that have other political motives for the Muslims can easily use such events to suit them. Why would the Foreign Office sponsor events like this one in Wembley, if it did not serve their purpose?

If Muslims want to do something to help their brothers and sisters in Darfur, Iraq or any other place then they must put their efforts and energies to working to re-establish the Khilafah. This is the real solution to the problems of the Muslims throughout the world. The Darfur crisis is a result of a weak leadership in Sudan, a weak regime that does not rule by Islam. They allowed the crisis to occur and they have conceded to the wishes of the colonialist enemies of Islam and the Muslims.

The Faces May Change But the Corruption Remains

Since its formation Pakistan has flip-flopped between military and civilian rule. Both military and civilian rulers have failed the people and let the nation drift from one crisis to another. The people have all but lost hope for any real improvement in their standard of living. They have resigned themselves to a life of apathy and desperation.

The recent Supreme Court ruling allowing Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan has opened the door for his to return to Pakistani Politics. Benazir Bhutto has also made her intention clear to return to Pakistani politics. Many observers believe that moves are afoot to relieve Musharraf from the increasing opposition that he is facing from the people.

Many Muslims from Pakistan and beyond are asking themselves why the only candidates to look after their affairs are proven to be crooked and corrupt. Musharraf’s selling out to the US, Nawaz Sharif’s humiliating stance at Kargil and Benazir’s Mr Ten Percent husband come to the mind when these names are mentioned.

The Need for Functional Politics

For any nation to look after its affairs at least some of its people must propose, debate and implement solutions to problems faced domestically and internationally. How should the basic infrastructure like roads, electricity, clean water and other necessities be provided for the people? How should a nation develop its literacy, how can economic opportunities be created? What should be the basis of relations with other nations, how should the nation deal with external threats? It is the politicians that deal with these issues. Unfortunately, the politicians in Pakistan have failed miserably in this regard. They have accepted a framework in which to work, that does not allow them to achieve satisfactory solutions to the issues faced by society. Pakistan, despite its huge potential languishes in the ranks of failed states and third world nations.

A False Choice

The likes of Benazir and Nawaz are the only choices presented to the Muslims as people that can run the country. Muslims are given a false choice. If the Muslims of Pakistan are sick and tired of their US puppet military dictator then the alternative is corrupt civilian rule. When the people have had enough of the corruption of civilian rule, then the military can step in to rule. All other alternatives have been ruled out in Pakistan.

The Islamic alternative has been dismissed by many people. Taking seats in parliament has silenced Pakistani Islamic parties, in the eyes of many. They are perceived as having a vested interest in keeping the situation as it is. As a joke, MMA a coalition of Islamic parties is often said to stand for the Mullah Military Alliance. Many are resigned to these choices as an unchangeable reality.

Poisoned Politics

The politics of Pakistan have been poisoned since their very start in 1947. Pakistan was established in the name in the name of Islam, as a state for Muslims. Unfortunately this vision has not truly been realised. The politics of Pakistan have been based on a cocktail of un-Islamic political thought and alien ideologies.

This is not just the case for Pakistan but the entire Muslim world. When they left, the colonial powers knew that they must ensure that such newly ‘independent’ countries are still politically dependent. They ensured that the politics in such countries should still serve them. The politicians within them would serve to line their own pockets and preserve the interests of the colonial Kafir nations. They made sure anyone in politics was in fact aligned to their way of thinking and dependent upon them to formulate polices. Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Washington DC at the height of the Kargil crisis to seek what to do and Musharraf’s usage of Neo-con language when addressing the so called “war on terror” in Pakistan, are clear examples.

Such individuals have no basis apart from self-interest, ego and a smattering of patriotism to base their politics upon. They are entirely dependent upon the enemies of their people to formulate their policies. This is why Pakistan has failed politically since its inception. The political atmosphere has been corrupted ensuring that the politicians cannot effectively rule the country and Pakistan moves from one crisis to another.

Breaking The Political Shackles

Increasingly Muslims are rejecting the false political choices put in front of them. If Benazir or Nawaz return to power, people have little hope in any improvement of their lot in life. Muslims are searching for a politics that gives an alternative to the misery inflicted upon them by the corrupted system. What Pakistan requires like the rest of the Muslim world is a shift in thinking. They must to reject the so-called solutions offered to them by the corrupt system and politicians. Increasingly people are realising that a more radical change is required, a break from the past.

Islam and Khilafah

For Pakistan to truly progress it needs politicians that can look after its affairs both domestically and internationally. The failure of the likes of Musharaf, Sharif and Benazir show that the existing form of politics is inadequate. This is because it is based upon western political thought, which cannot bear fruits in Muslims societies. Muslims must return to looking after their affairs on the basis of Islam. It is only then that they can proceed in all aspects of life.

Without the Khilafah ruling system, the politics of Pakistan will continue in its chaotic, confused and corrupt path. This will make it easy for its enemies to destroy it, enslaving its people and resigning them to a life of misery and despondency. The Khilafah ruling system will allow good people to enter into politics, letting them do good for the people. Today the rotten system only allows the crooked to enter politics, who when in power do nothing for the betterment of the people and state. If the political framework in Pakistan is not changed only the faces will change but the corruption will remain. Muslims must take Islam in its entirety, which includes politics. Ruling by Islam will end the corruption and allow Muslims to progress.

“and rule between them by that which Allah has revealed, and do not follow their vain desires away from the truth which came to you.” [Al- Ma’idah: 48]

Working for Revival

How can a Muslim aid the revival of the Ummah? Firstly, as an individual he or she must understand the Islamic ideology. This means to study in depth the differences between Islam and capitalism and to understand how Islam works as a system for running the affairs of life, not just as a religion of ritual and rites.

Secondly, having understood the Islamic ideology Muslims must carry dawah for it and work to correct those understandings of Islam that are incorrect. This is so that a sound awareness of Islam is created amongst the people and erroneous understandings are corrected. If the dawah to the ideology is carried in an effective manner, it is inevitable that the Islamic state will be established in society, hence reviving the Ummah.

Thirdly, collective movements are required. These collective movements need to call to the Islamic thought by constantly linking it to issues facing the Muslims. This in essence has to be political in nature. Collective movements have to be aware that the work for individual reformation, education, publishing literature and a general call to the khairaat in Islam will not lead to revival.

Political work means to address the corruption of the rulers and the problems within societies targeted for change. For example, in Pakistan, the increases in gas prices, the establishment of FBI offices, the permission to construct US military bases, the treachery over Kashmir by the Musharaff junta could all be political issues to address.

In order to aid revival the manner in which these issues must be discussed is that these problems arise due the absence of Islam as an ideology and the presence of a kufr ruling system in place of the Khilafah. The linkage to Islam as an ideology must be re-iterated continuously so that the Islamic viewpoint about life becomes the predominant thought in society.

It is important that this call be carried politically as rules and thoughts without application to life’s affairs are not effective in changing the people. This is especially true when one is addressing society. The call must influence the people to change their existing thoughts with the Islamic thoughts. This does not mean that there is no need to pay attention to culturing people on an individual basis, rather this is imperative as without the ideology being deeply embedded in individuals it would not be possible to carry it to society.

This can be seen in the work of the Prophet (saw). Where people understood and embraced His (saw) message. It became deeply embodied in them. They carried it as a dawah to others and also worked collectively to convey it to Makkan society at large.

To achieve the revival one needs to cultivate individuals with a deeply embedded understanding of the Islamic ideology and collectively address issues linked to revival. As this dawah has been going on for decades we make dua to Allah (SWT) that this will lead to the establishment of the Khilafah Rashida in the very near future and the Muslim Ummah raises its self out of the misery and turmoil that she finds herself in today.

Understanding Revival

To many the understanding of revival is ambiguous. To some it is to have what the Western world has in terms of technology, organisation and material progress. Others take it to mean progress economically or where the standard of life increases.

Others use terms that are not crystallised in their minds. Terms like irtafaa al fikri-intellectual elevation are submerged in a cloud of vagueness. It is essential that the meaning of revival be understood otherwise the aim of reviving the ummah may never be achieved. Distraction and confusion may reign and the very move towards reviving could well fizzle out or be diverted to preserving the declined situation.

The term Arabic term for revival nahda comes from the root to arise, to get up, to stand. So the meaning of nahda in the context of the situation of the ummah points to the fact that they need to arise from their declined position.

How should Muslims view this subject about reviving the Muslim Ummah from its current state to a revived golden era? An explanation by the will of Allah (swt) follows.

The West is revived but it does not have true revival, as their basis secularism is false. It can be seen that every issue faced by the West is thought through on the basis of their viewpoint about the meaning of life, their aqeeda, and secularism.

Secularism maintains that the everyday affairs of life in this world have no connection to what was before this life and what is to come after. It holds that man is the ultimate source of what is acceptable or unacceptable. A view that does not fit to this basis is immediately rejected, labelled as wacky or called extreme. This has been proved when Muslims have tried to speak from an Islamic perspective in the media. In western society the acceptable and the non acceptable, the good and the bad, the right and the wrong are all viewed from a single basis. The laws in society, the systems of ruling and their conduct with other nations are driven by this viewpoint. One may find differences but these differences emerge in the branches but not at the root. For example when “ We disagree with the war in Iraq, we think that religions should not be insulted, we disagree with homosexuality” and other statements of this nature are examined it can be seen these are based upon the same viewpoint or basis as those that carry the opposite views. It is this unity upon the basis and how to view problems that leads the west to move forward in all aspects of life albeit in the incorrect way as their basis is flawed. Take the argument in the USA where some call for isolationism and others call for the current US philosophy of treating the world as their ranch- both arguments come from the same basis, but the difference lies in a judgement about national interest.

If one were to contrast this to a society like Pakistan one would witness that there is no basic thought that is predominant. Rather there are a whole host of thoughts that are used. Some people are Islamic but only in the spiritual sense, some are capitalistic but only in the monetary sense, some are nationalistic and some are so declined in their thought that they are prepared to do anything to try to achieve what they want. Pakistan is said to be a democracy, an Islamic Republic and a dictatorship at the same time. As result confusion reigns, there is no standard; right and wrong are not considered on a single basis. In sum, Pakistan like all the countries in the Muslim world is a messy soup of confused thought and conflicting ideas. It is little wonder that countries like Pakistan take one step forwards and two steps back whilst gawping at the advancement of the West.

The Need to Return to Islamic Ideology.

Islam obliges Muslims to make sure that every thought; emotion, view, rule and law are linked back to the Islamic aqeeda. The relationship of creation i.e. the purpose of this life is to worship Allah (swt) and the relationship of resurrection that actions undertaken in this life will be accounted on the day of judgement are the basis upon which Muslim societies must proceed. The Muslim world would become revived once society has adopted Islam as the basis in all its relationships and Islam becomes the source of individual and societal actions, emotions and thought. It would be essential that the Khilafah be established to say that we have revived. In the meantime the ummah would head towards revival but it would be incorrect to say revival had occurred as. The ummah would only have true progress and revival once Islam became the basis for all issues.

One of the best examples of revival is that of the Prophet (saw). He (saw) brought the Islamic viewpoint about life to the declined people of Arabia. Once they had embraced the thought and applied it in society via the Islamic ruling system society progressed in an unprecedented manner. The fruits of this revival reverberated through many lands and humanity advanced upon the basis of the message from Allah (swt).


Abdur Rahman Siakhi

Only The Khilafah Can Bring Prosperity to All Muslims

"We are now at a crossroads in our history as an ummah. Never in the history of the ummah ... have we faced such great odds,”

"While the nations of the West basked in the glory of their global ascendancy, Muslim nations were largely consigned to what people term 'the Third World,"

These are the words of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in a speech to attendees at the recent World Islamic Economic Forum in Kuala Lumpur.

On the face of it, these words seem reasonable, for Muslims to start to raise the standard of life in their societies. However such words from Muslim rulers are starting to ring hollow. Such words have been repeated for decades. For this reason more and more Muslims are asking questions about why Muslims find themselves in the position that they are in.

Abdullah Badawi mentioned in his speech that in the Muslim world 50% of the population lives on less that $2 a day. This means that there are a huge amount of Muslims living in desperate poverty. Many Muslims question how could this be so? The Muslim world has vast resources, of all types. It has oil, gas, minerals, vast areas of land suited to agriculture, as well as many other sources of wealth. It is beginning to dawn upon Muslims that it is not annual conferences to discuss economic initiatives that will change the lives of the poor amongst the Muslim Ummah. Rather a more radical change is needed.

Muslim Rulers In Awe of Western Economies

From his words it is clear that Abdullah Badawi and other Muslim rulers look to the West as a guide to follow. The hope being that if the West is doing something that allows them to progress, perhaps if the Muslim world follows, it too can achieve what the West has. This thinking is flawed, yet Muslim rulers and those around them persist in carrying such ideas, even after having seen these ideas fail time after time.

The fact of the matter is that the Western nations believe in secularism and the capitalist ideas that spring from it. For this reason they move in all aspects of life on a single basis. Their way of life believes in making economic activity the most important of issues in life. Therefore it is not surprising to find that Western nations have the greatest share of the world’s wealth. They use all means foul or fair, from doing straight deals, to spilling blood in order to bring wealth back to their countries. When trying to imitate the west the rulers in the Muslim world ought to consider the words of Muhammad (saw).

“Whosoever does an action that is not from our matter then it is rejected.”

It is a sad fact that the rulers of Muslim countries are in awe of the West. For this reason economic successes in the West are magnified and exaggerated in their minds. They do not appreciate that 13% of the US population is considered to be below the poverty line. It is only the elites in such countries that truly enjoy vast wealth. Most of the population in capitalist countries are heavily in debt and have to work hard to survive. They are far from economically prosperous. Is this the shortsighted vision that they have for Muslims across the globe? Where the rich will amass great wealth whist the poor continue in a miserable cycle of poverty.

Only the Khilafah Will Bring Prosperity to the Muslim World.

The rulers in the Muslim world cannot see beyond what the west has to offer them. They have little, if any confidence in Islam as a way of life. Their minds have been prepared by the kafir colonialist to view Islam as only a spiritual matter. They have been taught to hold the West and its ways in high esteem and as the only path to follow for progress.

Whilst the rulers of the Muslim World continue with their tired conferences, Muslims are sensing that all that western inspired economic policies that are being offered to them will end in more misery for the Ummah. They will only serve to enrich some corrupt individuals whilst the rest of the Ummah suffers. If Muslims choose what the west puts forward to them, they will continue to allow the West to exploit their resources and steal their wealth.

It is the rulers in the Muslim lands that allow west to plunder the wealth. They are truly negligent of their responsibility. It is these rulers that are meant to safeguard their people. Amongst the Muslim rulers there is cocktail of ignorance of the west’s ruthless greed fuelled motives and corruption. Most seek only to fill their pockets and those of their masters that support them in power. If those in positions of power in the Muslim world truly want to bring prosperity for all Muslims, they must break out of the mindset that has been built in them by the colonialists and think about the solution from Islam.

In the Khilafah, those that rule will be astute, aware of the kafir countries lust for the wealth of the Muslims. They will be obliged to look after the affairs of the people, not the interests of the West. They will be aware of the need to build an economy on the basis of Islam, so as to bring prosperity to all the people of the Islamic state. It is then and only then that Muslims will be given a chance to bring themselves out a cycle of poverty and desperation. To build industries and use what Allah (swt) has gifted them with to fulfil their needs. No longer will they feed the greed of the capitalists sitting in the west.

Abdur Rahman Siakhi