This article is written by Brother Asif Salahuddin
The British began their domination of the Indian subcontinent via the East India Company. This commercial entity, originally there from the 1600s to trade with the region, slowly began leading to the need to have a private militia there to protect its interests. By the late 1700s, the British had a regular army there to look after their assets and by the mid 1800s these foreign exploitative colonialists had completely replaced the previously resident ruling system and had taken over the running of the entire subcontinent for themselves. In doing so the British had demonstrated how the concept of ‘divide and rule' can be applied successfully in a country and used to split the population along religious, political and ethnic lines.
Today the US is following in similar footsteps. It first entered the AfPak area on similar prerogatives after 9/11; it was sold to the world, and in particular the Pakistani nation via the then puppet Musharraf government, that the US had to move into the area to address its security concerns. But this was essentially a cover to protect and develop its current and potential commercial interests in the region in the form of oil and gas routes, prized mineral resources etc from the other major regional powers such as Russia and China, as well as to stem any local intellectual Islamic revival which too could end its influence in the region.
Presently the US has advanced considerably in its ambitions and relationship with the region. It is in the process of expanding vastly its high commission in Islamabad, to a colossal pseudo-military base. Along with expansion of the consulates in the other main cities, and the injection of its state and private security agencies into the country, the US is now well on the way to effectively creating a parallel ruling and intelligence gathering structure in Pakistan.
This self-inflicted cancerous growth in Pakistan's governance is now actively seeking to control the main levers of governance in the country, summed up by the passing of the Kerry Lugar bill where the US amongst other issues seeks to directly administer the appointment of senior military positions to subservient officers and seeks to have direct passage to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
We have seen the build up of US intelligence and special agencies in the country. We are gradually seeing the increased number of US bases in the country, whether purposely built for the US or whether Pakistani ones are handed over to them, in addition to the airspace and key supply routes already given to them. We are seeing the US having unprecedented access to all the strata of power within the country. We have seen the US gaining influence over the media in the country through pressure and bribery. All these efforts are now bearing fruit in the sense that this has allowed the US to fully launch its campaign of blackops in Pakistan, where regular bombings are being carried out by US agencies and their local partners in which dozens are being killed at a time and for which the blame is being put squarely on the so called mysterious Pakistani Taliban. Hence the purpose is to generate the public opinion in the country to get the Pakistan armed forces to engage with its own people in the tribal areas, thereby countering the stiff resistance the US is facing in Afghanistan and at the same time slowly blunting Pakistan's fighting ability.
Making use of co-opting Western governments, media propaganda and utilising much of the shamefully treacherous incumbent and opposition leaders in Pakistan, the US is successfully generating the international public opinion that Pakistan is an irresponsible and potentially rogue state that needs to be engaged with to remove this threat. A similar situation occurred with Iraq before its invasion and subsequent occupation in March 2003. A case was laid out that Saddam Hussein could deploy Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) against the West within 45 minutes of so choosing and thus needed to be dealt with. The Iraqis were then first threatened with various sanctions and made to surrender what major weapon systems they had, such as certain long range missiles and chemical weapons etc. Once Iraq was sufficiently weakened and simultaneously the US and its cohorts in this modern day imperialistic adventure had enough forces on the ground ready to deploy, the assault and occupation of the country ultimately followed.
Since this attack on Iraq, the US has been instrumental in sowing seeds of sectarianism and division amongst the population of Iraq in its pursuit to create three divisions within the country; Shia, Sunni and Kurd. To facilitate this, the US has been active in promoting ethnic and religious differences amongst the people; from simply labelling mosques as Shia or Sunni (whereas before they were not known as such), promoting autonomous behaviour amongst the provinces of Iraq via constitutional changes, promotion of regional languages, escalating calls for independence to using extreme methods of executing murderous blackops on Shias and blaming these on Sunnis and vice versa.
What we are currently witnessing in Pakistan is only the beginning of a long and painful process as the US consolidates its grip on the country and aims to implement a similar long term plan for Pakistan to ultimately fragment it. If this is allowed to happen then we should not be shocked to witness bombings where hundreds are killed at a time, where what state structure we have slowly dissolves away and where also many of the sincere intelligentsia of our country are targeted via assassinations to remove any ideological resistance in the country. This is exactly what Iraq has experienced under the bloody hands of US occupation and now Pakistan is set to suffer the same. Whether we like it or not, or remain in a state of denial over it, the reality is now clear to see and needs to be fittingly declared as such - that the United States of America has engaged in an offensive war with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
However this war initiated by the US is intended to be fought across many phases and at the moment we are only witnessing the opening stages. America recognises that Pakistan has a very strong military equipped with both conventional and non-conventional means; it cannot politically, economically and ultimately militarily afford to engage in a direct confrontation with Pakistan at a time when it is bleeding in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thus the US has started to engage the Pakistan military, not to confront it militarily - for Pakistan is too strong for it on its own turf, but to slowly remove its teeth via political and covert means. The main focus of the US at the moment is indeed to gain access and secure the nuclear weapons of Pakistan such that if Pakistan was to ever require the need to flex its muscles by threatening their deployment, it would not be able to do so.
Looking not too far back in history, it was Musharraf after the events of 9/11 who compounded the fundamental problem with Pakistan following the pressure which was applied by the US. Musharraf pushed the notion of ‘Pakistan first' to justify siding with the Americans and thus partaking in the assault on Afghanistan and allowing the US actively into the region. But this ‘Pakistan first' concept has got the country nowhere as today Pakistan stands in the firing line of America now that the US has consolidated its grip on Afghanistan. Essentially this vision of Pakistani identity which was pushed for, lacking in depth and breadth, has failed to save the country.
Not only has this raw nationalistic feeling failed to stop the country from being attacked by the US, but it has actually exacerbated the problem greatly. For it is exactly this emotion that colonial powers such as America have latched onto and are using to stoke up separatist feelings and movements amongst the various ethnic populations and regions in the country.
Today the feeling of being ‘Pakistani' maybe strong amongst many people in Pakistan and this indeed is being used as a rallying call for people to gather around and defend the country against the outside threat. But the danger of this approach is that the foreign aggressor is simply going about creating even stronger provincial identities for the local people who live there to bond around and call for. For example, an independent Baluchistan for the Baluch was openly called for in a conference in Washington organised by senior US officials in November 2009 under the name of ‘American Friends of Baluchistan', where Pakistan was bluntly declared as a foreign occupier and brutal aggressor in its own province.
Ultimately the very purpose and definition of Pakistan is being thoroughly examined and the inherent contradictions in its basis that have continued since its inception are being split open and exploited.
For example, for the simple fauji of the Pakistan army, the whole purpose and meaning of Pakistan is for Islam and this is the very basis behind which he is motivated to go out and fight for and is ready to lay his life down for, and in doing so is given the exemplary Islamic title of ‘Shaheed'. But looking at the other end of Pakistan's social spectrum are the rich ‘elite' of the country. To them being Pakistani is more about the commonality found in their language, culture and traditions. But if these are to be one's means of identity, then herein lays the problem. For example, a youngster from an affluent background brought up in Pakistan today would rather go about speaking English with an American accent than Urdu. He would rather be affiliated and versed with American culture than Pakistani traditions. And he certainly would like to be seen to be dressed Western rather than traditional. In other words, such a person would end up identifying himself with the stars and stripes of the USA rather than the star and crescent of Pakistan.
So the reality is that Pakistan means different things to different people today and this is indeed the fundamental and momentous problem behind Pakistan's woes. And it is into these ideological chasms of Pakistan's soul that the US vulture has sunk deep its claws.
Due to this political and intellectual quagmire, Pakistan as a nation is sinking fast into the US fashioned murky swamp of elaborate psyop campaigns and inhuman blackop attacks - the well calculated, tried and tested forerunners of a direct assault. Worse still the Indian crow across the border is licking its beak at the unfolding events in Pakistan and is eagerly assessing how it stands to benefit from Pakistan's internal strife. In October last year, India and the US jointly conducted the largest ever war games between the two countries in various parts of India, utilising amongst other entities the Indian army's 31st Armoured division - consisting of the main T-72 battle tanks - which is based along Pakistan's border. Very recently Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, announced that it would be very difficult for India to show restraint if there was another 26/11 type incident in India which is again linked to so called Islamic extremists based in Pakistan. This is clear evidence therefore that India, with the blessing of the US, is gearing up for some form of physical confrontation with Pakistan on the back of a false flag operation that will be pinned conveniently on Pakistan.
No doubt many in our country are waking up in shock and horror to this fitna and turmoil which is gradually engulfing the nation around them. But with deep reflection this should not actually come as a surprise at all, since this is essentially nothing new and is the nature of the world that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created - that in the absence of the truth, falsehood spreads and engulfs societies in its evils. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has clearly detailed this in the Quran and by narrations of our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. We are told of past civilisations and the fact that they too went through such havoc and fitna, and were only corrected with the advent of the truth brought about by the Messenger of that time which mobilised the people to take the right actions.
Further we are told of societies that were destroyed by Allah سبحانه وتعالى due to their non-adherence to the truth which was revealed to them. Such people actually fell into two groups. One was of those who were actually behind the fitna and spread of evil in the society. The other, and much bigger in number, were the silent part of the community that witnessed what was going on yet chose to remain silent and ignore the message that was revealed to them which urged them towards the correct deeds.
One good example is the time of Prophet Saleh (as). He (as), like all Messengers, brought the truth from Allah سبحانه وتعالى to his people in the time of the fitna that surrounded them. Unlike any other people before or after them, these people were actually offered to choose what miracle they wanted to see from their prophet in order to be convinced of the message that had been brought. They insisted that Prophet Saleh (as) bring about a living creature from bare rocks before their very eyes. This was done right in front of them with the emergence of a huge female camel from the rocks. But having seen this miracle, a certain group of people from the society still disbelieved and went on to slaughter the camel, even though they were told not to since it had now become a clear sign from Allah سبحانه وتعالى and was providing milk to the poor in the community. Upon its slaughter, Prophet Saleh (as) announced to the entire society, and not just the ones who actually hamstrung the camel, that they had just three days to enjoy themselves. After this period they were destroyed directly by Allah's سبحانه وتعالى punishment via a volcanic eruption.
So as Muslims, it is absolutely clear that we need to speak out against this treachery and evil taking place in Pakistan and to further call for the correct solution, otherwise we too fall under the silent guilty bracket. We should take heart from the fact that even though Pakistan is in a deep mess, there is no situation from which Muslims cannot get themselves out of, as long as they set out towards the right goal and in the right way; this is the nature of Islam's guidance - indeed it is the one source of light in the darkness that currently surrounds us.
We have no present day Messenger to guide us, but we do not need one since the final Messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم left behind guidance for all mankind, for all issues and for all ages to come. So we must extract the guidance from Islam's teachings as to how to reform our society. It is clear that the root problem behind Pakistan's woes is the multi-polar character given to it by insincere rulers. On the one hand the country was created in the name and basis of Islam and served as a rallying point and destination for the Muslims of the sub-continent of that time. But once created it has been effectively hijacked and has been subdued to exist as a secular state ever since, where the whims and desires of the ruling class are followed. Thus the only way forward is to bring forth the Islamic basis behind the creation of the country and use it to steer the nation and its people out of this current dilemma and instead towards one clear and focussed direction of comprehensively obeying Allah's سبحانه وتعالى laws.
When a people are rallied behind an idea that they agree with, they can then be mobilised to step forward and bring a change in the fundamental governance of their nation. History testifies to this, with the recent examples of the Soviet Union communist revolution and the rise of Germany after the First World War. The Soviet Union before the October revolution was a nation of peasants, but within a few decades it went on to become one of the two world super powers that would dominate the globe for a good part of the twentieth century. Equally Germany after the First World War was destroyed and in financial turmoil, but within a space of about a decade and a half the nation was a military and industrial power that went on to conquer almost all the countries in Europe as well as vast swathes of land beyond this. In the former case it was the idea of Socialism that was injected into people, in the latter it was Fascism; both rallied the people and engaged them in one direction.
In Pakistan today we too need an idea to galvanise the people around and it has to be one for which public support and emotion exists at all levels of society. For the last 62 years of Pakistan's history, the people have witnessed a secular, capitalistic system, whether in the form of a democracy or a dictatorship, and as a result the masses hold no intellectual commitment in this due to both the ideas behind this ruling mechanism and the results that it has achieved. The only possible system that remains to be applied, and for which the country was created, and further for which the people have a great emotional and intellectual pull for is without doubt the system of Islam
With this Islamic system, in the form of an Islamic state or Khilafat, the nation will be pushed forward rapidly to excel in all areas of development; industrial, military, social, judicial, educational, medical etc. Within a timeframe insha'Allah faster than that of the Soviet Union or Germany after WW1, the state will seek to become a technologically advanced regional power and not just a country where open sewers have been fixed or load shedding been capped. Of course Western interference in the region, particularly by the US, would have been ended immediately at the outset of the re-emergence of the Khilafat.
But such a framework for a state will not just fall out of the sky onto our laps - it needs to be worked for in the right way and people in Pakistan need to mobilise themselves to help bring this about. There are already sincere and capable voices in the country seeking to bring about such a historic change and they now have much support in the different elements that form our civil society and intellectual base for the country. But thus far this has not been enough.
The educated class of Pakistan, in particular the youth, really need to take this bull by the horns and lead the charge in calling for the return of the Khilafat in as many creative intellectual and political ways as possible. They need to sit up and shake off the dust of stagnation and dejection which has been the fall out of living for years and years under a man-made secular framework which has been nothing less than an extensive colonial project designed to keep the people downtrodden and kept in the dark from their true history and from fulfilling their true potential.
Together these sincere elements of Pakistan need to quickly and dramatically build up the opinion for this Islamic alternative for our nation. And such an opinion does not need to be developed across all of the society; the masses of Pakistan have demonstrated time and again across the years very avidly their commitment and emotional pull to Islam. Rather the class that needs to be intellectually affected and won over for this change is the educated, urban dwelling ‘civil society'. Whether they are lawyers, politicians, academics, businessmen, army officers, doctors, engineers etc, they need to be convinced that the Khilafat is the only way forward for Pakistan - only then can this new dawn be ushered in.
It is thus imperative now that this educated class in Pakistan makes use of all intellectual and political means in order to achieve this; from issuing simple leaflets to organising major conferences and from generating discussion on online social networking sites to mobilising people by their tens of thousands on the streets of Pakistan chanting in favour of the re-establishment of the Khilafat. In doing this, the powers that be in Pakistan would be greatly assisted and motivated to move ahead with confidence and deliver this Islamic system to the people Insha'Allah.
Source
The British began their domination of the Indian subcontinent via the East India Company. This commercial entity, originally there from the 1600s to trade with the region, slowly began leading to the need to have a private militia there to protect its interests. By the late 1700s, the British had a regular army there to look after their assets and by the mid 1800s these foreign exploitative colonialists had completely replaced the previously resident ruling system and had taken over the running of the entire subcontinent for themselves. In doing so the British had demonstrated how the concept of ‘divide and rule' can be applied successfully in a country and used to split the population along religious, political and ethnic lines.
Today the US is following in similar footsteps. It first entered the AfPak area on similar prerogatives after 9/11; it was sold to the world, and in particular the Pakistani nation via the then puppet Musharraf government, that the US had to move into the area to address its security concerns. But this was essentially a cover to protect and develop its current and potential commercial interests in the region in the form of oil and gas routes, prized mineral resources etc from the other major regional powers such as Russia and China, as well as to stem any local intellectual Islamic revival which too could end its influence in the region.
Presently the US has advanced considerably in its ambitions and relationship with the region. It is in the process of expanding vastly its high commission in Islamabad, to a colossal pseudo-military base. Along with expansion of the consulates in the other main cities, and the injection of its state and private security agencies into the country, the US is now well on the way to effectively creating a parallel ruling and intelligence gathering structure in Pakistan.
This self-inflicted cancerous growth in Pakistan's governance is now actively seeking to control the main levers of governance in the country, summed up by the passing of the Kerry Lugar bill where the US amongst other issues seeks to directly administer the appointment of senior military positions to subservient officers and seeks to have direct passage to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
We have seen the build up of US intelligence and special agencies in the country. We are gradually seeing the increased number of US bases in the country, whether purposely built for the US or whether Pakistani ones are handed over to them, in addition to the airspace and key supply routes already given to them. We are seeing the US having unprecedented access to all the strata of power within the country. We have seen the US gaining influence over the media in the country through pressure and bribery. All these efforts are now bearing fruit in the sense that this has allowed the US to fully launch its campaign of blackops in Pakistan, where regular bombings are being carried out by US agencies and their local partners in which dozens are being killed at a time and for which the blame is being put squarely on the so called mysterious Pakistani Taliban. Hence the purpose is to generate the public opinion in the country to get the Pakistan armed forces to engage with its own people in the tribal areas, thereby countering the stiff resistance the US is facing in Afghanistan and at the same time slowly blunting Pakistan's fighting ability.
Making use of co-opting Western governments, media propaganda and utilising much of the shamefully treacherous incumbent and opposition leaders in Pakistan, the US is successfully generating the international public opinion that Pakistan is an irresponsible and potentially rogue state that needs to be engaged with to remove this threat. A similar situation occurred with Iraq before its invasion and subsequent occupation in March 2003. A case was laid out that Saddam Hussein could deploy Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) against the West within 45 minutes of so choosing and thus needed to be dealt with. The Iraqis were then first threatened with various sanctions and made to surrender what major weapon systems they had, such as certain long range missiles and chemical weapons etc. Once Iraq was sufficiently weakened and simultaneously the US and its cohorts in this modern day imperialistic adventure had enough forces on the ground ready to deploy, the assault and occupation of the country ultimately followed.
Since this attack on Iraq, the US has been instrumental in sowing seeds of sectarianism and division amongst the population of Iraq in its pursuit to create three divisions within the country; Shia, Sunni and Kurd. To facilitate this, the US has been active in promoting ethnic and religious differences amongst the people; from simply labelling mosques as Shia or Sunni (whereas before they were not known as such), promoting autonomous behaviour amongst the provinces of Iraq via constitutional changes, promotion of regional languages, escalating calls for independence to using extreme methods of executing murderous blackops on Shias and blaming these on Sunnis and vice versa.
What we are currently witnessing in Pakistan is only the beginning of a long and painful process as the US consolidates its grip on the country and aims to implement a similar long term plan for Pakistan to ultimately fragment it. If this is allowed to happen then we should not be shocked to witness bombings where hundreds are killed at a time, where what state structure we have slowly dissolves away and where also many of the sincere intelligentsia of our country are targeted via assassinations to remove any ideological resistance in the country. This is exactly what Iraq has experienced under the bloody hands of US occupation and now Pakistan is set to suffer the same. Whether we like it or not, or remain in a state of denial over it, the reality is now clear to see and needs to be fittingly declared as such - that the United States of America has engaged in an offensive war with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
However this war initiated by the US is intended to be fought across many phases and at the moment we are only witnessing the opening stages. America recognises that Pakistan has a very strong military equipped with both conventional and non-conventional means; it cannot politically, economically and ultimately militarily afford to engage in a direct confrontation with Pakistan at a time when it is bleeding in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thus the US has started to engage the Pakistan military, not to confront it militarily - for Pakistan is too strong for it on its own turf, but to slowly remove its teeth via political and covert means. The main focus of the US at the moment is indeed to gain access and secure the nuclear weapons of Pakistan such that if Pakistan was to ever require the need to flex its muscles by threatening their deployment, it would not be able to do so.
Looking not too far back in history, it was Musharraf after the events of 9/11 who compounded the fundamental problem with Pakistan following the pressure which was applied by the US. Musharraf pushed the notion of ‘Pakistan first' to justify siding with the Americans and thus partaking in the assault on Afghanistan and allowing the US actively into the region. But this ‘Pakistan first' concept has got the country nowhere as today Pakistan stands in the firing line of America now that the US has consolidated its grip on Afghanistan. Essentially this vision of Pakistani identity which was pushed for, lacking in depth and breadth, has failed to save the country.
Not only has this raw nationalistic feeling failed to stop the country from being attacked by the US, but it has actually exacerbated the problem greatly. For it is exactly this emotion that colonial powers such as America have latched onto and are using to stoke up separatist feelings and movements amongst the various ethnic populations and regions in the country.
Today the feeling of being ‘Pakistani' maybe strong amongst many people in Pakistan and this indeed is being used as a rallying call for people to gather around and defend the country against the outside threat. But the danger of this approach is that the foreign aggressor is simply going about creating even stronger provincial identities for the local people who live there to bond around and call for. For example, an independent Baluchistan for the Baluch was openly called for in a conference in Washington organised by senior US officials in November 2009 under the name of ‘American Friends of Baluchistan', where Pakistan was bluntly declared as a foreign occupier and brutal aggressor in its own province.
Ultimately the very purpose and definition of Pakistan is being thoroughly examined and the inherent contradictions in its basis that have continued since its inception are being split open and exploited.
For example, for the simple fauji of the Pakistan army, the whole purpose and meaning of Pakistan is for Islam and this is the very basis behind which he is motivated to go out and fight for and is ready to lay his life down for, and in doing so is given the exemplary Islamic title of ‘Shaheed'. But looking at the other end of Pakistan's social spectrum are the rich ‘elite' of the country. To them being Pakistani is more about the commonality found in their language, culture and traditions. But if these are to be one's means of identity, then herein lays the problem. For example, a youngster from an affluent background brought up in Pakistan today would rather go about speaking English with an American accent than Urdu. He would rather be affiliated and versed with American culture than Pakistani traditions. And he certainly would like to be seen to be dressed Western rather than traditional. In other words, such a person would end up identifying himself with the stars and stripes of the USA rather than the star and crescent of Pakistan.
So the reality is that Pakistan means different things to different people today and this is indeed the fundamental and momentous problem behind Pakistan's woes. And it is into these ideological chasms of Pakistan's soul that the US vulture has sunk deep its claws.
Due to this political and intellectual quagmire, Pakistan as a nation is sinking fast into the US fashioned murky swamp of elaborate psyop campaigns and inhuman blackop attacks - the well calculated, tried and tested forerunners of a direct assault. Worse still the Indian crow across the border is licking its beak at the unfolding events in Pakistan and is eagerly assessing how it stands to benefit from Pakistan's internal strife. In October last year, India and the US jointly conducted the largest ever war games between the two countries in various parts of India, utilising amongst other entities the Indian army's 31st Armoured division - consisting of the main T-72 battle tanks - which is based along Pakistan's border. Very recently Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, announced that it would be very difficult for India to show restraint if there was another 26/11 type incident in India which is again linked to so called Islamic extremists based in Pakistan. This is clear evidence therefore that India, with the blessing of the US, is gearing up for some form of physical confrontation with Pakistan on the back of a false flag operation that will be pinned conveniently on Pakistan.
No doubt many in our country are waking up in shock and horror to this fitna and turmoil which is gradually engulfing the nation around them. But with deep reflection this should not actually come as a surprise at all, since this is essentially nothing new and is the nature of the world that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created - that in the absence of the truth, falsehood spreads and engulfs societies in its evils. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has clearly detailed this in the Quran and by narrations of our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. We are told of past civilisations and the fact that they too went through such havoc and fitna, and were only corrected with the advent of the truth brought about by the Messenger of that time which mobilised the people to take the right actions.
Further we are told of societies that were destroyed by Allah سبحانه وتعالى due to their non-adherence to the truth which was revealed to them. Such people actually fell into two groups. One was of those who were actually behind the fitna and spread of evil in the society. The other, and much bigger in number, were the silent part of the community that witnessed what was going on yet chose to remain silent and ignore the message that was revealed to them which urged them towards the correct deeds.
One good example is the time of Prophet Saleh (as). He (as), like all Messengers, brought the truth from Allah سبحانه وتعالى to his people in the time of the fitna that surrounded them. Unlike any other people before or after them, these people were actually offered to choose what miracle they wanted to see from their prophet in order to be convinced of the message that had been brought. They insisted that Prophet Saleh (as) bring about a living creature from bare rocks before their very eyes. This was done right in front of them with the emergence of a huge female camel from the rocks. But having seen this miracle, a certain group of people from the society still disbelieved and went on to slaughter the camel, even though they were told not to since it had now become a clear sign from Allah سبحانه وتعالى and was providing milk to the poor in the community. Upon its slaughter, Prophet Saleh (as) announced to the entire society, and not just the ones who actually hamstrung the camel, that they had just three days to enjoy themselves. After this period they were destroyed directly by Allah's سبحانه وتعالى punishment via a volcanic eruption.
So as Muslims, it is absolutely clear that we need to speak out against this treachery and evil taking place in Pakistan and to further call for the correct solution, otherwise we too fall under the silent guilty bracket. We should take heart from the fact that even though Pakistan is in a deep mess, there is no situation from which Muslims cannot get themselves out of, as long as they set out towards the right goal and in the right way; this is the nature of Islam's guidance - indeed it is the one source of light in the darkness that currently surrounds us.
We have no present day Messenger to guide us, but we do not need one since the final Messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم left behind guidance for all mankind, for all issues and for all ages to come. So we must extract the guidance from Islam's teachings as to how to reform our society. It is clear that the root problem behind Pakistan's woes is the multi-polar character given to it by insincere rulers. On the one hand the country was created in the name and basis of Islam and served as a rallying point and destination for the Muslims of the sub-continent of that time. But once created it has been effectively hijacked and has been subdued to exist as a secular state ever since, where the whims and desires of the ruling class are followed. Thus the only way forward is to bring forth the Islamic basis behind the creation of the country and use it to steer the nation and its people out of this current dilemma and instead towards one clear and focussed direction of comprehensively obeying Allah's سبحانه وتعالى laws.
When a people are rallied behind an idea that they agree with, they can then be mobilised to step forward and bring a change in the fundamental governance of their nation. History testifies to this, with the recent examples of the Soviet Union communist revolution and the rise of Germany after the First World War. The Soviet Union before the October revolution was a nation of peasants, but within a few decades it went on to become one of the two world super powers that would dominate the globe for a good part of the twentieth century. Equally Germany after the First World War was destroyed and in financial turmoil, but within a space of about a decade and a half the nation was a military and industrial power that went on to conquer almost all the countries in Europe as well as vast swathes of land beyond this. In the former case it was the idea of Socialism that was injected into people, in the latter it was Fascism; both rallied the people and engaged them in one direction.
In Pakistan today we too need an idea to galvanise the people around and it has to be one for which public support and emotion exists at all levels of society. For the last 62 years of Pakistan's history, the people have witnessed a secular, capitalistic system, whether in the form of a democracy or a dictatorship, and as a result the masses hold no intellectual commitment in this due to both the ideas behind this ruling mechanism and the results that it has achieved. The only possible system that remains to be applied, and for which the country was created, and further for which the people have a great emotional and intellectual pull for is without doubt the system of Islam
With this Islamic system, in the form of an Islamic state or Khilafat, the nation will be pushed forward rapidly to excel in all areas of development; industrial, military, social, judicial, educational, medical etc. Within a timeframe insha'Allah faster than that of the Soviet Union or Germany after WW1, the state will seek to become a technologically advanced regional power and not just a country where open sewers have been fixed or load shedding been capped. Of course Western interference in the region, particularly by the US, would have been ended immediately at the outset of the re-emergence of the Khilafat.
But such a framework for a state will not just fall out of the sky onto our laps - it needs to be worked for in the right way and people in Pakistan need to mobilise themselves to help bring this about. There are already sincere and capable voices in the country seeking to bring about such a historic change and they now have much support in the different elements that form our civil society and intellectual base for the country. But thus far this has not been enough.
The educated class of Pakistan, in particular the youth, really need to take this bull by the horns and lead the charge in calling for the return of the Khilafat in as many creative intellectual and political ways as possible. They need to sit up and shake off the dust of stagnation and dejection which has been the fall out of living for years and years under a man-made secular framework which has been nothing less than an extensive colonial project designed to keep the people downtrodden and kept in the dark from their true history and from fulfilling their true potential.
Together these sincere elements of Pakistan need to quickly and dramatically build up the opinion for this Islamic alternative for our nation. And such an opinion does not need to be developed across all of the society; the masses of Pakistan have demonstrated time and again across the years very avidly their commitment and emotional pull to Islam. Rather the class that needs to be intellectually affected and won over for this change is the educated, urban dwelling ‘civil society'. Whether they are lawyers, politicians, academics, businessmen, army officers, doctors, engineers etc, they need to be convinced that the Khilafat is the only way forward for Pakistan - only then can this new dawn be ushered in.
It is thus imperative now that this educated class in Pakistan makes use of all intellectual and political means in order to achieve this; from issuing simple leaflets to organising major conferences and from generating discussion on online social networking sites to mobilising people by their tens of thousands on the streets of Pakistan chanting in favour of the re-establishment of the Khilafat. In doing this, the powers that be in Pakistan would be greatly assisted and motivated to move ahead with confidence and deliver this Islamic system to the people Insha'Allah.
Source
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