What shall be the Basis of the State in Bangladesh: Secularism in the name of the so-called Spirit of Liberation or Islam?
Bangladesh has been ruled by
secularism since the creation of the country, by the Awami League in the name of
the so-called spirit of the liberation war and by the Jatiya Party and the BNP with
some other slogans. However the Muslims of this country as a part of the global
Islamic Ummah did not remain isolated from the Islamic revival worldwide. And
particularly since the beginning of this century, the growth, expansion and
popular support of Islam as a political ideology and Islamic political activism
increased at a rapid pace; and the demand for Islamic rule (Khilafah/Caliphate)
has become a popular demand. This worried the imperialist crusading powers,
America and her allies, and their corrupt agents; and together they embarked on
working to prevent Islam from reaching the rule, plotting and planning without
leaving any stones unturned. However the tide did not favour them and the march
of Islam and the work for Islamic rule reached new heights with the passing of
every moment. So when the Gulshan attack took place they seized upon it as a great
opportunity to give their fight against Islam a renewed momentum.
Firstly, they set about
defaming Islam and the truthful Islamic political work for establishing the
Khilafah by linking Islam and the Islamic rule with mindless killing and
violence, and the ISIS which has gained global notoriety for savagery and
brutality. Sheikh Hasina pointed her fingers at “youths brainwashed by
religion” and her American masters pushed ahead with their claim of the
presence of ISIS in the country. The fact is that the Gulshan attack had
nothing to do with Islam and such attacks are prohibited by Islam. Moreover, it
is known to the aware politicians with understanding of the international
situation that the actions of the ISIS organization serve the Americans and
their designs. In Iraq, they facilitated its presence in Mosul for the
dismantling and division of the country along ethnic and sectarian lines. And in Syria they are using it for supporting the butcher
and American agent Bashar al Assad and fighting the peoples’ revolt there. When
the people of Syria united against Bashar to remove him and establish the
Khilafah, the ISIS emerged and started operations against the revolting groups;
and then it declared itself as the Khilafah which is not recognized by the
Shari’ah and it has become a tool to defame the Khilafah.
Secondly, tyrant Hasina and
the regime started terrorizing the Muslims of the country in an unprecedented
manner. Students of private universities, landlords, tenants, bachelors, women,
ulema… The whole society is a target and victim of this increased tyranny, and
repressive legal-security measures to create panic in the people and instil
fear in them in order to subdue the demand for Islam, keep the people away from
the Islamic political work and place obstacles in the way of the Islamic Call. And
the masters of the regime rewarded Hasina with awards to acknowledge that they
are pleased with her for her subservience to them and evil work against Islam
and the Muslims.
And last but not least was
aggressively promoting the idea of secularism in order to further entrench it
in the society. It was as if the increased tyranny was an unsheathed sword
being brandished in front of the people telling them, “You must accept
secularism or else!” The entire state machinery - the President, Prime
Minister, IGP, RAB DG, the sold out intellectuals, newspaper editors and media
personalities… all got down to the business of advocating secularism, claiming
that it is the only way for peace, harmony and progress and the state in
Bangladesh must remain firmly on this foundation. They went to the extent of
threatening the people’s proper practising of Islam in their personal actions,
those behaviours which they deem to be not suiting the one who is secular. A
Muslim who gives “Salam” with the correct Arabic pronunciation is thus to be treated
as a suspect. They told parents to look into their son’s actions if he does not
have a girlfriend. They told people to keep an eye on the person who did not
pray before and was not known to be a practising Muslim and then suddenly
became practising and performing the Salah.
﴿أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوْا
الضَّلاَلَةَ بِالْهُدَى فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ﴾
“These
are they who have purchased misguidance for guidance, so their commerce was
profitless. And they were not guided.”
[Surah Al-Baqarah: 16]
The idea of secularism is the
creed (Aqeedah) of the Western disbelieving ideology (Capitalism). This idea
calls for the separation of all religions (including Islam) from the state and
life’s affairs; from ruling, economics, judiciary, education, foreign affairs…
According to the idea of secularism, belief in the Creator is a personal matter
and it must not be allowed to interfere in organizing the affairs of the
country. This is a completely erroneous idea, because either Allah (swt) exists
or He does not exist. If He does not exist then it is not even correct to be a
personal belief. Whereas if Allah (swt) does exist, which is the truth and
definitely proven, then He organizes every affair of man, whether it is a
personal matter or a public matter. This is why Allah (swt) says, ﴿أَلاَ لَهُ الْخَلْقُ
وَالأَمْرُ﴾ “Surely His is the creation and the command.” [Surah
Al-A’raf: 54]. Islam rejects the notion that Allah (swt) is the Creator while
the legislation is for someone else,﴿إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلاَّ لِلَّهِ﴾ “The
legislation is for none but Allah.”
[Surah Yusuf: 40]. Likewise, Islam states that, ﴿وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ
وَالأَرْضِ﴾ “And to Allah belongs the
dominion of the heavens and earth” [Surah Al-i-Imran:
189]; not as the secularists say, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto
God what is God’s.” Caesar, his throne, his empire and everything in it are
subject to Allah’s commands. Islam does not accept that the mosques are for
Allah only and the entire state is for Sheikh Hasina, neither does it accept
that legislating rules for only prayers and fasting is for Allah while
legislating rules for government, economy, judiciary etc is for Sheikh Hasina.
To consider as such would be associating partners with Allah (swt),
﴿أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ
الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ﴾
“Or
do they have partners with Allah who have legislated for them a way which Allah
has not ordained?” [Surah Ash-Shura: 21]
As for what the secularists
claim that if the state is established upon one religion then it will be the
cause of oppression towards the people of other religions, this has no basis
with regards to Islam. People of all faiths live side by side under the shade
of Islam and no one is coerced in the case of their religious beliefs and
practices. RasulAllah (saw) said, «وَمَنْ
يَكُنْ عَلَى يَهُودِيَّتِهِ أَوْ عَلَى نَصْرَانِيَّتِهِ فَإِنَّهُ لا يُفْتَنُ
عَنْهَا وَعَلَيْهِ الْجِزْيَةُ» “The
one who is upon Judaism and the one who is upon Christianity, they are not be coerced
away from their faith.”
And he (saw) said,«ألا مٓنْ ظَلَمَ مُعَاهِداً أَوِ انْتَقَصَهُ
أَوْ كَلَّفَهُ فَوْقَ طَاقَتِهِ أَوْ أَخَذَ مِنْهُ شَيْئاً بِغَيْرِ طِيبِ نَفْسِهِ
فَأَنَا خَصْمُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ» “If
anyone wrongs a man with whom a covenant has been made or curtails any of his
rights or imposes on him more than he can bear or takes anything from him
without his ready agreement, I shall be his adversary on the Day of
Resurrection.”
And regarding what they quote
of Surah Al-Kafirun in support for secularism, the ayah ﴿لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ﴾ “To you be your religion and
to me my religion” it is actually the opposite of
that. It does not mean what they claim that, “To each is his religion while the
state is for all” and therefore the state is not to be based on any one
religion. The meaning of the ayah is that Islam is distinct and separate from
the religion of the disbelievers. The ayah was revealed as a decisive rejection
of disbelief when the chiefs of Makkah offered RasulAllah (saw) to make a
compromise between Islam and their deen. He (saw) rejected their offer and
announced that he will continue his call until Islam prevails as the only true
deen for mankind. As he (saw) said,«وَاللَّهِ يَا عَمِّ، لَوْ وَضَعُوا
الشَّمْسَ فِي يَمِينِي، وَالْقَمَرَ فِي شِمَالِي، عَلَى أَنْ أَتْرُكَ هَذَا
الأَمْرَ مَا تَرَكْتُهُ، حَتَّى يُظْهِرَهُ اللَّهُ، أَوْ أَهْلِكَ فِيهِ» “By
Allah, if they were to put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left
hand, so that I leave this matter, I will not leave it until Allah makes it
prevail or I perish for it.”
So Islam rejects secularism
and adopting it as the basis of the state is disbelief (Kufr). It is prohibited
for the Muslims to believe in it, to adopt it, to call for it, to propagate it,
to live by it and to accept being governed by it. Islam forbids the Muslims
from resorting to other than the Islamic authority in judging their
affairs.
﴿أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ
أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ
أَنْ يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ﴾
“Have
you not seen those who claim that they believe in that which has been sent down
to you and that which was sent down before you and they wish to resort to
Taghut for judgement (false judges, rulers, leaders) while they have been
ordered to reject them.” [Surah An-Nisa: 60]
Islam has ordained the
Khilafah as the ruling system for the Muslims as stated in the hadith,
عَنْ النَّبِيِّ r قَالَ: «كَانَتْ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ تَسُوسُهُمْ
الْأَنْبِيَاءُ كُلَّمَا هَلَكَ نَبِيٌّ خَلَفَهُ نَبِيٌّ وَإِنَّهُ لَا نَبِيَّ
بَعْدِي وَسَيَكُونُ خُلَفَاءُ فَيَكْثُرُونَ» قَالُوا: فَمَا تَأْمُرُنَا؟
قَالَ: «فُوا بِبَيْعَةِ الْأَوَّلِ فَالْأَوَّلِ أَعْطُوهُمْ حَقَّهُمْ
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَائِلُهُمْ عَمَّا اسْتَرْعَاهُمْ»
“Bani
Israel were ruled by the Prophets, every time a Prophet deceased he was
followed by another Prophet, and there will be no Prophets after me, there will
be Khulafaah and they will number many.” The Sahabah asked, “What do you order us?” To which
the Prophet replied,
“Fulfil your Bay’ah to them one after another…”
And this is what we call you
towards, O Muslims! Reject the Kufr secularism as the basis of your state, do
not accept to be governed by it, remove the current regime and establish the
state upon the basis of Islam, the Khilafah state which will rule you by the
judgements of Allah (swt) in all your affairs, brining for you good in the
Dunya and in the Akhirah, insha’Allah.
﴿وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنْ اللَّهِ حُكْمًا
لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ﴾
“And
who is better in judgement than Allah for people who have firm Faith.”
[Surah Al-Ma’idah: 50]
18
Safar, 1438 AH Hizb
ut Tahrir
18
November, 2016 CE Wilayah Bangladesh
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