Liberalism and its Effect on Society

Liberalism and its Effect on Society

This article has been adapted from the forthcoming Hittin Institute publication "Liberalism and its Effect on Society: Philosophical, Practical and Islamic Perspectives”.

By Hamza Andreas Tzortzis
hamza.tzortzis@hittininstitute.com

Introduction

Liberalism has directly contributed to social problems. These problems range from child abuse and neglect to violent crime and rape. A common trend in liberal societies, such as the UK and US, is that social breakdown has become a norm, and has shaped academic and popular culture discourse. Professor Daniel Bell, lecturer in Political Science at the University of Singapore, states,

“Liberalism, it is claimed, contributes to, or at least does not sufficiently take account of, the negative social and psychological effects related to the atomistic tendencies of modern liberal societies. There is undoubtedly a worrying trend in contemporary societies towards a callous individualism that ignores community and social obligations, and liberal theory does not seem up to the task of dealing with this problem.”[1]

It is the scope of this article to highlight Liberalism’s negative effects on society using philosophical and practical arguments. This article will conclude by briefly discussing the Islamic solution to the liberal phenomenon of social decay.

Philosophical Perspective

Individualism: The False Premise of Liberal Values

Liberalism is a “disputatious family of doctrines”[2] which share the same core political values. These values are the priority of individual rights and an emphasis on individual freedoms; it can be argued that these values form Liberalisms intellectual foundations. The ‘Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics’ reflects this position and describes Liberalism as,

“...the belief that it is the aim of politics to preserve individual rights and to maximise freedom of choice.”[3]

The proposition upon which these values are based on - in other words, the premise for Liberalism’s core political values - is atomism or individualism. Political Philosopher Marilyn Friedman adds that,

“…individualism…underlies some important versions of liberal political theory.”[4]

Individualism is the consideration that individual human beings are social atoms abstracted from their social contexts, attachments and obligations.[5] In light of this, is individualism a correct premise to base a political outlook or philosophy?

If it can be shown that individualism is ontologically false, this should raise fundamental questions about the validity of Liberalism as a suitable ideology for humanity. Individualism views, and seeks to understand, the self - in other words the human being - as an abstract entity divorced from its social reality. This is incorrect because:

1. There are social and communal attachments which determine the individual.[6]
2. Aims and values must be considered when determining the individual, and aims and values can only be truly understood within a social context.[7]
3. There are dynamic links between society’s values and behaviour. Social Constructionist Vivien Burr concludes that key features – or values – of a specific society will affect an individual’s personality.[8]

It can be concluded that the premise of Liberalism – individualism – is a false one. As its attempt to understand the individual or the self is incorrect. Its effort to comprehend the human being is false as it seeks to dissociate the self from its social reality, in other words, it argues that the individual is shaped, influenced and developed without any reference to social links. It logically follows that if an entire political outlook is based upon a false premise, its results will also be incorrect.

Practical Perspective

Non-Cohesive Political Values

Liberalism’s political values of individual freedom and the primacy of individual rights, based upon the false premise of individualism, are non-cohesive. What is meant by non-cohesive is that these values do not facilitate social cohesion and do not evoke ideas that construct positive behaviours.

Since modern liberal states emphasise and propagate these values within western societies, their effects must be examined. If social breakdown is on the increase and it seems to be a permanent feature of liberal society, then it can be argued that the propagated non-cohesive values have had a role to play.

Practical Perspective: The Negative Effects of Liberal Values

The political values of liberalism have caused the social decay being witnessed today. In February 2009 the Children’s Society[9] launched ‘A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age’[10] report and it presented evidence that supports this essays thesis. The reports states,

“Britain and the U.S. have more broken families than other countries, and our families are less cohesive in the way they live and eat together. British children are rougher with each other, and live more riskily in terms of alcohol, drugs and teenage pregnancy. And they are less inclined to stay in education. This comes against a background of much greater income inequality: many more children live in relative poverty in Britain and the U.S.”[11]

The report also supports this essays conclusions that social breakdown and decay is due to the premise of liberalism – individualism.[12]

Individualism has affected our societies in an immense way, below are some statistical accounts of social breakdown in the two most liberal nations, the UK and US. There is a plethora of statistics that strongly indicated social decay in these countries however I have specifically chosen child abuse, the treatment of women and crime to bring to light the conclusion that the UK and US are experiencing social breakdown.

Child Abuse

The atomistic trends in modern liberal societies have effected the treatment towards the most vulnerable. The seventeen months of torture and agony inflicted on ‘Baby P’ is probably one of the worst stories of child abuse in the UK. The baby was found dead after months of torture with broken ribs and a broken back.[13] In the UK, according to NSPCC research, 7% of children experienced serious physical abuse at the hands of their parents or carers during childhood.[14] In the US an estimated 3.6 million children were accepted by state and local child protection services as alleged victims of child maltreatment for investigation or assessment.[15]

Treatment of Women

Liberalism’s political values have affected the way UK society treats women. According to Amnesty International (UK)[16], 167 women are raped everyday in the UK. Domestic violence accounts for nearly a quarter of all recorded violent crime in England and Wales - one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime and one incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute

The UK is not alone in its maltreatment of women, in the US a woman is raped every 6 minutes and battered every 15 seconds.[17]

Crime: UK

The effect of Liberalism’s non-cohesive values can also be seen in the following U.K. crime figures,

1. 2,164,000 violent incidents during 2007/08 against adults in England and Wales[18]
2. Approximately 47,000 rapes occur every year in the U.K.[19]
3. Increase in murder rates. Metropolitan Police reported the most incidents, with 167 murders in 2007/8, up from 158.[20]

Crime: US

The US is also suffering from social breakdown and social decay[21] US suffers from,

1. 16,204 murders a year[22]
2. 9,369 murders with firearms in one year[23]
3. 2,019,234 prisoners and this has increased since 2002[24]
4. 420,637 robberies per year[25]
5. 11,877,218 total crimes per year[26]

It can be seen that the UK and US are suffering from social breakdown and social decay. The social collapse of the two most liberal nations is due to their ideological convictions – liberalism. There is a direct correlation between Liberalism’s non-cohesive political values and the social problems highlighted in this essay.

The Islamic Solution

Since non-cohesive liberal values have directly contributed to social breakdown, then an obvious solution is to propagate cohesive values with the relevant social models and mechanisms to achieve a cohesive society. It can be strongly argued that Islamic cohesive political values are an answer to the problems faced by liberal societies.

Islam’s view on society doesn’t rest on a false premise; rather it has a unique view on the society and the individual. This philosophy is best described by the following hadith,[27]

“God’s messenger gave an example of people sailing on a boat having an upper deck and a lower deck. The people from the lower deck require water and request water from the people of the upper deck. The people from the upper deck refuse water, so the people from the lower deck decide to make a hole in the floor of the ship and get water from the sea. God’s messenger said, ‘If the people from the upper deck don't stop the people at the bottom from making a hole, the ship will sink and all the people travelling will drown.’”[28]

This hadith gives a clear view that individuals are part of society and the society is part of the individual. It highlights the need for a symbiotic relationship between society and the individual. Certain actions, values and behaviour of individuals in a society can affect it in negative way, especially if these actions and values are non-cohesive. Hence, Islam propagates cohesive values in its society to prevent the ‘boat’ from sinking, in other words preventing social breakdown and facilitating social cohesion.

These cohesive values include justice, compassion, empathy, distribution of resources, tolerance and accountability. The source texts of Islam, namely the Qur’an and the Hadith (also known as the Sunnah), which are the bedrock of Islamic Law known as the Shariah, seeks to propagate these cohesive values. The Qur’an and the Hadith strongly emphasise these values, for example:

“Let there be among you people that command the good, enjoining what is right and forbidding the wrong. They indeed are the successful.”[29]

“What will explain to you what the steep path is? It is to free a slave, to feed at a time of hunger, an orphaned relative or a poor person in distress, and to be one of those who believe and urge one another to steadfastness and compassion”[30]

“...bear witness impartially: do not let the hatred of others lead you away from justice, but adhere to justice, for that is closer to the awareness of God. Be mindful of God...”[31]

These cohesive values were once propagated in the Muslim world. Many commentators argue that these essential political values have disappeared due to Muslim nations not adopting Islamic political theory comprehensively. However, much evidence can be sited via historical references, when the Islamic cohesive political values were once disseminated in the Muslim world.

It must be noted here that the cohesive Islamic values can not be established successfully without a fully functioning Islamic Government, also known as the Caliphate. This is because Islamic Governance is a comprehensive system where all of its models and mechanisms are interdependent and interlink with one another. In Islamic history, when the cohesive values of Islam were propagated via the implementation of the Caliphate system, the conclusions made by some historians are unparalleled. The Jewish historian Amnon Cohen states that the Jewish minorities sought justice from the Islamic courts rather than their own,

“The Jews went to the Muslim court for a variety of reasons, but the overwhelming fact was their ongoing and almost permanent presence there. This indicates that they went there not only in search of justice, but did so hoping, or rather knowing, that more often than not they would attain redress when wronged…”[32]

Many liberals may argue that these values are shared by all; however Islam propagates these values and doesn’t create a competition between cohesive values and non-cohesive values like we see in liberal societies. Hence, Islam makes its cohesive values part of its political and social make up, which is in contrast to Liberalism’s individualistic and atomistic outlook. Islam should be investigated and used as a reference in the dynamics of political discourse as its political values rest on a strong premise and its core political values are cohesive.

Conclusion

Liberalism has failed humanity. The premise of Liberalism - individualism - is philosophically incorrect as it views the human being as an abstract entity divorced from necessary social attachments. It has also produced atomistic tendencies in modern societies resulting in social breakdown and social decay.

Liberalisms core political values of individual freedoms and the primacy of individual rights are non-cohesive values that have facilitated the social problems faced by liberal societies. These non-cohesive values propagated in western nations have affected their collective behaviour. In contrast to this, Islam has a unique view on society and its propagated cohesive values have produced positive results.

Significantly it must be noted that policy and legislative changes will not solve the social crisis experienced in liberal societies. We have already tried that method and failed. Now it is time to question the underlying values of liberal nations and find workable solutions based upon cohesive values that will bring us out of this social decay. I believe that these cohesive values must be the Islamic values and the workable solution is Islamic Governance also known as the Caliphate.

The most practical way of this being achieved is that Islamic Governance must be implemented in the Muslim world. By doing so, it can be the example to western liberal nations - in the hope that they would realise that Islam is a positive solution for our broken society.
References

[1] Daniel Bell. Communitarianism and its Critics. Oxford University Press. 1993. p 7.
[2] John Charvet and Elisa Kaczynska-Nay. The Liberal Project and Human Rights. Cambridge University Press. 2008. p 1.
[3] Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics. Oxford University Press. p. 309.
[4] Marilyn Friedman ‘Feminism and Modern Friendship: Dislocating the Community’ in Shlomo Avineri and Avner de-Shalit. Communitarianism and Individualism. Oxford University Press. 1992. p 101.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Communitarianism and Individualism, p 3.
[8] Vivien Burr. Social Constructionism. Routledge. 2003. p 33.
[9] http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/
[10] Richard Layard and Judy Dunn. A Good Childhood: Searching for Values in a Competitive Age. Penguin Books. 2009.
[11] Ibid. p 4
[12] Ibid.
[13] http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5140511.ece
[14] Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC.
[15]http://member.preventchildabuse.org/site/DocServer/Child_Maltreatment_Fact_Sheet_2005.pdf?docID=221
[16] http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=10309
[17] Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds: Torture and Ill Treatment of Women, Amnesty International, 2001
[18] http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0708chap3.pdf
[19] http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/documents/Rape%20-%20The%20Facts.doc
[20] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2287360/Murder-rate-increasing-amid-epidemic-of-knife-and-gun-crime.html
[21] http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9621
[22] https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
[23] The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2002) (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention)
[24] Ibid
[25] The Eighth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (2002) (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention)
[26] UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute). 2002. Correspondence on data on crime victims. March.
[27] The recorded sayings, actions and consent of the Prophet Muhammad (p).
[28] Mishkaat vol. 2 p. 436
[29] Qur’an Chapter 3 verse 104
[30] Qur'an Chapter 90 verses 11-20
[31] Qur’an Chapter 5 verse 8
[32] A World Within: Jewish Life as Reflected in Muslim Court Documents from the Sijill of Jerusalem (XVIth Century). Part One, 1994, Pennsylvania, p. 17.

http://www.hittininstitute.com/Article.aspx?ID=18&category=1

Hal Turner and the “Amero”

The bottom line to all this is simple: The U.S. dollar is going to be intentionally exhausted into worthlessness. Anyone holding any assets denominated in “dollars” such as Checking accounts, Savings accounts, IRA’s, 401-K’s, Pensions, Stocks, Bonds, Money market funds, will wake up one day to find all their “dollars” are no longer “money.”

BRIEF REFUTATION OF ARGUMENTS TABLED AGAINST ISLAM - PART 1

Over the coming weeks, I will provide you a resource on the arguments for refutation tabled against Islam.

PART 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Backdrop

Societies globally have become familiar with the terms ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslims’. Since 9/11, which has been considered the principal catalyst, there has been an evident media frenzy and governmental focus on Muslims and Islam throughout the world.

However, though societies have become familiar with these terms, this does not and has not equated to an informed and accurate understanding of these terms. Neither has it presented the intellectual basis, culture or values that emanate from Islam and which Muslims aspire to abide by in their life, nor the Islamic political system, Khilafah (Caliphate) - which is the practical manifestation of Islam.

On the contrary, non-Muslims (and indeed Muslims) have been fed on a diet of sensationalist and twisted propaganda. This has created an environment for Muslims of intimidation, tension and demonisation, reminiscent of the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s and McCarthyism in the USA during the 1960’s.

Under the deceitful guise on the ‘War on Terror’, which has proven to be the opportunistic and effective umbrella by which western states, and particularly the United States, are advancing material and strategic gains globally – it has become clearer for Muslims and a number of non-Muslim political observers that the actual war is one directed and focussed against Islam.

High profile issues since 9/11, give clear support to this growing sentiment, such as:
· The printing (and re-printing) of the Danish cartoons insulting the core beliefs of Islam
· The banning and attempts to ban the ‘hijab’ in a number of European states
· The anti-Islamic remarks made by Pope Benedict in a speech delivered at a German university (September 2006)
· The rise of political campaigns by political parties in Europe to ban the Quran, stop further building of Masjids and immigration from Muslim countries
· The production of documentaries such as ‘Submission’ and ‘Fitnah’ in Europe; and trash novels such as ‘The Jewel of Medina’
· The sharp critical outbursts from across the UK political spectrum to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments on the ‘unavoidable’ use of aspects of Shariyah law in the UK (February 2008)
· Governmental policy (UK) to spy upon Muslims – in their homes, educational establishments and their places of worship
· Governmental policy to re-define Islam under initiatives such as ‘Prevention of Violent Extremism’ (UK), which includes funding to train and secularise Imams and control the curriculum in Islamic schools
· Western governments’ obsession to discredit the political aspirations of Muslims to re-establish the Khilafah (Caliphate) in the Muslim world. US President George Bush’s spoke of the need to prevent the establishment of “….a totalitarian Islamic empire that reaches from Indonesia to Spain."

One should not be mistaken to believe that the floodgates to insult Islam, demonise the Muslims and have a governmental campaign targetting Muslim communities is something recent, borne in the aftermath of 9/11. Rather, the campaign against Islam and the Muslims has been in existence for many centuries in Europe and has taken different forms, reflecting the political and geographic realities in existence at the time.

يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِؤُواْ نُورَ اللّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ
"They wish to put out the light of Allah with their mouths..."
[TMQ Al-Tawbah 9:32]

1.2 Why?

The attack upon Islam and Muslims is not a recent phenomenon, but a matter that in the case of Europe has been present for centuries – and in the case of Islam, it was present with the advent of Prophet Muhammad (saw) over 1300 years ago.

In today’s context, the factors contributing towards this campaign are summarised below:

Muslims embracing Islam comprehensively

The secular mindset that the colonial era had imposed upon the Muslims is increasingly waning thin. Today, globally, there is an ever increasing momentum of Muslims adopting Islam in a comprehensive manner; seeking to connect it in all aspects of their lives and making their prime loyalty connected to Islam and the worship of Allah (swt).

Gordon Brown when took office said, "It is also a struggle of ideas and ideals that in the coming years will be waged and won for hearts and minds here at home and round the world."

Islamic resurgence amongst the Muslim Youth

Any ideological society invests heavily in the culturing of its youth such that they become its natural guardians when older. Over time, the Muslim Youth in the west have begun to discard the secular values and aspirations in favour of donning the intellectual, spiritual and political garments of Islam. This is noticeable simply from the growth of Muslim youth attending their local masjids and their increased participation in Islamic activity in educational establishments, particularly universities – where unsurprisingly, western governments are allocating extra resources to counter this rise.

Muslims critical of western policy and interference in the Muslim world

As a matter that would have been unheard of before, Muslims have become increasingly vocal and confident in their opposition to the western interference in the Muslim world and critical of the hypocrisy, lies and, as cased over Iraq, the western support for the brutal and oppressive governments in the Muslim world.

Muslims critical of secular values

Increasingly the ideological belly of western secularism has begun to be challenged by Muslims. This challenge is not merely by refuting the applicability of western values and systems such as ‘freedom and democracy’ in the Muslim world; but in equal measure, challenging their application in the west and demonstrating the inherent problems that arise in society from such values.

Muslims aspirations for the Islamic State (Khilafah) in the Muslim world

Unquestionably, the biggest dagger twisting in the sides of western governments is the renewed vigour, demand and efforts by Muslims towards establishing the Islamic State in the Muslim world.

It is equally important to understand that the momentum to target Islam in the manner currently undertaken by the west will increase with time. This is because there is a fundamental chasm that underpins this engagement i.e. the ideological incompatibility between western secularism and Islam.

This ideological incompatibility is established upon three pillars:

A. Incompatibility in Basis
Secularism is established upon the separation of religion and politics, relegating god to the spiritual and private domain whilst man is sovereign in life’s affairs.
In contrast, Islam is established upon the firm conviction that Allah (God) exists, that there is no separation between sprit and politics and that Allah (swt) is Sovereign over all matters.

B. Incompatibility in Criteria
Secularism puts personal interest and benefit as the criteria man uses to determine the correctness and legality of actions. This criterion results in the moral, ethical and spiritual values becoming subservient to the material value, to the point of non-existence.
In contrast, Islam has made halal and haram the criteria for people to judge the correctness and legality of actions. This criterion is stable and not dictated or influenced by the whims and desires of individuals. Likewise it ensures the presence of all the values (moral, ethical, spiritual and material) in society, not subjugating any value to the dictates of another value. This produces a society that is both stable and progressive.

C. Incompatibility in Ultimate Objective
Secularism establishes personal happiness as the ultimate objective in life.
In contrast, Islam has made attaining the Pleasure of Allah (swt) as the goal in life.

These three ideological demarcations manifest in values, concepts, systems, rules and institutions that are fundamentally dissimilar, even when superficially they appear similar. With such divergent ideological lines drawn very clearly in the sand, with no overlap, neither ideological concession – inevitable differences emerge that require intellectual engagement to resolve; not shallow insults and mockery – which only serve to further discredit any credentials of western secularism and those governments that are its champion.

The nature of the insults, mockery, lies and deceit labelled against Islam is currently one-way traffic. In fact it will always remain this way for the following two reasons:

1. The intellectual limitation of the western secular creed is rooted in the compromise (separation) between religion and state – as opposed to resolving the fundamental matter of God’s existence and sovereignty. Secularism is focused on man’s pursuit of material and personal happiness as paramount – since he is sovereign. In such tradition, where the moral compass, once rooted in religion, has eroded and replaced with material aspirations, then virtues such as truth, sincerity and respect are only useful where they can secure material goals and achievements. This view is best represented in western societies, which consider politics as corrupt and hold their politicians, as liars, cheats, conniving and insincere. Replacing intellectual debate about Islam with insult is just another example of this.
2. The sublime values of Islam are established upon an intellectual conviction in Allah (God) and the rational certainty in the divine nature of the Quran. Since laws are borne from the Islamic texts and not the material aspirations, neither greed nor minds of men – the virtues of truth, sincerity in a given context are permanent. Therefore, Muslims would not (and do not need to) trade insults in order to demonstrate the superiority of Islam.

The attempts by the west today to re-define or reform Islam essentially requires the ideological character of Islam to change, such that there is no Islam, but rather that secularism remains unaltered and unchallenged. Lord Cromer who was the effective British Governor of Egypt from 1803-1907 stated, “Islam cannot be reformed: that is to say, reformed Islam is Islam no longer; it is something else.”

The increasing inability for western governments to dampen the resurgence of Islam has opened a window of opportunity for non-Muslims to also see the limitations, corruption and hypocrisy of their own governments (e.g. over Iraq, Palestine); and sense more clearly the problems arising from western values (social problems, crime). All this has acted as a catalyst in generating a greater interest in Islam.

يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِؤُواْ نُورَ اللّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللّهُ إِلاَّ
أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ
"They wish to put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah and He insists that His light prevails, even if the disbelievers detest it.”
(TMQ Al-Tawbah:32)

1.3 Implications

If the current and growing agenda by governments to counter the growing adherence of Islam by Muslims is successful, the impact of this is far-reaching. It is summarised below:

1. Permit the insult of the Islamic belief, values and rules
By consistently arguing on the basis of ‘freedom of speech’, the governments will force Muslims to accept that the Islamic beliefs are not valuable such that they require to be defended against insult and mockery. This is very similar to what has befallen Christianity. And if Muslims cannot tolerate such insults and the primacy of ‘freedom of speech’, then this proves they have intolerant and extremist views.

2. Changing Islam
For hundreds of years, successive western governments have aimed to change Islam in the Muslim world. Historically, they set up various nationalist, patriotic, secular and even religious movements to corrupt the pure Islamic thoughts in the minds of Muslims. Today they are pushing the corrupt rulers in the Muslim lands to alter Islamic texts by removing verses of the Quran and changing the Islamic history in school text books, as well as controlling the Khutbahs delivered by Imams. They now aim to replicate most of these policies in the west; already there are calls to ban verses of the Quran and Khutbahs are being monitored.

3. Abandoning the Islamic Values
The government’s aim is to secularise and diminish the Islamic values that have been revealed by Allah (swt) and which are the basis upon which Muslims live their lives throughout the world. This policy termed ‘preventing radicalisation’ is primarily targeting Muslim youth to discard the sublime Islamic values in preference for secular values. This is being undertaken with significant funding through community projects and educational institutions.

4. Silencing Muslims
By linking and blaming “violent extremism” on the basic teachings of Islam, the government hopes to make Muslims apologetic and defensive. With this attitude, Muslims will be reluctant to expose and criticise the brutal western foreign policy in the Muslim lands and less willing to counter the deliberate negative propaganda against Islam.

5. Increasing Tension between Communities
If Muslims are silent, the non-Muslim population will begin to believe the spin and lies against Islam; and this will only serve to create further tension, suspicion and hatred between them in their communities.

6. Dividing the Muslims
The west (particularly Britain) has a tradition of “divide and rule” in the Muslim world. Locally, in the west, governments are actively courting Muslim organisations with large sums of money, to buy their loyalty and make them pawns to implement their plan. They hope that these groups will battle on their behalf with those who seek to stop this plan. This will lead to a divided Muslim community, with full media support and financial backing for those doing the governments bidding. In addition, Muslims will be used to export this ‘western and secular Islam’ back to the Muslim world; which is a policy statement of the British government.

7. Stifling the Political Aspirations and the call for Khilafah
The government wants to stop Muslims from calling for the liberation of the Muslim lands from corrupt and secular western rule. They aim to do this by making terms such as ‘Khilafah’ and ‘Shariyah’ unacceptable to use, and in the long term forgotten altogether.


1.4 Response of the Muslims

Islam demands for the Muslims to adhere to the truth at all times and especially during times like this, when the hardships increase. Muhammad (saw) reminded us:

“For ahead of you are days which will require endurance, in which he who shows endurance will be like him who grasps live coals. The one who acts rightly during that period will have the reward of fifty men who act as he does. The hearers asked, “The reward of fifty of them, O Messenger of Allah? He (saw) replied, no, the reward of fifty of you.” (Tabarani)

Allah (swt) has placed the striving for this Deen and its protection above all the matters that are valuable for the believers. He (swt) states in the Quran:

قُلْ إِن كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُواْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ
"Say:’If it be that your fathers, or your sons, or your brothers, or your mates, or your relatives; the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline; or the buildings in which you delight--are dearer to you than Allah and his Messenger and the striving in his way;--Then wait,until Allah brings about his decision: and Allah guides not the Dissolute." (TMQ Surah al-Taubah 9:24)

If Muslims do not stand in defence of Islam…who will? More importantly, what will the next generation inherit as the example to follow from the previous (our) generation? Muhammad (saw) reminded the Muslims, "Let not the fear of people prevent one of you to utter the truth when he sees it (the munkar) or hears it".

This crusade against Muslims and Islam is not unique to Europe, or the west – but it is a global reality, that is primarily aimed at preventing the rising Muslims aspirations to live by Islam and support the establishment of the Khilafah. Indeed it is the Khilafah that was the pillar upon which the Muslims were shielded and Islam was advanced and defended. Muhammad (saw) said, ‘Verily the Imam is a shield, behind him you fight and behind him you are protected.’

Therefore it is imperative that Muslims must encourage and support each other in protecting Islam from the plans of those who want to corrupt it and who want to prevent the Muslims adherence to it.

Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ
بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ
"The believers, men and women, are "Awliya" (helpers, protectors) of one another; they enjoin the good and forbid the evil…”
(TMQ Al-Taubah 9:71)

وَلاَ تَلْبِسُواْ الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُواْ الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
"And mix not the truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know the truth." (TMQ Al-Baqarah 2:42)

In summary, Muslims must:

• Completely reject this western plan that seeks to change Islam and the Islamic values, brainwash our youth, silence and divide the Muslim community and prevent the call for the re-establishment of Khilafah in the Muslim world.
• Become guardians of Islam to prevent such initiatives to dilute Islam from ever being successful.
• Ensure that we, including all our families, defend and adhere to the Islamic values.
• Speak out to expose the hypocrisy and brutality of the western foreign policy in the Muslim world.
• Recognise and protect our unity as part of a global Ummah.

Support the call for the return of the Islamic rule in the Muslim world, the Khilafah.

1.5 Purpose and format

Purpose
In order for Muslims to have confidence to implement, convey and defend Islam, the pre-requisite for this is to appreciate:

• The arguments or issues that are labeled against Islam
• The practical, conceptual and textual arguments to refute such claims against Islam
• The need to link discussions to the overall target and direction that Islam has obliged upon the Muslims, i.e. working to re-establish the Khilafah.

Format
The aim of this document is to highlight the key areas of attacks, their sub-headings and an appropriate explanation, rebuttal.

In this regard, the key areas of consideration are:

• AQEEDAH
• SHARIYAH
• WOMEN
• JIHAD
• NON-MUSLIM
• RULING
• HUDOOD
• ECONOMY

Under each key area – the following will be presented:

Overview
This is an introduction to the subject and aims to contextualise the discussion

Statistics
This represents statistics relevant to either the main heading and/or subheading, which can be used present facts and figures as a comparison or an insight to the issue

Statements
Where possible, statements from different sources, people and backgrounds will be added

Sub-headings
These represent the key subjects, which is or may be targeted and seeks to identify possible angles to discuss

Additional Information
Provides various information for reference and not necessarily core to the discussion

At all times, it should be noted that the arguments, examples, statistics are not exhaustive and there is much room to increase as well as improve these areas.


As a final note, it should be made clear that success is in Allah’s hand and we ask Him (swt) to forgive us in any mistakes that we make and empower us with the courage, strength and presence of mind to present convincing arguments in the robust presentation of this noble, sublime and only truthful Deen and Way of Life … ISLAM.