Press Release
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Speech of the Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir, Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, for the Occasion of the 102nd Hijri Anniversary of the Destruction of the Khilafah (Caliphate)
(Translated)
Praise be to Allah, and blessings and prayers be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his Companions (ra), and those who followed him,
To the Islamic Ummah, in general… and to the Dawah carriers for the reestablishment of the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate), in particular…
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatahu,
On this day, the 28th of Rajab in the year 1342 AH, corresponding to 3rd March in the year 1924 CE, that is, 102 Hijri years ago, the colonialist kuffar, led by Britain at the time, in collaboration with the Arab and Turkish traitors, were able to abolish the Khilafah state. Mustafa Kemal committed the crime of open kufr, by abolishing the Khilafah in Istanbul, whilst besieging the Khaleefah (Caliph), exiling him in the early hours of that day. So it was. This painful affliction occurred, with the destruction of the Khilafah, within the Muslim Lands… It was an obligation upon the Ummah to fight the one who commits open kufr with the sword, as narrated in the agreed upon hadith, of the Messenger (saw), on the authority of Ubadah ibn al-Samit (ra), «وَأَنْ لَا نُنَازِعَ الْأَمْرَ أَهْلَهُ إِلَّا أَنْ تَرَوْا كُفْراً بَوَاحاً عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ اللَّهِ فِيهِ بُرْهَانٌ» “And that we do not dispute about authority with those in power, unless you see an open kufr, regarding which you have a clear evidence before Allah.” [Bukhari and Muslim] However, the Ummah did nothing to tremble that criminal and his aides, such that he and his collaborators would be turned into losers. Rather, the response was weak and did not amount to anything near that!
It was then that the history of the Ummah darkened. Previously, the Khilafah was the Ummah’s state, standing upon truth and justice yet now the Ummah has over fifty fragments as states, with severe harm from their rulers. Even the earthquake of Syria and Turkey, in the middle of this Hijri month of Rajab, could not remove their division, restoring unity as one state. Instead, they persisted as torn fragments, before and after the earthquake, whilst they did not take heed! Allah (swt) said,﴿أَوَلَا يَرَوْنَ أَنَّهُمْ يُفْتَنُونَ فِي كُلِّ عَامٍ مَرَّةً أَوْ مَرَّتَيْنِ ثُمَّ لَا يَتُوبُونَ وَلَا هُمْ يَذَّكَّرُون﴾ “Do they not see that they are tried once or twice every year? Yet they neither repent nor do they take heed.” [TMQ Surah At-Tawbah 9:126].
Nevertheless, the calamity of this earthquake revealed that Islam is constant in the depths of Muslims. When they were rescuing their brothers from under the rubble, the Muslims chanted takbeer. The takbeer did not cease upon their tongues, particularly when they were saving an infant, whose mother had given birth to her, and then died under the rubble… or the one who is covered by rubble, whilst his hand is seen holding prayer beads, with which he was glorifying Allah (swt)… or while they were trying to get a woman out from under the demolished building, the woman asked for her head to be covered, before being taken out, so that her hair will not be exposed… or when the one who called out from under the rubble to get him out, first asked for water for wudu (ablution) before Salah, so that he does not miss the time of prayer… then the one they are trying to save from the midst of the rubble, and they find him reciting from Surat Al-Baqarah within the Quran… or that girl who they are trying to get out, who expresses her sadness because she could not pray that day… And during all of that, the takbeer resounded, Allahu Akbar… These are the Muslims. May Allah (swt) have mercy on every Muslim who died during the earthquake. May they be among the martyrs of the Hereafter, by the Permission of Allah (swt). May Allah (swt) heal the wounded, with a cure that leaves no disease behind… May Allah (swt) help every Muslim who survived. May Allah (swt) grant for him a good life, that he spends in obedience to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw)…
These are the Muslims, whilst those are the rulers in Muslim Lands. They are indeed poles apart. This gaping disparity occurred during these 102 Hijri years, since the momentous calamity of the abolition of the Khilafah! Then, exploiting the demise of the Khilafah, the colonialist kuffar inflicted another agonizing affliction. They gave the Jews a state in the Blessed Land, the destination of the Israa (night journey), and the origin of the Miraaj (ascent) of the Messenger of Allah (saw). They then provided them with the means for survival. The foremost of those means is to protect its security through the agent rulers that surround it. So they were defeated at the hands of the Jews, in every war that broke out, until they granted the Jewish state an image, other than the characteristic with which Allah (swt) described them: ﴿وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الذِّلَّةُ وَالْمَسْكَنَة﴾ “They were stricken with disgrace and misery” [TMQ Surah Al Baqarah 2: 61]. And the rulers were not satisfied with that alone. Instead, they exerted all efforts to transform the issue from the removal of the Jewish entity, to negotiation with it, with the plea that it would withdraw from just some of what it occupied in 1967!
Moreover, the state of the Jews was, and still is committing the most heinous crimes in Palestine. The massacre in Jenin, on 26 January 2023, bears witness to that. The army of the Jewish entity, with large and heavily armed forces, stormed the Jenin camp, and carried out a massacre in which nine martyrs were martyred. During that time, carried out the most extreme crimes by killing, demolishing the walls over the wounded, and trampling over with bulldozers. Then it continued in its aggression against Nablus, raiding Aqabat Jaber Camp, killing and wounding, resulting in martyrs and wounded… and all of this occurred without the rulers in Muslim Lands mobilizing to rescue them. Instead, the most exemplary of them was the one who offered his mediation between the criminal and the victim upon whom the crime was committed. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded? And how do they do more than that while they are rushing to commit the crime of normalization with the Jews? After the rulers of Egypt led this march of humiliation and disgrace, the PLO and then the rulers of Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco respectively, all followed suite. And here Sudan follows them in the crime as the President of Sudan, Al-Burhan, met Jewish Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Khartoum on 2 February 2023 to discuss the normalization of relations! None of them cares for the humiliation that surrounds them. ﴿سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُوا صَغَارٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَمْكُرُونَ﴾ “The wicked will soon be overwhelmed by humiliation from Allah, and a severe punishment for their evil plots.” [TMQ Surah Al-Anaam 6:124].
It is indeed strange that with every escalation, or every crime committed, by the Jewish entity, its leaders are, the day before or on the day, in the arms of the Arab rulers, or on a visit to them. Before the crime upon Jenin, Netanyahu was a guest in the palace of the Jordanian regime! During the crime upon Jenin, the Palestine Authority was coordinating security with Jews, by its own admission because it claimed that it would stop the security coordination, after the crime. So, it was! However, what is most surprising, and strange, is that when one of the heroes of Palestine defended his land and its people, killing seven Jews in the Al-Quds operation, after the massacre in Jenin, the rulers in the Muslim countries rushed to condemn! The foreign ministries of Turkey, the UAE, Jordan and Egypt, all condemned the Al-Quds operation in press statements!
Now, it is not only Palestine that was stabbed in the back by these rulers but they also conceded or surrendered, other pure regions of the land of Islam. Kashmir was forcibly annexed by the Hindu mushrikeen, to their state, whilst the rulers of Pakistan remain silent… the Rohingya Muslims are being slaughtered in Myanmar (Burma), whilst the rulers of Bangladesh are as if they are sleeping, without seeing… then there is East Turkistan, in which China is committing massacres, whilst the current states in the Muslim Lands are maintain a silence like the silence of the graves. Whenever they do speak out, regarding the massacring, they claim that it is an internal matter for China! ﴿كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ إِنْ يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِباً﴾ “What a terrible claim that comes out of their mouths! They say nothing but lies.” [TMQ Surah Al-Kahf 18:5].
Then the colonialist kuffar were not satisfied with the disgrace that they inflicted on the Ummah. Instead they violated its belief. So the lowly extremist burned a copy of the Noble Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy building, in Stockholm, on Saturday 21 January 2023, after the Swedish authorities allowed that… Then their crimes continued to the burning of the Noble Qur’an in The Hague and then in Copenhagen on Friday, 27 January 2023. Subsequently, we watched as Al-Azhar, through its Al-Azhar Observer for Combating Extremism, issued a strongly worded statement condemning and demanding to stand in the face of attempts to violate religious sanctities. There is no doubt that the ‘Ulema of Al-Azhar know that the response to the burning of the Noble Qur’an is not mere verbal condemnation, rather the armies must be mobilized in support of the Book of Allah (swt) and His Deen. Burning the Noble Qur’an is a declaration of war against the Islamic Ummah and its belief. Therefore, the response is a war that makes a fear-inducing example of them, to deter others. Allah (swt) said, ﴿فَإِمَّا تَثْقَفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْحَرْبِ فَشَرِّدْ بِهِمْ مَنْ خَلْفَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُون﴾ “If you ever encounter them in battle, make a fearsome example of them, so perhaps those who would follow them may be deterred.” [TMQ Surah Al-Anfaal 8: 57].
O Muslims: Aggression against Muslims is not confronted with embellished words for the sake of appearances, empty speech that neither benefits nor satisfies the need. Instead the aggression is repelled by the edge of the sword, with blows that make the enemy forget the whispers of Satan. This is what the Muslims were upon when they had a Khilafah, and the course of events during their rule speaks volumes of that. This is a proven fact that no one with vison and insight can deny. Its examples exist in the history of Muslims which have been transmitted in “The Beginning and the End” by Ibn Katheer, “The Conquest of the Lands” by Al-Baladhuri, “The History” by Ibn Khaldun and “The History of Islam” by Al-Dhahabi, amongst other sources. I now quote to you, from them,
“Then came the year 87 after Hijrah… within it Qutayba ibn Muslim opened Poykent, which is one of the districts of Bukhara… and it was not midday until Allah (swt) granted victory to them… The one who attacked the Muslims was a one-eyed man, from among them. When he was captured, he said, “I ransom myself with five thousand Chinese garments, whose worth is thousands of thousands.” So the commanders advised Qutayba to accept that from him. Qutayba said, “No, by Allah, you will never strike fear in a Muslim again.” Then he ordered regarding him and his neck was struck…”
“Then came the year 90 after Hijrah… within it Raja Dahir, the ruler of Sindh, attacked a ship carrying Muslim women, and took them captive. So the Khaleefah sent a message to his waali (governor) to take revenge on that oppressor. Thus Muhammad bin Al-Qasim led an army and saved the Muslim women, took revenge on that tyrant ruler and conquered the land of Sindh.”
“Then came the year 223 after Hijrah, and the Byzantine King went out to the Muslim Lands, killing and capturing the people of Zabtara. A woman called out, “O Mu’tasim, where are you.” This call reached the Khaleefah al-Mu’tasim, who answered, “At your service.” He personally led an army and avenged the woman. He asked which of the lands of the Byzantines was the greatest. He was told that it was Amorium, which was “near Ankara.” So he conquered it.”
“Then came the year 582 after Hijrah… within it Arnat (Raynald), the occupier of Al-Karak, treacherously blockaded the road, for a large caravan of Hujjaj (pilgrims), that came from Egypt whom he killed and captured. Thus Sultan Salah ud-Din prepared for war. He requested soldiers from the country. He vowed that if he was victorious over Arnat, he would kill him. So Allah made him victorious in the year 583 after Hijrah, in the Battle of Hattin, in the middle of Rabi’ Al-Akhar. Then Salah Al-Din killed Arnat, by his own hand, as a punishment for his treachery and blockading the roads. It was then that the liberation of Al-Aqsa took place, on the 27th of Rajab, 583 after Hijrah.”
“Then in 1307 after Hijrah, in 1890 CE, the author of a script, which slandered the Messenger of Allah (saw), tried to show it as a play, in one of the theaters in Paris. When the Khaleefah Abdul Hamid learned of this, he summoned the French ambassador in Istanbul and deliberately met him in military uniform. Then he threatened him that if it was shown, the Ottoman State would announce the severing of relations with France, in a state of war. He addressed him in a harsh tone, saying, “I am the Khaleefah of the Muslims… I will turn the world on your heads, if you do not stop this play.” France responded by preventing the play from being shown…”
The colonialist kuffar were aware, at the time, that any violation of the sanctities of Islam, and Muslims, would be met with the cutting of tongues and the breaking of limbs… Today, the Noble Quran, the Messenger (saw) and the Muslim Lands are attacked, whilst the aggression is not avenged! This is only because there is no Imam, a Khaleefah Rashid (Rightly Guided Caliph), who protects the Ummah from the evil of enemies. It is narrated in the authentic agreed upon hadith, that he (saw) said, «إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ، يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ، وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ» “The Imam alone is a shield, behind whom fighting is engaged in, and by whom protection is sought.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
In conclusion, I repeat my appeal to you, O people of power and protection… You are the only ones who can heal the Ummah’s heart from its enemies, the enemies of your Deen. You are the only ones who can end the humiliation that has reached the Muslims in their lands… So arise to perform your duty, may Allah (swt) bless you. Arise to grant our Nussrah (Support), Nussrah for Hizb ut Tahrir to establish the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate). It is not the only way for victory in terms of the current reality. Instead, it is because it is a great obligation of the first degree. Firstly, whosoever does not work while he is able to establish the Khilafah, and establish the Khaleefah who deserves the Bayah (pledge), then his sin is as great as if he had died a death of pre-Islam (Jahilliyah), evidencing the severity of the sin as he (saw) said, «وَمَنْ مَاتَ وَلَيْسَ فِي عُنُقِهِ بَيْعَةٌ، مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً» “And whoever dies without having a pledge of allegiance on his neck, he dies a death of Jahilliyah (pre-Islam).” [Muslim]. Secondly, Muslims undertook the pledge Bayah to the Khaleefah, before they undertook preparation of the Messenger of Allah (saw) for his burial and carrying out the obligation of his burial. All of that is due to the importance of the Khalifah. Thirdly, Umar (ra) on the day of his death, set a time limit, of three days and no more, for electing a Khaleefah from among the six who were given the glad tidings of Paradise. If no agreement was reached regarding the Khaleefah, within that period, then the dissenter was to be killed. This was within a gathering of the Companions (ra) about whom no evil was reported. Thus, it was a unanimous Consensus of the Companions (ra). However, as for us, “many multiples of three days” have passed over us! Indeed, the establishment of the Khilafah is a great matter.
O Soldiers of Allah: We realize that angels will not come down from the sky to establish a Khilafah for us. Rather, Allah (swt) will only send down angels to help us, if we work diligently to establish the Khilafah. It is a promise confirmed in the Book of Allah, ﴿وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ﴾ “Allah has promised those of you who believe, and do good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in authority in the land, as He did for those before them.” [TMQ Surah An-Nur 24:55]. It is a glad tiding of glory, after this oppressive rule, in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (swt), «ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكاً جَبْرِيَّةً فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ» “…And then there will be an oppressive rule as long as Allah wished it to be and then He will end it when He wishes to end it and then there will be a Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood.” Then he (saw) was silent. [Extracted by Ahmad]. We also realize that the enemies of Islam consider the re-establishment of the Khilafah impossible. They repeat the saying of their supporters, from amongst those who mock, ﴿غَرَّ هَؤُلَاءِ دِينُهُمْ﴾ “their Deen has deceived them.” [TMQ Surah Al-Anfal 8:49]. However, just as that saying was a curse on those who said it previously, for Allah granted glory to His Deen and gave victory to His people, it is a curse on those who say it today, for Allah, All Mighty, Most Wise, is with His sincere servants who work diligently, without departing from their hearts and limbs, the Speech of Allah (swt), ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْراً﴾ “Certainly, Allah achieves His Affair. Allah has made a determination for everything.” [TMQ Surah At-Talaq 65:3]. With each passing day, they are getting closer to this Qadr “determination,” by the Permission of Allah (swt). ﴿وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هُوَ قُلْ عَسَى أَنْ يَكُونَ قَرِيبًا﴾ “They ask, “When will that be?” Say, “Perhaps it is soon!”” [TMQ Surah Al-Israa 17:51].
Wa Alaikum Assalaam wa Rahmutallahi wa Barakaatahu
Your Brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, 28 Rajab 1444 AH
Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir 19 February 2023 CE