بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
What exactly have the Rulers done, other than allow us to bleed?
The horrors in Gaza has made the whole world wake up and think. For the first time, there seems to be a global recognition of the fact that the rulers within this system have failed us all. They tried to tell us that the rulers duty is to protect the interests of their citizens, to follow the rule of law and ensure that our voice is carried through to state policy – but this is clearly a lie.
And looking over the events of the past year shows us how far the rulers will go to protect their own interests and that of their supporters. They are going so far as to ignore the blood spilling as a genocide takes place before them, they are failing to protect their people across the world. Even when their choices come into conflict with, or show a blatant disregard for, the ideals and principles they used to obtain legitimacy and that brought them into power.
Muslim Blood is being spilt.
Across the Muslim lands, the people are suffering in one way or another. The rule of secular Capitalism, on land that was once ruled by Islam has left the people at the mercy of political games. So they live in a state of constant insecurity, with their blood being split in attacks on a regular basis. Just a few such examples from this year, apart from Gaza include;
- The situation in Myanmar predates 2023. The conflict in the area goes all the way back to World War two, but the recent military takeover in 2021 led to the "systematic process" of driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar "through repeated acts of humiliation and violence".
- In India, there have been repeated attacks against Muslims – The Hindutva Watch organization reported that more than 250 hate incidents against Muslims were carried out in India in the first half of 2023.
- Then in Kashmir, there is an ongoing occupation by Indian forces. This year, there was a confrontation erupted between Indian security forces and militants in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
But is it just the Muslims who are suffering?
No, they aren’t. There is certainly an agenda to suppress Muslims and Islam. But the Capitalist System is being exposed across the world.
In the Western World, the rulers have tried to use principles such as ‘the right to vote’, the ‘right to protest’, ‘A transparent, free press’ to appease its citizens. Telling them that if they work within the system, their voices will be heard and the problems within the system will be solved. The events over the past year shows how false this is.
• In USA, gun violence is a huge issue. The year 2023 was on pace to break a record for mass killings. Despite the protests and activism, the gun lobby has yet to be held accountable.
• Police violence continued in the USA. In 2023, the police killed over 1,200 people.
• In France, when the people held protests and were met with water guns and tear gas on various occasions.
• Following strikes across the UK, the government passed an anti-strike law.
These are just a few examples of the problems in the Western World, there are many more especially ones related to the economy.
In the rest of the world, we can see the problems that have emerged as a direct result of the system- problems which are affecting both Muslims and non-Muslim lands.
There’s Widespread Political Instability.
Post 1940’s, the idea of self-determination and democratic rule become a defining aspect of governments across the world. But the colonial legacy of divide and rule, together with the continued interference from the neo-colonialist powers, has created a situation where conflict and instability is the norm in a number of countries across the world. The factions in various countries vie for power and rule, without caring about the consequences on the people.
Just this year, we have a number of examples including:
• The recent political violence in Nigeria between the local militias.
• The political criminal violence in Mexico, as law encouragement tries to curb drug-related violence between criminal organizations and government forces.
• The lack of central government in Haiti, with gangs controlling much of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. They are suffering from several food and health.
• The ongoing border conflict between Armenia and Azberjain, that began back in 2021, over disputed territory.
• The death and displacement of civilians in the Blue Nile state in southeastern Sudan, resulting from land disputes.
• There were clashes over the disputed Abyei area in South Sudan between Twic Dinka and Misseriya militias against Ngok Dinka militias. While the conflict has officially ended, there are still attacks that occur sporadically.
• The ongoing conflict between the Somaliland National Army and the SSC-Khatumo forces of the Dhulbahante in Las Anod, the capital of the Sool region. Fighting erupted on February 6 after Somaliland security forces held a violent crackdown on civil protests. 2 days later, the supreme Garad of Dhulbahante, declared an intent to secede and reunite with the Federal Government of Somalia.
• A drone strike by the Nigerian Armed forces hit a village by mistake, killing at least 88 civilians. They thought they were targeting bandits.
There’s no one to stop civilians from being at the mercy of International games
We watch as the rulers sit together and argue over what they ‘believe to be right’, listening as the try to convince their citizens that they are fulfilling a ‘moral obligation’ of protecting the world from ‘terrorists’. But international games over resources and strategic interests are a known, accepted part of this system. And the rulers just use words like ‘moral obligations’ and ‘terrorism’ to justify why civilians are the ones paying the price for the games with their body and property.
- Ukraine We know of the Ukraine- Russian War, with the consequences being felt across the world. It was clearly a war that was fought over American dominance in the region, and the West’s fear of losing their access a region that had both strategic benefits and resources.
- Yemen The fighting between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi coalition that backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government has resulted in two-thirds of the population, or 21.6 million Yemenis, being in need of assistance. Five million are at risk of famine, and a cholera outbreak has affected over one million people.
- Syria The war in Syria is an ongoing one, stating over a decade ago. While it’s referred to as being a civil war, there has been a lot of involvement from foreign states – previously from NATO and GCC, Iran and Russia. Currently, there’s heavy involvement from Turkey in the region. And while the civil war was said to have broken out against Bashar al-Assad- he is still in power. And as a result, there are 13 million Syrians being displaced, and over 500 thousand Syrian people dead.
- Guyana There is a situation brewing there - Significant oil reserves were discovered offshore in the 2010 and then, Guyana granted drilling licenses in the disputed waters this year. In turn, Venezuela announced a desire to take control of the region, holding a referendum and taking steps to press its claim over the region. In response to Venezuela's actions, other countries supported Guyana's position including Brazil, the UK and US. Brazil sent troops to its border with the region and the US conducted military exercises with Guyana.
- Gaza Then of course, we have the horrors that are unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank. With the international acceptance and support of Israel’s illegal occupation, their genocidal actions, and the news of the new IMEC initiative.
There’s no one to clearly take responsibility and protect the displaced
With the conflicts and international games, comes widespread displacement. And it is still unclear who should take responsibility of the civilians. If the displacement is internal, the government will say that the lack the resources to provide for them. If the displacement is external, the other states are unwilling to take responsibility of them for long periods of time. While there is a discussion of the rights of refugees, none of the states are actually obligated to care for the refugees.
According to the UNHCR’s estimates, 117.2 million people will be forcibly displaced or stateless in 2023.
Some state specific examples include:
- The Afghan refugees as the Pakistani government decided to expel the refugees living within their borders and Afghanistan said that they didn’t have to resources to care for the more than 1 million refugees that were being forcibly returned to them.
- Over 500 thousand Eritreans — nearly 15% of the country’s population — have been displaced abroad due to ongoing violence and political instability.
- The ongoing crisis in CAR has led to over 750 thousand refugees being registered in 2023
- There was an increase in Somalian refugees this year – with over 814 thousand refugees being recorded by mid-2023.
- Congo has the highest number of displaced people in Africa.
- There are over 1 million stateless Rohingya Muslims.
- Over 4 million South Sudanese who have been forced from their homes.
The world run by secular Capitalism, is an awful place to live in. Political violence, economic problems, social chaos is the norm. We have started to wake up but we need to stay awake. The rulers across the world have shown themselves to be liars over and over again. How many times will we allow ourselves to be fooled into believing them?
What’s happened in Gaza has sent a shockwave across the world. And now they are trying to clean up their images –
- with the ‘aid’ that they are sending to the Palestinians, despite allowing 80% of Gaza’s infrastructure to be demolished.
- With the ‘leaked’ talks that encourage a two state solution.
- With the media narrative trying to pin all of the attacks on Nethanyahu and his government.
The events in Gaza, the events across the world, happened because the rulers allowed it to happen. Changing one face in the election- any election- won’t change a thing. Changing one law will not change anything.
The entire system is the problem. Unless we change it, the entire world will continue to suffer. The Khilafah will not just protect the Muslims, throughout the establishment of Islam on this world, it will also protect and care for the non-Muslim citizens in a way that the Capitalist System has been unable to do.
The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention) said,
«إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ فَإِنْ أَمَرَ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَعَدَلَ فَإِنَّ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ أَجْراً وَإِنْ أَمَرَ بِغَيْرِهِ فَإِنَّ عَلَيْهِ وِزْراً»
“The Imaam is but a shield (protection) behind whom you fight and you protect yourself with, so if he orders by piety and is just, then he receives reward for that, and if he orders by other than that, then it is against him.”
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Fatima Musab
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir