Misapplication of Shariah Rulings Harms Islam and Drives People Away
(Translated)

News:

The Afghan government called on all foreign and local non-governmental organizations to stop women from working throughout the country. The Afghan security forces also dispersed demonstrations, protesting the cessation of girls’ education in universities. The Ministry of Economy commented that it had noticed that female employees in foreign and local institutions did not abide by the Islamic hijab, and the laws of the ‘Islamic Emirate’.

The Afghan government had announced earlier the closure of public and private universities for girls and women across Afghanistan, and the United States hastened to condemn the decision. A government source told Al-Jazeera that the leader of the Taliban movement, Hebatullah Akhundzadeh, called on the Ministry of Higher Education to implement the decision to close universities to girls.

This decision comes after the Taliban prevented the opening of middle and high schools to girls, after they came to power last summer. It is noteworthy that there are 40 public universities in Afghanistan and about 140 private universities, of which 68 are in the capital, Kabul. (Aljazeera.net).

Comment:

Ever since the Taliban movement took power in Afghanistan, after agreeing with America that it assumes power to succeed the Ghani government, more than a year ago, the movement has not announced a system of government, comprised of details by which the movement intends to rule the country with. Consequently, the country is floating and adrift, with the people speculating about its nature. This is despite the fact that the Taliban movement was raising the slogan of Islam, ruling by Islam, and establishing the ‘Islamic Emirate’. However, it did not implement a substantial part of Islam. It did not apply the Shariah rulings related to the system of government that is based on the Bayah of allegiance to the Khaleefah. It did not announce ‘the emirate’ as a Khilafah that rules by the Noble Quran and Prophetic Sunnah. Instead, the Taliban movement formed a civil state in the Western style, consisting of ministers and ambassadors and so on. It also did not apply the economic system of Islam, which is based on dividing ownership into individual ownership, state ownership and public ownership. Instead, it kept the financial transactions and economy, as it was in Ghani’s time, with a formal change in some matters.

The most prominent laws and practices implemented by the Taliban movement, and presented to people as establishing ruling by Islam, were related to women. These included laws preventing women from going to universities, or working in companies and in the media. These laws may appear as Shariah law, but the way they are applied is not. Hijab in public life, for example, does not mean preventing women from leaving the house. Instead, it means preventing women from going out of the home without it. Preventing free mixing in universities does not mean preventing women from university education. Instead, it obliges universities to separate males from females, in academic classes, as well as arranging classes as the rows in prayer, with men in the front rows and women in the back rows, whilst adhering to the Shariah dress codes. The same applies to women’s work in public life. It is not allowed to prevent women from working, under the pretext of mixing, or not adhering to the Islamic dress code or similar. Instead, woman are to be made free to work by imposing laws and monitoring bad behavior, holding the violators accountable, even if they are a few. The answer is not to impose collective punishment on women!

The implementation of Islam in its entirety in society is obligatory. Its complete implementation is that which establishes confidence within it. The implementation of some of Islam’s rulings, and not others, does not make society a homogeneous Islamic society. In addition, the misapplication of some Shariah rulings on Muslims creates negative reactions to Islam itself. This is what actually happened in neighboring Iran, where arbitrariness and misapplication of Shariah rulings were a direct reason for the prejudice of many people, especially women, against Islam. This is all because those who misapply these rulings claim to represent Islam, whilst their ‘ulema issue fatwas on their Shariah legitimacy. Their misapplication of rulings is considered as implementation of Islam by the general public; those who are unaware of Islam and the political games. So they come to hate the implementation of Islam, as well as its treatments. This was one of the reasons for the outbreak, and continuation of, the demonstrations in Iran. Moreover, perhaps, America’s haste in denouncing the ban on women going to universities, was to push the Taliban movement to insist on its decision. Thus, people were incited with hatred for the ruling by Islam.

It seems that America, which brought Khomeini to power and opened the door wide for the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, want to repeat the Iranian experience in Afghanistan. This is after the Khomeini Revolution succeeded in creating a state of discontent with Islam among the people. This was because they were not ruled by true Islam, but by the cult of the mullahs, which does not have any relation with Islam. So it made people miserable, oppressed them and impoverished them, which led to the alienation of many people from the ruling by Islam. It seems that America wants to repeat the Iranian experience in Afghanistan, thus ensuring that Muslims do not demand ruling by Islam, whilst those who demand ruling by Islam look unjust, ignorant or irrational. Has the Taliban sided with America in its crusade against Islam?! And was the Taliban movement assigned the role of alienating Muslims from Islam to become a stumbling block in front of the sincere who are working to re-establish the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood?! The sincere and sane people in the Taliban movement must rectify their affairs, seize the hands of their leaders, who have aligned with what their enemies have, knowingly or unknowingly. They must hand over the leadership of the country to the sincere in Hizb ut Tahrir, who have made complete preparations to rule by true Islam, in its entirety, clearly, purely and with justice.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Bilal Al-Muhajir – Wilayah Pakistan