I had just over five minutes to address a diverse audience about the overnight killing of protesters in Rabaa Al-Adawiya in Cairo.

The news from Egypt had made this a sad day. Some reports said over 120 people had been killed in Rabaa Al-Adawiya, many of them Morsi supporters. A few hours before, just after fajr, early news was trickling through of some deaths in Cairo but it did not appear like a massive incident. Then I woke a few hours later and the images from Rabaa Al-Adawiya were of rows of bodies drenched in blood. Truly horrific. A Somali brother I met in my local Mosque at Zuhr time said that when Muslims feel unwell, he feels unwell. This was indeed a day to feel unwell.

From Allah we come and to Allah we return. May Allah (swt) grant Jannah to those killed. May He (swt) grant sabr to their families in these difficult times.

So what would I say to my audience in those few minutes bearing in mind that some might actually be supportive of the coup in Egypt and be opponents of Dr Morsi. I read the press release from Sharif Zayed, Hizb ut Tahrir's media head in Egypt to get a feel of how the issue was being addressed locally. I decided to make the following points.

1) Get them to empathise with the dead and make duaa for them. We are Muslims and the least one could do is acknowledge that this was an unjust killing of fellow Muslims.

2) Explain to them that this killing took place because there is a dangerous plan unfolding in Egypt. General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called people to come out on Friday to support him. He is the military chief, trained in the US and with close links to America. Egypt has the Suez Canal crucial to global shipping and trade, maintains security of the Israeli entity and is the most populated Muslim country in region so is key to regional and global events hence the US has sought to maintain control over it. U.S. interference has been through some military top brass, the latest of which is Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

Demonstrations against the coup have gone on for over three weeks and Sisi has now decided to end it and establish the political program that he announced. They need a pretext to clear the streets and clashes provide that. So he called people to the streets. This was designed to create a clash, which will then be followed by an excuse to intervene and clear opposition off the streets even if that means shedding the blood of the people of Egypt.

3) Killing Muslims is a red line and Islam must be our reference.

Abdullah bin Umar said, "I saw the Prophet (saw) doing tawwaf around the Ka'aba saying,

قال : رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يطوف بالكعبة ، ويقول :

" ما أطيبك وأطيب ريحك ، ما أعظمك وأعظم حرمتك ، والذي نفس محمد بيده ، لحرمة المؤمن أعظم عند الله حرمة"

"How sweet are you and how sweet is your scent. How great are you and how great is your sanctity. By the One who the soul of Mohammad is in His Hand the sanctity of a believer is greater with Allah than your sanctity." (Ibn Maja)

The Ka'aba is considered the greatest Islamic symbol on the earth with Muslims all over the world turning their faces toward it five times daily as we pray. Yet, the sanctity of the blood of a single believer is worth more to Allah (swt) than the sanctity of the Ka'abah.

Since the blood of a single believer is worth more to Allah (swt) than the Ka'aba, and in fact more than the whole Earth and what is in it, then it is crucial that Muslims place the same priority upon the blood of their brothers and sister, and treat the violation of that sanctity as worse than an aggression against the Ka'aba. So in the case of Egypt, shedding blood must be a red line. Whatever side we are on politically, bloodshed is something to oppose and not get involved in. This plan will only serve interests of US, other colonial governments and the Israeli entity.

We must appeal to the Islamic sentiments and understanding of the people and recognise that there are many in the army and anti-Morsi camp who also oppose the killing of the Muslims. Only Islam unites and stops us from killing each other. Only Islam can safeguard a peaceful and prosperous future for all in Egypt and we must work to convince others of that.

 

Taji Mustafa

Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain