News:

The "National Children's Rights Strategy and Action Plan" prepared by the Family and Social Policies Ministry was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force on 10th of December. The content of this plan shows that in general the number of children detached from education has increased, child labour became widespread, mechanisms to save children from entering crimes have been failed, juvenile offenders are waiting for proceedings like adults in prisons and that child abuse increased in Turkey. 893 thousand out of around 15 million children between the ages of 6-17 are in working life. Although the employment of children between the ages 6-14 is prohibited, 292 thousand children are taking place in labour and 20% of them have abandoned compulsory education. 66 percent of the children in the group of 15-17 years do not attend secondary school. Due to the incapacity of youth prisons 1085 children are placed in adult prisons sometimes staying together with adults. As a result of the length of the trial period for children in Turkey, the number of children in detention is much more than the number of children convicted. In addition, the number of sexual abuse victims under the age of 18 who were medically examined in 2012 is approximately 3 thousand.

Comment:

This horrific scenario of Turkey's children is entirely the product of the secular system, which has been implemented for the last 90 years. The fact that our children who should enjoy a good education in accordance with knowledge and science for the purpose of leading this Ummah to a bright future are forced to work in order to provide for themselves and their families and moreover in backbreaking and dangerous jobs which are harder than their bodies can cope with, such that some even loose their lives, is only due to the capitalist economic system which is implemented in this country. In 2013 alone, 55 child workers lost their lives. This capitalist economic system did not bring anything else than increasing the wealth of large capital owners. Not content with exploiting the fathers and even the mothers of these children, it has now discovered children as cheap slaves and handed them over to the hands of employers who prioritise benefit over anything else. Furthermore, the education provided by the secular capitalist system since 90 years did not achieve more than teaching personal and financial freedoms to the people. Those generations who grew up in an atmosphere lacking in fear of Allah and where higher moral values are not respected and appreciated created many individuals who are devoid of morality and compassion, neither respecting the life and property of others, nor the values of chastity and honour. This immorality and ruthlessness has unfortunately even moved down to children of young age. It is either folly or treachery to think that increasing the number of prisons or introducing a new procedure specified to children would lead to an improvement of the situation of the society. This dominance of personal freedoms and the lack of dissuasive penalties in this system have made children into sexual objects in the hands of perverse persons who run riot, who made the satisfaction of their animalistic desires the purpose of their lives.

This freedom-based corrupt secular capitalist system has not brought any improvement to any country or society on which it gained domination. For example, according to national child abuse statistics from the USA, the United States has among the worst records among industrialized nations. On average between four and seven children every day are lost to child abuse. Each year more than 6 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States. This secular democratic capitalist ideology has not brought anything other than more and more cruelty, exploitation and decadence to the people of the countries who embraced it. In contrast, there exists countless proofs that children under the Islamic rule of the Khilafah "Caliphate" lived within the most comfortable and distinguished standards of the world in history. The occurrence and the extent of the problems in the above mentioned report exist since the removal of the Islamic system from this Ummah. It is therefore neither wise nor in accordance to Islam to continue to insist on a system of life shaped by the West to rule Turkey or the rest of our lands.

Omar (ra), in his sensitivity of responsibility as an Islamic leader took extreme care to prevent injustice against children, and even the animals, by solving problems without deviating in the slightest degree from Qur'an and Sunnah, in fear of Allah. Therefore the real solution, the true justice and development will be possible again only under a Khilafah "Caliphate" governed by a Khalifah who truly understands his Islamic duty of guarding the Ummah from physical harm, oppression, and from overstepping the Limits of Allah (swt). The Khilafah "Caliphate" state based upon Islam, will firstly teach people to live a life in fear of and for the sake for Allah as the basic purpose of life and will provide Islamic and general education and training to all of its citizens, especially the children for free. This will generate mindsets dominated by accountability to the Creator in behaviour rather than exploitative and criminal ones focus on simply fulfilling personal desires. Poverty will be lifted by the sound Islamic economic system. The livelihood of women and children will be the responsibility of the adult men of the family and the state. The penalties for committed crimes such as abuse of children will be defined by Allah (swt), and act as deterrents due to their harshness, such that any elements that would push children into crime or that would make them victims of perverted individuals will be removed. Certainly these solutions will only be achieved by the full and comprehensive implementation of the Islamic laws under the Khilafah "Caliphate" state.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Umm Khalid

Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir