News

Saudi Arabia's consultative assembly has passed a law requiring female television to wear "modest dress", according to local media reports.

Arab News, which is part of a group of companies owned by King Salman's son Prince Turki, said the law passed in the Shura Council, an advisory body, will make it mandatory for women not to "show off their beauty" while on air.
Some members of the council said there are other more important matters to focus on: "There are many other pressing issues such as the danger posed by the media activities of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group," Latifa al-Shualan, a Shura member, was reported as having said.

Comment

What is most disturbing about this story was a statement of Ibrahim Abu Obat a member of the Kingdom's "Shura" Council: "We need to have a clear Islamic dress for all women as their national dress".

Whilst women covering and maintaining their modesty is an important instruction in Islam, Saudi Arabia is once again conflicted in their objectives as they pick and choose which of Allah's laws that they wish to implement. This is illustrated most clearly in this bill, where female presenters now have to dress according to Islam, but this is not for the sake of their belief in Allah (swt) and respect for His laws, but rather to show the world that this is Saudi Arabia's "national dress". The concept of a nation state, defined by a flag, anthem and dress code is alien to Islam. Saudi Arabia contradicts Islam in its very nature of being a monarchy, and implementing a system that is not based on the Islamic sharia. Whilst some laws that are implemented are based on Islam, it is not implemented holistically, resulting in numerous problems such as women not being allowed to drive or vote; things Islam permits and advocates respectively.

Under a truly Islamic system, women are given the rights Islam accorded to them; to vote, to own property, to be educated, to work, to marry someone of their choosing, to inherit - rights they gained 1400 years before women in the West. A truly Islamic state would not pick and choose which aspects of the Sharia they wish to implement, or make up laws as they go along. Rather by implementing Islam entirely women would be able to enjoy all the benefits of living under Islam and reach their full potential in every aspect of life. As a result, such laws requiring women to cover according to Islam would not be contradictory because it would not restrict them from playing an active part in society, but instead ensure they are respected and valued.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Aisha Hasan

With conviction in Allah's (swt) destiny, Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Jordan mourns to the Muslims generally, and the people of Jordan specifically, one of its righteous members, the noble teacher and the patient:

Jameel Kamal Al-Kittani (Abu Ghazi)

Whose soul ascended to its Lord on Friday morning 27/02/2015 at the age of over 80 years old, He, may Allah have mercy on him, spent his life carrying the Dawah, devoted to the work of resuming the Islamic way of life in the Righteous Khilafah "Caliphate" State on the method of Prophethood. He was pious, pure, loving, and generous; brave and defiant against the oppression of the oppressors and tyrants in their prisons for the sake of Allah (swt) and the Da'wah of His Messenger (saw).

We ask Allah; The Most High, The Almighty; to have mercy on our Brother Abu Ghazi and to be pleased with him and accept his deeds, and to let him enter the wide gardens of the highest level of Firdaws with the Prophets and the veracious and the martyrs and the righteous; excellent are those as companions. And we also ask the Almighty to bestow on us and on his family patience and consolation.

((إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ))

"Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." [Al-Baqarah: 156]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Jordan

Speech from Rusayfeh

Work to Establish the Khilafah "Caliphate"

Talk by Brother Osama Qasim

Crusader War on Islam

Talk by Sheikh Thabit Khawaja

Proper Worship for Allah

Talk by Bilal Qasrawi

Speech by Brother Mohammad Abu Hija at the Funeral of Haj Jameel Kamal Al-Kittani

(Abu Ghazi)

Hizb ut Tahrir Wilayah Jordan's Obituary of Haj Jameel Kamal Al-Kittani (Abu Ghazi);who was among the First Generation of Hizb ut Tahrir

Testimony of Brother Ali Smadi (Abu Marwan) about the Righteous Haj Jameel Kamal Al-Kittani (Abu Ghazi, who was among the first generation of Hizb ut Tahrir

"...and they did not alter [the terms of their commitment] by any alteration."

By Abu Ayman

Talk by Brother Omar Al Til (Abu Abdullah)

Talk by Brother Ismail Amir (Abu al Baraa)

Talk by Brother Abu Bakr Balawi

A Word from Irbid in the Azaa' of Haj Jameel Kamal Al-Kittani (Abu Ghazi)

News:

The questions came thick and fast. We had just sat down for a one-hour session where they could ask me any question regarding Islam, Muslims, Hizb ut Tahrir, anything. I was seated in front of a room of non-Muslims who were all students in their early or mid twenties. Stories about Islam and Muslims are always in the UK media so there would not be a shortage of issues, and some would have looked me up on twitter and I was told that they had been given a link to one of my previous media interviews. One was an American and seemed to think I would hate all Americans because I hate the actions of the American government. We quickly cleared that up because the average American is not the same as the U.S. government.

Comment:

I had a few minutes to make some opening remarks. I spoke about why Hizb ut Tahrir was established in the Muslim world, its aims there and its work here in a predominantly non-Muslim country. I explained that the predominant but false narrative that governs how Muslims are seen today says that the more Islamic people become, the more they become a threat to others in the UK, hence we now see a constant attack on Islamic values and practices (e.g. Muslim schools, halal meat, support for the uprising in Syria, separate seating for men and women at university Islamic society events) even though these practising Muslim have no intention to harm their neighbours, neither did they support the 7/7 London bombings or similar events.

So the questions started: Do you think the Paris attacks were justified? How is Hizb ut Tahrir different from ISIS? You condemn the actions of the U.S., do you condemn the wrong actions of Muslims as well? What is Hizb ut Tahrir's vision of a Caliphate? Is there a two-tier justice system for Muslims in the UK? Do you think the Paris attacks were expected? What should happen to people (Muslims) who come back from Syria? Should people go to Syria from the UK? How can you say people should get along when Muslims do not accept homosexuals?

Alhamdulillah, it was a very frank and informative session on both sides. I came away with a reminder of how strongly people are being affected by the government and the media's relentless negative portrayal of Muslims as a problem and a threat. I also came away with the reaffirmed belief that one to one interactions such as these - where people can ask Muslims sensitive questions that are on their mind - are one of the strong ways of overcoming the government's prevailing war on terror propaganda and showing that we can live together and that the fact that Muslims won't give up their Islamic values does not mean we are a threat to our neighbours. May Allah (swt) enable Muslims in the West to be true ambassadors of Islam to the wider public.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Taji Mustafa
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain

News:

China has forced the imams of Xinjiang to dance while waving Chinese flags in the street, and swear to an oath that they will not teach religion to children as well telling them that prayer is harmful to the soul. At the same time, to keep the young people away from the mosques - public servants are forced to brandish the slogan that "our income comes from the CKP not from Allah". [Source: http://www.worldbulletin.net, 09 February 2015]

Comment:

Episode after episode instead of earning the respect and trust of the public, China's government is not known to publicly deliberate matters in an open inviting setting. It has resorted to public shaming acts reminiscent of the "Israeli" army's actions used in repeatedly forcing Palestinians to walk in streets stripped to their underwear for the sake of humiliation.

The Muslims and in particular the imams of the mosques in the Xinjiang (East Turkestan) have experienced overwhelming pressure from Chinese authorities to expel their Islamic beliefs and practices to give way to the secular way of life.  In a shameless act, with imams being forced to parade down public squares while dancing and holding the Chinese flags explicitly show how depraved the government tactics have been reduced to. Authorities chose to humiliate themselves using their symbols of their country. They carry out stern and swift procedures in doing away with any hint of change or perceived opposition otherwise viewed as potential threats to their system, they resort to force and threats quickly hindering any other voice.  Sending a double message to the public, one an open message to the Muslims of the region that their teachings will not be tolerated whatsoever, and the second indirect message for those who dare think of leaning towards other beliefs.  Furthermore, this reveals a deeper truth in their methods carried out by their forces to mold the people into their secular rigid way of life, that they do not have valid convincing rational discourse to counter other ideas, thus public debates and discussions are absent from their strategies. These acts create a schism in society of those who feel the anguish and resentment of being unable to openly voice their concerns and more importantly their beliefs, for example Imams and teachers, who are community mentors and respected for their calls are being silenced or shamed in hopes of abandoning their beliefs. The authorities have only succeeded in harboring feelings of resentment and apprehension in their citizens leaving a void in their society.  As such teachers nor imams will not abandon their teachings, since it is something taken out of sincere conviction bringing them an inner tranquility not found in their governments, thereby it is imperative that they teach their children and community members the tenets of Islam as it is an integral part of their lives. Fear mongering and public spectacles will not curb Muslims away from their Deen - on the contrary it will only reaffirm the dire need of the implementation of Islam in all spheres of life through an Islamic State- the Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah on the method of the Prophethood.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by

Manal Bader