Event:

On April 3rd 2013, the British Council released a survey about Pakistan's next generation goes to the ballot box. In the survey, it mentioned that almost 40% of Pakistani youth preferred Shariah as the best political system for the country. Presently, Pakistani youth between the ages of 18 to 29 make up more than 30% of the electorate and in the coming years this figure is likely to increase. The survey clearly suggests that the future of Pakistan lies in Islam as opposed to secular liberal democracy.

Comment:

The survey is the second one issued by the British council on Pakistan's next generation-the first being issued in 2009. Both surveys confirm that the Islamic resurgence amongst Pakistani youth. However, the latest survey sheds greater light on the Pakistani youth making Islam their primary identity. The survey reports: "75% of women describe themselves as religious or conservative and nearly 66% of men, dwarfing the numbers of moderates and liberals." These figures are extremely worrying for the Pakistan's secular ruling elite and signals that their embrace of democracy and western liberal values are increasingly out of touch with the youth of the country.

This is not the first survey that has shed light on the polarisation between Pakistan's ruling elite which is infatuated with liberal democracy and the rest of the population which covets Islam. In 2006, a Gallop poll found that 60% of all Pakistanis wanted Sharia as the only source of legislation. In 2011, a Gilani/Gallop poll reported that 67% of Pakistanis wanted an Islamic State. In 2012, a Pew poll entitled ‘The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity' found that 94% of Pakistanis regarded Islam as very important in their lives. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis also support the Caliphate. In April 2007, a poll conducted by University of Maryland/ WorldPublicOpinion.org reported that 65% of respondents in four countries- Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco and Indonesia-desired 'to unify all Islamic countries into a single Islamic state or Caliphate'. Other polls paint a similar picture that Pakistan's secular liberal elite are a dying breed increasingly at odds with its populace, and are sitting on an Islamic time bomb, which can explode at any-time.

America, the protector of Pakistan's dwindling secular elite is so worried about the velocity of the Islamic resurgence in the country that she routinely publicises international warnings about the dangers of Pakistan. In 2007, Newsweek magazine described Pakistan as the most dangerous place in the world. And in 2011, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike called Pakistan the epicentre of terrorism.

The changing attitudes of the Pakistanis both young and old towards Islam as identified by the aforementioned polls are not limited to Pakistan, rather they can be found in all parts of Muslim world.  Across the Muslim world both the young and old are working tirelessly for Islam to play a greater role in political life, and many yearn for the return of the caliphate as promised by the Messenger of Allah (saw) who said, "The Prophethood will last among you for as long as Allah wills, then Allah would take it away. Then it will be (followed by) a Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashida (rightly guided) according to the ways of the Prophethood. It will remain for as long as Allah wills, then Allah would take it away. Afterwards there will be a hereditary...leadership which will remain for as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it if He wishes. Afterwards, there will be biting oppression, and it will last for as long as Allah wishes, then He will lift it if He wishes. Then there will be a Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashida according to the ways of the Prophethood," then he kept silent. (Musnad Imam Ahmad (v/273); Reported by Nou'man ibn Basheer).

Abu Hashim

Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Pakistan has issued this Publicized Policy Position (PPP) regarding the relationship of men and women in society. The ideology of capitalism espouses Western liberalism which undermines the family structure; the Khilafah "Caliphate" will nurture it, forming the firm foundations of an Islamic society.

A. PREAMBLE: Western, failed, corrupt liberal values must not be imported as if they are solutions to our problems

News:

News agency Tatar-inform reported about the all-Russian conference "Islam-Online" that took place on the 4^th of April in the capital of Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan. Approximately 100 representatives of electronic media from different regions of Russia gathered in this conference.

Spiritual Board of Muslims of Tatarstan that organized this activity dominated the aim of this conference as consolidation of Muslim journalists to propagate the values of the so-called "traditional Islam".

Acting mufti of Tatarstan, Kamil Samigullin, during the conference requested to create the Association of Islamic electronic media and to adopt a "Lawbook of Muslim Journalism".

Comment:

Muslim ministry once again became an implement, which is used by authorities to manage the minds of Muslims.  To reach such an aim they decided to recruit journalists - they directly influence the consciences of people.

In this case the conference is organized within the framework of the large-scale campaign against the Islamic web activity. Putin set this course on the 14^th of February at the extended board of FSB, stating: "You must act strong to neutralize different extremist structures. You must block attempts of radicals to use abilities of information technologies, Internet resources and social networks for propaganda."

He confirmed this direction of law enforcement authorities on the 7^th of March at the extended board of General prosecutor's office. He said, "A number of radical groups act defiantly today... They organize public activities, spread criminal ideas using the Internet, recruit public supporters."

These statements demonstrate, that the leadership of the country worries about uncontrollable information centers for Muslims. Muslims naturally began to seek non-official, independent Islamic resources, because authorities took control all the print media, and forces the imams of the mosques to coordinate their khutbas with FSB.

The authorities are afraid of the uncontrollable Internet. Internet activities nearly erupted in revolution in Russia a year ago, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Moscow, demanding Putin's resignation.  Naturally, the danger of power of uncontrollable Internet resources increases through political activism of Muslims, which is prescribed by the religion. This is why in the "Islamic Internet" Putin views it as a threat. He also considers the nearly 20-million Muslim population in his country.

The greatest concern is the scale of influence of Internet on society. So, the chairman of committee of the State Duma in information politics, information technologies and communication, Aleksey Mitrofanov said during the conference on the 19th of March: "The era of free Internet has ended. It was not a factor of politics, or economics, when there were only 2 millions of Internet users. But now there are 45 million users in the country, so it became a factor and we must to control it."

This conference and all Putin's harsh statements about the work of Islamic activists indicate the real ideological breakthrough among Muslims of Russia. The main intellectual activity of the Islamic Ummah was transferred to the uncontrollable virtual areas in the last few years, and Muslims in Russia were not outside of this motion vector.  It is not a secret, that the key role in revolutions in the Arab countries played a part on the activists using the Web, where they could reach wide audiences, after blocking the ordinary mass media for them.

With the permission of Allah, the abilities of the Internet will play the similar role on the Russian-speaking media area, that covers all countries of CIS, where almost 100 million Muslims live.

Usman Salihov

During his April 4th visit to the capital of the troubled province of Baluchistan, Quetta, General Kayani, announced his pleasure at "inclusive elections" within the democratic system, urging the people to participate in these elections. This statement is pouring salt on the wounds of the noble Muslims of Baluchistan, for Democracy itself enabled