Sunday, 21 Rabii II 1434 AH, corresponding to 03 March 2013. Hizb ut Tahrir/ Wilayah Turkey organized a series of seminars and lectures in Turkey's largest city, entitled "Governance and Administration in Islam" on the occasion of the calendar anniversary of the demolition of the Islamic Caliphate, has received extensive presence from various segments of society. Alhamdulillah, Lord of the Worlds.

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Lately, Iran has made headline news in a variety of ways. The Jewish entity regards Iran as an existential threat, the West continues to fret over Iran's nuclear programme, the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) bitterly complains about Tehran's interference in Bahrain and Yemen, and Syrians blame Iranian forces for the slaughter of civilians. Yet there is one piece of news that has only attracted a cursory mention and that is Iran's influence in the region is waning.

The Levant and Iraq is where Iran's influence is diminishing at a spectacular speed and eroding Iran's ability to influence regional politics. The pivot for this transition is Syria. At the beginning of the revolution Iran staunchly stood by its ally Assad. Tehran bolstered Syria's economy with enormous amounts of aid and strengthened Assad's forces with the elite Iranian commandoes to brutally suppress the uprising. On October 1st 2012, The "Times" newspaper reported that Tehran had given $10 billion to prop up Assad and his floundering regime. The revelation clearly demonstrates the value Tehran places on supporting Assad despite the huge economic toll of international sanctions against the Iranian people. In the summer of 2012, Tehran struggled to keep a lid on its clandestine military activities in Syria, and eventually the activities of the Quds Force became so pronounced and widespread that Tehran finally acknowledged its military operations in the country. In September 2012, Guards commander Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jafari said, "A number of Quds Force members are present in Syria and Lebanon... we provide (these countries) with counsel and advice, and transfer experience to them."

As the Syrian jihadists draw near towards surrounding Damascus, Iran's billions of dollars and military assistance in propping up Assad appears insignificant-a wasted effort. Amongst Sunni jihadist Iran has negligible influence and this is worrying the Iranian leadership as it struggles to grapple with the situation. It is faced with a strategic choice whether to continue to embrace the Alawite faction and their militia the Shabiha after falling from power or to embrace the Sunni Jihadists who deeply despise the Iranian regime. An article entitled "Syria's Fate Hinges on Whom It Hates Most, U.S. or Iran?" in Bloomberg on February 6th 2013, aptly summed up the strategic dilemma for Tehran as: ‘Thereafter Iran will face a strategic decision: whether to continue supporting a predominantly Alawite militia that represents only a small fraction of Syrian society, or to engage the Sunni Islamists who are poised to wield power in Damascus once Assad falls. Iran's leaders will try to embrace the Sunni radicals, and if that fails they will work with the Shabiha to prevent the formation of a stable, anti-Iranian order in Syria.'

Equally troublesome for Iran is the spillover of Syria's instability into Lebanon and Hezbollah's precarious position. At the outset of the Arab revolution, Iran's proxy Hezbollah and its surrogate leader Nasrallah publicly cheered the fall of autocratic rulers in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but openly supported Assad and sent armed men to suppress the Syrian people. The hypocritical stance of Hezbollah jeopardized its ability to garner support amongst the Lebanese populace, especially amongst the Sunnis. Furthermore, the movement was despised by Syrians as aiding and abetting Assad against them, and this prompted the jihadists in Syria to openly warn Nasrallah of dire consequences should he continue to support Assad. Subsequently, Hezbollah's power has weakened both at home and across the Arab world. A weaker Hezbollah also implies the weakening of Iranian influence in Lebanese politics.

The weakening of Hezbollah-Assad-Iranian axis has been dealt a further blow by the rising wave of protests in Iraq. Sunni dominated areas in Iraq are witnessing a late Arab spring that is threatening Al-Malki's grip on Iraqi politics. Al-Malki who has close relations with Tehran is struggling to contain the Sunni hinterland after Iraqi soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians.

Between 2004 to 2008 Iranian influence and power in Iraq was at its apex. It evoked King Abdullah to comment on the reach and magnitude of Iranian power by using the term Shia Crescent which described Iranian influence stretching from Damascus to Tehran passing through Baghdad. The other side of the crescent passes through Bahrain, Eastern Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Today, the long reach of Iran is facing an existential threat in Syria, which surely spells the end of the Iranian efforts to create the Shia crescent and ends her ambitions to dominate the Middle East and its supplies of hydrocarbons.

Nonetheless, Iran is not the only loser in the political reconfiguration that will ensue in aftermath of Assad's demise. The real loser is America. For the past four decades, America has secretly collaborated with Iran in a desperate bid to create a Shia Crescent that would eventually place oil away from the hands of Sunni despots into the hands of the Shia autocrats and mullahs who in turn would be more loyal subjects to America than Sunnis. This also explains why America has been so reluctant to punish Iran over its interference in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, even though Washington has had ample opportunity to chastise Tehran. Similarly, America has gone out of it way to assuage Israeli concerns over Iran's nuclear programme. America knows full well that if Iran is subject to any sort of military attack, Iran's influence that stretches from Yemen to Lebanon will fade. By doing so, America's capacity to fashion political solutions and maintain her hegemony in the region would be severely impaired. Brzezinski has warned about such consequences for America should it choose punish Iran. He said, "A war in the Middle East, in the present context, may last for years. High inflation, instability, insecurity...probably significant isolation for the United States in the world scene. In effect, the American taxpayer should be ready to pay $5 to $10 a gallon for the pleasure of having a war in the Strait of Hormuz."

Hence, America has little choice but to use Iran to prop up Assad and hope that its long-term plan of using Iran to control the hydrocarbons of the Middle East via the Shia crescent remains intact.

Abu Hashim

Protests in Otma, Idleb

Hizb ut Tahrir and its supporters and the rebels insisted on going out again in Otma on Friday waving the banners and flags of the Messenger of Allah (saw) chanting Khilafah "Caliphate", confident of Allah's victory and the promise of His Messenger peace be upon him, proud of their Islamic Ummah, refusing projects from the Kafir West and their agent-rulers of the Muslim forced upon the necks of the nation.

Friday, 19 Rabii II 1434 AH, corresponding to 01 March 2013

Rally in Soran, Aleppo

Hizb ut Tahrir and his supporters and the rebels in Soran intervening to have their say: we will not accept without a Khilafah "Caliphate" system and all the projects of the secular coalitions Western-backed and the projects and dialogue with the criminal Bashar do not represent us.

Friday, 19 Rabii II 1434 AH, corresponding to 01 March 2013

[كانت بنو إسرائيل تسوسهم الأنبياء، كلما هلك نبي خلفه نبي، وإنه لا نبي بعدي، ولكن ستكون خلفاء فتكثر. قالوا: فما تأمرنا: قال: فوا ببيعة الأول فالأول. " [صحيح مسلم"

"Bani Israel were ruled by their Prophets. When one died, there would follow another. There will be no Prophet after me, only Khulafaa'.' They asked Rasoolallah, ‘What should we do?' He said ‘Give them bay'ah, one after the other." [Sahīh Muslim]

The Madinah State of the Prophet (saw) was the highest model of governance that has ever existed - succeeded by the Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah, on the model of Prophethood.

The Khulafaa' that succeed the Khulafaa' al Rashidun were of varying quality. The best - like Umar bin Abdul Aziz, Muhammad al Fatih, Suleiman al Qaanooni and Abdul Hameed II - were great rulers. The worst were better than the criminal rulers that rule the Muslim world today. Even until Ottoman era, when it was indebted and weakened, the Khilafah "Caliphate" was still a significant power on the world stage; not only because they never thought and nor did rule with any innovative system other than Islam, but also they struggled hard to preserve the unity of the state and the unity of the Ummah.

Yet 89 years ago, on the 3rd March 1924, some years after it had been dismembered (after World War One) and after a long period of intellectual decline - the Khilafah "Caliphate" state, the model of government established by Allah's beloved Messenger (saw), was abolished by the criminal Mustafa Kemal in Ankara. The Muslim world reacted with shock. It was described as a ‘disaster to both Islam and civilization'. It was predicted the Muslim world would be thrown into ‘the ranks of revolution and disorder'. Sadly, these predictions proved true. The Ummah has been divided, oppressed, colonized, exploited and occupied ever since.  Till now, Muslims are looking for a way to overcome this misery.

For decades Muslims have been looking at the Western capitalist system and nation state model - alternating between the oppression of dictators and the corruption of democratic politicians. Since the destruction of the Khilafah "Caliphate" State, Islam has been confined to personal belief, Salah, Zakat, Fasting in Ramadhan and Hajj. We follow the Prophet's (saw) Sunnah in these individual ibadat, yet we have abandoned his Sunnah in politics and government! It is through this great institution that the Prophet (saw) taught this Ummah how to do politics and run a society and state for Muslims and non-Muslims.

The Khilafah "Caliphate" State represents the unity of the Ummah. The Khalifah is the Ameer of this Ummah. Allah (swt) said...

((واعتصموا بحبل الله جميعاً ولا تفرقوا))

"Hold fast to the rope of Allah and be not divided amongst yourselves." [Surah al Imran 3:103]. The Khilafah "Caliphate" is the practical method by which the Shari'ah secured this unity. The bond that links people in the Khilafah "Caliphate" is their citizenship. All of those who hold the citizenship of the Islamic State - Muslim and non-Muslim - have the full right to enjoy guardianship without fear of discrimination, just as they all obey the law, in line with the divine principle that states: "They have the same fairness enjoyed by Muslims; and they are also accountable like Muslims." The Khilafah "Caliphate" looks after the affairs of all citizens regardless of tribe or ethnicity - abiding by the Quran order:

((إن أكرمكم عند الله أتقاكم))

"The best among you in the sight of Allah is the most pious of you." [Surah Hujuraat 49:13].

Without the Islamic system of unity, the Ummah has been divided into nation states and the menace of nationalism and sectarianism has brought nothing but war, conflict, division and fitnah in our countries amongst our own people.

The Khilafah "Caliphate" State is a political system where the Ummah holds the authority and has a duty to account the Khalīfah according to Islam. On assuming his position as Khalīfah, Sayiduna Abu Bakr al Siddīq (May Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘O People! I have been put in authority over you and I am not the best of you. So if I do the right thing then help me and if I do wrong then put me straight... Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His messenger, and if I do not obey Allah and His messenger then obedience to me is not incumbent upon you.'

The Khilafah "Caliphate" enshrines the accountability of the government because Allah (swt) ordered the Muslim Ummah to enjoin ma'roof and forbid munkar on the ruler. The Messenger (saw) said:

(والذي نفسي بيده لتأمرن بالمعروف ولتنهونَّ عن المنكر أو ليوشكن الله عز وجل أن يبعث عليكم عذابا من عنده ثم تدعونه فلا يستجاب لكم." (سنن أبو داود"

"By He Who owns my soul, you must enjoin the Ma'roof and forbid the Munkar, or Allah may inflict upon you a punishment from Him, you would then supplicate Him and your supplication would go unanswered [Sunan Abu Dawud #4336]. So, there is a branch of the judiciary to judge between the ruler and the people, the Qadhi Madhalim - with the power to remove the Khalīfah if he breaks his contractual conditions of ruling. Islam encourages political parties to hold the ruler to account; a Majlis of elected representatives to account the ruler and be consulted by him; and an independent media to hold the government to account and scrutinise its actions. While democracy is claimed as the only way to ensure accountable government, the reality is this so-called democratic system in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq and Afghanistan have produced politicians who are corrupt to the core, siphoning millions and billions of the Ummah's wealth and have opened our countries to the ugly plans of the colonialists.

On the economic front our countries are submerged in a quagmire of debt, poverty, inequality and economic colonialism. This goes on, whilst our Ummah is blessed with some of the largest natural resources, vast fertile agricultural lands and abundant human resources. This states of affairs is because the secular politicians who are in charge of this Ummah today are there to steal this wealth and help the colonial powers implement their IMF/World Bank policies to ensure our resources continue to be in Western hands. Only a sincere Islamic leadership implementing the clear economic rules from Islam can break this status quo. One of the roles of the Khalīfah is the collection of Zakat. The Khalifah's role is to collect any revenues that Islam permitted - Zakat, Ushr, Kharaaj, Jizya, as well as the revenues from state and public properties - and spend them on the things that are mandatory. For example, every citizen needs to have food, clothing and shelter; every male and female child must be educated; and the state has a due to spend on health and military expenditure.

The Muslim world is crying under the weight of its problems, and it needs an alternative - and that alternative is the Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" state. Following the Arab revolutions, Egypt and Tunisia are still engulfed in political crisis and mismanagement as fundamentally the secular man made system is still in place. It is the Khilafah "Caliphate" system that can bring a government that is based upon our Aqeedah, agrees with our identity, history and culture and has the practical solutions for our various political, economic and social problems. More important; it is through this alone we will attain the good pleasure of Allah, subhanahu wata'ala.

Today the Western capitalist system that has ruled the world for decades is not admired as it once was. It has created another global economic crisis. Western powers have overreached themselves in imperial warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq. Their societies are filled with family breakdown and social problems. People view their politicians as increasingly corrupt, bowing down to banks and big business.

In desperation, Western politicians and their corporate-backed media slander the Prophet of Islam (saw) and portray the Khilafah "Caliphate" system of governance as backward and as the aspiration of extremists. All because they know it challenges their political, economic and military dominance of the Muslim world.

Brothers and Sisters: We as Muslims living in Britain have a duty to challenge these lies about Islam, about Allah's Messenger (saw), about his system of governance, about the Shari'ah of Islam. Indeed, we have a duty to offer people - who question the way the world is today - an alternative, by giving our neighbours, colleagues and others the da'wah to Islam - to show them how the Islamic Aqeedah convinces the mind, agrees with man's nature and has the capacity to solve humanity's problems.

It is the promise of Allah's Messenger that the Khilafah "Caliphate" on the way of Prophethood will return - after it had been abolished. He (saw) said after a period of biting oppression,

[ثمّ تكون خلافة راشدة على منهاج النبوة، ثم سكت." [مسند الإمام أحمد"

"There will be a Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashida according to the ways of the Prophethood.' Then he kept silent." [Musnad Imam Ahmad]

And in anticipation of that return, isn't it right that we redress the shameful misrepresentation of the Prophetic system of governance that we see today. It is our duty as Muslims to know this model of governance and to tell others about its reality - and not the media's scaremongering.

Dear Brothers and Sisters: It is the Promise from your Lord, the glad tidings from your Prophet and the highest of obligations.

www.hizb.org.uk