بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

O Dear Sisters,

السلام عليكن ورحمة الله وبركاته

Assalamu Alaikunna Warahmatu Allah Wabarakatu

الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وصحبه ومن والاه وبعد،

Praise be to Allah, prayer and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah (saw) and his family and companions and his allies,

I begin my speech with that which is Khair (good):

((رَبَّنَا وَآتِنَا مَا وَعَدْتَنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ * فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى بَعْضُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ))

"Our Lord! Grant us what You did promise unto us through Your Messengers, and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: for You never renege on Your promise * and their Lord has accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I allow the waste of the work of any of you, be He male or female: you are members, one of another..." [Surah Aali-Imran 3:194-95]

The subject of your conference causes restlessness and touches the hearts, for the free women of Sham seek protection but the Muslim armies do not protect, whether those who are nearby or those that are further away ... these women seek help, but the rulers scattered in the Muslim countries do not help, these rulers are corpses in the clothing of the living ... and when the free women of Sham despaired from receiving any protection or help, the grief and tragedy intensified within her, so she sought refuge in the neighboring Muslim country but found the false border halting her. Thus it is a tragedy over the tragedy of the hardship and suffering she faced, that the rulers considered her a burden on national security! Instead of finding safe shelter, she only found more hardship, such that it compelled some refugees, to the neighboring place, to feel that they had only moved from one hardship to another, so they returned from where they came, back under the shade of death again!

O Dear Sisters. This is how the Muslim countries have become, rife with borders and blockades. Hardship afflicts anyone who wishes to pass through the Sykes-Picot borders. If he wishes to pass between a village or a city to another in neighboring country, even though the soils of both countries are one and the same soil: such as between Deraa and Ramtha, or between Al-Qaseer and Arsal, or Abu Kamal and Al-Qaem, or Aleppo, indeed beyond Aleppo, to Adana, or beyond Adana, he is afflicted by suffering and hardship travelling between these nearby places! Even though, the Muslim used to move from the far west, from Andalusia, to the Far East, to Indonesia, with dignity in the lands of Islam, in peace and security.

Thus, this is how the Muslim woman has found herself; she appeals for protection and receives no protection, she cries for help and receives none. And when she seeks refuge in a neighboring country, they consider her a burden, even though she was dear and dignified under the shade of the Islamic state, the Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashida that implements the Ahkam of Islam ... the Muslim woman was the measure of care and protection in the Islamic State, the Khaleefah carried food on his own back for her, if she were hungry. The Khaleefah sends an army to protect her, if she were to ask for help, thus he answers her appeal "Wa-Muatasema" "Where are you? O Muatasem"... one of her cries compelled Muhammad bin Qasim, the commander of the Muslim army, to shake the throne of the King of the Sind, because he seized a Muslim ship and took the woman as hostages ... her insecurity drove Qutaiyba, the leader of the Muslims, to capture the one who distressed her. He refused the treasures of gold and silver offered by the captured one to ransom himself. And Qutaiyba refused saying "No, by Allah I will not release you, so that you may never again terrorize any other Muslim woman" and then ordered his killing.

O Dear Sisters: What is happening in the land of Sham is a war on Muslims and Islam, led by America and its allies, implemented by its means and agents... The Takbeers of the revolutionaries trembled them in their beds, the strong stance of the Muslims stunned them and the calls for the Khilafah "Caliphate" from the mouths of the sincere shook them, rather shook them to pieces, which made those who are terrified of the Khilafah "Caliphate" lose their minds ... On the one hand they see their puppet Bashar toppled or almost toppled, whilst on the other hand, they fear that he will topple before they mature an alternative agent to him, so that Sham will return as Dar al-Islam again. Therefore they supply the tyrant Bashar with all types of weapons of mass destruction, so that he is able to resist until they appoint the coalition and its government.

The Khilafah "Caliphate" is the foremost concern of America and its allies, indeed the entire West including even the pettiest of its agents and followers, whether in the neighboring region or beyond. So, they are doing their best to stop the great Khilafah "Caliphate" from returning, because they realize that if the Khilafah "Caliphate" were to return, it will become the foremost in the world, spreading the Khair (good) throughout the world, burying the tyrants and sending them on to their black fate and then the Islamic Ummah will return as it should be...

((كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ))

"You are the best Ummah ever raised up for mankind; You Enjoin Al-Maroof (Right) and forbid Al-Munkar (Evil), and You believe In Allah." [Surah Aali Imran 3:110]

Moreover, the Khilafah "Caliphate" will illuminate the world again, then the limbs of the Kuffar colonialists and their agents will be torn, fear will strike the hearts of those who hate Islam and their adherents. Islam and Muslims will be dignified whilst Kufr and its people will be humiliated. All this will happen, Allah willing, in spite of the enemies of Islam.

O Dear Sisters: It is true that the tragedy of the free women of Al-Sham is great and their affliction is awful ... It is true that their crisis greatly intensified, but it is also true that the intensification of the crisis is a sign of ease, for the brightest dawn comes after the darkest pitch of the night,

((فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا))

"So, Indeed with every difficulty, there is relief." [Surah Ash-Sahrah 94:5]

And you have the brothers of Hizb ut Tahrir, and those who support, advocate and assist it, for they have resolved that they will not tire or rest until they bring the dawn of the Khilafah "Caliphate" again, by the will of Allah,

((وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ * بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ))

"That day believers will rejoice * upon the victory of Allah who makes victorious whom He wishes and He is the Mighty, the Merciful." [Surah Ar-Rum 30: 4-5]

To conclude, I extend to you my salaam, O dear sisters, and I commence your blessed conference, the good conference, the poignant conference, Insha'Allah, so in the name of Allah and with His  blessings...

والسلام عليكنَّ ورحمة الله وبركاته

Wassalam Alaikunna Warahmatu Allah Wabarakatu

Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah

Amir of Hizb ut Tahrir

Anzac Day is commemorated with increasing fervour each year in Australia. The Australian Government goes out of its way to keep the ‘Anzac spirit' alive. It seeks to impress the Anzac tradition as symbolic of the ‘national character' of Australia and to impose the Anzac history and concept on everyone, including Muslims living in Australia, as a universal Australian value.

In this regard, Hizb ut Tahrir / Australia emphasises the following points:

1.     The true legacy of the Anzac tradition in our times is Australian involvement in the unjust invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Just as Australian troops were used for British imperial designs in WWI, so too were they used in Iraq and Afghanistan for American political and economic interests. The false pretext in both cases was the spurious claim of "fighting for our freedom", as if one's freedom is predicated on the oppression of others.

2.     The truth is that Australia, as a former British colony in the past, and a modern independent sovereign state today, supports an international framework of deceit, exploitation and destruction led by the US and European powers. It is this ugly reality that is covered by superficial jingoistic celebrations based on crafted mythologies like the ‘Anzac legend'.

3.     From the Muslim perspective, the Gallipoli campaign represents an aggression by Allied troops against the legitimate Islamic authority of the time, the Ottoman Caliphate. There is nothing for Muslims to celebrate about Australian's contribution to colonial aggression against the Muslim world.

4.    In the post- 9/11 and 7/7 context, the Government has impressed upon Islamic schools in Australia to introduce Anzac Day commemorational activities. This is an imposition of foreign values and a foreign history on Muslims that is unacceptable. Will our children, in the near future, be made to observe one-minute silence and by lectured about the ‘feats' of Australian troops in Iraq and Afghanistan too?

5.     We urge the people of Australia to rise above the lowliness of nationalistic sentiment to the higher plane of intellectual inquiry and to think deeply about the reality of Australian participation in war abroad, past and present. There are worthier ends than to live off the oppression of peoples abroad and worthier means than sacrificing the sons of this country at the altar of the economic and political interests of foreign powers like the United States and United Kingdom.

The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia

Contact: Uthman Badar, Media Representative, on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0438 000 465.

On the 27th of April 2013, hundreds of women, including journalists, representatives of organisations, and other female opinion-makers will gather at an important women's press conference in Amman, Jordan to address the horrendous scale of suffering and brutal massacres that were committed against women and children in Syria at the hands of the butcher Bashar Al-Assad and his murderous Kufr Baathist regime.

Headlines:

• IMF Completes its Stranglehold over Tunisia and Moves to Egypt Next
• Jordan Opens Airspace for the Jewish State Drones
• Jewish State General: Syrian Regime has Used and is Using Chemical Weapons
• American Drone Attacks Causing Hatred in the Muslim World
• Burmese Security Filled Mass Graves with Muslims

Details:

IMF Completes its Stranglehold over Tunisia and Moves to Egypt Next

For Tunisia, the deal is done. But as far as the bigger, trickier North African question goes, there are merely encouraging words. On Saturday, the IMF concluded terms with the Tunisian government on a crucial loan. Meanwhile for Egypt, while talks continue in Washington on the sidelines of the IMF spring meeting, no news is a worry. A quick recap on the Tunisia deal: it's a 24-month stand-by arrangement of $1.75bn. As for what the IMF demanded in return, this is from the IMF statement: ‘The implementation of an appropriate policy mix will help preserve macroeconomic stability and, together with a better composition of public expenditures, will help restore fiscal space for priority capital and social spending. A prudent monetary policy will aim at containing inflation while safeguarding the stability of the banking sector. Greater exchange rate flexibility-coupled with structural reforms to improve the competitiveness of the economy-will contribute to improving Tunisia's external position and rebuilding foreign reserve buffers'. Meanwhile, Egypt's impasse with the IMF was given mild encouragement by another Fund statement, this time saying: 'The authorities and IMF staff have made further progress in their discussions in Washington this weekend. The authorities are firmly committed to addressing Egypt's economic and financial challenges with the objective of restoring sustained and socially-balanced growth, and they are already taking encouraging actions in this direction. Work will continue with the objective of reaching agreement on an IMF Stand-By Arrangement to support the authorities' national economic program in the coming weeks'.

Jordan Opens Airspace For Jewish State Drones

Jordan has opened its airspace to Jewish State drones en route to monitor the situation in Syria, French newspaper Le Figaro has claimed in a report based on an interview with a Western military source in the Middle East. Jordan has opened two corridors of its air space to allow unmanned Israeli drones through to monitor the situation in Syria, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Sunday. The report is based on an interview with a Western military source based in the Middle East. There has been no official confirmation from any other source.

Jewish State General: Syrian Regime Has Used and Is Using Chemical Weapons

The Jewish State's top intelligence analyst on Tuesday accused the Syrian regime of using lethal chemical weapons in an assertion that puts pressure on the US over its pledge to intervene should Damascus cross what it has described as a "red line". Brigadier-General Itai Brun, head of military intelligence research at the Israeli Defense Forces, told a security conference in Tel Aviv that the lack of international response to the use of a chemical suspected to be the nerve gas sarin was a "very worrying development". He said: "There's a huge arsenal of chemical weapons in Syria. Our assessment is that the [Assad] regime has used and is using chemical weapons." Although the Pentagon and state department insisted on Tuesday there was no appetite for intervention in Syria, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, speaking at a NATO meeting in Brussels, called on the alliance to make preparations to respond in the event of chemical weapons endangering one of its members, Turkey. Brun cited photographs of victims that showed them foaming at the mouth and with contracted pupils as signs that gas had been used. "To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin," Brun told a conference organized by the Institute for National Security Studies. He specifically referred to 19 March among "a number of incidents" in which chemical weapons had been used by the regime, and criticized the lack of response by the international community. "The regime has increasingly used chemical weapons," Brun said. "The very fact that they have used chemical weapons without any appropriate reaction - this is a very worrying development, because it might signal that this is legitimate." The British and French governments said in letters last week to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, that there was credible evidence Syria had used chemical weapons since December in or near the cities of Homs, Aleppo and Damascus.

American Drone Attacks Causing Hatred in the Muslim World

A bipartisan panel of senators held a spirited and unusually public debate on Tuesday afternoon about the legality and unintended consequences of America's targeted killings overseas, a forum convened amid growing calls for stronger oversight of the government's use of armed drones outside conventional battlefields. Senator Richard J Durbin, who presided over the hearing, said it was important to review whether current laws sanctioned drone strikes in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, where the United States was not formally fighting a war but relied on remotely piloted aircraft to killed suspected militants. "The use of drones has, in stark terms, made targeted killing more efficient and less costly in terms of American blood and treasure," said Durbin, who noted that the hearing was the first of its kind. "There are, however, long-term consequences, especially when these airstrikes kill innocent civilians." Among those testifying before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee was a young Yemeni activist who argued passionately that American drone strikes in Yemen were emboldening the country's al Qaeda franchise, embittering Yemenis against the United States and delegitimising the government in Sanaa.

Burmese Security Filled Mass Graves with Muslims

Burmese security forces organised and stood guard over Buddhist attacks on Muslim settlements before burying scores of bodies, some with their hands tied behind their backs, in mass graves, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Monday. Evidence of official involvement in the massacres that left hundreds dead was gathered by HRW researchers at 27 different sites in Arakan State, including at four mass graves dug between June and October last year. The report is the most comprehensive evidence yet that the Burmese government colluded in a wave of ethnic attacks and was released just hours before the EU was due to drop sanctions on the Burmese regime as a reward for reformist pledges at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. At one mass grave near the town of Sittwe, local residents took photographs of the 18 bodies dumped in a freshly dug grave. The corpses had their hands tied behind their back with plastic strips used by the police. "They dropped the bodies right here," a Rohingya man, who saw the bodies being dumped and later buried told HRW. "Three bodies had gunshot wounds. Some had burns, some had stab wounds. One gunshot wound was on the forehead, one on the chest. Two men's hands were tied at the wrists in front and another one had his arms tied in the back."

More than 100 witnesses to the violence, which was speared by Buddhist monks and a nationalist political movement in the region, Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, cited repeated cases in which the police and army would arrive at the scene prior to an attack. Having reassured locals with a cordon, they would then breach promises by allowing attacks and joining in the violence.

Abu Hashim