The Inevitability of the Clash of Civilisation

(Hatmiyyat Sira'a ul-Hadharat)  

Hizb ut Tahrir

1423 AH / 2002 CE

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Summary

When we say dialogue or clash, we mean Muslims, their deen and their civilisation on one side; and Christians and their religion and the Capitalists and their civilisation, on the other side. It is a malicious attempt that the leaders and intellectuals of the Capitalist civilization differentiate between Islam and its followers i.e. between Islam and Muslims. However they attempt to delude the naïve from amongst Muslims, attempting to reduce the rancour against them when they strike a Muslim people, or when they attempt to spread the concepts of their civilisation among Muslims. They know that the Islamic ‘aqeedah still remains in the souls of Muslims and it is strong in the majority of them. So if they openly declare their enmity to Islam, they will stir up Muslims and provoke them. Thus they use these deceptive sentences as a weapon to anaesthetize Muslims and to deceive them. They concentrate in the definition of this dialogue upon three matters:

1. Equality between religions and civilisations in the dialogue without superiority or preference of a religion or civilisation over another.

2. The limit of the dialogue is restricted to mere knowledge of the other's opinions without addressing its refutation or invalidation.

3. Creating an alternative civilisation through the method of arriving at the common denominators between the two religions and two civilisations.

A.   Equality and equivalence between religions and civilisations, and non-preference between a religion and another or a civilisation and another. How strange for the one claiming Islam, then he equalises between Islam and kufr, between atheism and trinity and tawheed, between the denier of the Prophethood of Muhammad and the believer in it, between the worship of Allah and worshipping creatures, between fornication and marriage, between permitting homosexuality and forbidding it., tawheed to polytheism, halal to haram. Subordination is rejected, equality is rejected, and remaining about the preference of Islam .

B.  Accepting the other as it is and discovering it without pronouncing judgments against it, but rather understanding and recognizing its views without restriction or condition. "Say: 'O you disbelievers! I do not worship that which you worship. And you do not worship what I worship'" for dialogue with disbelievers (kafireen) and His swt saying: "If one of the polytheists seeks your protection, grant him protection until he hears the word of Allah then escort him to a place of safety" for dialogue with polytheists; this is an incorrect deduction and outside its context. Surat Al-Kafirun has pronounced a judgment against them, which is that they are kuffar and will remain upon their kufr without ever believing. Allah swt knew that they would never believe and He informed the Prophet (saw) about that. He (swt) commanded him to convey it to them and to reject their offer of mutual exchange of deities yearly. So there remains no place for dialogue after Allah swt informed that they would remain disbelievers until death. This Surah descended regarding specific people. Allah spoke the truth.

C.  The objective of dialogue between civilisations is interaction to create an alternative superior civilization through the means of seeking to find out what is common and human; a matter that leads to the advance and flourishing of civilisations, and spreading of peace. The objective of dialogue between religions is to prevent Islam from entering the arena of the struggle. This, in turn, leads to progress, flourishing and spreading peace. How bad is the deduction of this concept by someone using His swt saying: "Say: 'O People of the Book. Come to a just word between us: That we worship none but Allah nor associate anything with Him nor some of us taking each other as lords". [So he says: "This is a dialogue with others from a position of equality.' Then he interprets His swt saying: "To a just word" into the word "common (between us" (and) "we do not say we dialogue to (reach) to our word." This understanding of the ayah is slandering upon Allah, as the meaning of 'sawaa' is just ('adl), i.e. a just word which what the ayah explains subsequently. There is nothing in the ayah, whether in its wording or its meaning, that indicates we invite them to a common word. "We do not say that we dialogue to our word" so nothing remains except that he wants the common civilisation.

In brief, the clash of civilisations is an inevitable matter. It existed in the past, exists now and will remain until the clash ends shortly before the Hour, Do not be deceived by the callers to the dialogue who place their heads in the sand and condone humiliation and defeat. Make the preparations required for the conflict, since the Western civilisation has knocked you down militarily, politically and economically; however they will never defeat you intellectually. Your ‘aqeedah is hard to defeat; and it remains alive in the souls, except that some concepts of your civilisation coming out from your ‘aqeedah have been afflicted with some contamination and some dust has struck them. So work to purify them by returning to the Book and Sunnah. Beware of accepting a saying without evidence, or accepting a saying with evidence from a non-mujtahid. This is the period of ignorant leaders, who give fatawa without knowledge. So beware of them, and search for sincere active scholars, and take your deen from them, for they are the lamps in the darkness. And know, that the ultimate triumph and victory is for Islam and Muslims. Allah and His Messenger promised us in definite reports so be confident in the good promise of Allah.