After the tragic deaths of Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha and her younger sister Razan Abu-Salha, there is an immediate need to make sense of a senseless and abhorrently violent act. After the shock, anger and overwhelming grief, the Muslim population was left with the question ‘why?' Why had three, young, bright, charitable students with a shining reputation by all accounts, been shot dead in the assumed safety of their own home? Initial reports questioned the motive and largely pointed at an ongoing dispute over parking. Such claims were met by outrage across the Muslim community who called for further investigation and for the event to be addressed as a hate crime. The exact details of that day are not fully known and may never come to light but parking dispute or not, hate crime or not, the cold-blooded murder of three young Muslim students by an aggravated white male must not be viewed in isolation nor as a rogue incident. The immediate, widespread and united Muslim response calling for justice, fair reporting and unbiased investigation is telling of the atmosphere under which Muslims are living. When a minority group is forced to campaign, rally and petition for fair treatment, it can be assumed that it is borne out of a history of unfair treatment, subjugation and continued injustices.

Orchestrated Atmosphere - The decade long War on Terror, invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and almost daily drone attacks across the Muslim world have irreversibly changed the Muslim image and their landscape of existence. Today, the average Muslim lives against a backdrop of distrust, fear and loathing in an atmosphere which has been intentionally fuelled and ignited by media bias, sensationalism and political fear mongering. The position Muslims find themselves in today is little to do with the actions of Muslims themselves and everything to do with the orchestrated atmosphere and common narrative that is presented to society.

The likes of Fox News are broadly recognized for their far-right stances, grossly misinformed reporting and antagonistic commentary but perhaps more disturbing is the broader media's complete omission of stories which do not serve the common narrative. There has been speculation that had it not been for social media1, the story of Deah, Yusor and Razan may never have made it to news outlets. Case in point, the last week and a half alone has seen at least five incidents of Islamophobic hate crimes which failed to feature in mainstream media. This unquestionably skewed presentation of events serves to maintain the false image of Muslims being backward, misogynist and terrorist. The more recent and subtle addition to this has been the implied guilt of a Muslim if he is merely perceived to hold particular political opinions. The disproportionate and fear mongering representation of ISIS is one such tool used to malign and relegate the idea of an Islamic Caliphate or in fact, any political process taken from religious doctrine, thereby successfully making the bearded brown man and veiled woman who support Muslim autonomy, synonymous with ‘terrorist' and ‘the enemy.' Thus the desired tone of public opinion is successfully calibrated.

Maligned and Demonized Population - Both the subtle, implied undertones and overt degradation and discrimination result in a successfully maligned and demonized sect of society. The elected officials in positions of authority, who are tasked with representing the common man, are instead enacting laws which profile and accuse particular blocks of the community in the absence of any actual crime. The Stop and Frisk laws are known to both anecdotally and statistically target people of color, the majority of whom are never convicted of any wrongdoing. Similarly, the incendiary statements from politicians, TSA racial profiling, FBI entrapment, NYPD Muslim surveillance program, anti-Sharia law bills and the recent CTS bill in the UK, all seek to achieve the same ends.

Justified ‘Hate' - A dehumanized, presumptively guilty party invites a dangerously justified hate towards the said group of people. The movie, ‘American Sniper' is one such example of publically accepted propaganda. The mere existence of this movie and the welcome it received demonstrates the self-righteousness and arrogant authority the American population is allowed and taught to assume over the Muslim world, both in thought and in action. It not only justifies invasion and destruction of Muslim lands abroad - even in the absence of true cause and reason - but also allows the more subtle association of Muslims in America with ‘the enemy' abroad. The rise in acts of aggression, racism and discrimination against Muslims and other minority communities are a direct consequence of this justified hate.

The Excused Party - Having created the assumed guilty party, there then emerges the inevitably ‘innocent' and excused party and it is no coincidence that the latter is the white majority power house. When the image of the angry black man, the lowly immigrant and the Muslim terrorist have sufficiently permeated the common thought and become the prevalent idea, it allows for the brazen, unapologetic dismissal of the ‘other'. America has seen a shocking number of black men, women and even children shot by white police officers who are cleared of wrongdoing and more shocking still, maintain their positions of power, rendering them untouchable and ironically above the law they enforce.

This further serves to maintain the status quo and the necessary lines of division between the evil and the innocent, the enemy and the victim, the minority and majority. It is no wonder then that the horrific acts of the likes of Craig Hicks will quickly be supported with a plethora of excuses and reasons. Minority communities are all too familiar with the lone wolf, the mentally unstable man and the rogue criminal, who exist in abundance when an act of aggression against them is committed by a member of the majority. In the case of Chapel Hill, even ‘ongoing parking dispute' is offered as a pathetic excuse for the execution of three Muslims.

Recourse - Having been assigned the role of the enemy in a sufficiently tense atmosphere of hate and fear, the Muslim has no assumed, established or protected path to recourse when under attack. Campaigns on social media, petitions to the White House and press conferences are all attempts to redress the uneven scales, and are NOT part of the justice system that protects other citizens of America. Muslims are forced to operate at the fringes of the system and fight against, not within it, to achieve the same outcome that is otherwise a given right to the majority. The fact that the father of the two slain girls has to publicly call the American President to account, demand a thorough investigation and request consideration of the nature of the crime is testimony to the barriers to justice faced by Muslims.

Standards of Accountability - Muslim minorities are assessed using a different set of standards to the majority of America. The Chapel Hill victims were known to be inspirational members of society, well educated, charitable, friendly and sociable, productive and with promising careers. Despite all of this, they were brutally murdered simply for their identity as Muslims.

The temptation to abandon any identifiably Islamic characteristics such as a beard or hijab would only serve to further alienate the resolute and increase the likelihood of future attacks. While any other person would be judged based on their character, this is no longer enough for a Muslim. In this climate, the Muslim is deemed less than human, no matter how significant their humanity.

Regardless of the outcome of the Chapel Hill investigation and whether it is given recognition of being a hate crime, the reasons for and means with which Muslims are having to call for justice, tells its own story of Muslims in America and it's a story that is being perpetuated the world over.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Umm Ruqayyah

References

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/chapel-hill-shooting-would-the-media-have-covered-the-tragedy-if-twitter-didnt-exist-and-what-would-have-happened-if-the-murderer-was-muslim-10044850.html

2. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dilly-hussain/counter-terorism-bill_b_6567208.html

3. http://www.cair.com/islamophobia.html

On Wednesday, 18th February (2015), in response to a question from an MP during the Prime Minister's question time in the "holy" Parliament, Sheikh Hasina paid no attention to "the Parliament's sanctity" and blatantly lied against Hizb ut Tahrir by claiming that the party engages in "subversive activities." We strongly protest her statement and condemn it. The truth of the matter is that Sheikh Hasina's party, the Awami League is the master in carrying out subversive activities and violence against the people including arson, vandalism, destruction of people's property and killing and maiming them. When it is out of power, it resorts to such militant acts in its street agitations and when it is in power, it resorts to using brutal force against the people with iron and fire as it is doing now, not to mention the militancy of its student wing, Chatra League, for the past five years.

In contrast to that, Hizb ut Tahrir restricts its activities to intellectual and political actions and the party is committed to that due to its commitment to the commands and prohibitions of Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw). The party strictly adheres to the method of political work undertaken by RasulAllah (saw) to establish the Islamic State which did not include performing acts of violence in any form.

Sheikh Hasina mentioned other issues about Hizb ut Tahrir in her statement such as the party is linked with the BNP and its allies etc. We do not find it worth responding in detail to such ridiculous claims because it is clear as day to all the aware people that Hizb ut Tahrir shuns the Awami League and BNP alliances' politics equally and works to remove the current ruling system completely.

Truly, Sheikh Hasina and the MPs are getting restless due to the success of Hizb ut Tahrir's political work. This is clear from the fact that the MP's question was concerning a poster which is part of the on-going campaign by Hizb ut Tahrir titled, "Oh People! For the immediate removal of Sheikh Hasina and the current ruling system, and establishing the Khilafah "Caliphate", the sincere military officers have to be contacted and organized; support and actively participate with Hizb ut Tahrir in this work."
Let Sheikh Hasina and the advocates of the current ruling system be clear that their lies and vicious tactics against the party will not succeed and the Khilafah "Caliphate" will return soon.

«ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ»

"...Then the Khilafah "Caliphate" will return according to the way of Prophethood." [Reported by Ahmad]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Bangladesh
https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDemandBD2

News:

Prime Minister Davutoglu introduced Transparency Package in Public Administration. [Source: All News Agencies]

Comment:

These are some of the package details introduced by Prime Minister Davutoglu:
1- Financial donations to political parties will be accessible online for all to see. Those who fail to follow the required actions will be levied with fines. Before and after elections parties have to declare all financial resources.

2- In addition, all monetary aid to members of Parliament and mayors will be made to the election campaign accounts provided to them, which will be highly visible.

Also changes have been made in the law against corruption. Some of those are as follows:

1- Those who embrace a public duty, a public responsibility, a responsibility of trust upon the people have to assume an obligation. The deputy chairman and provincial heads of the political parties that are in Parliament will be obliged to present a declaration of assets. They will present a declaration of assets to the Parliament.

2- The renewal period of asset declarations will be reduced from 5 to 2 years. Interims declarations will be removed. Effectively taking part in the eyes of the Shareholders of the ethics commission. Top manager's declarations of wealth will be compared with each other.
In short these were some of the points to be changed.

The government's aim by this is to present an allegedly government confronting corruption and working more transparently. Alongside this, the sweeping away of the charges against four former ministers whose names were involved in a series of corruptions, has led to some discomfort among the population and among its own voter base. At that point the government had some more or less difficulties in convincing its own voter base. That this transparency package was presented after the purifying of those four ministers involved in corruption affairs by the commission founded for this purpose, and that the government took this step immediately after this, and the announcement of this package by Prime Minister Davutoglu with a big show; is a meaningful development. Under normal circumstances, while such packages are being introduced by a minister or a lower status official, in recent times especially some packages of this kind are being announced by the Prime Minister himself. It seems that this is being used as a method to present the government to the public as an upright one. Thus it is being to send the message that this government will advance towards corruption no matter who would be involved, and that nobody will be shown tolerance in this matter. Since the foundation of the Republic, all governments supposedly took precautions in order to prevent corruption, however they have always failed. This is because they place benefit above everything else, and thus rule over the people by the capitalist system which is the source of mischief. The capitalist system itself forms the basis for malpractice and corruption. And every governmental institution is designed upon this system which is based upon benefit. Roses do not grow on morass. Meaning, that their will never arise goodness (khayr) out of this peccable system. And those governments who come to rule, try to find a solution for this problem - either knowing or not knowing - through addressing the subject instead of the cause of the action. If the government is truly honest in this cause - whereby we think that it is not - than there is only one thing to do. And that is to abandon this capitalist system and instead to implement the Islamic system which will bring tranquility to mankind in every aspect of live. Only than this government will have success in this and in all other matters.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
YILMAZ ÇELİK

Bangladesh has turned into a frightening death zone due to the power-mongering and vindictive politics of Awami-BNP. On the one hand Awami League has gifted the country forced disappearances and killings, thus turning the country into a ‘Fira'uni State'; on the other hand BNP has nothing to offer but ‘the politics of petrol bomb' and wanton destruction of life and property. In the midst of all these, the political arena, television talk shows, seminars and roundtable meetings are abuzz with the idea of ‘dialogue and fair elections' as a solution to this political mayhem. In truth, all these propositions address the symptoms of the problem while avoiding the root cause of it. The fact of the matter is that Bangladesh is plagued by ‘Democracy' - a highly fatal disease for which there is no cure. By leaving this disease untreated, there is no brighter future ahead through ‘dialogue and fair election' only.

History is witness that democracy has never brought any people good governance and peace since this system bestows unfettered legislative power upon a small group of political elite as a substitute for Allah (swt). That being the case, not unexpectedly, democratic political parties' objective becomes to anyhow gain and retain power for which they vie with one another, and the common people become victims of this Machiavellian politics. Bangladesh is not the only country to reflect such a picture; rather Europe and America depict the same scenario. In his book, ‘The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again', Tom Ridge, former Homeland Security Chief under Bush administration, admitted that he was pressured to raise the nation's terror alert level just before the 2004 presidential election as an effort to influence the vote. Across the world, this is the same picture of democracy, which is nothing but a useful tool of the elites to make their fortune.

Oh sincere and aware intellectuals!

Hizb utTarir, calls upon you to desist from distracting the people with the vague and impractical term ‘real democracy' as a solution to the destructive politics Awami-BNP. Till today the world never witnessed any such thing as ‘real democracy', whereas the Islamic ruling system, the Khilafah "Caliphate" state had ruled over the world for more than 1300 years. Hence if you indeed seek the well-being of the people, then bring forth the discussion of the Khilafah "Caliphate" ruling system as an alternative and help Hizb ut Tahrir in creating public opinion for this. The sincere and aware members and activists of Hizb ut Tahrir are ready and willing to meet with you to discuss and present the details of the Khilafah "Caliphate" system.

Oh Muslims!

How much longer will you let this western-backed Awami-BNP politics betray you? When Islam is the only Deen acceptable to Allah (swt), then why do you every time choose those who rule by other than what He (swt) has revealed? Replacing one government by another while keeping the Kufr democratic system in place will not bring an end to the oppressive ruling. Therefore, we call upon you to raise the demand for Khilafah "Caliphate" to the sincere military officers who have the material power to transform the ruling -

• Make your family members, relatives, friends and acquaintances who are officers in the military aware about the obligation of the Khilafah "Caliphate" and call upon them to give their Nusrah (material support) to Hizb ut Tahrir to establish it.

• Aid Hizb ut Tahrir and actively participate with it in the work of contacting and organizing the sincere military officers for the immediate removal of tyrant Hasina and the current ruling system and establishing the Khilafah "Caliphate".

Remember that any negligence in working for the Khilafah "Caliphate" will bring you humiliation and disgrace in this world and in the Hereafter.

((وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى))

"But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. Qur'an) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection." [Surah Ta-Ha: 124]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Bangladesh
https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDemandBD2