Many of you will be aware that the group Islam4UK has announced plans to hold a potentially incendiary rally in London later this month. And it is calling for a complete upheaval of the British legal system, its officials and legislation. Members have urged Muslims from all over Britain to converge on the capital on October 31 for a procession to demand the full implementation of sharia law.
We have sent an email to the group asking its leadership to re-evaluate their whole approach as they risk sparking explosive civil unrest and increased difficulties for British Muslims.
The email follows below:
Dear Webmasters of the website: www.Islam4uk.com
Assalaamualaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh - May the Peace and Blessings of Almighty Allah be upon you.
I have been carefully browsing your website and whilst your intentions to propagate Shariah Law into mainstream British Culture are admirable, I'm not quite sure that you fully understand the devastating repurcussions and consequences of your proposed march/demonstration on 31st October. I am very concerned to say the least.
The pictures that you have used on your website to demonstrate the aims of your group are doing nothing more than helping spread unneccesary hatred of the Islamic faith. Adding to that, the notorious reputation of one of the scholars whose talks that you promote on your site (Omar Bhakri) doesn’t grant you further credibility. Muslims up and down the country are already facing waves of continuous persecution and unjust oppression by right wing groups like the BNP and the EDL. Surely your activities will only serve to widen the divide between the Muslims and the Non-Muslims and will propel the advancement of forthcoming civil unrest, rapidly moving towards an age of intolerance and war.
What will be the difference between the Muslims and those groups? Both sides will be looked down upon as snakes sharing the same venom!
Whilst there naturally exists an urge or a desire within every Muslim of convincing non-Muslims around them to embrace the Islamic faith. This innocent motive does not warrant the forceful establishment of an Islamic State/Republic in the United Kingdom governed solely by Shariah Law.
I'm sure that you understand that there are pre-requisites and certain conditions need to be fulfilled before such work goes ahead. Primarily, there needs to be a sizeable Muslim majority of practicing Muslims that require greater integration and that sizeable majority would be the next step to moving towards or securing an Islamic framework or governance (based on a sizeable need or demand). There also needs to be a Caliph or leader for the Muslims and at present the Muslims are scattered under many different banners (to place it mildly).
If you look up and down the British Isles, Alhumdulillah the Muslims have approximately 1600 Masjids and Islamic Centres together with a massive Muslim population of Approximately 2.7 million individuals. And even though the rate of our growth has advanced due to a decline in the spread of Christianity and Judaism, we as a people and as a religious ethnicity are still a meagre minority, standing at just over 4% of the British population.
We are a tiny vessel sailing through an ocean of agnostics, atheists, materialists and secularists. Allah-forbid, but this vessel can easily be capsized, drowning each and everyone of its passengers.
A small minority of 4% are not in any position to demand anything like an upheaval of UK Legislation in favour of Shariah Law and be listened to.
For many thousands of years people's of all ethnicities, backgrounds, races and creeds have co-existed without exploiting sectarian differences and differences of belief. Muslim generations that had chosen to emmigrate to this country did so out of choice knowing full well the burdens the burdens that they will have to undertake. They were fortunate enough to be granted a permit to stay, they later became citizens, married, had children, contributed to the running of the country, paid the taxes and voted etc.
Overtime we have seen an evolution of rights and freedoms that had been extended to us, that now, our generation often seem to take for granted. We have been recognised as equals, we have been extended/given the same priveledges as everyone else and over the ages we have each become a valuable piece of this country, a national, this has become our home. We have been living in peace, asked to obey the rules and carry on doing what we have been doing and what we choose to do. And as I'm sure that you're aware breaking that peace is against Islamic practice:
Allah has forbidden treachery and has condemned those who do it. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They are those with whom you made a covenant, but they break their covenant every time and they do not fear Allah”
(Source: al-Anfaal 8:56)
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Every betrayer will have a banner on the Day of Resurrection, by which he will be known.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6966; Muslim, 1736)
Sure, we have been plagued with turbulent times where we've seen our economy rise and then fall into recession, our anger has grown with the way our leaders have ignored our requests to pull away and out of unneeded involvement in foreign wars, our loyalties have been tested with government after governement being dogged in sleaze, corruption and unaccountability. Sure there is fitnah everywhere we turn. Sure, there is usury, there is perverse exposure, there is alcohol, there is homosexuality and all the other evil activities of a Godless environment that don't fit in with our faith but these negative hits on our lives do not warrant the hostilities that you're happily driving forward.
Ask yourselves how can a Muslim minority of 4% overturn such a big majority peacefully?
The answer lies in engagement and not action as you may think. There is no Us Vs Them scenario as your minds have been led to believe.
We need to engage the public with our Daawah, (and no, this isn't an instant solution, it may take many many years, the movement may pass from us to our children and from them to their children, but we can be sure that atleast we're utilizing legal measures to make a lasting positive difference in the best interests of everyone) we need to engage with the public at the political level as this is where we have an opportunity to use the tools of the british system to our advantage and put across the beauty of the deen with the practices and policies that we adapt. As British Citizens, we are fortunate that we have certain rights that we have been granted from birth. We can create a political party, we can stand for election democratically and keep on campaigning for support. There are mechanisms such as these in place for concerned Muslims to exhaust. At present our political arena is tainted with sleaze allegations, corruption and unaccountability.
Governments should realize that they are not investment companies, whose main concern is making a profit from their citizens. Rather their main role is to serve their citizens, make things easier for them, and be kind towards them.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed: “O Allaah, whoever is put in charge of any of the affairs of my ummah and treats them harshly, treat him harshly, and whoever is put in charge of any of the affairs of my ummah and treats them kindly, treat him kindly.”
(Source: Narrated by Muslim, 1828)
These officials should realize that tomorrow they will be standing before Allaah and accounting for their deeds, being rewarded or punished for them. Each ruler, official and minister will be asked about all of those who were under their authority: “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock…”
May Allaah be pleased with ‘Umar, for he used to say: “If a mule stumbles in Iraq (which was on the edge of the Islamic state at that time), Allaah will ask me on the Day of Resurrection, ‘Why did you not maintain the road for it, O ‘Umar?’”
The questioning on the Day of Resurrection will be to such an extent, even about animals – so how about the thousands and millions of people who are subjected to oppression and wrongful treatment?
Nations become strong when justice prevails, and nations decline because of injustice.
Hence it was said that Allaah supports just nations even if they are kaafirs, and He does not support unjust nations even if they are Muslims. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No sin brings a swifter punishment than injustice and severing the ties of kinship.” The unjust person will be punished in this world even if he is forgiven and granted mercy in the Hereafter. That is because justice is the foundation of all things. If a thing is based on justice it will endure, even if its founder has no share in the Hereafter. If it is not based on justice then it will not endure, even if its founder has faith for which he will be rewarded in the Hereafter.
(Source: Majmoo’ al-Fataawa by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, 28/146)
A political avenue exists and there is still enough room for a totally committed and dedicated Islamic group to enter the political race and broadcast their aims and objectives for all to see. We can realistically pool together and convince the people that we are striving to work in their interests to save them and ourselves from the tyranny of the oppresive systems that are prevalent and dominant within our societies. Our focus should be on winning them over holistically so that they elect us with full confidence, and so that we have unanimous support and growth in our numbers, because indeed our strength lies in our numbers.
Right now, by invoking Shariah Law on the whole of the UK you are both demonizing Muslims and alienating non-Muslims in one foul swoop, by forcing everyone to abide by your maxims. At present, I feel that you are 'trying to walk before you can crawl'.
We have a democracy and I suggest that you use it before being dismissed by Muslims and those outside the fold of Islam as extremists and religious wacko's that deserve to be locked up.
The Muslims of today do not have a substantial majority, nor do they have any significant resource and niether do they have the support of the Ulama as you point out in one of your articles. In such catastrophic times, the Muslim community needs to tread wisely and be productive rather than collectively enjoin in intolerant and counter productive activities that will only intimidate non-Muslims further.
Your renewed focus should be on:
1). Spreading Islam through peaceful means to non-Muslims, educating them and empowering them peacefully to support our cause.
2). Uniting the existing Muslim factions and sects (strengthening our brotherhood, this in turn will help promote solidarity and will 'pull in the crowd'), We may boast that the Muslims have 2.7 million Muslims and approximately 1600 Masjids and Islamic centres up and down the country. But we know the truth of the matter, our Islamic presence is nothing more than 4% and add to that the irony of those 1600 establishments accomodating a mismatch of sects and intolerant attitudes towards one another. We need to strengthen our own communities first before spoon feeding Islam to the masses.
3). Setting up an active political party to engage with the public and provide adequate Muslim representation, engaging with existing politicians and the public to re-evaluate the framework that governs us.
4). Once we have a good enough majority it would seem appropriate to call for or invoke change.
I sincerely ask you to rethink and re-evaluate your strategy.
May Almighty Allah guide you towards the truth and may he guide me along the right path also.
Jazakallahu-Khair
Brother
p.s. a copy of this email will be appearing on 'www.intellectualmuslim.blogspot.com' to warn our readers to think twice before participating in such direct and inappropriate action that is going to stir up nothing but trouble for the wider Muslim community of the UK.
Read more...
