Saturday, September 10, 2016

'Muslims, Stand Up for Refugees'

THE THREAT TO ISLAM

Islam does not accept the idea, widespread amidst the West (mainly the non-Muslims), of a boundary between the inner life of man and his public actions. This belief (i.e. the Islamic belief that there is no boundary between the inner life of man and his public actions) may become a sure force that will convince non-Muslims to rediscover the link between daily life and a moral order. But in doing so it goes against the current conventional Western wisdom. For some time already, the very notion of Islam makes the non-Muslims tremble. They think that the Muslim world is heading towards a confrontation with the other parts of the world who do not share its beliefs. This thus makes the European and even the US (Americans) very nervous. A quick analysis of the current situation where Islam is seen as a blood-thirsty religion only reinforces this fear. But they forget the many wrongs, the murders of poor and defenceless Muslims which they committed in order to conquer lands and properties, but primarily to eradicate Islam from these places.

In Europe, more than twenty years ago, Bosnian Muslims were, for a long brutally mistreated by the Serbians who theoretically are Christians. On the border between Europe and Asia, Armenians Christians annihilated Azerbaijanis (Azeri) Muslims, and Jews and Muslims to this day continue to kill each other in Palestine. Further to the East, there is the brutality of the Indian army in Kashmir, and the destruction in 1992 of the Ayodhya mosque by the Hindus. Such bitter experiences suggest to the Muslims that the world is against them. If this is the case, so they are against the world. This explains the xenophobia that foreigners are murdered by terrorists who brandish Quranic verses in Iraq and Syria and in other Islamic states.


Islam and the Battles of Future

It seems that over time, and with the demise of the communist bloc, appeared a new kind of cold war”. Although this war is in its infancy we are already feeling the first tremors. We can call this new war as war of civilizations that currently inhabit the planet, among which two major forces seem strong enough to be qualified to play a significant role in the future. The first is the west, the Euro-American culture and its products such as renaissance, freedom (of thoughts and acts) and reformation. It also represents the progenitor of capitalism and democracy, as understood in the West. The second is Islam.

There is good reason that Islam represents, in the eyes of a majority of people, the only force capable of countering the ideological hegemony of the West in this new century (the twenty-first century). The reason is that Islam is based on a certainty: the certainty of the word of God, revealed syllable by syllable to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in a remote corner of Arabia, 1450 years (lunar year) back and inscribed under his instruction in the Holy Quran. So to cement a civilization, there is nothing better than such certainty. Moreover - and this does not happen elsewhere - new recruits, adherents join that claim of certainty (i.e. Islam). Whether through the repeated defeats inflicted on Muslims from the outside or by the incompetence of our own governments, those 40 or more years have seen a staggering rise of what is called outside (i.e. the West) as fundamentalism. We hate that term, but it is not, alas, untrue. A large section of that people wants to prove to the world that they can do better. To enable this they must find their lost identity. This is what makes the hair of Europeans and Americans stand straight with fear. In their minds, they see a crescent (of new moon, representing Islam) closing on all sides of Europe and America.

And in the East, we find in the heart itself of Europe, a Muslim state, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Recall those days in the past, in early March 1994, when the United States presided over the creation of a new Bosnian federation, to then preside over its destruction.

Nowadays, you see throughout the world, how Muslims in the world are humiliated and persecuted. There are many who are killed daily in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Palestine etc.

Reclaiming Jihad for the Victims

No Muslim government has so far had the courage to tell other nations of the world that in such a situation, Islam allows Jihad. The thirst for temporal power has so totally enslaved them to the great powers of this world that they have forgotten the power of Allah. The Islamic Jihad cannot be an individual initiative, without preconditions. Jihad, the true one must be properly applied, with all due respect to the innocent as I explained in my previous sermons. Unfortunately, the concept of Jihad remains poorly understood in the Muslim world. If we must use force, we must do so within the limits prescribed by God (Allah) and His Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). All requirements must be met.

In the atmosphere of war and panic, almost five million of our Syrian brothers and sisters had to leave their country to European countries such as France, but in contrast, the French Government, racist and fearful of the Muslim mass who would enter the French territory has selectively chosen just a small number of these migrants to enter French Soil. 

Since 2011, just over 10,000 Syrians have been granted refugee status or granted subsidiary protection in France. This is a paltry figure in view of the magnitude of the migration crisis and the place which the issue of migrants holds in the public debate. Turkey hosts nearly 2.7 million, Lebanon over 1 million.

Hijra: Migration under Persecution

The principle itself of Hijra is to emigrate from a country where you are persecuted for another where you will be free to pursue your struggle. Therefore comes into the picture the first and most important responsibility of Muslim countries. They have to come forward and present themselves for the Jihad and give shelter to refugees, our Muslims brothers, sisters and children who are persecuted and who are forced to leave their homes and countries for other places or countries. These Muslim states/ government need to help and train them so they can regain their country, even by force. 

This is not my word. I do not say it as a bloodthirsty Messiah, but I say this as a Messiah and Messenger of God who applies the law of the Quran and Sunnah. These people are persecuted, abused and killed and they have every right to use force to protect their own people in self-defence, and their country; Country that have been snatched from them because they were Muslims. The violence and atrocities made against the Muslims bear witness to a historic crossing, a new level in the rejection of Islam.

Stand Up for Refugees

I appeal to all members of the Muslim community that they welcome these exiles, with open arms; without forgetting the orphans, to whom attention must be paid. We all need to do our best to take care of the children who were orphaned at our own expense, only for the cause of Allah. It is urgent to welcome them and offer them affection and security, raising them in Muslim homes. 

At country level where adoption is easy, Muslims must take advantage of the situation and act as mentors/ tutors to them. Adoption, as we know it, is not recognized in Islam. In Islam, the adopted child has no inheritance rights; adoptive parents also are not entitled to the child's privileges or to the various potential benefits (such as naturalization). In this context, Muslim governments have a crucial role to play. They can act as tutors for specific periods. Serving (Caring for) these children, for 10 to 15 years, would be a great blessing of Allah.


I hope that members of the Muslim community, especially the members of my Jamaat – the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam – today and in the future, will respond positively to this project. May Allah enable the Muslim governments to react and respond to this call and come forward in the perfect way to Islam. This is the time of the Islamic Jihad and all Islamic countries must participate in it. Do not be afraid of the infidels. Let’s make Islam our strength and not our weakness. Do not denigrate Islam to say that these teachings are just stories of the past, tales of the ancient. No, no and no.

Let us stand up to assert the true identity of Islam as the best way of life of man, and let us remember that Islam shall shine again if we are all united in this sacred cause. Insha-Allah, Ameen.....

HAJJ 2016

Hajj begins today 09 September 2016 in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Thus, I wish all hajjis who have converged on the Sacred House to reap the pleasure of Allah in this spiritual bath they are about to take for these few precious days of their lives. May Allah accept their Hajj and protect them against all calamities and save their Islam from any destruction. Ameen.

-- Friday Sermon of 09 September 2016 ~ (07 Dhul Hijjah 1437 AH), delivered by Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.