The following documentary was aired at the International Economics Conference organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir in Khartoum, Sudan on January 3rd 2009.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، وعلى آله وصحبه ومن والاه، وبعد
Distinguished Audience
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
You have been witnessing the global financial crisis; the flames of which started in the United States of America and engulfed other countries by the arm of capitalism and the splinters of globalisation such that no country could be immune to the scorching effects of its flames - however small or far-away it may be.
Similarly, you have been witnessing the various ‘solution' packages to overcome the crisis being prepared around the world. These solution packages are being drawn up by individual countries as well as alliances and unions in their conferences and summits such as the European Union, the Group of 20 in Washington, and the Lima Summit and the Qatar Summit etc...but these packages have not resulted in solving the crisis; rather these solutions have at best only provided a short-term and momentary respite, lasting only days or even a few hours before the crisis returns to haunt them again.
Distinguished Audience!
A keen observer who examines the rulers and the economists of these countries will find that in terms of these solutions, there have been two approaches to solve the crisis:
The first is the one which has been based upon the shutting of eyes to the very principles of the corrupt capitalistic system that caused this crisis in the first place. This category has ‘worked out solutions' based on the outward symptoms and not examined the real inner causes behind these symptoms. They have concluded that the financial institutions have lost liquidity; therefore they decided to pump billions and billions to provide these financial institutions with liquidity. They felt that the investments and financial markets are stagnant and frozen; therefore they decided to reduce interest rates on loans in order to encourage lending and thereby stir up the markets. They saw that shares, bonds and financial instruments have lost most of their value and crossed the red-light; so they decided that the state should intervene and buy the fallen shares and bonds.
Thus in their attempts to treat the problem, they focused on the outward and apparent symptoms and closed their eyes to the real basis of the corrupt and failed capitalistic system, which was left as it was. They forgot or ignored that the system itself was responsible for the crisis and therefore all their solutions were merely a consolation, and provided a temporary drug fix to overcome the effects of the crisis for some moments before the crisis re-emerged even stronger and destructive than before.
Their examples are that of the man who observes a deep crack in the walls of his house and rushes to fetch some cement mixture and paint to fill and cover the crack and presumes that he has solved the problem and retires to the bed for some rest! Moments later the crack re-emerges, not strange or surprising at all, because the man only treated the crack and not the actual deeper cause that caused the crack in the first place, which was weakness in the foundation.
Thus, this category was the one that merely covered the crack and ignored its real cause.
As for the other category, the basic principles of the corrupt and failed capitalistic system were not totally ignored and solutions for the crisis were sought, however, they restricted their thought and searched for solutions within the two systems and did not look beyond to the third option. They looked at the communist system, which already had failed and disintegrated, and capitalism which is shaking but not dead yet. They view capitalism with all its fault lines and shortcomings as better than socialist communism. Hence for a solution, they approached the critics of capitalism's failures and asked them:"What is the alternative then?" while fully knowing that there is no alternative and that socialist communism should not be accepted as the solution and they and their economists do not look beyond these two systems: The failed and disintegrated communism and rapidly cracking capitalism on the verge of collapse whose head has not hit the ground yet!
Strangely, this group either neglected or is unaware of an economic system which has stood the test of time over centuries and lasted longer than any other system can boast; has proved safe and provided security, and led people to enjoy economically prosperous and secure lives free from the scaring worries and uncertainties of crises for thirteen centuries, during which time one had to hunt for a destitute person to feed from the bait ul maal of the Muslims! And yet one could not find the destitute. As opposed to this, there are millions of poor and needy people even in the wealthiest of nations. This is the direct result of economic systems of either capitalism or communism, which have resulted in such human hardships and misery.
Indeed, it is strange that this group ignores the fair and equitable economic system of Islam which for centuries provided safe & secure economic prosperity to people without misery and exploitation.
This group presumes that there are only two alternative economic systems, capitalism or communism and all their efforts and searches are restricted to these two systems alone: either the state sector owns everything or the individuals that constitute the private sector owns everything, there is no third option for them. Either the state owns agriculture, industry and trade, whereby it becomes socialist communist ownership; or the companies and individuals own agriculture, industry and trade, whereby it becomes private ownership and free markets and the state would not interfere in the financial markets!
If only this group could look at these economic sectors it would find that they are very different to each other. Owning a deep mine of minerals or petrol is not the same as owning a house or a piece of land; neither is owning petro-chemical plants or various energy generating units or a weapons manufacturing facility the same as owning a cotton weaving factory or a sweet meat confectionary; and neither is owning a railway network similar to car ownership.
If this group examines the economic system of Islam, it would find that wealth and properties are grouped into three distinct categories:
The First: These are public properties whose revenues are disbursed among the Ummah after deductions for incurred costs; these include mines-whether of solid minerals or liquids like petrol or gases etc... all these are public properties and it is not permissible for the state, or individuals or private companies to own them. Rather, they are public property under the guardianship of the state and the proceeds from these properties are distributed among them after incurred costs are deducted.
The Second: These are the state properties and are used at the discretion of the state, which spends the revenues generated from these for its own expenses and investments in agriculture, industry and trade etc. which are not in the public sector, and also from this may be spent to create balance between people in terms of wealth as has been detailed in the economic system of Islam.
The Third: These are the individual properties which are owned by persons in the agriculture, industrial and trade sector and excluding the public & state properties and are detailed in the economic system of Islam.
Islam has identified these properties with mind boggling precision:
First Example: Transportation:
Islam has distinguished between various forms of transport like those that move on tracks such as the railways, or the electric-operated over ground tramways and trolley buses; and those moving on asphalt roadways etc. like cars and buses.
The first group invariably uses public utility and proceeds along fixed permanent tracks, like the railways that run that shuttle over railway tracks upon the ground and the electric cable system which uses the over ground or underground tracks. Since these are public properties, these must always be reserved for the public sectors and it is not allowed for the state, companies or the individuals to own them, they are eternally for the public sector only. Thus, the trains, tramways and trolley buses etc must always be owned by the public sector under the state supervision and their revenues must be disbursed to the people after deducting incurred costs.
As for the buses and cars, they move over roads that are not reserved in a permanent fashion for them alone, but are capable of being used freely by others. In addition cars and buses can also be owned by the state as well as individuals which implies that it is permitted for the state, and permitted for individuals and permitted for companies to own them.
Second Example: Electricity:
Electricity is used to drive plants i.e. it is used as fuel for engines, for lighting etc.
As for its use in the plants, it is described as ‘fire' in the hadeeth:
«الناس شركاء في ثلاث الماء والكلأ والنار»
"People are partners in three; Water, Pastures and Fire."
Therefore, ‘fire' includes all that implied by it in terms of energy, whether derived from burning of trees, coal or electricity etc. all of these would be categorised under the public wealth and the state, individuals or companies are not allowed to own these sources of electricity used as fuel to drive industrial plants. These resources are public properties supervised by state and revenues generated from these are to be disbursed to the state citizens after deduction of costs.
As for the use of electricity for the purpose of lighting, it is not a part of the public properties and is not implied by the term ‘fire'. It is therefore allowed for the state, individuals and companies to own electric generators for the purpose of lighting private houses or offices under the condition that electricity cables are not extended into the public domain, whereby they would be subjected to the public wealth group.
I would only cite these two examples to illustrate the preciseness with which Islam has categorised wealth into three domains.
Despite the fact that this exhaustive and comprehensive system is not merely a philosophical ideology lost in the pages of books, but rather is the economic system that had been implemented continuously for the longest period of recorded economic history; we say that this group of capitalists has chosen to shut its eyes and ignore it without searching it for solutions to their problems.
Thus, this group of capitalists has also failed to find real solutions for the economic crisis because they confined their search to the two failed man-made systems and ignored the truth of the rightful economic system. Their example is that of one who has eyesight but cannot see, and if he opens his eyes does not ask for the alternative for which he has been searching, even if it were in front of him staring him in !
Distinguished Audience!
Indeed the economic system of Islam under the Khilafah "Caliphate" state is the only system that provides a secure and prosperous economic life, free from calamities and crises for the people.
This is the system revealed and mandated by Allah سبحانه وتعالى, who is the Creator and knows what is best for His creatures, He سبحانه وتعالى says:
أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
"Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves), the Well-Acquainted (with everything)." [TMQ al-Mulk 67:14]
I pray to Allah سبحانه وتعالى, success for your conference and that during the course of it, you are able to appreciate that the economic system of Islam is truly and rightfully the one that provides a secure and prosperous economic life, free from calamities and crises.
والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Sheikh Abu Yasin Ata ibn Khalil Abu Rashta
Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir
27/12/2008 Israel has been brutally bombing regions in Gaza from the air. The people of Gaza have been resisting the aggression with their bare chests, carrying their souls on their palms, in bravery that has few comparisons. Many were martyred and hundreds have been wounded.
After delivering a speech in front of the US embassy, the demonstrators of Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) marched to the Lebanese Embassy located in Kuningan area, Jakarta. The representatives of HTI were received by the Lebanese Ambassador for Indonesia, Victor Zmeter. HTI submitted the nasyrah for him and asked Lebanon to stand guard over the Palestinians. The Ambassador stated that the problem of Palestine is a humanitarian problem and not the problem of the Muslim ummah.
More than 300 Palestinians had been martyred in the worst air attacks of the last forty years by the terrorist state of Israel while close to thousand are wounded. And now Israel has completed the preparation for the ground assault. In protest against the silence adopted by the Muslim rulers in this horrible situation and their collusion with the Jews
Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah of Pakistan demonstrated in Lahore at LAHORE PRESS CLUB against the massacre of Muslims in Gaza and the endorsement and criminal silence of the Muslim rulers over the issue.
Muslim rulers top list in giving gifts to the Whitehouse
Rulers of the Middle East were the biggest spenders, when it came to showering the Whitehouse with gifts. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a $165,000 ruby and diamond necklace, earrings, bracelet and ring, along with a $170,000 flower petal motif necklace. Jordan's King Abdullah gave her an emerald and diamond ring, bracelet, necklace and earrings, made of 19-carat white gold. Its price tag is $147,000. Even junior US officials were rewarded. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah gave deputy national security adviser Elliot Abrams a $1,435 Concord Mariner watch and Emily Harding, the director for Iran at the National Security Council, and Anita B. McBride, chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush, each got a $2,800 sterling silver Tiffany quartz watch. These are the very same rulers who publicly oppose America's war on terror and its support for Israel, but in private show their love and affection for American government officials.
وَإِذَا لَقُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قَالُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ شَيَـٰطِينِهِمۡ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا مَعَكُمۡ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُسۡتَہۡزِءُونَ
"And when they meet those who believe, they say: We believe. But when they are alone with their Evil-ones, they say: We are really with you, we by ourselves were only mocking." [TMQ 2:14]
America to fight wars in the Muslim world for 25 years
A report released by the US Joint Forces Command this week, states that the United States is committed to fighting insurgency in the Muslim world for 25 years. Rear Admiral John Richardson said the study attempting to project global threats over the next 25 years pointed mainly in one direction. "We see that the future will contain irregular types of threats," he said. "And we need to be able to respond to those threats and be as superior in the irregular warfare area as we are in the conventional warfare area."The report said that Mr Gates firmly supported a deeper US commitment to counter-insurgency in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. What the Pentagon calls "irregular warfare" covers everything from limited conventional war, with tanks and artillery, to urban warfare fighting insurgents, and includes the need to help foreign governments with everything from army and police training to building electrical grids, water systems and effective bureaucracies, the report added. It is plainly obvious that the existing solutions adopted by the leadership of the Muslim world has only entrenched American hegemony. The Muslim ummah must redouble its efforts to re-establish the Khilafah "Caliphate", which is the only available exit strategy from the yoke of western colonialism.
Iran fails to live up to Ahmadinejad's Christmas message
On 25/12/2008 President Ahmadinejad's Christmas message was broadcasted on British television. His message called upon the world to follow the teachings of the prophets. He said, "The solution to today's problems is a return to the call of the divine Prophets. The solution to these crises is to follow the Prophets - they were sent by the Almighty for the good of humanity." Predictably, his speech drew an angry response from human rights groups, the British public, the UK foreign office and Israel. Chief amongst their concerns was their defiant defence of western values. They collectively chided Ahmadinejad for his hatred towards homosexuals, denial of the holocaust and death to apostates. However, what was disappointing in the Muslim world was that no one chastised Ahmadinejad and Iranian leadership for refusing to implement Islam in its entirety, and failing to follow the Sunnah of the messenger (s.a.w) of Allah. The man-made Iranian laws, and Iran's blind obedience to international laws is tantamount to shirk and is condemned by Islam. But Ahmadinejad has conveniently overlooked this matter during his tenure as Iranian president and has chosen to tread a path of duplicity abhorred by the prophets and Islam. Allah says:
أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يَزۡعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمۡ ءَامَنُواْ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَتَحَاكَمُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱلطَّـٰغُوتِ وَقَدۡ أُمِرُوٓاْ أَن يَكۡفُرُواْ بِهِۦ وَيُرِيدُ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ أَن يُضِلَّهُمۡ ضَلَـٰلاَۢ بَعِيدً۬ا
"Have you seen those who claim that they believe in that which was sent down to you and before you and they wish to go for judgement to the Taghoot while they have been commanded to reject them? But Shaytaan wishes to lead them far astray." [4:60]
Afghans sell their children to keep alive
America's march for freedom and democracy has deprived afghan's of their honour, blood, life, security and now their children. Earlier this week it was revealed on British television that Afghan parents were being forced to sell their sons to wealthy women who could not have their own in order to look after their other children. Boys can fetch around $1,500 which is a large sum to poor families in the country where foreign aid goes no further than the government in Kabul. In the report, Sadiqa a rich women who bought an 8 year old boy said, "I have two aims here. First, to give this boy a bright future and a good education. And second, to save their other children. The winter's coming and I've given them money so the children don't die of hunger." In response the boy's father said," I sold a piece of my heart to stop my four other children dying of hunger. I don't have an elder son. I'm also sick. My kidney is failing. My body is in pain."
Pakistan may agree to a surgical strike by India
Shortly after the visit of Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on 22/12/2008 to Pakistan, rumours spread in the Pakistani media that Pakistan had agreed to Indian surgical strikes. The Pakistani media reported that Mullen had asked Pakistan not to retaliate in the event of an Indian surgical strike. The reports were later vehemently denied by the Gillani government, but the government's unwillingness to take a bold stance against India is only fuelling speculation. In fact government's recent concession to India supports the speculators. Zadari's pledge of no first nuclear strike, his willingness to dispatch ISI chief to India immediately after the Mumbai attacks and his apparent reluctance to block the UN resolution against Pakistan are indeed dangerous omens.
Initially it accused the Lashkar-e-Tayyibah group or accuses the Pakistani intelligence of training the attackers. But then the threats and warnings subsided and the Indian parliament discussed (on 17th December, 2008) tightening laws to prevent terrorism. Then threats and war hysteria is whipped up and Pakistani airspace is violated...All this demonstrates the prevailing confusion in the Indian government preventing a firm decision. What is the reality? Why is the Indian government wavering to take a resolute decision, and were these events local, regional or global?
