As the Muslim world continues to suffer at the hands of the colonialists and their puppet regimes, the effects of these conflicts have reached the shores of the colonialists themselves. The media in recent weeks has been occupied by the refugee “crisis” which has seen 350,000 people attempt to make it to Europe. These refugees are from all over the Muslim world including Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Albania and many more. Thousands of individuals have died due to their boats capsizing, many have suffocated due to the tight spaces in lorries and lack of medical treatment. The image of our brother Ayan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea is fresh in many of our minds. But despite this much of the narrative surrounding the issue has been clouded by propaganda and outright lies. This article will analyse some of these.
1. Europe is leading the world in accepting so many refugees
The benefits of immigration have long been known by capitalist economists. An increased number of people living in a country will increase the size of the workforce. This in turn leads to greater production which translates into greater GDP. The UK for example, has seen a net benefit of £20bn from those who have immigrated into the UK. The same applies to much of Europe who opened their borders to outside immigrants and have reaped similar economic benefits. The purpose of the capitalist economic system is to commodify everything, even people.
The need for immigration is the reason why European nations have reacted differently to the onslaught of refugees. The large disparity between the different nations in their willingness to accept refugees is clear, with some being very open and others discouraging their entry. David Cameron, the UK prime minster showed great hesitancy in accepting refugees due to the lack of economic need. The debate originally centred around funding as the UK government desperately carried out a cost benefit analysis concerning how much it will cost to house refugees and how much benefit they can eventually bring. The UK also has a growing population which its economy will need to support, another aspect which was factored into their decision to accept refugees. Countries like Germany have been admired by many as they promised to accept 800,000 refugees. Their true intentions were exposed in a BBC study about the country’s population dynamics which consist of a falling birth rate alongside a rapidly ageing population. This was only a month after Angela Merkel made a Palestinian girl cry on TV after explaining that Germany could not help everyone.
Whilst world leaders have put on altruistic demeanours when addressing their citizens concerning the refugee issue, their true motivations are there for all to see. The accepting of refugees is for the same reason why many of our forefathers were bought to this country, to benefit the economy and do many of the jobs the indigenous population refuse to do. The sincere plight of the refugees who are fleeing conflict is secondary to the economic benefits they can possibly bring.
2. The extremist groups in Syria and other parts of the Muslim world have caused this large exodus of individuals
The refugee crisis was clearly an inevitable phenomenon after the bloodshed which has occurred in the Muslim world. The Syrian conflict has seen approximately 220,000 people killed with 6.5 million people displaced. Libya is currently at breaking point with an internal conflict showing no sign of ending. The same can be said for much of the Muslim world. However, when one analyses the various conflicts occurring in the Muslim world, it is clear that Europe has gallons’ worth of Muslim blood on its hands.
The situation in Libya for example is a direct result of the NATO invasion which saw the overthrowing of Gadhafi and the creation of a political system which was unable to control large sectors of its population. Whilst many will argue that international powers have not done enough in Syria to warrant intervention, their lack of involvement in the conflict is intentional as they seek to install an alternative government in place of al Assad. Western powers previously drew a red line with the use of chemical weapons, however, despite their use on numerous occasions the West continue to let the conflict continue as they look to install their own puppet. The supporting of oppressive governments such as the Iraqi government, and the invasion of Iraq prior to this by western nations in light of nonexistent WMDs gave rise to ISIS who many of those in Syria are fleeing from today. Afghanistan is another example where European countries alongside the USA blew the country back into the stone ages.
Therefore, the refugee crises is a price that Europe is paying for its actions around the world. Many immigrant communities today are as a result of European interference in foreign lands.
3. The Muslim rulers are doing so much to help the Muslims
Many individuals have pointed their fingers at the Gulf countries which together (excluding UAE) are so far yet to accept even a single refugee. The Ummah uses the example of rulers such as Erdogan who currently is host to 1.8 million refugees, and recently said, “What other countries do and do not do is not our business, we are obliged to do the job we have been charged by our faith and our history.” Others have defended the Gulf by pointing out the millions of dollars’ worth of aid they have committed to the Syrian people in refugee zones.
The question that must be answered is more fundamental than this. Is this all these nations are capable of doing in order to solve this situation? Can we credit Erdogan for accepting refugees while he boasts one of the strongest armies in the Muslim world, one which eclipses the Syrian regime in its current state? Can we be settled on the Gulf kings who pump millions of dollars’ worth of money into aid projects while Saudi Arabia for example, has a giant fleet of F-15s currently parked on its airbases gathering dust?
No, rather they are not doing what is in their capability and instead, the Ummah should be exposing these rulers for what they are. Instead of ending the conflict within Syria and working for the interests of the Ummah they are instead bombing our brothers and sisters as part of a US led coalition. They are attacking the bases of those sincere rebel fighters who are working to establish Islam within Syria and are working against those within their own countries who are calling for the implementation of Islam. They are after nothing but their own interests within the region, and aim to trick the Ummah by pulling these stunts which only deal with the symptoms of the problem while the cause’ still exist. This is while their true responsibility has already been declared by Allah سبحانه وتعالى when He says:
وَإِنِ اسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ النَّصْرُ إِلاَّ عَلَى قَوْمٍ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُم مِّيثَاقٌ وَاللّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, except against a people between yourselves and whom is a treaty. And Allah is Seeing of what you do.”
(Al-Anfal: 72)
What is our responsibility?
The last point should also cause us to re-assess our own roles and what we have been doing to alleviate the suffering of the Ummah. Will we be able to justify ourselves on the Day of Judgement by pointing to the charity we have been giving all this time while the problems continue to get worse. In fact, is our reason for donating money because we see it as a solution to the problems abroad or as something which makes us feel better at the end of the day? It is true that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has made the giving of charity a virtuous action but He has not prescribed it to be the action we do whilst our brothers and sisters abroad are dying and our values are being attacked.
Brothers and Sisters, the refugees will keep coming until we work for the solution to the problems in this Ummah. The solution is the Khilafah state upon the method of the Prophethood, which acts as our shield that protects us from the plans of the Kuffar and represents us on the world stage. In the past, the Khilafah was the place where people under oppression fled to as they saw the Shariah as just and the law which secured the rights of mankind. It is only under Islam where the interests of the Ummah lie above the interests of individuals or nations, and where our acceptance of refugees isn’t for economic gain, rather it is to bring them from the darkness into the light.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters – I leave you with a question: What are you doing to aid the re-establishment of Islam in our lands?
Muhammed Ubaid