Introduction

Nations and peoples prosper and progress or stagnate and decline on the basis of how they think. Throughout the history of mankind it is the nation with most coherent and clear thinking that emerges as the leader amongst nations. History testifies to this – the pagan Arabs taken from feuding each other to become the leading nation after the advent of Islam. Europe was taken from the Dark Ages to the Industrial Revolution after they laid a solution to the struggle between thinkers and the clergy – i.e. secularism. The United States in the current era has the most coherent ideological and political thinking amongst nations and as such is the leading state in the world.

What has this to do with the Muslims in Britain? The challenge facing Muslims in Britain is not one in which they are bombed using drones, or they are turned into refugees fleeing war. Rather the challenge that they face is on the level of thoughts. Of course Muslims identify themselves with Islam. They accept it and wish to follow it as a follower of any religion would wish to follow religion.

The following of Islam within a secular context presents many problems both to the secular state and Muslims. The state has deep concerns and fears about its Muslim population. There is the nagging fear that Muslims “will change our way of life” or that they will try to dominate us – we are British and we do not want Islam in life’s affairs. Along with the fact that Britain has a large Muslim population that needs to be assimilated so that it does not upset the existing setup of the nation state. Measures both harsh and benign are applied, for example harsh actions like draconian terror legislation, schemes such as prevent and contest. This is in addition to sweet measures with so-called halal student loans or allowing the opening of new mosques or so called Islamic financial products. The constant drumbeat against Islam in the media is relentless.

At this point in time what is the collective viewpoint about Islam amongst Muslims– is it in line with Islam or has it been tainted by western ideas and concepts? How well do Muslims understand Islam, how deeply rooted an intellectual concept is the Aqeedah or is it held emotionally? Is it viewed as just rituals and rites or is it a deep conviction based upon the Aqeedah with a view on how all life’s affairs should be run? What is the agenda of the British state and how does it effect on the individual Muslim? How would Muslims counter or resist these influences? These are all questions that need to be addressed.

The aim of this paper is to explore the issues around these subjects so as to map some of the contours of the political and ideological landscape. This is so that Muslims can see the dangers and chart a course that would lead to the avoidance of disaster and calamities. The dangers faced by the Ummah in Britain may not lead to loss of life or limb – as in the Muslim world. Apostasy from Islam, the contradiction to Islamic rules, the contradictory personalities created by carrying Islamic and secular ideas and the disregard of the values of Islam in some way hold more destructive power than bullets and bombs. Just speak to Muslims who have suffered some of these issues. The ultimate success for the Muslim is not what he accumulated in this life – but what he made for the Akhira (Hereafter) – what he made for his Akhira would be dependent upon how he perceived Islam and how he implemented its rules in his life.

Section 1 – The State & Muslims

Fikra & Tareeqah – Thought & Method

To most people at first glance, individuals conduct their affairs freely in society. They go where they want and do what they want, when they want. But is this understanding true? When one scratches below the surface one finds the reality is different. Anyone living within a society must generally conform to the regulations and as a result the thinking that society has adopted by individuals.

Britain is a capitalist nation – it is secular and has its laws and rights. For example a Muslim is allowed polygyny as long it was lawful in the country in which he got married. He however would not officially be allowed polygyny if his additional marriage was in Britain. This would be part of British thought or fikr. However this thought or fikr would be meaningless unless it had a way of application. A person that is brought to court for marrying again is judged to see if he is guilty of the offence based on section 57 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. A person found guilty can face imprisonment for a term ranging from six months to seven years, or to a fine, or to both. [1]

This is just a single example to illustrate the point, many examples can be brought. For example no one individual has a right to attack another, if this occurred then the assailant would be dealt with according to the law – if he caused an injury he would be convicted for grievous bodily harm known as GBH which carries a jail sentence. The laws, ideas, values i.e. the fikr of the system in Britain is implemented by the judiciary and by the government.

The system in Britain would only tolerate Islamic views that do not upset the fikr that has been adopted. For instance the wearing of hijab or having a lengthy beard is not an issue as there is no contradiction to established British fikr about dress code which accepts and individuals can dress or style themselves as they please. The same applies for the preference for halal food. However other views from the Islamic fikr would not be tolerated for example we saw in the recent past furore over segregation at Islamic Society events at universities. Universities UK (UUK) said that, under some circumstances, such seating would be allowed if requested by speakers from orthodox religious groups. PM David Cameron told Channel 4 News the guidance “shouldn’t say that” [2] . There was an outcry that this was against British values.

Muslims cannot believe in secularism or the values and rules built upon it and indeed the systems used to implement these thoughts. This would be contradictory to their Aqeedah and if they did so they would be in danger of leaving the Deen. Here lies an ideological battlefront where on the one hand carriers of the Islamic call must build clarity in the fikra and tareeqah on the basis of Islam and on the other the state wishes to inculcate its fikra and implement its tareeqah over the Muslims.

“It is not allowed to confine the call for Islam to only demonstrating its fikrah but rather the call must also include the Tareeqah as well. Therefore, the mabda’a (ideology) is a combination of the fikrah and Tareeqah. The belief in the Tareeqah is as important as the belief in the fikrah. It is necessary that the Tareeqah and the fikrah be an indivisible whole, linked together tightly such that nothing but the Islamic Tareeqah is used in the implementation of the Islamic fikrah. Both of them form Islam by which it is governed and for which the call is conveyed. Since the Tareeqah exists in the Shari’ah, it should be restricted to that which the Shari’ah has brought and what is derived from its texts. As the rules of the fikrah were included in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, likewise the rules of the Tareeqah were also embodied in the Qur’an and Sunnah.” [Concepts of Hizb ut Tahrir Mafahim Hizb ut-Tahrir, p. 52]

Personality is Built by how People Live

There is a saying you can take the boy out of jungle but you cannot take jungle out of the boy. There is a fundamental truth in this saying – the society that you were raised in shapes your personality. Contrary to popular assumption most people’s personalities are crafted from the society that they live in. Society has norms, rites of passage and as an individual proceeds in life he adopts the solutions given to him by society and he solves his life’s problems according to the solutions provided by the society. A young man in British society learns that he must have a girlfriend or possibly a boyfriend – how he does this is a norm set by society. How they meet, upon what basis they conduct their relationship and how they break it off. He forms his concepts on the basis of this norm and develops a taste based upon this. If he were to go elsewhere in the world where the norms were different it would not settle well with him. Were he to go to another place where the societal norm was for marriage, long term with a view to having a family – he would find it not to his taste.

What was the difference between those Muslims that carried dawah to far flung lands like Indonesia and Malaysia and spread it to the masses there? Why is it that Muslims from the Muslim lands today find it difficult to follow Islam themselves let alone bring whole peoples to the Deen. The answer lies in the fact that they were built by society – in the past a society which had strong values built in the individuals that made them capable of spreading Islam. Today sadly Muslims are built in declined societies where Islam is not demonstrated to them and they are not built according to it. That is why we see many Muslims that immigrate to the West are only interested in making money and have little concern for Islam and carrying dawah. This is largely because they come from a background of impoverishment and have not been elevated by Islam from serving just material needs.

So what is the relevance of this to the issue of political and ideological challenges facing Muslims in Britain? The answer to this Muslims are being raised in the British way of life, Many of whom are totally oblivious to how society is colouring them – oblivious to that fact that as they proceed through life they are lapping up western ideas, concepts and norms. Oblivious, to the fact that they are blindly accepting societal norms and the concepts that they are built upon. This again is an ideological battle line where Muslims need to be aware of what ideas they are carrying and adopting.

“Instead, reforming the individual comes through reforming the society, for once the society is reformed, the individual is reformed. Therefore the da’wah should focus its attention to the society at large, following the principle;

“Reform the society, this will lead to reform of the individual constantly.” [Concepts of Hizb ut Tahrir, p.61]

The Concept of Intellectual Leadership and its Effect on Muslims in Britain

“Capitalism is based upon the separation of religion from life. This idea (fikrah) is its ‘Aqeedah (doctrine), its intellectual leadership (qiyaadah fikriyyah) and its intellectual basis (qiyadat fikriyyah). According to this intellectual basis (al-Qiyadah al-fikriyyah), man lays down the system for this life…” [Systems of Islam (Nitham al-Islam), Chapter 3]

Society in Britain is based upon secularism i.e. the separation of religion from life. Secularism is its fundamental thought of society – it is the Aqeedah, the reference point to which all issues return to. It also is the fundamental belief to which is called to by all institutions, groups, parties and individuals. The most dangerous element to Muslims is secularism as an intellectual leadership meaning that secularism propagated as the basis for all solutions to life. It is not obvious as the solution presented does not explicitly state its secular basis. If we examine a few examples, it will become clear how secularism is propagated with every solution that is presented to society. It is true that the solutions provided to society implicitly carry the call, the Aqeedah, of that ideology.

If we were to examine the calls to allow the despicable action of ridiculing and drawing derogatory images of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, we can see that these are built upon a secular creed. The arguments of some westerners that oppose these actions are equally built upon secularism. The espoused right to speak freely is linked to the belief that human beings are entitled to decide right from wrong which in turn is linked to the belief that religion cannot interfere in life’s affairs and that it is an entirely individualistic matter. Likewise the western view on relationships between same sex couples is underpinned by the same concept. These are only two examples one would need only to pick up a newspaper and read some the articles and think a little bit about what the opinion given was based upon – it would be soon discovered that this is secularism.

The same could be said about when Islam was implemented, the predominant opinions and solutions to be implemented were based upon what is permitted or not according to Islam which in turn is linked to the Islamic Aqeedah which stipulates that the rule of Islam must be applied to every issue facing society as well as individuals. This is the how millions converted to Islam in the lands of Islamic conquest – by witnessing the implementation of solutions from Islam that led them to adopt the Islamic Aqeedah. Due to this conveying of the Islamic intellectual leadership they remain Muslim to this very day.

It is for this reason that Muslims in Britain face the onslaught of the secular intellectual leadership through the media, through their interaction with the state, through mixing with individuals or through work – if they are not mindful of the opinions they start to carry and remembering that as Muslims they have adhere to Islam, then they would be susceptible to start holding the concepts of secularism. This can quite often be witnessed where Muslims argue the point about hijab, niqab, women’s rights and other issues on the basis of their right to choose rather than referring back to the Aqeedah.

It is for this reason that the state would seek for Muslims to participate in democratic parties. By doing so, it is absolutely the case that the individual would be forced to give up his Islamic views i.e. that the way to solve issues for Muslims is through the implementation of Sharia via state. Rather he would need to accept the solutions that society offers along with the way of implementation. If someone were to join Labour, Conservative or Liberal – Democrats then it is absolutely the case that he would not proceed in political life if he were to keep his link to Islam. He or she would have to remain a member on paper only and reject the basis that these parties are established upon – which would make the membership of such a party meaningless.

If we take an example of a British MP Sajid Javid, a quote from the Daily Mail Newspaper “Javid is proud of his Muslim background, but regards himself as British. Asked if he will observe Ramadan he hesitates before replying: ‘I’m not practising.’ Does he read the Koran? ‘No, but how many people call themselves Christian and visit a church? God and Allah are the same thing.’ He refuses to say if he has his eyes on No10, but does not see his Anglo-Asian roots as a bar. ‘Britain is the world’s most tolerant country. If you have talent, colour and gender is less important.’ Could a state educated child from an under-represented minority who had old fashioned hard work and morals drummed into him by a shopkeeper father become PM by raw ability and doggedness? Javid’s heroine Maggie did. He clearly dreams he could, too.

Recently Sajid Javid said about the Paris attacks, ‘It’s lazy to say France’s terrorist attacks have nothing to do with Islam’. [4]. It is clear to see the trajectory of political assimilation is to rob Muslims of linking their Aqeedah to life’s affairs and replacing the way that they see life’s affairs being solved on the basis of secularism not on the basis of Islam.

It is also clear to see that there is an increasing amount of preachers on YouTube and on other platforms that talk about Islam and have numerous followers but their message conveys the western intellectual leadership. This is because they omit the complete nature Islam from their message, relegate it to individual affairs, and encourage people to accept the existing system.

The Muslim Community in Britain – A Societal Perspective

When considering the ideological and political challenges facing the Muslim Ummah it is important to understand how Muslims fit into society. Without having an accurate description of the reality in which the Muslims live, it becomes difficult to discuss, debate or analyse the situation faced by Muslims.

First we need to recap what society is – or our definition of society. Human beings have organic needs and instincts. They need to eat and drink otherwise they will die. Additionally they need to fulfil the instincts that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created in them, they need to worship, earn and have relationships with others. If they do not satisfy these instincts correctly then they will beget misery and not live in contentment. Could an individual meet all these requirements on his own? How would it be possible for him to fulfil his needs without the involvement of others? It is inevitable that individuals would gather together for survival. In historical times this usually occurred around a water source like a river or wells where people could ensure survival. Once people gather together they have to be bound together on the basis of some common ideas, norms and emotions. There would need to be an authority and a ruler or ruling system that would ensure that these rules were implemented. They would have the power to solve disputes that would arise and also to deal with those that depart from the norms and traditions adopted by the society.

What then is British Society? Britain is a nation state with laws that are implemented by the judiciary and the rulers. There are norms and emotions towards various issues that are held by the majority of the people. The secular intellectual leadership is inculcated by living according to the ideological solutions implemented by the state. It is in this way that even an uneducated individual that may have engaged in life’s affairs understands that religion or god has nothing to do with life matters and the individual has the right to choose what he considers is right and what is considered as wrong as long as he is within the law.

Are Muslims different to the rest of society? By and large when a Muslim feels sick he too uses the NHS, if someone owes him a debt he will use the legal measures like taking them to court that anyone else would in society. When he drives he applies for driving licence. When he wants to travel applies for a passport, when he is a victim of a burglary he refers it to the police. In fact most of the actions that he undertakes in life are no different to anyone else in society. Does that mean that there is no difference between him and anyone else in society?

The difference between Muslims and the rest of society is that they have some “peculiar” or different interests that the rest of society does not share. They eat halal meat, women have a different dress code, they pray 5 times a day. They care about what is happening to Muslims in the rest of the world, they disagree with a lot of Western norms – which technically should be a problem to the West.

The reality of the Muslim community is that it is a subset of society with some peculiar or different interests that the main society does not share. The view point about these interests in passing decades came from attitudes and norms that came from Muslim Lands of origin. These days with almost a cessation of Muslim immigration it is increasingly the struggle for Muslims born and raised here to define an Islamic identity – thus the attempts by the government to try to shape some form of British Muslim Identity so that a different ideological trend that upsets the existing status quo does not arise. It is unfortunate to see that many youth today are confused. Some think that they are good Muslims, some are besotted with materialism and others sheepishly follow society. The example of a Muslim Harley Street doctor that committed suicide by jumping off the balcony of his £700000 flat after coming out as a gay to his family in Birmingham on Eid. [10] – is one Muslims need to contemplate. Was he not one of the many casualties of secularism that exist in the Muslim community?

Collective Thoughts

What individuals carry in terms of thoughts and behaviours as far as any society is concerned is not a real concern for society as a whole unless it becomes a trend. As a result this is why it is a priority in the dawah to change collective concepts, convictions and criteria and what emotions they feel towards these events.

Taqiuddin an-Nabhani wrote in Concepts of Hizb ut Tahrir:

“Those who carry the da’wah should not assess the da’wah by their number. Such assessment is absolutely wrong and harmful to the da’wah because it distracts the da’wah carriers from focusing on the society to focusing on the individuals. This will cause the da’wah to slowdown and perhaps cause failure in that place. The reason behind this is that society is not composed of individuals as many people think. Rather the individuals are parts of the group (community). What bonds the individuals in the society are other components such as their thoughts, emotions and systems? The da’wah is carried in order to change the thoughts, emotions and systems. It is collective da’wah and a da’wah taken to the society and not to the individuals. Reforming the individuals is only to make them become part of a group (bloc) that carries the da’wah to the society. Therefore those who carry the da’wah and have a deep understanding of its nature rely on society to carry the da’wah to it.”

In the context of the ideological and political challenges facing the Muslims in Britain, it is important to recognise what are the ideological and political concepts they carry collectively. Are they in line with the Islamic ideology or they based upon capitalism or are they confused?

When one understands this concept – the strategy of the government can be understood. As far back as 2007 the government introduced proposals and gave funding in order to control ungoverned spaces like chat rooms, snooker halls and gyms – Hazel Blears the then government minister announced a £70 million package [6].

David Cameron continues this theme of controlling ungoverned spaces in November 2014 he said, “A new and pressing challenge is getting extremist material taken down from the internet. There is a role for government in that. We must not allow the internet to be an ungoverned space.” [7]

What the government is aiming for is to control all Muslim collective discussion so that it is in line with their agenda for Islam – i.e. to stifle Islam in all spaces where discussion may occur. The importance of this is to attempt to stifle the correct concepts and emotions that Muslims may attempt to adopt. Additionally it is to co–opt Muslims in to the established political systems. Thus the clamp down on hiring venues, Muslim speakers at universities and a promotion of sell out Muslims that promotes the government agenda.

Section 2 – Ideological & Political Challenges

Having understood the threats from society, it is easier to see what the consequences of living in Britain are for Muslims.

In Britain, Muslims have to live according to a tareeqah that is imposed upon them and which is from a different basis to what they believe in. If they are not careful in terms of the ideas they adopt from society then they will find their inclinations developing upon the norms of society. By repeatedly adopting solutions from society they are in danger of unwittingly accepting the capitalist intellectual leadership – secularism. If the Muslim community were to stop linking its thinking to the Aqeedah and the government stooges, munafiqeen, murtadeen that they seek to promote were to pass their confused, wrong and devious concepts to the Muslims – that would spell disaster. Whilst much can be said about the threats faced, this paper will only address the main issues.

The Aqeedah & Its Link to Life’s Affairs

The greatest loss a Muslim could suffer is the loss of Iman – by losing this he would in the Akhira be raised outside the fold of Islam – where he would be punished in Jahannum (Hellfire) forever. The discussion in the previous section, unless a Muslim becomes ideologically aware would put the Muslim be on a path to at the very least severing his life’s actions from any link to Islam. If the Aqeedah were not firmly rooted then he would lose his linkage to Islam and perhaps start referring to another basis namely secularism.

This could occur due to a combination legislation that has restricted Islamic atmospheres due to extremism laws and Muslims losing their link with Islam. This may not happen overnight but it is certainly on the government agenda. David Cameron remarked in a trip to the US on CBS Television’s Face The Nation that Britain had a coherent strategy to defeat what he calls extremism and it would take a generation [8]. This echoes comments made more than a decade ago by other British officials that they had lost a generation of Muslims to Islam.

What must be realised the policy being applied as is gradual tightening of the noose around the neck of the Muslims. The proposed counter terrorism and security bill that the Conservative Party will introduce if they were to win the next election will force teachers, doctors etc to report extremism. This in turn will lead Muslims to distance themselves away from any discussion that may be perceived as extremist – i.e. the Islamic Dawah.

At this point in time it would be very difficult to force Muslims to denounce the Aqeedah and its linkage with Islam. The establishment appreciates that it is a case of not throwing a frog into a boiling pot of water – as it would jump straight out after sensing the heat but rather putting it into the pot and applying the heat until it boils itself due to not increasing the temperature. The fact of the matter is that if we were to rewind time back a decade whilst Muslims from the community still advocated political participation and some belief in democracy they were less vocal about as a negative opinion about these issues was created in the minds of Muslim. Today what we find is so called radical preachers and non-violent extremists that are being boosted on TV programmes like recent Panorama are advocates of Muslims taking part in the democratic process.

Political Participation

It is apparent that the British establishment do not view that it is possible to immediately take Muslims from the Aqeedah – but it is possible to take them from rules of Islam and immerse them in the secular intellectual leadership. If Muslims do not engage in British political life this becomes a problem to the system. This means it will not be possible to change them by using the tools of society and therefore they will not assimilate. The two main aims of the system in pushing the Muslims into political participation are as follow.

The first aim is to make Muslims accept that the form of government that is applied. Rather than them believing that they as Muslims have their own political system namely the Khilafah – that it is the system of government that is applied i.e. the British political system through which they should accept as sole form of government.

The second aim is to build people within the Muslims that accept the solutions provided by the system and its intellectual leadership that will serve to direct and guide the Muslim community in society. Without political participation it would be difficult to create personalities that would promote the government interests and societies ideology within the Muslim community. We can see this in the examples of the various Muslim MP, lords, ladies baronesses, councillors and party members. Along with stooges amongst the Ulema and speakers.

We can see that government implements other initiatives that are a subtle form of political participation. Last summer (2014) a Muslim Imam from Oxford launched a petition to ban the burqa [9]. On the face of it Muslims would think how dare he. Some may launch a counter petition – and this is where they would fall into the trap of political participation. A petition whom, many of the petitions signed by people call on the system to take action, to enshrine a law or abolish one. In effect this is political participation. Muslims have to be wary of their interaction with the government unless they get sucked into a political system that will destroy their Islam. Muslims even when they criticise foreign policy have to tread carefully so as they do not fall into political participation. Accounting the rulers is an Islamic political duty, but only those that implement Islam, what is the point accounting colonialist secular political leaders, this is a trap that may lead to falling into political participation. The recent appeal by Muslims about Palestine is another case of subtle political participation.

Muslims must be careful to what degree they campaign, petition, write to politicians as all this means that they accept the system and want to reform it or build upon it – which puts them on very dangerous territory as far as their Islam is concerned.

Blurring the Lines between Islam and Kufr

The clampdown by the authorities using the most of styles and means at their disposal – including politically motivated terrorism trials, increasing legislation, threats from banning, accusations of incitement to hatred, extremism and infiltration of Islamic groups and institutions with subversive thoughts or as informants. Along with media, witch hunts have all made it difficult for Muslims to express themselves on a collective. At one time amongst most speakers and voices there was fear of being ostracised and being made to feel un-Islamic if they were to advocate democracy directly. Today the tide has turned in the opposite direction it is the other way around. Before attempting address an Islamic subject in public – so for example a talk, a conference or writing an article for reading by the Muslim public – individuals and organisation proceed with extreme caution. Some even take legal advice before addressing the public. The reality of the situation is that whilst Britain claims people have the right to freedom, the system clamps down on any non-conformist thought that could upset the status quo and Islam is such a thought -therefore it must be controlled and manipulated. For this reason the system makes it difficult for Islamic intellectual and political movements to operate or to allow their thoughts to gain in traction.

It is for this reason that many Muslims are now confused. On the one hand, they enjoy the security of living in Britain – where in general there is law and order, there are property rights and a functioning legal system that protects rights. On the other hand, they understand that they are Muslim and the system is Kufr – this causes a confused outlook – examples include freedom loving hijabis or those that say it is fine to join the armed forces as it is our country etc.

Concluding Remarks

The reality changes and will continue change. The true concepts however never change – the truth as is often said is timeless. What is a true concept, today will continue to be true concept tomorrow. This is why it is important to study the basic truths and adopt them with conviction so as when the reality changes progress can still be made. The concepts in the books Nitham al Islam and others are true today as they were when they were written 60 years ago. It for this reason, these concepts must be studied so that there is clarity in the minds- and indeed for the dawah to progress from situation to a better one. In conclusion Muslims must take on board what Islam is and measure the reality accordingly in order to respond appropriately regardless of intellectual and political onslaught directed against them.

References

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygamy_in_the_United_Kingdom

[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25378713

[3]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2592532/Is-Maggies-Muslim-heir-set-follow-No-10-Raised-shopkeeper-instilled-value-hard-work-treasury-star-Sajid-Javid-claim-biggest-prize.html#ixzz3P6Y0bIzc

[4] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/paris-attacks-its-wrong-to-say-attacks-nothing-to-do-with-islam-says-culture-secretary-sajid-javid-9971192.html

[5] http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/concepts/islamic-culture/11170-what-is-the-method-to-measure-the-effect-of-the-dawah

[6] http://uk.politics.misc.narkive.com/ep1Ad9le/muslim-groups-get-70m-to-tackle-extremism

[7]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/14/uk_pm_cameron_says_internet_must_not_be_an_ungoverned_space

[8]http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/552687/PM-David-Cameron-It-will-take-a-generation-to-beat-Islamic-extremists-but-we-will-win

[9] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2695181/Why-I-Muslim-launching-campaign-ban-burka-Britain.html

[10]http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/muslim-doctor-killed-himself-after-his-mother-told-him-to-seek-a-cure-for-being-gay-9905320.html