Leaders and individuals around the world welcomed the election of Barack Obama as president of the US. However, as Muslims we must look beyond the hype. Based on his statements and recent appointments, it is clear that he intends to continue the same policies as his predecessor, George Bush. Muslims must work to ensure that the Ummah understands that Obama’s promises of “change” do not apply to the Muslim Ummah. Change within the Ummah will only come with the resumption of the Islamic way of life through the re-establishment of the Khilafah Rashidah in the Muslim lands according to the method of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم.
The US has elected their first non-white president with much fanfare. The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States is viewed by many as a new chapter in the history of the US and the world. Bush himself noted “The election of Barack Obama is an historic moment for our country.” People around the world are expecting the new president to deliver on his message of change.
Responsibility to be Politically Aware
As Muslims, we must not allow ourselves to get caught up in the hype of the media or to misunderstand the reality of a situation. In 2000, some Muslims saw the election of Bush-Cheney (instead of Gore-Lieberman) as positive for the Ummah. However, they soon realized that they were wrong: Bush brought the American war machine into direct occupation of both Afghanistan and Iraq while his administration oversaw the systematic torture of Muslims in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and in countless other secret prisons around the world.
Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said: “The believer is never stung from the same hole twice.” [Bukhari]
Therefore, when assessing the Obama victory we must remember this hadith. Every American president is responsible to the people of his nation, and more importantly the elite who supported and paid for his election campaign.
Obama’s Appointees
In the recent weeks, Obama has appointed certain people to his administration, clearly signalling that his policies will be “more of the same” for our Ummah. Firstly, he appointed Rohm Israel Emanuel, a well known and strong supporter of the state of Israel, as his White House Chief of Staff. A prominent Israeli newspaper, Maariv described Mr. Emanuel’s appointment as “our man in the White House”. Obama also appointed Sonal Shah as one of his advisors. Shah is the national coordinator for Vishwa Hari Parishad (VHP) America. According to the Daily Times of Pakistan, “Vishwa Hari Parishad (VHP) and its student wing Bajrang Dal are believed to have been involved in the massacre of over 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat.”
Obama on Israel: In his Own Words
The appointments of Emanuel and Shah do not come as a surprise once we examine Obama’s stance towards the Muslim Ummah. On June 4th, 2008 Obama gave a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), where he stated the following:
“And I will bring to the White House an unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security. That starts with ensuring Israel’s qualitative military advantage…Defence cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success, and must be deepened. As president, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade…” [1]
Obama: Applying the Bush Doctrine to Pakistan
Although Barack Obama opposed the war in Iraq, he has clearly stated that the real war is in Afghanistan and not Iraq. This is why he favours troop withdrawals in Iraq as they will be redeployed to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
When talking about national security at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Obama stated that he was fully prepared to carry out military strikes within Pakistan:
“If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.” [2]
Obama has publicly declared that his regime will extend the ‘war against terrorism’ by systematic, large-scale ground and air attacks on Pakistan, thus escalating the war to include villages, towns and cities deemed sympathetic to the Afghan resistance. All the signs point towards Pakistan becoming the new theatre for US imperial expansion and this is deemed necessary by Obama to win the regional war.
With respect to Iraq, America has carefully managed the disintegration of Iraq into three distinct entities and will need to maintain almost 70,000 troops. These troops will be stationed in bases scattered throughout Iraq and their function will be to ascertain America’s control of this very strategic country and its surrounding regions. Therefore, his plan to reduce troops is in actuality a completion of what Bush started rather than a new direction.
Hence, the reality of Obama’s stated position is that he is building upon what Bush started.
Understanding the Role of the President
During his AIPAC speech, Obama stated the following regarding his support of Israel: “That is a commitment that both John McCain and I share, because support for Israel in this country goes beyond party.” The comment explains the nature of the political environment in America: the Republicans and the Democrats have differences in styles, but are united when it comes to their goals and methods of implementing and spreading their Aqeedah (Secularism) and way of life (Capitalism).
Besides Israel, the Republicans and Democrats are both in agreement on the fundamentals of the economy. Both uphold the idea that no law should infringe upon the individual’s freedom of ownership. For example, the current Financial Crisis can be traced back to the Democratic Clinton administration. The Democrats repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which was passed in 1933 to regulate the banks, after their role in causing the Great Depression was identified. Why didn’t the Republicans point out this fact during the election campaign? The reason is that it would be ideologically inconsistent for them to blame deregulation – as their entire campaign was based on “less government”!
Consequently, American policy on Israel, global economy, occupation in Iraq, and support of dictatorial regimes in the Muslim world is driven by its viewpoint on life. Americans believe that Man should not be regulated by the revelation of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and believe that Man has the right to set-up the systems of life as he wishes. Therefore, they will support Israel, dictators, and occupy Muslim lands based on their need to acquire resources at cheap prices in order to expand the profits of their corporations. More importantly, they want to ensure that the Ummah is not able to launch an alternative to the Capitalist system – the Khilafah State.
Relying on Allah سبحانه وتعالى: The Key to Successful Change
The idea that Man is free to set-up laws contradicts Islam at a fundamental level. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has revealed:
فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىَ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُواْ فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيمًا
“And no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they refer to your judgment in all disputes between them then find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [TMQ 4:65]
وَأَنِ احْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَن يَفْتِنُوكَ عَن بَعْضِ مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ إِلَيْكَ
“And so judge between them by what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has revealed and follow not their desires but beware of them lest they turn you far away (O Muhammad) from some of that which Allah has sent down to you.” [TMQ 5:49]
Based on these and other ayat, the political system, economic system, and social system, and all the systems of life must be based on what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has revealed. Since this idea does not conform to the Capitalist way of life, it is impossible for any American president to assist the Ummah in achieving her aims of serving Allah سبحانه وتعالى through the comprehensive implementation of Islam.
Furthermore, the Muslim Ummah should not request a non-Muslim nation to help her. Allah سبحانه وتعالى has forbidden us from seeking such help:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَتَّخِذُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُم مِّنكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ
“O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for Auliya (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.); they are Auliya of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for Auliya, then surely he is one of them.” [TMQ 5:51]
Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم also said: “Do not seek light from the fire of the polytheists.” [Ahmed]
Based on these evidences, Muslims should not seek help for our struggles from non-Muslims. In the past, when Muslims had to choose between Muslim rule and non-Muslim rule, they chose Islam. For example, Al-Muthamid of Andalusia chose the Islamic rule of Yusuf ibn Tashfin over Christian Spain when he said: “I have no desire to be branded by my descendants as the man who delivered al-Andalus as prey to the disbelievers. I am loath to have my name cursed in every Muslim pulpit. And, for my part, I would rather be a camel-driver in Africa than a swineherder in Castile.”
Rasul’Allah’s صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Method of Change
Only Allah سبحانه وتعالى can help us and He has promised His Help to us if we change what is within our nation. Allah سبحانه وتعالى revealed:
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ
“Allah will not change what is in any qawm (nation), until they all collectively make a change occur in what is in themselves.” [TMQ 13:11]
Every nation or society is built upon permanent relationships between individuals on a common set of thoughts, emotions and the systems that bind the society together. Therefore, in order for a change to occur we must work to change these permanent relationships in society.
The only way to achieve this change is to follow the example of Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم when he successfully transformed the kufr tribal society of the Arabic peninsula into an Islamic one. Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم worked with the Sahabah’s through Islamic culturing, to mould them into Islamic personalities, and give them the means to carry dawah.
As we know, it was Musab ibn Umayr رضي الله عنه who carried the dawah to Madinah on behalf of Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. This was possible only because of the culturing he received at the hands of Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم also went out into society and worked to change the common thoughts and emotions of the society.
For example, through the Quran he attacked the worship of idols, the burial of female infants, the practice of riba, and the economic dealings of the Quraish. The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم also went to the tribes asking them for nusrah – the needed support to put him in power so that he could implement Islam as a way of life. Today, we must work according to this method to make the successful change necessary in the Muslim world. All other practices will not work because they are not based on the practice of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. This includes working through the system, or using violent acts to achieve the aims of re-establishing Islam.
May Allah سبحانه وتعالى help us to make political change based on the method of Rasul’Allah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم, may Allah سبحانه وتعالى guide the Ummah, and may Allah سبحانه وتعالى change our position from one of weakness to one of strength.
لاَ يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فِي الْبِلاَدِ
مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ ثُمَّ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ
“Be not deceived by the [uninhibited] movement of the disbelievers throughout the land. [It is but] a small enjoyment; then their [final] refuge is Hell, and wretched is the resting place.” [TMQ 3:196-197]
1 NPR: Transcript: Obama’s Speech at AIPAC
2 my.barakobama.com: Senator Obama Delivers Address on National Security