News Watch, Side Feature, South Asia

No Land’s Men

Indian police say they have arrested 74 Rohingya refugees for living “illegally” in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Those arrested included 55 men, 14 women, and five children and at least one of the arrested women is pregnant. (Aljazeera.com)

Comment:
It has been a policy of colonialists to find an excuse to reach out to the hidden treasures of the world and history shows us that wherever they stepped in, they destroyed the place and its inhabitants. It was not just material they robbed, they used people’s needs against them, made false promises, and destroyed the identity of people. A small Muslim population lived in Myanmar at the time of Burmese rule and historical shreds of evidence of their presence can still be seen. What turned Rohingyas into a crowd of rejected humans was the British Occupation. During that time, other Muslims from Bengal entered Burma as migrant workers, tripling the country’s Muslim population over a 40-year period. Although Muslims had lived in Burma for centuries, and Britain promised the Rohingya an autonomous state in exchange for their help in WWII, it never followed through, and the Burmese people resented what they saw as an incursion of uninvited workers.

After Myanmar became a military state the Rohingya became victims of state-sponsored persecution. In response to these abuses, Rohingya people started migrating to Bangladesh which became a burden on them they handled by restricting the movement of refugees and caging them in with barbed wire fencing; pressuring them to relocate to the remote island of Bhasan Char; and denying refugees’ employment rights and access to education. Rohingyas who tried to take refuge in India faced similar treatment, by being jailed and deported by the Indian authorities. India and Bangladesh both have crimes committed against their own people, how can they be expected to treat Muslim refugees with kindness?

Allah (swt) created man, provided him with the means of life, taught him ways to live, made him dignified, and warned him to beware of Shaitan. He made this earth to be ruled by His law as He is the Creator of it, and we as Muslims are carrier of His message and responsible for spreading and maintaining it. Our presence on this earth is not for building boundaries and hoarding possessions. Restricting people in boundaries has made them prisoners, even the ones who think they are free citizens of a certain State. Man-made laws are short-sighted and weak and only cause mischief. These Muslims of Rohingya are our brothers and sisters and it is our responsibility to spread awareness that no UN can help them out of this misery. They deserve much more than packets of food and medicine. They deserve home, recognition, and dignity as much as we all do. Only a God-fearing Khaleefah can get their lives back and stop the oppressors from keeping them like caged animals. The whole Indian Subcontinent has been ruled by Islam and no one has the right to push people out of this land. The Khilafah State will follow the example of Ansaar and welcome them with open arms without any discrimination. The Khilafah State military will be a power feared by the enemies of Allah and if needed will use force to protect its people from such situations. The Khilafah state will only fear Allah and will have no ties to kafir countries that will keep it quiet from protecting its own people, like rulers of current Muslim countries.

[وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَـٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَـٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَـٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍۢ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًۭا]

“Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.”

We were honoured and blessed and we must remember what happened to Bani Israel when they rejected the blessings of Allah. May Allah give us courage to stand up for ourselves and our brothers.

Ikhlaq Jehan