Talk Delivered on Behalf of the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
Today, the voices of Muslim women have echoed across the globe – from the Arab lands to Europe, from Asia to Africa, from America to Australasia – united in one voice, one call – for our brothers, fathers, sons in the Muslim armies to rise to their Islamic duty of being the defenders and protectors of this Ummah; to rise to their Islamic obligation of not only saving the men, women and children of Gaza from this bloodbath, or defending the Muslims of the West Bank from the terror of this criminal ‘Zionist’ entity but of liberating every inch of the entire Blessed Land of Palestine from this murderous occupation – for this is what Allah (swt) demands!
For the Blessed Land of Palestine is not confined to Gaza and the West Bank, nor is it confined to 1948 or 1967 borders, or any arbitrary lines conjured up by Western governments or the United Nations to tell us what is or is not Palestinian land – borders and lines which only rewards and legitimises the slaughter, usurping of land, imprisonment and torture of children, mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland, and the mountain of other crimes through which this illegitimate racist Zionist entity came into being; borders and lines which allow its continued existence and brutalization of the Muslims of Palestine. NO! The entire land of Palestine is sanctified land, sanctified by Allah (swt) Himself, the land of the Masra (night journey) of our beloved Prophet (saw), the land of Al Aqsa, the land that came under the rule of Islam and remained so for centuries, and which belongs to this Ummah till the Day of Judgement! The Islamic obligation is therefore the liberation of the entire Blessed land of Palestine, for Allah (swt) does not accept for a brutal occupier to keep its spoils of war acquired through mass murder and ethnic cleansing, no matter how much time has passed!
Dear sisters, Gaza today has become a graveyard for women and children. The scale of mass slaughter is indescribable. Thousands of children and babies killed.
Thousands of others orphaned. White phosphorus bombs which burn the skin dropped onto schools. Babies in incubators starved of oxygen due to the brutal siege. The tsunami of human suffering is beyond imagination. We grew up hearing the heartbreaking stories of the Nakba. Now we are witnessing a Nakba live on our screens.
What can put an end to this barbaric genocidal occupation that views the killing of babies as a strategy of war and seeks to annihilate the Palestinians? Is it more UN resolutions? The UN General Assembly has adopted 140 resolutions condemning the Zionist entity since just 2015 – more than double the resolutions against all other countries combined – but what has it achieved? A UN that is not even willing to protect its own schools, shelters and staff in Gaza! Do we need more Arab League and OIC summits, more empty speeches and statements, and diplomacy from Arab and other Muslim leaders – have we not had 75 years of this? What has it brought other than time and cover for this blood-thirsty occupation to commit mass slaughter and usurp more land?
NO sisters! The only thing that can confront a genocidal force and end 7 decades of terror suffered by the Muslims of Palestine is a brave army whose soldiers are instilled with Iman, who love Allah (swt) and His Prophet (saw), and who understand their Islamic duty to respond to the Command of their Rabb:
[وَإِنِ اسْتَنصَرُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ فَعَلَيْكُمُ النَّصْرُ]
“And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help.” [Al-Anfaal 8:72]
For what can stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by this racist Zionist entity and return them to their homeland except the uprooting of every inch of this brutal occupation by an Islamic army that understands its Islamic duty to liberate the entire land of Palestine.
Dear sisters, there can be no end to the bloodshed, no end to the pain and suffering of the Muslims of Palestine, no end to the tears of the grieving mothers and orphaned children without the mobilisation of the Muslim armies to liberate the whole of Palestine from this barbaric occupation that only understands the language of terror and mass murder. This is the ONLY Islamic, practical and permanent solution to bring an end to this 7 decade long living nightmare, for it is our armies that have the tanks, planes, munition and soldiers to stop this bloodbath and liberate the Muslim lands! If the Western powers have united their weapons and wealth to support the Zionist’s execution of genocide, then is it not for our Muslim armies to unite to save their brothers and sisters from this bloodbath?
But some may say – the mobilisation of the Muslim armies to liberate Palestine is a dream, its, unrealistic, even impossible – because the western powers and other supporters of the Zionist entity will unite their armies to fight against any liberating force from the Muslim lands. But I would ask – since when is fulfilling any Command of Allah (swt) a dream, unrealistic, impossible for the ones who have Iman? Isn’t Allah (swt) – Al-Aleem, Al-Khabeer, Al-Hakeem – the All Knowing, the All-Aware, the All-Wise? Does He not know what is realistic and what is not? Does Allah (swt) not say:
[إِنَّمَا كَانَ قَوۡلَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ إِذَا دُعُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ لِيَحۡكُمَ بَيۡنَهُمۡ أَن يَقُولُواْ سَمِعۡنَا وَأَطَعۡنَا وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ]
“The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, “We hear and we obey.” And those are the successful.” [An-Nur: 51].
Dear sisters, how realistic was it for a tiny state in Madinah to defeat the mighty Roman and Persian empires? How realistic was it for Salahuddin Ayubi to face an alliance of the German, French and British crusader armies and yet be granted victory at the Battle of Hattin and liberate Al Quds? And how realistic was it for the young general, Tariq bin Ziyad to fight the Visigothic army of Spain that was said to be 10 times larger than his own army and yet defeat his enemy, and bring most of the Iberian Peninsula under the rule of Islam in less than a decade? How realistic was all of this? As Muslims, we know from our Seerah, our Islamic history, our Deen that our strength and victories do not lie upon our numbers or the balance of political, economic or military power, for Allah (swt) defines what achieves victory, when He says:
[يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِن تَنصُرُواْ ٱللَّهَ يَنصُرۡكُمۡ وَيُثَبِّتۡ أَقۡدَامَكُمۡ]
“O you who believe! If you support (the cause of) Allah, He will support you and make firm your feet.” [Muhammad: 7].
This is the Promise of Allah (swt), and Allah never fails in His Promise!
But for those who believe our Ummah is weak, they are hugely mistaken, for we are a giant in terms of man-power, resources and military power. We are 2 billion in number, our Muslim lands have almost 75% of the world’s oil and around 55% of the world’s gas reserves. The Middle East alone has around 50% of the world’s oil reserves, and Qatar controls the 3rd largest natural gas reserves and was the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in 2022. The Muslim lands possess some of the most strategic airspace and waterways – the Straits of Hormuz between Oman and Iran through which 40% of the world’s oil passes through; and the Suez Canal in north-eastern Egypt which links Asian markets to the Mediterranean and Europe.
Isn’t all this enough to cripple the economy of the Zionist entity – if there was a political will to do so from the Muslim rulers? Doesn’t all of this provide enough leverage to strike fear into the hearts of the backers of this occupation to rethink their unwavering support of this genocidal entity – if the political will existed amongst the leaderships of the Muslim lands? And yet today, the occupation receives 60% of its oil from 2 Muslim countries – Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. And around 40% of the occupation’s oil flows through Turkiye – despite Erdogan’s fiery speeches against the Zionist entity! This occupation has placed a brutal siege on Gaza for 17 years; and yet the current rulers of the Muslim world do not have it in their heart to besiege the Zionist entity for even 1 day! In fact, at the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Riyadh on the 11th November, as the mass slaughter of Muslims in Gaza intensified, the regimes of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt and other Muslim countries blocked proposals to cut diplomatic and economic ties with the Zionist entity. They rejected the following: “to prevent the transfer of US military equipment to Israel from US bases in the region; to freeze all diplomatic and economic contacts with Israel; to threaten to use oil as a means of leverage; to bar flights to and from Israel through Arab states’ airspace”. La hawla wala quwatta illah billah! The betrayal of the rulers of this Ummah knows no limit!
Dear sisters, this Ummah has some of the largest, well-equipped and well-trained armies in the world. The Turkish Armed Forces is the second largest standing military force in NATO. Pakistan has the 6th largest military in the world and the 10th strongest air force. Saudi Arabia has over 700 fighter aircrafts. And Egypt has over 400,000 active military personnel, and over 1000 military aircraft. So why are these formidable armies shackled to their barracks while their Ummah bleeds?
Golda Meir, the Prime Minster of the Zionist entity during the 1970’s, said the following: “When we attacked the Muslims we didn’t sleep that night because we were worried if the Muslim countries would strike us back (due to the anger). What we didn’t realise is that the Muslim countries (i.e. the Muslim regimes) have already slept before us.”
Dear sisters, the rulers and regimes of the Muslim world have not only been asleep while Palestine bled; they have been complicit in the establishment, protection, strengthening and continued existence of the Zionist occupation. But this is not surprising, for these rulers and their predecessors were installed and supported by the Western colonial governments to fulfil their interests in the Muslim lands. It is these Muslim rulers and regimes who accepted the existence of this illegitimate entity through their peace deals and normalization of relations. Even now during this genocide in Gaza, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, Khalid Al-Falih stated that talks towards normalization of ties with ‘Israel’ remains on the table. It is these Muslim rulers and regimes who habitually betrayed the Muslims in their wars against the occupation. In 1968 when Jordanian brigades were advancing towards Al Aqsa, they were recalled by their own treacherous government. In the 1967 “Six-Day-War”, the actions of the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian regimes paved the way to the Zionist victory, despite the huge military superiority of their own armies. In 1973, Egyptian troops were marching into occupied Palestine before they were betrayed by their government. Dear sisters, we did not lose Palestine – it was given away by our rulers – past and present! It is these rulers and regimes who continue to strengthened the hand of this murderous occupation through their multi-billion-dollar trade deals with this genocidal entity and supply of oil to fuel its war machine – deals written in the blood of the Palestinians. Turkiye is the entity’s 6th largest trading partner, with a trade volume of $9.5 billion.
It is these Western-implanted Muslim rulers and regimes who have outsourced the land, airspace, military bases, resources and even armies of this Ummah to the Western powers to support their Zionist outpost, and to fight wars in the interests of their Western masters rather than to save oppressed Muslims across the world! It is these Muslim rulers and regimes that have served as the frontline guard of this occupation, providing it the cover, protection and support for its continued existence for 7 long dark decades! They have implanted despair and defeatism in the minds of the Muslims that we can never defeat our enemies – through their serial betrayal of this Ummah. And it is these Western implanted Muslim rulers and regimes, who since the destruction of the Khilafah in 1924, have always been and continue to be the main obstacle to this Ummah achieving victories for the Muslims and our Deen – including the liberation of the Blessed Land of Palestine!
Dear sisters, we will never achieve victory in Palestine, Syria, Kashmir, or against any of our enemies under the continued rule of these treacherous rulers and regimes and their corrupt systems. They need to be removed and replaced with a leadership and system that understands its Islamic duty to be the guard, protector and shield of the Muslims – according to the words of our Prophet (saw)
«الْإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَهُوَ مَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ»
“The Imam is a guardian and he is responsible for his subjects”; a leadership that responds to the Command of Allah to defend the oppressed Muslims no matter where they live and to liberate all occupied Muslim land; a leadership that sincerely stands for our Deen and the Muslims and against its enemies; a leadership that will break the shackles of colonialism in our Muslim lands and mobilise the Muslim armies to fulfil their true role as defenders of the Ummah and their Deen.
The only leadership that can achieve all this is the true Islamic leadership and System of Allah (swt), the Khilafah (Caliphate) based upon the method of the Prophethood, for the Prophet (saw) said:
«إِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ»
“Only the Imam (the Khalifah) is a shield, behind whom you fight and you protect yourself with.”
It is the Khilafah state which will unite the Muslim lands, their resources, wealth and military to build a superpower, wielding immense political, economic, strategic and military power, using its leverage to strike fear into the hearts of any nation who dares to harm the Muslims, or their Deen. It is this state which in the 9th century sent a huge army to rescue a single Muslim woman in Amuriyah, Turkey who was captured and abused by the Romans. It was this state which responded to the cries of Muslim women who had been imprisoned by the 8th century oppressive Indian Hindu King, Raja Dahir, mobilising a formidable army to rescue these women. It was this state which in the 16th century, sent an armada of 36 ships to Spain to rescue 70,000 Muslims of Al-Andalus who were being persecuted by its Christians rulers and settled them in the lands of the Khilafah. It was under this state that Muslims, Christians, Jews lived side by side in peace, enjoying the same prosperity and rights of citizenship. It is under this state that Palestine was liberated in the past from the clutches of the Christian crusaders, and it is under this state that Palestine will be liberated again from the clutches of the Zionist crusaders Bi’ithnillah!
But sisters, there is another obstacle to the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of the Khilafah, and that is the toxin, the poison of nationalism that was injected into this Ummah by the western colonial powers who drew imaginary lines in the sand and in our minds to divide us into nation states – in the hope that we would never unite to become a formidable force and global power under the rule of the Khilafah ever again. Dear sisters, the rulers and regimes of the Muslim lands have used nationalism and these national borders that divide this Ummah as an excuse for inaction, to sit idle and chain their soldiers to their barracks while their Ummah in Palestine, Syria, Kashmir, and elsewhere bleeds, acting as if these genocides are a foreign problem that has nothing to do with their own nation, and as if the Muslims there are foreign citizens in foreign lands who they have no duty towards, only mobilising their soldiers to defend their thrones and selfish national borders or interests, disregarding the words of Allah (swt)
[إِنَّمَا ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ إِخۡوَةٌ۬]
“The believers are nothing but brothers…” [Al-Hujurat:10]
Nationalism and national interests are the weapon that these rulers use to justify their normalization agreements and deals with the murderous Zionist entity, throwing the Palestinian Muslims to the wolves.
Dear sisters, the attack on Muslims in Palestine and anywhere else is NOT a foreign problem– it is our problem as Muslims. The attack on Gaza is not a Palestinian war, or Arab war, it is a war upon this Ummah and our Deen – it is our war, a war therefore in which our Muslim armies must take front stage to protect their brothers and sisters – for our Prophet (saw) said:
«الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ، لاَ يَظْلِمُهُ وَلاَ يُسْلِمُهُ»
“A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor.”
Dear sisters, the Western colonialists may have drawn lines in the sand to divide our Muslim lands, but they failed to draw lines in our hearts to divide this Ummah, for Allah (swt) says:
[وَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ لَوْ أَنفَقْتَ مَا فِي الأَرْضِ جَمِيعاً مَّا أَلَّفَتْ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيْنَهُمْ إِنَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ]
“And He has united their (the believers’) hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them. Certainly, He is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” [Al-Anfal: 63]
Today our hearts beat with Palestine as it has always done for this Ummah, including amongst those in our Muslim armies, many of whom are waiting their chance to walk in the footsteps of Salahuddin Ayubi and liberate Al-Quds.
Dear sisters, if our hearts beat with Palestine, and if we have anger and hatred towards the Zionist entity and its crimes against our Ummah, then surely there should be anger and hatred towards the disease of nationalism, national borders, and nation-state politics that helped establish, strengthen and preserve this murderous occupation. We call you to discard these national borders, nation-state politics and nationalistic regimes and systems which infect our Muslim lands and eroded the bond of Muslim brotherhood. Reject these toxic concepts and artificial barriers which are the child of western colonialism as much as the Zionist entity is, and call for unity of this Ummah under one system, one state implementing the Commands of your Rabb – the Khilafah based upon the method of the Prophethood.
For sisters, there can be no end to the tears of the women and children of Palestine except its complete liberation. And there can be no liberation without the mobilisation of the Muslim armies. And the Muslim armies will not be mobilised without the sincere Islamic leadership of the Khilafah state. So dear sisters, raise a call, loud and clear to those in the Muslim armies, using every avenue, medium and opportunity you have – social media, the Muslim media, gatherings, protests, and especially those you know in these armies – demanding that our armies move urgently to the defence of the Muslims of Palestine and that they give their Nussrah (material support) for the establishment of the Khilafah which will uproot this genocidal occupation for good. Remind them of their duty to Allah and their Ummah. Raise this call until it reaches the ears of the next Salahuddin who exists amongst our armies and awaits his turn to become the next liberator of Al Quds and hero of this Ummah. This is how vital your words and actions
are sisters! Carry this dawah with all your efforts so that you will witness soon Biithnillah the liberation of Palestine and your hearts will rejoice as you hear the Takbirs of your Ummah echoing across this Blessed land!
Our final words are to our sincere brothers in the Muslim armies. We know that your heart bleeds as you see the slaughtered men, women and children of Gaza. We know the tears of the grieved mothers and orphaned children tears at your soul. We know the rage that fills your hearts as you witness your sisters being dishonoured and Al Aqsa being defiled. And we know that your heart beats alongside ours with Palestine. So, what is holding you back from rising to your duty as defenders, protectors and liberators of your Ummah? Is it your allegiance to these cowardly rulers who sold out Palestine to the Zionist entity, and sold their souls to those who gave and preserved their thrones; rulers who dishonoured your name by chaining you to your barracks while your Ummah bled? How can you bear to serve these leaders who made their career out of betrayal of the Muslims and your Deen, displayed openly their loyalty to the enemy and kept you from fulfilling your true role as defenders of the Muslims? What are your weapons, training and military strength for if not for protecting your Ummah and liberating Al Aqsa. The women and children of Gaza cry out for your protection – will you not respond? What will you say when Allah (swt) asks you:
[وَمَا لَكُمْ لاَ تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاء وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَـذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ نَصِيرًا]
“And what reason have you not to fight in the way of Allah and for the oppressed among men and women and children who say: Our Lord! Take us forth from the town whereof the people are oppressors and grant us from You a protector and grant us from You a helper” [An-Nisa: 75].
How long will you remain silent as your brothers and sisters are being annihilated?
Do you not wish to earn the great honour in this world and the Hereafter of being the ones who liberated the land of Masrah of your beloved Prophet (saw)? Do you not want to embrace the glorious legacy of the great Muslim commanders of the past – Salahuddin Ayubi, Muhammad ibn Qasim, Muhammad al Faith – who are enshrined as heroes of this Ummah for all time for bringing great victories to their Deen? Then we call you to rise, rise and overthrow the thrones of these treacherous rulers, discard these false colonial-imposed national borders between our lands used to divide us and keep you from fulfilling your true role, and march to Al Quds, march to the Pleasure of your Rabb, march to the cheers of your Ummah to liberate Palestine – for it is victory or martyrdom that awaits you. And become the Ansar of today by giving your Nussrah for the establishment of the second Khilafah Rashidah, gaining the honour of Saad ibn Muadh (ra) biithnillah, for whom 70,000 angels attended his Janaza – reflecting the scale of honour bestowed upon the one who gave the Nussrah for the Prophet (saw)’s state in Madinah. O sincere sons of the Muslim armies, your Ummah longs for the day when we hear your chants of Allahu Akbar as you enter Al-Quds having liberated it and the whole of Palestine from this evil occupation. We long for the day when we see you raise the flag of La-ilaha-illallah once again over the city, making it the capital of the second Khilafah Rashidah biithnillah. O soldiers of the Muslim Army! The doors of Jannah are open for you; the greatest honour awaits you for being the ones who liberated Al Aqsa. Allah (swt) is behind you! Your Ummah is behind you! So what is it that you are waiting for? Do not delay! The time to act is NOW!
Dr. Nazreen Nawaz
Director of the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir