Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah Pakistan has issued a Publicized Policy Position (PPP) regarding the scourge of sectarianism and how the Khilafah will engender respect for difference of opinion and end factionalism
A. Preamble: Democracy causes division, factions and conflict, including sectarianism
Democracy is a system of governance which allocates state’s resources and attention according to the political power of different groups in the society. Those groups enjoying more political power and having more political weight, influence the legislative agenda of the state, and get more resources and more concessions from the state. Thus a democratic state only guarantees the rights of those citizens who can generate enough political pressure on the state that the state cedes to their demands. Therefore the idea of representative governance in democracy generates a feeling of insecurity amongst different groups in the society as they struggle to draw the state’s attention to their demands. At the local level political leaders find it expedient and sometimes necessary that they fan divisions and highlight the unique identity of the faction and the group which they represent as they feel that maintaining their unique identity will guarantee them political weight and hence the state’s attention. Thus democratic governance encourages divisions, factions and groupings in the society where each faction competes with the other for the attention of the state. This phenomenon is seen wherever there is democracy, with all manner of groups fighting for their rights. Democratic politics has encouraged the formation of many factions in Pakistan based on ethnicity, race, nationality and religious difference of opinion. The devastating ethnic clashes between the Mohajirs, Pathans and Sindhis in Karachi, between the Baluchs and the Pakistani state in Baluchistan and the formation of sectarian parties in Pakistan is a direct result of democratic politics which encourages factionalism. This in turn creates a volatile situation which can be ignited at any time by foreign powers.
B. Political Considerations: Colonialism ignites sectarianism
The recent wave of sectarian violence has been ignited because of Pakistani government’s slavish foreign policy and its support for the US occupation of Afghanistan. Facing defeat at the hands of Muslims in Afghanistan and their brothers from Pakistan’s FATA region, and weakened by a grave economic crisis at home, America wants to weaken the resistance against it presence in the region. To achieve this objective American intelligence agencies are orchestrating a wave of bomb blasts and false flag attacks in urban Pakistan to divide the Muslims and make them fight amongst themselves and to discredit the resistance movement in the eyes of the Pakistani public. Part of America’s mischief is to ignite a war of fitna between Pakistani military and the militants by using sectarian violence where groups fighting the Americans in Afghanistan are presented as sectarian groups who want to kill Shia Muslims across Pakistan. This is the same policy which was employed by America in Iraq where it incited sectarian division amongst Muslims to weaken and divide the resistance and ignite a war between Muslims thus consolidating its grip over Iraq.
In slavish obedience to the Americans, the current regime and treacherous Muslim rulers fan sectarian hatred amongst Muslims to strengthen their unnatural rule over the masses. Encouraged by their American masters it was the Pakistani regime under General Zia ul Haq which, fearing the desire for the implementation of Islam in the region and Pakistan, encouraged the formation of sectarian groups in Pakistan to discourage this tendency. Even today the Pakistani regime incites sectarian hatred amongst Muslims to justify its participation in America’s War on Islam. The regime and its mouthpieces also incite sectarian hatred amongst Muslims to counter and oppose the growing demand of implementation of Shariah in Pakistan and to advocate a secular civil democratic model of governance for Pakistan. Moreover through different education curricula for different schools of thought, the Pakistani state tries to preserve the divisions amongst the Muslims of Pakistan.
C.Legal Injunctions: Islam secures the rights of all citizens and nurtures difference of opinion in a constructive manner
C1. Citizens’ rights are guaranteed by Shariah and not through access to political power by different factions
Unlike democracy, Islam does not believe that representatives of the people should make the laws which govern them. In democracy such a methodology naturally results in discriminatory behaviour of the state against groups or factions which do not enjoy enough political clout to influence the legislative agenda of the state. Such discriminatory behaviour in result increases factional animosity amongst different groups and encourages severe and damaging competition between them causing fractures and divisions in the society. Although the Khalifah in Islam is elected, however neither he nor the elected members of the Majlis ul-Ummah have the right to make laws. The Khalifah is bound to implement the Islamic Shariah and rule according to its provisions. Islam rejects the politics of factions. In Islam the resources of the state are distributed amongst its citizens according to the rules of Shariah and not according to the political weight of different factions in the society. The Islamic Shar’a has prohibited the Khalifah from discriminating and differentiating between his subjects based on their race, ethnicity or religion or school of thought, rather it has ordered him to secure the rights of the citizens of the Islamic state solely on the basis of Islamic legal injunctions.
In Article 6 in the Introduction to the Constitution, Hizb ut-Tahrir states: “The State is forbidden to discriminate at all between the individuals in terms of ruling, judiciary and management of affairs or their like. Rather, every individual should be treated equally regardless of race, Deen, colour or anything else.”
And in Article 7 in Introduction to the Constitution, Hizb ut-Tahrir states: “The State implements the Islamic Shari’ah upon all those who hold the Islamic citizenship, with no difference between Muslims and non-Muslims as follows: (a) All the rules of Islam will be implemented upon the Muslims without any exception. (b) The non-Muslims will be allowed to follow their beliefs and worships within the scope of the general system…… (f) The State will implement the rest of the Shari’ah rules and all the Islamic Shari’ah matters, such as transactions, penal codes, testimonies, ruling systems and economics among others equally upon the Muslims and non-Muslims. The State will also implement the same upon those with a covenant, the asylum seekers and all those under the authority of Islam in the same way. It implements them upon all members of society except for the ambassadors, consuls, and similar for they have diplomatic immunity.”
C2. The Khilafah is the political unity of all Muslims and will promote this unity within the Islamic State
The Khilafah state is a political unity of all Muslims regardless of their interpretation of Shariah texts and Islamic history. The Khilafah state will use the media and the education curriculum to promote unity amongst Muslims of all schools of thought and impart the correct understanding of Islam being a bond of brotherhood between Muslims. A single education curriculum throughout the state will help shape this bond of unity amongst the Muslim population.
In Article 103 in the Introduction to the Constitution, Hizb ut-Tahrir states: “The institution of the Media Office is responsible for drawing up and executing the political media strategy for the State in order to support the interests of Islam and the Muslims. Internally, it works to build an Islamic society that is strong and cohesive, and it refutes that which is malicious while confirming that which is good. In external affairs it is to promote Islam during peace and war, in a manner that explains the greatness of Islam, its justice and the strength of its army, and expose the corruption and oppression of manmade system and the weakness of its army.”
And in Article 177 it states: “The State has one unique curriculum and no other curriculum are allowed to be taught. Private schools are allowed as long as they adopt the State’s curriculum and establish themselves on the State’s educational policy and accomplish the goal of education set by the State, on condition they do not allow mixing between male and female, whether student or teacher, and they are not specific to a sect, religion, school of thought, race or colour.”
C3. Nurturing difference of opinion and respect for it, for the good of society
Islam permits diversity of opinion in legal interpretations of Shar’iah texts. Bukhari and Muslim report on the authority of Amr bin al Aas that he heard the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم say,
«إذا حكم الحاكم فاجتهد، ثم أصـاب فله أجـران، وإذا حكم فاجـتـهد ثم أخطـأ فله أجـر واحـد»
“If the judge passes a judgement and makes Ijtihad and is right, he will have two rewards. If he passes a judgement and makes a mistake he will have one reward.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
The development of Islamic Fiqh resulted from different legal understandings of the Shariah texts by different jurists. This gave rise to different legal schools in Islam, a matter which is allowed. Unlike democracy which adopts the opinion of the majority for legislative purposes, thus resulting in state’s discrimination against the minority, Islam has its own unique method of addressing difference of opinion and adopting the legal opinion for the functioning of the state. Islam has given the right of adopting the legal opinion, which will be implemented in the state, to the Khalifah and has put certain restrictions on the Khalifah regarding such an adoption.
In the Introduction to the Constitution Article 3, Hizb ut-Tahrir states: “The Khalifah adopts specific Shari’ah rules which he will enact as a constitution and laws. If he adopts a Shari’ah rule, this rule alone becomes the Shari’ah rule that must be acted upon and it becomes a binding law that every citizen must obey openly and privately.” However in the adoption of legal opinions which will be implemented in the state, the Khalifah has been restrained from adopting opinions in matters related to Ibadat (except for Zakat and Jihad) and matters pertaining to thoughts related to Aqeedah. This will ensure political unity in the state between adherents of different legal Islamic schools.
In Article 4 in the Introduction to the Constitution, Hizb ut-Tahrir states: “The Khalifah does not adopt any specific Shari’ah rule in matters related to rituals (‘Ibadaat) except in Zakat and Jihad, and whatever is necessary to protect the unity of the Muslims, and nor does he adopt any thought from among the thoughts related to the Islamic ‘Aqeedah.”
Moreover Islam has further regulated the process of adoption of legal opinions by the Khalifah by restricting it only to opinions extracted from the Islamic texts and opinions adopted by using a specific methodology of Ijtihad which the Khalifah must declare beforehand. Therefore any opinion adopted by the Khalifah which is not based on Islamic texts and which is not extracted by following the methodology of Ijtihad which he previously declared, is considered void.
In Article 37 in the Introduction to the Constitution, Hizb ut-Tahrir states: “The Khalifah’s adoption is restricted by the Shari’ah rules; he is prohibited to adopt any rule which is not derived according to a legitimate deduction from the Shari’ah evidences, and he is restricted with what he adopted of the rules, and by what he bound himself to with respect to the method of derivation. So he is not permitted to adopt a rule which has been derived according to a methodology which contradicts the methodology he adopted, and he cannot give an order which contradicts the rules that he had adopted.”
Note: Please refer to the following articles of Hizb ut Tahrir’s Introduction to the Constitution for the complete evidences from Quran and Sunnah: 3, 4, 6, 7, 37,103 and 177. To see relevant articles of the constitution for the Khilafah state please visit this web link: http://htmediapak.page.tl/policy-matters.htm
D. POLICY: The Khilafah will end the Divisive Politics of Democracy
D1. The abolition of democracy will eliminate the politics of factions and divisions in the society.
D2. The Khilafah will guarantee the rights of all citizens irrespective of their race, ethnicity or religious affiliation and would govern their affairs according to the rules of Islam.
D3. The Khilafah is the political unity of all Muslims. It would use the media and educational curriculum to promote harmony and unity amongst Muslims.
D4. The Khalifah has the right to adopt in legal opinions through correct Ijtihad that derived from the sources of legislation that Allah Almighty revealed to His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, and his adopting is binding on all Muslims. His right to adoption is regulated by Shariah rules. The Khalifah will not adopt in matters related to Aqaid (belief system) and Ibadat (acts of worship).
D5. The Khilafah will cut off all ties with all Harbi (belligerent) countries and America is at the top of them and uproot its diplomatic, military and intelligence presence from Pakistan thus refusing America access to our lands and eliminating her ability to fan divisions amongst Muslims.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah Pakistan
27 Rabii’ uth-Thaani 1435 AH
27 February 2014 CE