All praise is due to Allah سبحانه وتعالى, Lord of the Universe and Master of the Day of Judgment.
On Wednesday the 16th of September, Simon Tisdall and Anna Ridout released an appalling, ill-researched article in the UK’s Guardian. In it, Sheikh Hasina is reported to have cautioned UK Prime Minister David Cameron over loose counter-extremism policy. The prime minister of Bangladesh seemed to be concerned over the growing number of ‘British jihadis’ that are attempting to stoke “an Islamist revival”.
It must be said immediately that Hasina is well aware of an inexorable reality; an Islamic revival has certainly been fostering in Bangladesh for some time but the tyrant (who fears her own demise) is now cowering behind the guise of terrorism, so as to tighten her grip over the capital. She also had the audacity to claim that the “security situation in Bangladesh was under control” after using extreme measures to quell tensions within Dhaka. Let it be clear; the only security concern is the growing dissidence against her party and subsequently a lack of control over the people (all of whom are exhausted with the current system).
The article then mentions a veteran Dhaka politician who has supposedly noticed the ‘fundamentalist shift’ first hand, when his nephew came back from a US college only to ask him: “Why don’t you grow a beard?” – In sarcasm we say; what a terrible tragedy. To highlight the main inconsistency in this article; more people have been tortured and arrested at the hands of the government than the unofficial 30 who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq from Bangladesh. Evidently then, the greatest threat to the Bangladeshi people are not terrorists but tyrants and by this we mean those who currently lead the country.
Both writers point to Hizb ut Tahrir as the brains behind the revival. Their so called ‘intelligence specialist’ called the party a “hearts and minds organisation” that want “to be a province or a state of ISIS”. Such an ill-informed remark is blatantly contrary to the party’s position and it is deeply unsurprising that these comments come shortly after Hizb ut Tahrir hosted a successful online conference attended by many Muslims within the country. An inability to halt the programme led to the Bangladeshi government arresting and torturing eight members in frustration. This is not to mention the recent arrests and torture of two Bengali sisters that were also associated with the party.
Hasina’s strategy to combat the Islamic uprising has been to use an iron fist. By employing her thugs like the Detective Branch (DB), she has tried to instil fear within the hearts of dawah carriers and Muslims alike. These groups are known to isolate people without a legal process and to torture them harshly, scarring them bloody only to go on still. Such brutal methods to depress the rampant activism in Bangladesh is indicative of sheer desperation. Sheikh Hasina continues to lead a campaign of pain against our brothers and sisters only to run into a wall of utter failure, such is the nature of those who plot against Allah.
﴿وَإِذْ يَمْكُرُ بِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لِيُثْبِتُوكَ أَوْ يَقْتُلُوكَ أَوْ يُخْرِجُوكَ وَيَمْكُرُونَ وَيَمْكُرُ اللّهُ وَاللّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ
“And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.”
(Al-Anfal: 30)
We ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى to reward those who work for the re-establishment of His Deen in Bangladesh. Our brave others and sisters continue to pull this Ummah forward. The reward for those oppressed and the punishment for those who oppress is detailed in the Noble Quran:
اللّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُم مِّنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
“Allah is the Wali (Protector or Guardian) of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into light. But as for those who disbelieve, their Auliya (supporters and helpers) are Taghut [false deities and false leaders, etc.], they bring them out from light into darkness. Those are the dwellers of the Fire, and they will abide therein forever”
(Al-Baqarah: 257)
If these are the fears that have smitten western-led puppets within the Muslim world like Hasina and her servants, then the future will certainly be petrifying for them all (with the return of the true Khilafah upon the method of the Prophethood) and if she believes for a moment that cuddling up to Cameron will prevent the evident rise of Islam, she is deeply mistaken. Hasina can feel the movement towards change and the inability to prevent it frustrates her. The Muslims in general have certainly grown tired of living under her reign and are constantly looking towards Islam as the only alternative. Indeed, it is the Khilafah that will eradicate corruption and bring back justice by holding the likes of Sheikh Hasina to account for her autocratic tyranny.
We shall end on Allah’s warning to the likes of Hasina:
Narrated by Abu Musa, Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said,
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَيُمْلِي لِلظَّالِمِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَخَذَهُ لَمْ يُفْلِتْهُ»، قَالَ : ثُمَّ قَرَأَ وَكَذَلِكَ أَخْذُ رَبِّكَ إِذَا أَخَذَ الْقُرَى وَهِيَ ظَالِمَةٌ إِنَّ أَخْذَهُ أَلِيمٌ شَدِيدٌ
“Allah gives respite to the oppressor, but when He takes him over, He never releases him.” Then he recited, “Such is the seizure of your Lord when He seizes (population of) towns in the midst of their wrong: Painful indeed, and severe is His seizure.” (11:102)
[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 208]
Ibn Caesar