The stark contrast between US President Barack Obama’s speech in Egypt and the actions of the United States is easy for anyone to see. Obama ultimately protects the elite interests of America. These interests require Obama to: work against the unity of the Ummah, ensure Israel’s security, continue the subordination of Iraq and interfere in the affairs of the Muslim lands through the support of agents like Mubarak in Egypt and Zardari in Pakistan. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى expose Obama for what he truly is and may He defeat the plot of the disbelievers. Ameen.
On June 4th 2009, US President Barack Obama gave a speech at Cairo University in Egypt. The speech was advertised to be a “historic address to the Muslim world”. However, the fact that he referred to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – a tyrant known for brutally suppressing the Ummah – as “a force for stability and good in the region” exposes the wide gap between what he said and the reality of US foreign policy towards the Ummah.
Obama: Rhetoric versus Reality
RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم advised the Ummah to be aware of falling into the same trap more than once. He صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “The believer is never stung from the same hole twice.” [Bukhari]
Obama is not the first politician to come from the Capitalist nations offering sweet words to the Muslims of Egypt. For example, Napoleon stated the following after he invaded Egypt: “Cadis, Sheiks, Imams, Chorbadgys, you will be told that I came to destroy your religion; do not believe it. Let your answer be that I come to re-establish your rights and punish your usurpers, and that I have more respect than the Mamelukes for your God, his Prophet, and the Koran.” However, the historical record shows that Napoleon’s real interests were to colonize Egypt to secure French interests against the British.
On Iraq, Obama stated that “Iraq was a war of choice”, but he did not admit that it was a war based on lies. Instead he defended George Bush’s actions by stating: “Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein”. More importantly, he is maintaining the same policy as Bush on Iraq as he continues to work with Defense Secretary Robert Gates who was selected by Bush. He has also failed to prosecute those in charge under Bush who were responsible for the crimes in Iraq and Guantanamo. Furthermore, he is refusing to disclose the photos that document America’s atrocities in Iraq.
On Palestine, he stated that “it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland” and that “the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security”. However, we must remember that Bush stated “I said that Palestinians should not have to live in poverty and occupation and I laid out a new vision for the future – two democratic states, Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security.” Again, Obama is maintaining Bush’s policy for Palestine – which is giving most of the land of Palestine to Israel. With that in mind, it is important to recognize that for Obama the main issue of concern is Israel’s security as he stated “the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel’s security“. This of course echoes what he stated in January 2009 (after the Gaza Massacre) “America is committed to Israel’s security. And we will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against legitimate threats“.
On Afghanistan/Pakistan, he stated: “Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there.” This statement is proven false by the fact America already maintains military bases in 63 countries and has built an embassy in Iraq that is the size of 80 football fields. Under Obama, America has changed its approach on dealing with the resistance in Afghanistan. Unlike Bush (who fought the Muslims in Afghanistan in isolation) Obama intends to establish a friendly regime in Afghanistan with the assistance of Pakistan. For the Muslims of Pakistan, this means that America will interfere in the affairs of the Ummah under the guise of “foreign investment”. This is in addition to the continued bombing of Pakistan – that has claimed, as of April 2009, over 687 civilians – and the displacement of 2.5 million people at the hands of America’s agent Zardari.
The Reality of the US Presidency
When reviewing the gap between Obama’s flowery speech and the reality on the ground, one may wonder why such a discrepancy exists. The reality is that Obama was allowed to become president for a reason. The U.S., like other Capitalist States, is controlled by businessmen and the owners of the major corporations. As a consequence, Obama must defend the interests of these elites, who are the ultimate power brokers of society – if not, he will be replaced. For example, Obama, just as Bush before him, funnelled billions to the ultra-rich through the banks, while failing to write-down the mortgages of ordinary American citizens. Commenting specifically on Obama’s bailout plan, Michael Hudson (a former Wall Street economist) stated “what you’ve done is given $12 trillion to the richest one percent-or ten percent of the population, and you’ve indebted the economy and the government to them for the next hundred years”. Therefore, Obama, like every president before him, is ensuring that American policy will serve the interests of the elite.
US Interests: Contrary to the Interests of the Ummah
As the US Presidency is dominated by the elite, understanding elite interests is critical to understand the real goals of the US foreign policy towards the Ummah.
The elite of America have firmly embraced the secular aqeedah (doctrine), which separates between “church and state”. They believe that religion has no role when it comes to drafting laws that regulate the affairs of society. Instead, they believe that humans are capable of determining such issues and are therefore free to legislate. Naturally, they establish their systems based on this viewpoint on life, including the economic system (i.e. Capitalism) as well as the political system (i.e. democracy). Although the Capitalists do not ban worship outright, they vehemently oppose the idea that Allah سبحانه وتعالى should have any say in organizing society and therefore restrict all acts of worship to rituals between the individual and the Creator.
The Capitalist elite do not limit themselves to protecting their system, but work to dominate other nations. For example, between 16th and 19th century, Italy, England, France, and other European nations embarked on campaigns to colonize the Muslim world, to steal our resources and force the Ummah to adopt their way of life. Since America upholds the same secular aqeedah as these other nations, it now also seeks to colonize and subjugate the Ummah – as is clear from its actions in Iraq, its support for Israel and, most importantly, its imposition of ruthless tyrants, like Mubarak, Zardari, and Karzai, across the Muslim world. The objective to dominate the Muslim Ummah was expressed in the “Carter Doctrine” in 1980 when then US President Jimmy Carter stated in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: “An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force”. According to Michael Klare, a professor and political analyst, Obama reaffirmed this doctrine in 2007 when he stated: “…my plan provides for an over-the-horizon force that could prevent chaos in the wider region, and allows for a limited number of troops to remain in Iraq to fight al Qaeda and other terrorists.”
With this understanding, it is clear that the objectives of American foreign policy run counter to those of the Ummah. The Capitalists believe that they have more right to our resources than we do. They believe that the Ummah should be divided into tiny states that can be continually dominated by America’s political and military might.
As openly proclaimed in the Carter Doctrine, America wants to dominate the lands of the Ummah to extract our resources. However, the bigger issue for the Capitalists is that the Ummah believes that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has the sole right to rule. As Allah سبحانه وتعالى has revealed in numerous ayat:
إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلاَّ لِلّهِ
“The rule (Hukm) is for none but Allah.” [Yusuf, 12:40]
فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءهُمْ عَمَّا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
“And rule between them by all that which Allah revealed to you, and do not follow their vain desires away from the truth which came to you.” [Maaida, 5:48]
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.” [An-Nisaa, 4:65]
The Capitalists therefore view the Islamic aqeedah as something that must be eradicated. They even have labelled this as a “battle for the hearts and minds”. If Capitalists fail to defeat Islam – and fail they will, by Allah’s سبحانه وتعالى leave – those who believe in Islam and call to Islam will ultimately challenge their rule and offer an alternative political and economic system, the Khilafah State, that will, by Allah’s سبحانه وتعالى leave, outpace their system by leaps and bounds. This is because the Khilafah State is based on the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, which contains the rules and systems that came from Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Creator of the universe. Consequently, the American Capitalists will work day and night to ensure that the Muslim Ummah is subjugated by their foreign policy. As Allah سبحانه وتعالى has revealed:
وَقَدْ مَكَرُواْ مَكْرَهُمْ وَعِندَ اللّهِ مَكْرُهُمْ وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ الْجِبَالُ
“And they had planned their plan, but with Allah is [recorded] their plan, even if their plan had been [sufficient] to do away with the mountains.” [Ibrahim, 14:46]
Opposition of Elite: Nothing New
Given that we have this understanding revealed to us from Allah سبحانه وتعالى, we should use it today when analyzing the actions of foreign powers towards the Muslim Ummah. We must see past the sweet words and superficial aspects of people – such as their middle names, where they grew up, etc – and look at their actions. When we do so, we realize that the US is working diligently to colonize the Ummah and is imposing fitnah (i.e. policies to make us leave Islam) upon us through various styles and means. Some of it includes the torture we have seen in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. However, they are also willing to bribe people with cash or medical treatment (e.g. Israel makes the terminally ill people in Gaza choose between life-saving medical treatment and collaboration with Israel). It also involves recruiting agents and spies among the Muslim political class to act as proxies for their designs against the Ummah.
As Muslims, it is our obligation to warn the Ummah from being seduced by this type of rhetoric. We must show the facts as mentioned above to those that incline to such speeches. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى help this Ummah to see the Haqq (truth) clearly from the Batil (falsehood). May Allah سبحانه وتعالى help us to be loyal to Him and His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم alone.
وَاللّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ
“And Allah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most of men know not.” [Yusuf, 12:21]