The Aftermath of the Madrid bombings and the correct agenda for Muslims in Europe

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِِ
The Aftermath of the Madrid bombings and the correct agenda for Muslims in Europe

On Thursday 11th March, 10 bombs planted on packed commuter trains at rush hour in Madrid, exploded causing over 200 deaths and injuring over 1400 others. It was the worst such incident in Europe since the events of Lockerbie over 15 years ago. Initially the Spanish government citing forensic and intelligence evidence accused ETA, the Basque separatist group of being behind the bombings. In the days that followed Muslim groups became the prime suspects as millions of Spaniards mourned their loss. The election held on 14th March became a referendum on the Spanish Government’s foreign policy. The election saw a massive upset with the rank outsiders, the Socialists, winning a decisive victory.

In Britain the Prime Minister Tony Blair, addressing the Labour Party’s spring conference declared, “it is terrorism that is designed to strike at the very heart of our way of life, our democracy, our freedom, and the rule of law”. The London Police commissioner, Sir John Stevens acknowledged on Monday 15th March that a terrorist attack in London was “inevitable”. This message was echoed by the London mayor, Ken Livingstone when he said “it would be a miracle” if London escaped attack. On the same day, the Home Secretary David Blunkett said an attack would be “quite likely”.

After analysis, thought and contemplation, and after witnessing the level of confusion and anxiety amongst the Muslim community in Britain, we present the following points to illustrate the correct view towards the Madrid attacks and to outline a clear path forward for Muslims in Britain.

1. Bombings such as those in Madrid are not permitted by Islam.

It is true that the Western states today provide the tyrants in the Muslim world with the military, economic and political support to repress their citizens and preserve the Western grasp on the resources of our lands. It is also true that there are double standards in the value placed on human life. The killing of civilians in the West is a tragedy while the deaths of Muslim men, women and children due to the carpet-bombing of civilian towns and cities is simply considered collateral damage. A blind eye is turned to the daily killing of Muslim civilians in countries like Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan, yet there is always wall to wall coverage of ‘western’ civilian deaths. Despite all of these provocations and despite the reprehensible nature of Western foreign policy, Muslims must adhere to Islam and the Shari’ah rules. The Shari’ah is clear in forbidding Muslims from targeting innocent non-combatants.

Allah (subhanahu wa ta'aala) says:

وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللّهُ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
"And kill not anyone whom Allah has forbidden, except in the course of justice. This He has commanded you that you may understand" [Al-An'am: 151]

2. Muslims must work for the real solution.

Western governments have demonstrated that they have little regard for Muslim life. They have also exhibited their deep animosity toward Islam through their speech and deeds. We ask you how can they be the source of security for Muslims? The security and sanctity of Muslim life and non-Muslim life can only be realised through the Islamic ideology and its implementation through the Islamic Khilafah State. Working to uproot Western interference in the Islamic world requires political work to re-establish the Khilafah state in the Muslim lands. This state will place our political destiny back into our hands and allow this Ummah to take control over her resources. This state will stand against Western imperialism in all its forms.

3. The role of Muslims in Europe.

At a time when Islam and Muslims are under attack from vicious propaganda Muslims in Europe must stand firm for the universality of the Islamic ideology. They must work as part of a global Islamic agenda, which sees as its primary goal the reestablishment of the Khilafah state and the implementation of the Islamic ideology. This can be achieved by adopting the following agenda:

Firstly - To assist directly in the building of a global call for Khilafah in the Muslim World.

The obstacles to the application of Islam are the Muslim rulers, who are the surrogates of the Western states in the Muslim world. We need to become a voice for political change in the Muslim world. Muslims in the West have the ability to speak and to address the challenges faced in the Muslim lands under their tyrant dictatorships. Holding the view that living in the West means we must distance ourselves from our Ummah and her vital issue is a clear contradiction to Islam and the speech of Muhammad (salAllahu alaihi wasallam) when he said,

الْمُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ كَالْبُنْيَانِ يَشُدُّ بَعْضُهُ بَعْضًا
"A believer to another believer is like a building whose different parts enforce each other."

Secondly - To present Islam in the West as an ideology and an alternative civilisation

We need to address the West with the intellectual strength of Islam and to call the thinkers in the West to visualise the great civilisation of Islam, as it was and will one day arise when the Khilafah state returns. This call must resonate in the Western capitals; such that the thinkers in the West can see the future Khilafah state will not take the Muslim world to a mythical medieval theocratic model, but rather will advance the world under an enlightened social, economic and political order. Indeed this system is best placed to deal with the inequalities, injustice and corporate terror felt by most under Capitalism.

The building of the view of Islam as an alternative and credible civilisation is the correct way to counteract the media and propaganda battle that intensified after 9/11 against Islam.

Thirdly – Safeguarding the Muslim communities and making them exemplary

We must safeguard the Muslim community in Britain from dilution with alien values. Muslim communities should become model communities that exhibit the advanced values that Islam gave us. We must not isolate ourselves into ghettos, or run to adopt the western values for the sake of appeasing critics. Rather we must maintain our values, our identity and demonstrate these values in our trade, relationships, Akhlaaq (morals), interactions and dealings with the people in the West. Our Mosques should become centres of excellence and learning not centres for sectarian division. Our marriages should be examples of tranquillity and stability. Our youth should exhibit the good akhlaaq (morals) and the best attributes, excelling in all areas, rather than become by-products of British ‘yob culture’. Our women should show the true examples of modesty and honour, resisting the call to discard her identity for the false notions of liberation. By Allah (subhanahu wa ta'aala) leave such a community will shine in the moral and social decline that envelopes the Western world and will act to divert the propaganda war fought on a state level to hide the truth about Islam and its strength of thought and civilisation.

O Muslims in Britain!

You are a part of a global Ummah and you need to join the global Islamic call. Muslims all over the world are contributing their time, energies and even their lives to bring the shade of Allah’s deen over the Muslims and over all mankind. Work with us in establishing Allah’s deen, presenting the truth of Islam and build our communities on the correct foundations. This is the agenda the Muslims in the West must abide by, for soon we will witness the new dawn, the emergence of a new civilisation and the first step towards the shifting of western hegemony the world over.

Hizb ut-Tahrir – Britain
4th Safar 1425 AH
25th March 2004 CE