5 Pillarz
Prominent figures of Islamic political party, Hizb ut-Tahrir have rejected the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham’s (ISIS) declaration of the Khilafah.
No official statement has been issued by the veteran Islamist organisation in any of its media forums, but key figures have publicly rejected ISIS’ surprise announcement on Sunday.
Jordan
Media spokesperson of HT in Jordan, Mamdooh Qatishaat, said: “It is nothing more than empty speech that does not add anything to the reality of ISIS. They were a militia before the announcement, and they are still a militia after the announcement.
“They do not have any real authority in Syria or Iraq, and they have not achieved any real security internally or externally. It is not possible for the Khilafah to exist without real authority on the earth. Therefore the announcement of ISIS is empty speech without substance, and no evidence or reality on the ground or resources.
“If any movement wishes to announce a Khilafah anywhere on earth, they are required to follow the method of Rasool Allah (saw) to achieve this objective, including having full, open, and clear authority over the land, securing it completely internally and externally. This land must also have the resources needed to set up a Khilafah. So how can this be a Khilafah when they aren’t even a state with the resources and requirements necessary to begin with?”
Qatishaat cited evidence from the life of Prophet Muhammad (saw), saying: “The Islamic State in Madinah was under the complete authority of Rasool Allah (saw), and the internal and external security was completely under Islam. The Messenger of Allah (saw) would manage people’s affairs, and lead the armies, and judge between people in their disputes, and send messengers, and meet them publicly – not in hiding, and the State had all the necessary resources and requirements that a State needs in the region.”
He said that the announcement of the Khilafah “will not be a piece of news spread throughout the deceptive media. Rather it will be – by the Will of Allah (swt) – a resounding earthquake that will flip the political status quo on its head, and change history forever”.
Qatishaat concluded by saying: “The re-establishment of the Khilafah is a fard on all Muslims. It is not a fard on Hizb ut-Tahrir alone. Whoever establishes it truthfully, they are to be followed (regardless of their group affiliation). The situation here is not so; they do not have the resources or requirements of a State, or real authority on the earth, or safety, or security. This announcement of ISIS is of no value or effect, and the Muslims are still responsible for continuing to work to re-establish the Khilafah until it is done.”
Lebanon
The director of the central media office of HT in Lebanon, Osman Bakhach said: “Resurrecting the caliphate should not be accomplished through blood, charges of apostasy and explosions.
“We are invested in the question of the Islamic caliphate and are advocates of the idea. We devised for this end a certain approach – the prophetic approach – calling for a state that opens its arms to all people, Muslims and others, including Christians and Jews, not to be a state where Muslims can not stand each other and fight amongst each other. That is something we categorically reject.”
He added: “We do not approve of the methods and practices of some Islamist groups today. Intra-fighting, in our opinion, is not the right way to bring about the caliphate. Threatening those opposed to the establishment of the caliphate in this way is improper. Establishing the Islamic state is not accomplished by considering every dissenter an apostate whose killing is deemed lawful. In this way, ISIS proclaims itself both adversary and arbiter.”
Bakhach did not rule out that individuals will support the idea “because the caliphate is the dream and wish of every Muslim. Some simple-minded people might get carried away by this call and support it.” He argued that “the political context of ISIS requires reassessment, especially in Syria because since its inception, the group did not fight the Syrian regime, rather it raised the banner of liberating the liberated and entered into conflict with the opposition. That is why we believe that its call is a claim that is not undisputed.”
UK
On Monday, Dr Reza Pankhurst who spent four years in Egyptian prison under Hosni Mubarak for his affiliation with HT wrote on his Facebook:
“Back in 2006, a group declared an Islamic state in Iraq with an anonymous Abu Umar al-Baghdadi as its Amir. It was widely dismissed by others who claimed that the “state” had no real estate other than a few internet addresses. Yesterday, the proclaimed successor to Abu Umar – one Abu Bakr – was anointed as a “caliph” by the same group.
“Just like in 2006, these announcements appear to have little relationship to ground realities, and are more to do with internal politics and competition between various militant factions. People should treat the topic seriously, and not in mockery. These are political issues of great concern to many, and deserve to be dealt with properly. Not as propaganda pieces between competing factions, as appears the case from the statement released.”
The university lecturer and author of the book “The Inevitable Caliphate” added: “Two conditions appear to be missing from this declaration – the first being an actual self sufficient state that is capable of defending itself. Any analysis of what they currently hold will come to the conclusion that any concerted effort will remove them from the map very quickly. The fact that the US/ UK are holding back from even air strikes is another issue which requires its own political analysis separate from this.
“Secondly, they would have to take bay’a from the people of influence – as it is, they have gathered their own group members and taken bay’a. Yet ISIS is just one element of the forces in Iraq/ Syria – and by no means so dominant as to claim their opinion is all that counts. Where is the bay’a of the tribal leaders, and other influential people? The idea that ISIS shura council comprises the Ahl hal wal aqd is something else that doesn’t tally with reality at all. But this second condition is irrelevant when the first has not been met. Even their statement admits their “state” may be erased shortly.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir has been working for the re-establishment of the Khilafah in the Muslim world since 1953.