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Establish Khilafah Today

20 Feb 06 19:25:48 GMT

Establish Khilafah Today

1. What is the Khilafah?

The Khilafah is the name given to the Islamic system of government. When we say that Muslims must establish Khilafah, we mean that Muslims must establish an Islamic state, with an Islamic system of government ruled by the Islamic Shariah.

The name Khilafah comes from the Arabic word "Khaleefah", which means the successor. The name "Khaleefah" is the title given to those Islamic leaders who came as successors to prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Another name for the Khaleefah is Ameer-ul-Mo'mineen, which means "leader of the faithful".

Muslims must perform the bay'ah on the Khaleefa, which means to select him as a leader and to trust him to rule by the word of Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala). This means that the Khaleefah must implement Islamic laws, the Shariah, in all the lands under the Khilafah. The Khilafah must include all nations in the world where the population is predominantly Muslim, and all Islamic Shariah laws must take effect in these lands with respect to all issues in the society.

2. What about Muslim countries that exist today?

Islam came as a uniting religion, meant to unite all of mankind under one rule, the rule of Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala). Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) has warned us in many ayat in the Qur'an that we must not be seperated or divided into groups and we must all be one community and one Ummah. Therefore, the current state of affairs of the Muslim Ummah is not acceptable from an Islamic point of view. All Islamic nations must be united as one nation, one people, brothers and sisters in Islam, with one leader.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also warned in many ahadith that we must not be split up into groups, and that all Muslims are like one inseperable body. In order to be true Muslims, we must follow the commands of Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) and his messenger (pbuh), and we must unite ourselves into a single nation and a single Ummah under one leader.

Therefore, establishing a Khilafah uniting all Muslim nations is a religious duty on every Muslim, and it is just as important as establishing salat, fasting Ramadan and giving zakat. Not only is it a religious duty on every single Muslim, but it will also lead to economic prosperity, justice, peace and security for all Muslim communities living throughout the world.
Why is establishing the Khilafah obligatory on every Muslim?

Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) always mentions the believers as one community, one brotherhood and one people. In the following ayah, Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) mentions that the Muslims were made into one Ummah to be a witness over the other nations, and the Messenger - Muhammad (pbuh) - to be a witness over this Ummah.

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا, وَمَا

جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَى

عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ, وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ

لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيم (البقرة 143)

"Thus have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves; and we appointed the Qibla to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (from the Faith). Indeed it was (a change) momentous, except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people most surely full of Kindness, Most Merciful".[surah 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 143]

Also in the following ayah, Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) informs us that Muslims are the best nation, or Ummah:

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَوْ آمَنَ

أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ مِنْهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ (آل عمران 11)

"You are the best umma brought forth to mankind - enjoining the correct and forbidding the incorrect and believing in Allah"[surah 3 (Al-Imran), ayah 110]

And again in the following ayat, Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) mentions that the believers are a single brotherhood.

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَ أَخَوَيْكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ (الحجرات 10)

" The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: so make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that ye may receive Mercy". [surah 49 (Al-Hujurat), ayah 10]

إِنَّ هَذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَا رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ , وَتَقَطَّعُوا أَمْرَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ كُلٌّ إِلَيْنَا رَاجِعُونَ (الأنبياء 92 - 93)

"Verily, this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me (and no other). But (later generations) cut off their affairs (of unity), one from another: (yet) will they all return to Us." [surah 21 (Al-Anbiya'), ayat 92-93]

And in the following ayah, Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) tells the believers to be united together and not to be divided reminds them that they were enemies but that Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) saved them from this situation and made them into brothers:

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّف

َ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا كَذَلِك

يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ آيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ (آل عمران 103)

"And hold fast, all together, by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the Pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: that ye may be guided". [surah 3 (Al-Imran), ayah 103]

And in the following ayah, Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) orders the Muslims and the believers to obey Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) and His Messenger (pbuh) and not to fall into disputes because this will cause their power to be dissipated. We have seen this clearly illustrated in our situation today, were Muslims are the weakest and poorest of all nations. This has happened because we did not follow Allah's (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) commands in this ayah and we were separated into many nations and fought amongst ourselves.

وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلا تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ وَاصْبِرُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ , وَلا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ بَطَرًا وَرِئَاءَ النَّاسِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ مُحِيطٌ (الأنفال 46 – 47)

"And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere. And be not like those who started from their homes insolently and to be seen of men, and to hinder (men) from the path of Allah: for Allah compasseth round about all that they do". [surah 8 (Al-Anfal), ayat 46-47]

And of course, when we are separated into countries and groups and fighting amongst ourselves, we take each other to be enemies and others outside the community of beleivers as freinds. This is what Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) warns us against doing in the following ayah:

أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تُتْرَكُوا وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا مِنْكُمْ وَلَمْ يَتَّخِذُوا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلا رَسُولِهِ وَلا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلِيجَةً وَاللَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ (التوبة 16)

"Or think ye that ye shall be abandoned, as though Allah did not know those among you who strive with might and main, and take none for friends and protectors except Allah, His Messenger, and the (community of) Believers? But Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do". [surah 9 (Al-Tawbah), ayah 16]

Later in the same surah, Allah describes the believers as "protector-friends" of each other:

وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ " (التوبة 71)

"The believers, men and women, are protector-friends of each other, enjoining the correct and forbidding the incorrect." [surah 9 (Al-Tawbah), ayah 71]

The previous ayat clearly show from the Qur'an that the Muslims must be one Ummah, one brotherhood, one community of believers. They should never fall into disputes amongst each other. This is why it is obligatory on the Muslims to establish a Khilafah, or a united Islamic state, ruled by the Islamic Shariah.

There are also proofs from the Hadith that Muslims must establish Khilafah:

As for the Sunnah, Nafi'a reported saying: “'Umar said to me that he heard the Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasalaam) saying: Whoso takes off his hand from allegiance to Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) will meet Him (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) on the Day of Resurrection without having any proof for him, and whoso dies whilst there was no bay'ah (allegiance or a pledge) on his neck (to a Khaleefah), he dies a death of jahilliyah.”

This is because the state of the people during the jahiliyah and before Islam was that they were divided with no single leader. They were constantly fighting amongst themselves wasting their efforts and resources. After Islam came, it united them into a single Ummah and a single community of believers with one leader. So whoever chooses not to participate in this new united community has reverted to the state of the pre-Islamic jahiliyah.

Also, the following hadith serves as a warning as to how dangerous it is to be divided into groups with more than one leader. It also proves that the Muslims must always have only one leader:

As narrated by 'Arfajah that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Salallahu Alaihi Wasalaam) say, “If someone comes to you when you are united over one man and wants to break your strength and divide your unity, kill him.”

After reading the previous ayat and ahadith, some people may say: There is no longer an Islamic nation, and there is no Khaleefah today to give bay'ah or allegiance to, so what can we do?

The answer to this is clear. The previous ayat and ahadith give us an image of what the state of the Muslims should be. Therefore, if an Islamic state existed we must protect it at all cost. However if no Islamic state exists, such as our situation today, this does not excuse us from not following these ayat and ahadith.

We must work to re-establish Khilafah and appoint our best person to be a Khaleefah, giving him our allegiance and pledge to follow him as long as he does not go against the Qur'an or the Sunnah.

What does the Islamic Khilafah government look like?

Many Islamic scholars have gone into the details of how the Islamic Khilafah should work, and how the government should be structured. This is an issue best left for another discussion, because it cannot be summarized here except to say:

The Khilafah must include all Muslim nations in the world.
There must be only one Khaleefah or Ameer, with all Muslims giving him their bay'ah or allegiance.
There must be a shoora council that gives advice and help to the Khaleefah.
Shariah law must be implemented in the Islamic state regarding all issues.
There must be only one military, with a single leadership appointed by the Khaleefah.
There must be only one currency for the Islamic state.
There must be no discrimination against any group, ethnicity or nationality. All Muslims must be treated equally.
The Arabic language should be used as a uniting language to allow various ethnic groups to communicate. It should be taught as a second language, in addition to the local languages of every ethnic group.
5. So what can Muslims do today to start building the Khilafah?

The first step is for Muslims to feel that all Muslims are one people and one nation. There is no difference between them because of race or color, and the best of them are the most pious. Once the majority of Muslims in the world have realized this fact, that we are all brothers in Islam, and once they have established the Khilafah in their own hearts, it will become a reality on our lands.

Muslims around the world must realize that the "Muslim" countries that exist today are a temporary stage that the Islamic Ummah is passing through. It is simply the post-colonial stage, and it is not a permanent situation. A person cannot be a Muslim if they are content with the current situation. This is a temporary phase we are passing through, and the goal is to unite the Ummah into a single nation, with one leader, ruled by the Islamic Shariah.

Once all Muslims have accepted this fact, they must also live their lives by the Islamic Shariah law. How can we claim to be Muslims if we do not follow what Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) and His Messenger (pbuh) have commanded us to do? We must also know that the Islamic Shariah law is the most perfect and just system, and establishing it is for our own benefit because it will result in a healthy society free of crime and injustice.

Finally, in addition to acting like a single Ummah and living by the Islamic Shariah, Muslims must also increase their knowledge about Islam. They must start to build their knowledge by studying the Qur'an and its tafseer from trustworthy scholars. They must study the seerah and the sunnah of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and read more about Islamic Aqeedah and Fiqh. What is more important than learning the religion of Allah (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala)??

With these first steps, it will become easy to establish the Khilafah. Once the Ummah is ready with these basic principles, and with Allah's (Subhaanahu Wa Ta'Ala) guidance and help, the Khilafah will be established to unite all Muslims into one Ummah again inshallah.

May Allah (swt) guide us all to the right path, and may Allah (swt) unite all Muslims across the entire world into one nation, and make them a single brotherhood and a single Ummah living under Islamic Shariah ... Ameen.

المنتدى الإســــــلامي

18 Feb 06 06:05:21 GMT

=اهلاً وسهلاً بكم في المنتدى الاسلامي=

New friend Livepage

18 Feb 06 05:54:18 GMT

How a Musim defends his brother's honor?

20 Feb 06 19:35:26 GMT

How a Musim defends his brother's honor?

Islam is a religion of peace, love and compassion. Lies, unjustified suspicion, backbiting, slander and gossips are totally alien to Islam. In fact they are considered amongst the most destructive of major sins.

This is so because these sins sow enmity and discord among the Muslim community (Ummah) and lead to its destruction. They cause hostilities between people of the same household, and between neighbors, friends and relatives.

Islam states that our relationship with mankind should be one of sincerity and responsibility. It should be one where we have respect for the honor, reputation and privacy of others. This beautifull relgion teaches us that we are not only held accountable for our own attitudes and actions but also for anything else over which we have control or influence over, in our society or the world around us.

Those who worship Allah should care for each other in every way; the Muslim community should sustain best moral values of the faith: Mercy, compassion, fear of Allah, piety, and justice.

Allah ordered Muslims to defend, help and stand by each other,

"strong against unbelievers but compassionate amongst each other"[Qur’an 48:29].

A Muslim is required to defend his brother when someone talks about him behind his back. In Islam, Muslims should not do injustice to others nor do they tolerate any injustice to themselves.In their love and concern for each other, all Muslims are like one body, as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

“when any part of the body suffers, the whole body feels the pain”.(Sahih Muslim)

Allah has promised for the one who defends his absent brother with a great reward and promised to protect him from the fire.

Abu Ad-Darda narrated that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"The one who rebuts another from backbiting has protected himself from the fire."

Defending (Rebutting) backbiting is a characteristic of a believer. Allah says in the holy Qur’an:

(And when they hear Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk), they withdraw from it and say: "To us our deeds, and to you your deeds. Peace be to you. We seek not the ignorant.)(28:55)

The believer knows that the devil wants to destroy him because he rejects backbiting by rebutting it. If he cannot change the topic of conversation he should dislike it in his heart and leave the gathering, remembering Allah's saying:

(...And if Shaitan(evel) causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not you in the company of those people who are the Zalimun (unfair, wrong-doers,etc..)(6:68)

Also, Prophet Muhammad advised Muslims to love each other, he said:

"...no one believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."(Muslim)

Islam teaches us that if people are being ridiculed or backbitted in our presence, we should defend their honor. If we neglect this, we shall deprive ourselves of ever needed help and mercy from God. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

“If a man's Muslim brother is slandered in your presence, and you are capable of defending him and you do so, God will defend you in this world and in the next. But if he fails to defend him, God will destroy him in this world and the next.”(Baghawi).

منتدى البرامج

18 Feb 06 05:59:06 GMT

=اهلاً وسهلاً بكم في منتدى البرامج=

Islam in Russia

20 Feb 06 19:20:50 GMT

Islam in Russia
by Abdur Rauf
What is the present position of Islam in contemporary Russia and China? In order to provide a perspective answer to this vital question this article presents a summary of an up to date history of Islam in these two famed states of the world.

History of Islam in Russia

The long history of Islam in Russia is grand and glorious as well as doleful and dreadful. Many stringent steps were taken against Islam and the Muslims during and after the Russian Revolution. Those tough and tight measures, however, failed to wipe out the Muslims and their rich cultural heritage. On the contrary, the present position rather confirms the fact beyond doubt that like all other Muslim regions of the world the Russian Muslim areas are also in the grips of a rising wave of awakening. Despite strict Russian censure of the media the entire world has known by now how vigorously the people of the Muslim majority areas of Russia have asserted their separate political identity and revitalized their distinctive cultural heritage. The more recent upsurges in all the Muslim states of Russia are simply eye-opening for everyone. All awakening movements among the Russian Muslims have always been distinctly Islamic in letter and spirit.

Islam and Muslims in Russia

Islam entered on the Russian scene in the seventh century A.D. (first century A.H.). Even during the Rightly Guided Caliphate at Madinah, the Muslim armies had started making penetrations into Russian soil. In 642, Azerbaijan came under Muslim control. The Muslims also occupied the extreme border town of Darbund in 658. After the conquest of eastern Caucasia (Qafqaz) Islam began to spread in these areas without any resistance. The Muslim armies crossed river Oxus in 673. Bukhara fell to the Muslims in 674.

The series of such conquests went on up to the tenth century when Islam became the most popular religion in the entire central Asia. With the passage of time these very areas began to be considered as the main centres of Islamic civilization and culture. Thereafter Islam’s popularity went on increasing in the whole of Russia. Such developments inspired and encouraged missionary activities of the Sufi saints of central Asia Qafqaz.

Unfortunately, however, Russia had a tight grip over the Muslim territories from the middle of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth. But despite her oppressive operations there was never any decline in the spread and popularity of Islam in Russia. The pace of Islam’s dissemination maintained a high momentum in eastern Russia. The Russian Muslims of these areas maintained their brotherly links with the rest of the Muslims world for quite a long span of time. Central Asia and Qafqaz played a vital role in promoting the Islamic civilization and its culture for full one thousand years. These areas enjoyed the same honours in the rise and glory of Islam as have gone to the lot of Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and the indo-Pak subcontinent. Taimur’s capital was Samarqand. From the literary point of view, Persian became popular in Bukhara for the first time. Khawarizam was the ancestral city of the renowned Muslim physician-cum-philosopher, Avicenna.

Movements for Autonomy

After the Russain Revolution of 1917, the Russian Muslims faced a highly hazardous situation. The leaders of the communist revolution were determined to impose such on authoritarian system over the entire Russia as was totally hostile to the religion and traditions, civilization and culture, politics and polity of the Muslims. Around 1924, a tight iron curtain was imposed on the Muslim areas. Consequently, the Russian Muslims got dissociated from the rest of the Muslims world.

Immediately after the start of the regular official moves against Christianity in Russia, a series of organized onslaughts started against the Muslims in 1928. In Spain, the inimical efforts to eliminate Islam and the Muslims after their downfall had yielded great success. But it was quite different in Russia. All Soviet attempts at uprooting Islam and the Muslims failed flatly. The period of the Russian Iron Curtain from 1928 to 1968 was the most painful tragedy of the Russian Muslim history. During that perilous period attempts to lure Muslims away from Islam and their forcible conversion to communism became a recurring routine with those in power.

Tyranny and oppressive measures gave birth to a wave of new awakening among the Muslims. Movements for independence and self-determination erupted all over the Muslim areas. Among these freedom movements, the guerilla organization called the "Basmachi Movement" is quite well-known. Unfortunately, however, the Russian Muslims got entangled into the wilderness of mutual differences and dissensions, rifts and conflicts. They were then unable to defend themselves as a united block. Consequently, all Muslim areas were forcibly annexed to the Russian territory one after the other.

Ever since Russian occupation of the Muslim territories the Soviet Union had utilized all possible devices to put an end to the distinct spiritual, moral, cultural and political identity of the Muslims. All sorts of traps of atheism, baits of modernization and lures of lewd recreations had been tried in quick succession. These dirty devices, however, failed in toto to dissociate the Muslims from the main stream of their religion and traditions and to get them merged into the blind ocean of communism.

It now appears that no power on earth can diminish or destroy the Russian Muslims’ inherent commitment to their religion and civilization. An illustrative example is the recent upsurge in Azerbaijan which erupted in 1989. It was backed by the most popular political organization of the Soviet Azris, the "Jamiat-i-Watan" (Patriotic Front). Even the most savage ‘Tank Diplomacy’ of the tumbling Russian empire failed rather miserably to quell this historic uprising. In Uzbekistan, a new underground organization, "Islamic Party" had been formed. It called for a federation of all Islamic Central Asian republic independent of Moscow. In 1990, even Tajikistan joined the great upheaval. Its capital, Doshambe, was the scene of the most violent political demonstrations against Russian communism. Thus republic after republic came under the powerful grip of the Islamic awakening. The eagerly-awaited day dawned at last. The year 1991 saw the disintegration of the Soviet Union and complete collapse of world communism. With this, started a new era in the history of the Russian Muslims. The famed Muslim states of Central Asia declared their independence. They are now cementing their broken ties with the rest of the Muslim world. They have been admitted as members of the Organization of Islamic Conference.

Asia’s Muslim Heartland

The independence of these six Central Asian Muslim republics is a great land mark in the contemporary history of Islam. Some of their basic facts are given below:
Name of the State Capital Population
1. Azerbaijan
2. Kazakhistan
3. Kirghizia
4. Tajikistan
5. Turkmenistan
6. Uzbekistan Baku
Alma-Ata
Biskhek
Dushanbe
Ashkhabad
Tashkent 7,146,600
16,690,000
4,372,000
5,400,000
3,621,700
20,322,000

In addition to these Muslim majority areas, a large chunk of the population in Kremia is also Muslim. They are Tartars. Apart from touching Kazakhistan, Russain Muslims resemble more their co-religionists in the neighbouring Muslim countries rather than the Soviet communists.

All of these sovereign Muslim States enjoy some God-given distinctive advantages as compared to the rest of Russia. Some such unique boons are:

(1) Significant Strategic Setting: By virtue of their close location to Iran, Afghanistan, the Persian gulf and Pakistan the special political and military significance of these areas look quite manifest. Russia in particular and the rest of the world in general can never overlook this significant strategic setting of these territories.

(2) Mineral and Agricultural Wealth: These areas have been blessed with valuable natural resources. World’s largest gold mines lie in Uzbekistan. Azerbaijan’s Baku has the biggest oil fields. Similarly desert areas of several Muslim territories have huge reservoirs of minerals, gas and oil. From the agricultural point of view these areas are not only self-sufficient but also the major sources of good supply to the rest of Russia. Unfortunately, however, it is these very areas where the Muslims had been subjected to a pathetic state of utter economic deprivation.

(3) Population Growth Factor: Since the movement of family planning has met with little success in the Muslim areas, their population growth rate was five times higher than the average Russians. The unusually high rate of population growth has also generated apprehensions that in times to come the Muslims may form majority in the entire Russian set up. This basic demographic factor was a unique advantage favouring the Russian Muslims.

According to the 1918 Constitution, all Russian nationals are guaranteed complete religious freedom. Yet religious preaching had been banned. All sorts of anti-religious propaganda was encouraged. Under flimsy pretexts, Islam was commonly subjected to the worst possible criticisms. In spite of all that, however, the Russian government always remained highly suspicious and apprehensive of its Muslim population. The Muslim areas have a network of mosques, religious education institutions and cultural centres. But extremely subtle and severe restrictions had been imposed on the religious festivals and gathering of the Muslims. All sorts of wicked devices were employed to keep the Muslims aloof and even estranged from the rest of the ummah. One of the mysterious anomalies marring the past Russian foreign policy baffled all understanding. On the one hand, Russia desired to win sympathies of the Middle-East Muslims as a part of her anti-American measures. Simultaneously, however, it never refrained from a repressive and even barbarous policy towards its own Russian Muslims of Central Asia as it had done with the Muslims of Afghanistan during the recent past.

Accusations of Foreign Intervention

The tempo of the growing Muslim awakening proved beyond any shadow of doubt that the situation was slipping fast beyond the Russian control. It is really unfortunate that instead of understanding the dynamics of these upsurges Russia was all along resorting to play up ‘the foreign hand scenario’. At one time it put the blame on a triangle of conspiracy against the Soviet Union. It alleged that a trio comprising the following foreign powers was instigating the upsurge in the troubled Muslim state: (1) Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), (2) the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), (3) the Afghan Mujahidin’s organization, "Hizb-i-Islami", headed by Gulbadin Hikmatyar.

The accusation of foreign intervention looked utterly absurd in the face of real facts. It is Russia and Russia alone which was actually responsible for all that was happening within the Muslim states. The two major factors responsible for the more recent unrest and uprising were as follows:-

(i) Economic Exploitation of the Russian Muslims: Despite their rich natural resources all the Soviet Muslim republics had been purposely kept backward. They looked like typical colonies of the vast-Russian empire. They were obliged to export their raw materials to the developed Russian republics for paltry returns. They were constrained to import everyday consumer goods from them at exorbitant prices. This unjust and unbalanced situation has sown the seeds of poverty, deprivation, frustration and unrest in these states.

(ii) Systematic Suppression of Muslim Culture: The other main factor was the constant cultural suppression of the Muslim population. All sorts of the alien Russo-European cultural patterns and practices were being imposed on them rather unthinkingly. The Muslims felt like living in a foreign land.

Rising Strength of Renaissance

The most painful aspect of this cultural suppression was the fact that a variety of shrewd and irrational measures were being constantly adopted to alienate the Muslims of these republics from the rest of the Muslim world. However, like the Chinese Muslims, the Russian Muslims were becoming increasingly fond of cementing their fraternal bonds with the Muslim world. To fulfil this dream they had constituted a strong Islamic organization. The mounting wave of autonomy gripping the Muslim state of Azerbaijan and other Muslim states had upset the Russian plans. The Russian Muslims remained more resolute than ever before they regained religious, political and territorial independence from the iron curtain.

The other concrete proofs of the growing strength of the rising wave of renaissance among the Russian Muslim republics were:

1. increasing interest in the reading of the Holy Qur’an;
2. rising attendance at the mosques for prayers and other religious programs and construction of new mosques;
3. increasing projection of Islamic features in the radio and television programs;
4. growing demand for the restoration of the original Arabic scripts in their languages, etc.

Unfortunately, however, the Soviet Union failed to realize the futility of putting impediments in the way of this mounting wave of renaissance and autonomy. Such an undemocratic stand was neither reasonable nor even favourable for Russia’s own interests. Freed from the Russian dominance these strategic Central Asian states are now destined to play their vital roles as sovereign Muslim states.

اهم الصحف والمجلات السعودية

18 Feb 06 06:21:13 GMT

منتدى الكمبيوتر والانترنت

18 Feb 06 06:01:02 GMT

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General forum المنتدى العام

18 Feb 06 05:53:03 GMT

General talk للمناقشات العامة