Western military intervention must be rejected. The Egyptian army must intervene in Libya to rescue people from the murderous Gadaffi regime.

1) Prevent western interference

Obama and Cameron’s talk of possible western intervention in the ongoing fighting in Libya must be absolutely rejected given the track record of Western governments intervening in Muslim lands. They only intervene for their interests. Since entering Afghanistan in 2001, countless civilians have been killed, and US drones continue to bomb Pakistan on an almost daily basis. Western interventions lead to Abu Ghraib, Bagram, the murder of Baha Mousa in UK custody in Iraq and countless other crimes. A few weeks ago, the UK was selling arms to Gadaffi and in 2009, the UK’s SAS was training Gadaffi’s special forces who may now be using those skills and weapons to devastating effect.

2) Egyptian army can defeat remaining pro-Gadaffi forces

The 450,000 strong Egyptian army dwarfs the 25,000 forces that Gadaffi was reported to have before the fighting started. In addition to 450,000 active military personnel, Egypt has a modern air force and modern fighting equipment which would enable it to overrun the remaining pro-Gadaffi forces and save the people of Libya. This action would be undertaken in conjunction with the forces that have already managed to liberate Benghazi and other parts of Libya.

3) People of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt are one. They are Muslims

The people of the region lived side by side for centuries before western colonialist including the UK, France and Italy drew up the existing artificial borders between Egypt and Libya, Libya and Tunisia and all across the Muslim world. Why should these colonial borders be an obstacle to the Egyptian army acting to save their brothers and sisters? The US and UK did not respect the Iraqi borders when they invaded in 2003. It is high time we stopped respecting these borders that divide us and reduce us to bystanders as our brothers and sisters are murdered next door!

The region is witnessing an uprising of Muslim people who worship one Creator, follow one Qur’an, follow one Prophet, and follow one deen as can be witnessed from the uniform chants of “Lai ilaha ilallah, ash-shaeed habibullah, Allahu Akbar….” in Cairo, Tunis, Benghazi, Yemen and elsewhere.

4) Islam orders Muslim armies to intervene

Not only are the above good enough reasons why the Egyptian army must intervene in Libya, Islam commands such intervention.

وَمَا لَكُمْ لاَ تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاء وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَـذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَل لَّنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ نَصِيرًا

“And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help.” [TMQ An-Nisa 4:75]

“The believers, in their love, mutual kindness, and close ties, are like one body; when any part complains, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.” [Muslim]

With the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere, we need to discard the thinking that Western powers have to come to our rescue or that international institutions like the United Nations must authorise our actions. Such thinking leaves us paralysed and beholden to carrying out the agendas of the West.

5) Ummah in Egypt demand action and feel unity

Demonstrations outside the Libyan embassy in Cairo saw people demanding the liberation of Libya from Gadaffi.

With these uprisings, we now need to act based on new thinking, that we are one ummah and must look to our deen instead of the idea that we are different nation states doing their own thing in Libya, Egypt or Tunisia. The Egyptian army must move to save our brothers and sisters in Libya, end the era of western intervention in our lands and herald a new dawn of Muslims looking after their own affairs.

Taji Mustafa

Media Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain

Twitter: @tajimustafa