Over the last few weeks we were sickened to see US troops taking lives in Afghanistan, and to add insult to injury, urinating upon those they had killed. In another story two British soldiers were arrested on allegations of engaging in sexual abuse of two children, a boy and a girl, aged about 10 years and showing the footage to fellow troops on their laptops.

Such behaviour is not the product of a few rotten apples but a reflection of the secular beliefs that these soldiers have been brought up with. Much can be said about the colonial nature of their mission, but it would be all too easy, as well as inaccurate to simply describe these actions as evidence of disrespect of Western troops against the Muslims locals. Rather this decadent behaviour is a product of the secular ‘free’ society from which these troops are drawn and from where the seeds of moral laxity are sown.

Moral breakdown and social disorder have become common in the West, to the point where David Cameron himself has described society in the UK as ‘Broken Britain’. The evidence for this can be seen on many levels. People have raised serious concerns about the ‘sexualisation’ of young children by the media; and not a week goes by with stories about children being abused by priests, teachers or family members.

The common thread behind the actions of both the wayward soldier, the growing problem of social disorder and rising number of criminals, is the secular belief shared by all of these people. This secular belief, which inculcates the concept of freedom, negates any sense of accountability as well as developing individuals that are prone to indulging their whims and lusts.

The secular belief gives no respect to those who are alive, let alone to those who are dead.

The Telegraph reported that unemployed women in Germany face having their state funds axed if they refuse to take up the ‘job’ of a prostitute, as prostitution is legal in Germany. The secular system, by forcing women to choose between bread and their body, strips them of all sense of self-respect, morality and dignity. Such a belief encourages a promiscuous society plagued with teenage pregnancies, where the elderly are seen as an economic burden, schools being fitted with metal detectors and lies and deceit from politicians is testimony that secularism is inherently a failed system.

For a Muslim, such thinking is considered as being alien. A Muslim who uses the Islamic Aqeeda as a basis for his/her life would think twice about committing a crime, as their Taqwa provokes them to avoid that which goes against the Islamic Aqeeda due to the fear of Allah (SWT), even when there is little or no possibility of being caught by someone else.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet SAW said: “If any of you were to sit on a live coal and let it burn his clothes until it reached his skin, this would be better for him than sitting on a grave.”

Furthermore such a Muslim accepts the definition for what is considered right and wrong from Allah (swt) rather than trying to use their own mind to determine such matters.

Whether talking about rules of engagement in war or rules on how to regulate and live in society, Islam in addition to providing practical mechanisms of law and order, does not promote the idea of freedom or breed generation upon generation of people who believe that they are free to do what they want as long as no one can catch them. Rather Islam promotes ideas of respect in all aspects of life and even death. This is all built upon the fundamental principle of accountability that is present in every Islamic rule, one which states that regardless of whether you are alone or in public, you will be held to account for all of your deeds before Allah (SWT) once your life is over. The Islamic Aqeeda inherently makes man conscious of his actions, as the Day of Judgment is central to the Muslim personality.

Though Islamic morals as a whole cannot be established in society without the presence of an appropriate system, we must work to promote the moral high ground the Islamic Aqeeda takes on such matters, being a system that creates a world of respect, honesty and decency; and also expose the fallacy of secularism. Secularism has failed not only the Muslim world against whom wars are being fought, but also the common citizen on the streets of the West.

The war that is going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan is for America and Britain to establish their secular amoral way of life in our countries. Those states want to ‘liberate’ women, so that they can be used by men as commodities, and sexualize our societies like theirs; they want to create a society where Allah and the Shariah are far removed from society so that materialism, individualism and freedom to do whatever one wants, become the norm.

It is these values that have brought so much inequality, corruption and oppression in the world. Now is the time for the Muslim Ummah to clearly reject these western values of secularism. It is time for this Ummah to know her own sublime values that raise people from behaving like animals to behaving the way Allah SWT decreed as human beings should, conscious of one’s actions and seeking salvation in the Hereafter.

This way of life cannot be established unless we make the priority in our lives the re-establishing of Islam in society and state. The Khilafah State represents that society which will establish the values, morals, laws and systems of Islam that can bring about a decent society where people are not abused on the basis of their age, gender, race, colour or wealth. This is the society the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) established in Madinah as an example for humanity. Only the establishment of the Khilafah will bring an end to such atrocities of disrespect to the dead and sexual abuse of children. Furthermore it will prevent such troops from occupying Muslim lands and enacting their decadent belief upon this noble Ummah.

Today, this is the vital issue for the Muslim Ummah. Our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere throughout the Muslim world, are working tirelessly to establish this State. Our role here in the West is to reject these western decadent values, and acquire the knowledge and follow the higher values of Islam as a total way of life. Furthermore, we as a community should demonstrate these values to the wider society so the people of this country can see the truth of Islam as it came to elevate humanity from the depth of darkness as Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an

Alif Lam Ra. [This is] a Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that you might bring mankind out of darkness into the light by permission of their Lord – to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Owner of all Praise … (Surah Ibrahim – 1)

4th Rabi Al-Awaal 1433 Hijri / 27th January 2012

Hizb ut-Tahrir
Britain