Don't Stop the War

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Some Critical Points Muslims should make to the Stop the War Organisers, who are planning to demonstrate on the 15th February in London.
1. It is clear that many of the heads of the Stop the War campaign are atheists, communists, anarchists and believers in sexual freedoms. These are people who believe that Allah does not exist, that the Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allahu Alaihi Wasallam) was an impostor, and that religions such as Islam are barbaric, oppress women, forbid sexual expression and remain as the 'opium of the masses'. It is one thing having these people
under an Islamic banner who support the Islamic agenda of justice, economic welfare for the poor and the goals of Islamic foreign policy. However it
is another thing to march behind their banner, give them leadership and authority as clearly their agenda and vision for what values, systems and policies Iraq should have, are as corrupt to Muslims as any right wing hawk residing in Washington. Hence it is Haram (forbidden) for Muslims to march on the 15th under such a banner.
2. The stop the War campaign claim they want to stop the war, yet their whole strategy is to cow tail to Tony Blair by trying to convince British
MP's of their opinion. This obviously implies that they believe that the British parliament (full of vested interests) or the British Government (a colonialist power itself) has the legitimate authority to decide whether a War on Iraq is right or not. Are they really saying that if the British Parliament voted on a substantive motion on a 'War against Iraq' and voted in favour, that this would somehow make an upcoming war valid? Even if
they disagree with Parliament's final decision, they would have bought themselves into the legitimacy of the decision making process that Parliament is sovereign, this therefore hardly equates to being against the war. By locking yourself into this process Muslims will have effectively contradicted the sovereignty of the shariah to decide on this matter, so giving the British Establishment exactly what they have always wanted from Muslims.
3. Most of the Stop the War organisers believe that there is no international legitimacy for the War on Iraq and that UN Resolution 1441 is not an automatic trigger for war. The deep irony is that most of them demand that the British Government go back to the UN to formulate a second UN resolution. Does the passing of a second UN resolution by the UN Security Council (headed by colonialist and imperialistic powers) somehow
legitimise an attack on Iraq? Surely their slogan of 'Stop the War' should be changed to read 'Stop the War unless the UN or the British
Parliament sanctions it'.
4. Stop the War supporters believe that Iraq should be contained rather than fought; this is the height of oppression, as this implies more sanctions, more suffering and more deaths of Iraqi children. While some Muslims who support the 'Stop the War' campaign recently were disgracefully enjoying the hospitality of the American embassy in Ramadan, the Muslims of Iraq face starvation and cruise missiles from the very same country. Consequently these Muslims have not only accepted the basis of America and Britain's illegitimate argument on Iraq, but have fallen hook, line and sinker into the trap of the colonialist powers, by promoting the policy of Iraqi containment.
5. Stop the War's call for UN inspections in Iraq to be given more time (even though these have now gone on for more than seven years), are completely invalid from Islam and clearly act as an instrument of colonialist control. Iraq should certainly have these weapons, especially as hostile forces such as America, Britain and Israel surround her. Stop the War organiser's failure to call for Britain, Israel and America to give up
their own weapons of mass destruction, colonialist foreign policy or their inability to criticise UN hegemony, clearly indicates that their minds have become completely defeated on this issue.
Practical Actions to conduct, which are NOT being performed by the 'Stop the War Campaign' as these will actually prevent War and conform with the Shari'ah.  
1. First of all actions cannot be carried out by Muslims unless both the reality and the shariah rules are understood. Consequently the reality of a War on Iraq is that it is forbidden for any Muslim to support a 'War on Iraq' whether it has 100% support in an opinion poll or not, whether it has a UN mandate or not, whether the British parliament supports it or not. The Islamic rule in dealing with this reality is that
those armies in Muslim lands should join forces with the army of Iraq to defend themselves against any crusader attack. Consequently the shariah
defines the practical way to resolve this problem; it clearly states that the correct strategy is to motivate the Islamic armies and to get the rulers in Muslim lands to act decisively, not to go begging through the Whitehall and the UN route. We need to motivate the Islamic armies and challenge the existing corrupt rulers in our lands to stop this war, as they are certainly in a position to do this. If the rulers did not help America and Britain
and the Islamic armies acted, then this war could not happen. The actions we can do in Britain to try and support this are as follows.
2. Organise pickets at every Muslim embassy who are planning to assist America and Britain to prosecute their colonialist war. Put pressure on the Ambassadors, ring them up night and day, send letters, e-mails and faxes, bombard them, challenge them to tell you why they are supporting this war and remind them that it is an obligation to replace any ruler who does not rule by Islam. Convince the embassies of Syria, Jordan and Iran that neutrality is not an Islamic option here, that a unified stand which involved standing shoulder to shoulder with Iraq would almost
certainly deter America and Britain from attacking
3. Inform the Muslim embassies who are members of OPEC, that they should cease from immediate effect providing oil to any country that is going to attack Iraq. Remind them that taking this action would cripple economic and social life in these countries, and would almost certainly deter war.
They should also withdraw all investments and unwind all remaining assets from these countries. Remind these embassies that this wealth belongs to the ummah and that taking these actions will show these colonialist nations that this ummah is not weak, impotent or poor.
4. Write specifically to the Qatari, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Turkish, Bahraini, Uzbekistan embassies to challenge them on why they are providing military
bases for America and Britain. It is clear that America has no border with Iraq she therefore relies on bases, launch pads, airspace and waterways
of Muslim countries to prosecute this war. Send letters to these governments, attacking them for their treachery, contact relatives and friends who are influential in these countries, convince them that without the rulers acquiescence, war would not or could not happen.
5. Inform the Egyptian Ambassador that he should tell his government to close forthwith the Suez Canal a vital and strategic waterway through which American and British ships would have to pass. Also challenge them and others to throw out all companies and multinationals within their borders from countries who are due to attack Iraq.
6. Organise petitions making the case that we do not want Britain and America interfering in our lands, that we are sick to death of their rotten colonialist and terrorist policies, that it is our rulers who allow them to control our lands and precious resources and the only way to salvage our problem is to work to re-establish the Khilafah. Send these petitions worldwide to all the offices of all the Muslim governments, send them to your relatives abroad, send them to people you know in the armed forces in Muslim lands. Send them to everyone you know in Britain, tell them to forward these to everyone they have links with, so that we cover the length and breadth of Britain.
7. Do not keep these views to yourself, entertain debate, ring in to radio discussion programmes, organise stalls, seminars, rallies and lectures in your locality. Ensure you speak to all overseas visitors from Muslim lands; encourage them to take up the call in a feasible way when they return so that public opinion spreads. Keep your community informed about all new developments, alert them to the dangers of the Stop the War campaign and remind them that seeking the help of the British colonialist is no different from seeking the help of the American colonialist. Make them aware that Britain is a colonialist leopard that doesn't change its spots.
8. For those of you who are intending to perform the noble Hajj, you have a unique opportunity to discuss these key issues outside the performance of the obligated acts with Muslims from the entire world. You can also create awareness amongst Muslims about the Saudi Government's support of the American 'War on Iraq'. Do not listen to those who say Hajj is not about worldly affairs because the hadith of the Prophet (Sall Allahu Alaihi Wasallam) made the value of Muslims a life and death issue when he (Sall Allahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
"Should the Ka'bah be destroyed stone by stone, this is less (important) in the sight of Allah than the spilling of the blood of a Muslim."
9. Use the dossier titled 'The West's Weapons of Mass Destruction and Colonialist Foreign Policy' which is a comprehensive refutation of the British Government's own dossier, and pass this to influential people to highlight the absolute contradictions in Western foreign policy.
10. This is the true political work of Islam, and this is how to decisively stop the war. So join with us in following the Prophet's sunnah and engage in Islamic politics, not the Western politics, and liberate this Ummah from the tyranny of capitalism, for Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'aala) is the knower of all things, and to him we shall have to account for our deeds.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, Britain
22nd January 2003
19 Dhul Qadah 1423 A.H