This week, Stuart Hazell was convicted of the appalling crime of sexually assaulting and then killing his partner's 12 year old granddaughter Tia Sharp. Over the past few weeks, other stories regarding the sexual abuse of children, young girls and women have also dominated the media. The history of mass abuse in children's homes in North Wales, allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by teachers in English Specialist music schools, and admission of guilt in the abuse of girls by the sports presenter Stuart Hall has followed the huge continuing scandal involving the famous TV personality Jimmy Saville who has now been accused of abusing hundreds of girls and women during his time at the BBC. On the other side of the Atlantic, news also broke of the shocking case in Cleveland, America where Ariel Castro kept three women in captivity for ten years, raping and even fathering a child with one of them.

Alongside this has been the highly publicised case this week of the British men from Pak origin Muslim men who were convicted of sadistically abusing children and girls as young as 11 and 12 in a paedophile grooming ring in Oxford and forcing them into prostitution. This follows other high profile stories over the last two years of similar sexual grooming rings of vulnerable teenage girls in Shropshire, Derby and Rochdale operated by Pakistani men. In response to these vile crimes, some sections of the UK media and particular politicians such as former Home Secretary Jack Straw, suggested that there was a racial or even religious cause to the abuse of white vulnerable girls... However, the Hazell, Saville, Hall and other cases cited above as well as the fact that in the UK almost a quarter of young adults have experienced sexual abuse in childhood (NSPCC, 2013) demonstrates that the sexual abuse of children, teenage girls, and young women is a widespread and rampant problem within secular liberal societies that affects all communities - black or white. The question that needs to be asked is why.

Why is Sexual Abuse so Rampant in Western societies?

(1)  The secular, liberal way of life defines the purpose of life as pursuing the maximum enjoyments of the here and now and living life to the max. Happiness is therefore viewed as fulfilling sensual pleasures and actions are decided based upon the desires of individuals. Consequently, personal whims become the basis of deciding right, and wrong. Essentially this means that every individual in society is free to dress and pursue any relationship they wish and decide for themselves how to satisfy their sexual instinct in whatever way is pleasurable to them.  Securing liberal freedoms such as personal and sexual freedom is therefore set as the priority of liberal societies up and above family and community wellbeing.  All this nurtures a dangerous environment within society.

(2)  This harmful view towards the satisfaction of the sexual instinct has ramifications on society. Open relationships, promiscuity, and the sexualisation of men and women in advertisement, films, TV, music, magazines, books, pornography, and the beauty industry has become the norm in the UK and other secular liberal states. Even children have been sexualised - their clothes, music they listen to, the TV shows they watch, and even the computer games and toys they play with have become increasingly sexually provocative.

(3)  Within such a society where the sexual instinct is constantly urged and triggered, and the mindset of satisfying desires dominates over the mindset of doing what is right, it is inevitable that many men and women will seek to fulfil their sexual desires in any manner they see fit and through whatever means that is available to them if they feel that they can get away with it, even if that means abusing children, or vulnerable young girls and women.

(4)  In addition, under the Capitalist system as implemented in the UK, US, and most secular liberal states, the pursuit of profit reigns supreme. Consequently businesses are permitted to encourage the sexualisation of society in order to increase sales, regardless of the detrimental impact on individuals and society. For example, although David Cameron has talked a lot about the harmful effects of the sexualisation of children, the UK government has not banned the sexualisation of children's clothes or entertainment, choosing to secure profit over the welfare of children. And despite 1 in 5 women being victims of a sexual offence in the UK, there has been no ban on the exploitation, objectification, and sexualisation of women in advertisement and the media that devalues their status and hence exacerbates sexual crimes against them, for capitalism places financial gain over protecting the dignity of women. Indeed, it is the degrading of women and girls for profit that creates an environment that is ripe for the exploitation of children, girls and women in trafficking, prostitution and grooming rings.

It is all this that fuels sexual abuse.

Islam Holds the Solution to Sexual Abuse

(1)  In stark contrast to the secular, liberal way of life, Islam defines the purpose of life as worshipping Allah (swt). Hence its view of happiness is to seek Allah (swt)'s Pleasure and not to satisfy carnal desires. Actions are not based upon pursuing individual whims but upon abiding by the Commands and Prohibitions of the Creator. Thus there is no sexual freedom in Islam that allows people to fulfil their desires however they please, rather Islam sets down firm guidelines on how to view the opposite sex and what type of relationships are permitted. Even with regards to the view of the woman, Islam does not allow men to view them as they wish but obliges that they be viewed and treated with dignity always. The Prophet (saw) said,

«خَيْرُكُمْ خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِهِ وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِي...» أخرجه الترمذي

"The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family." (Tirmidhi)

In addition, taqwa (God-consciousness) nurtures a mindset of accountability to Allah (swt) that understands that every action has reward or punishment in the Akhirah (Hereafter), ensuring that the Muslim adheres to His (swt)'s Limits and Rules, and maintains an upright, moral behaviour regardless of who is watching. This aids the creation of a safe society.

(2)  Islamic laws organise society based on what is best for the security and wellbeing of children, family life, and the community overall rather than securing individual freedoms and desires. In doing so it seeks to guarantee the basic rights of every child, woman, and man in that society to live within a safe environment where crime is minimised, their dignity protected always, and hence where they are free from fear of harassment or abuse. Therefore the sexual instinct is not allowed to run havoc and is channelled in a way that ensures it does not become the number one issue on people's minds across society. So free-relationships are rejected, fornication and adultery prohibited, and no sexualisation of women, children, or any aspect of society is allowed that agitates the sexual instinct in public life, again protecting children, women, and the vulnerable from abuse.

(3)  Islam has a detailed and comprehensive social system of laws that regulate the relationship between men and women and channel the triggering and fulfilment of the sexual desires to marriage alone. These laws include the Islamic dress code that minimises the allure of men and women, the lowering of the gaze to avoid attraction, and the prohibition of the beautification of the woman in public life or socialising of unrelated men and women that reduces the agitation of the sexual instinct. Thus the sexual instinct is not suppressed but nor is it let loose within society that exacerbates sexual abuse, trafficking, and paedophile grooming rings. Rather it is directed and fulfilled in a way that is beneficial to individuals and society through ensuring the integrity of the family unit is maintained, and the rights of women and men within a relationship, and the children they bear are protected. In addition, Islam has prescribed harsh judicial laws to safeguard these values and laws, and hence protect individuals and society by preventing the loose fulfilment of the sexual desire outside of marriage.

(4)  Finally, since Islam is not driven or dominated by financial gain but what is best for humanity and society, it does not allow profit to dictate and allow the sexualisation of women, children, or society but rather ensures that the morals, rights of children, unity of family life, security of women and other important values of society are protected. Hence it outright prohibits the objectification, exploitation, and devaluing of women in any field of life, ensuring that their high status and dignity is maintained at all times.

All this minimises sexual abuse and the exploitation of children, teenage girls, and women and creates a society where they do not live in fear but in security. However, this can only come to life comprehensively under the Khilafah "Caliphate" system of ruling that implements all the laws of Islam upon a state.

As Muslim women in the West, we must understand that it is through rejecting the Western secular liberal values, lifestyle and culture, and nurturing the Islamic values, obligations and rules within our Muslim youth and community that alone holds the remedy to addressing the problem of promiscuity, sexual abuse, and the exploitation of girls and women and similar vile crimes... However, we also have a great responsibility to explain to our non-Muslim contacts, colleagues, and neighbours the harmful consequences of the secular liberal way of life upon women, children, and society, and alongside this to present them with the light of Islam, its values and laws as a solution to the many societal problems they face, including that of the vile crime of sexual abuse. Allah (swt) says,

((ولو اتبع الحقُّ أهواءَهم لفسدتِ السماواتُ والأرضُ ومن فيهِنَّ، بلْ أتيناهم بذكرِهِم فهم عن ذكرِهِم معرضون))

"If the truth had been in accord with their desires, truly the heavens and the earth and all beings therein would have been in confusion and corruption! Nay we have sent them their admonition but they turn away from their admonition."  [TMQ Al-Mu'minun:71]

Women of Hizb ut Tahrir / Britain

Monday, 29 July 2013

AFP, Ukraine

More than a thousand bearded men, muffled in scarves and accompanied by veiled women, stand under the hot sun, waving black and white flags and chanting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest).

This is not a scene from the Middle East or Central Asia but a rally of the supporters of the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Freedom) in Simferopol -- the capital of the Ukrainian Black Sea region of Crimea.

Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks to re-establish a Caliphate -- a pan-Islamic state based on Islamic rule like in the medieval era -- across the Middle East and Central Asia.

Banned in several states, it is now showing surprising strength in Crimea, a balmy seaside holiday resort region which has its own substantial Muslim Tatar minority.

The head of the information office of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Ukraine, Fazyl Amzaev, told AFP that the party's ambition of reviving the Caliphate does not extend to Ukraine and its presence is educational.

"Our work in Ukraine does not mean that we act or will act to change the borders of the state," Amzaev said.

"Achieving the goal of establishing the Caliphate is real only in countries with a predominantly Muslim population. But in Ukraine, we, as Muslims, are obliged to inform the society about Islam in its correct form."

The first devotees of Hizb ut-Tahrir appeared in the Crimea in the early 1990s. Twelve percent, or 250,000 of the nearly two million inhabitants of Crimea are Sunni Muslim Crimean Tatars.

Now they number between 2,000 and 15,000 -- Hizb ut-Tahrir does not disclose the true number, claiming only a permanent climb in supporters.

"The world is a big village, and everywhere there is a struggle against Islam in favour of liberal-democratic values," Amzaev said, calling on Ukrainian Muslims not to assimilate but to keep their values.

"The Caliphate is not a threat, but on the contrary is the salvation for mankind amid a crisis of capitalism, democracy and liberal values in general."

‘Democracy is a system of unbelief'

Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami, established in 1953 in East Jerusalem, has been banned in Russia and several Central Asian countries. It is also outlawed in Germany due to anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli propaganda.

The Spiritual Board of Muslims of Crimea -- the main umbrella group for Muslims in the region -- has already called on the authorities to take a closer look at the group's work in Ukraine.

Its deputy head Aider Ismailov told AFP that Hizb ut-Tahrir's teachings can contradict local religious tradition and practices.

"This party creates a negative image of Islam and Muslims, people are scared of their rallies," he said.

Ismailov is not pushing for the party to be banned in Ukraine, but he considers its ideology harmful. 

"We would like to see the government state its position towards a religious-political group which preaches that democracy is a system of unbelief," he said.

Ukraine appears in no hurry to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir, if just because the group simply does not exist in the legal framework of the country -- it is not registered either as a party or as a public or religious organization.

Party members themselves do not seek for their formalization, citing ideological reasons.

"Hizb ut-Tahrir in Ukraine does not seek political goals, and our participation in non-Islamic authorities is forbidden by the canons of faith," Amzaev said, saying it neither plans to take part in elections nor seek power.

The authorities so far have taken merely small steps to avoid possible confrontations between Hizb ut-Tahrir members and their opponents, in particular with court decisions trying to ban party rallies.

In June, a court approved a suit from local authorities banning a scheduled rally that could not guarantee order.

Despite the prohibition, the action took place, and the police, as in similar cases in the past, limited themselves to drawing up a protocol on an administrative law violation.

The Crimean members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, however, also behave with extreme care to prevent possible attacks from opponents and punitive actions by the authorities.

In Simferopol, they have no headquarters and their information office is a virtual concept not linked to any postal address.

Amzaev is however a prominent public figure, giving interviews, speaking on television, writing on social networks, and recruiting supporters.

During the last rally of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Simferopol, almost every speaker called on fellow Muslims to aid the Syrian rebels battling the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which sparked protests in the Crimean Tatar community against the possible sending of militants to Syria.

Amzaev said: "We are not recruiting the rebels, but I do not rule out some of the Crimean Tatars fighting against Assad."

[Source: Al Arabiya]

In recent weeks, two Muslim women were left ‘traumatised' after an eight and fourteen year old hurled racist abuse at them and pulled their hijabs off in Edinburgh.  As if this was not horrific enough of an incident, last month, a man in Bristol ordered a Muslim woman to take off her hijab, putting a knife to her throat. Such incidents against Muslim women are in no way infrequent. Verbal abuse, hijabs pulled off happen up and down the country. Interfaith Organisation ‘Faith Matters' project ‘Tell Mama' reported earlier this year that in one year it recorded 632 incidents of anti-Muslim hate incidents, most targeted against Muslim women. Muslim women across the UK as they hear about such incidents, live in fear of what may face them in public.  Whether they are born and brought up in the UK or not, white or black, speak the same language as the rest of the population or not, the fact that they outwardly show signs of adhering to Islam with the hijab, means that they are commonly despised, attacked, and viewed as the enemy within across the streets of the UK.

What leads to such a negative view of Islam and Muslims?

The question must be asked as to why such hatred exists towards Muslim women such that even children as young as 8 feel the need to attack them? To understand this first needs us to look at the way Muslims are viewed across society. The 2012 report Race and Reform: Islam and Muslims in the British Media submitted to the Leveson Inquiry described the portrayal of Muslims in the media as "overwhelmingly negative, stereotypical, inaccurate - and racist". Even a superficial look at the stories about Islam and Muslims which dominate the mainstream media, reveals the fact that Muslims and Islam are consistently portrayed as being violent, oppressive to women and non-Muslims, and a threat to British and Western society. Sensationalist headlines such as, "Boston attacks reignite debate on Islam and terror" (BBC, April 2013), or "University campuses are 'hotbeds of Islamic extremism'" (Telegraph, April 2011); or programmes such as Dispatches which in 2011 accused certain Muslim institutions as being full of hate for wider society; or even recent coverage of the Oxford grooming ring case by some sectors of the media that tried to imply that an inherent problem exists within the Muslim community and their culture which played a part in this crime - all portray a specific image of Muslims across the board. These negative images, stories, programmes, and headlines are accompanied by frequent statements by Western politicians attacking Islam, the Shariah laws, or even the Muslim community which further scaremonger, fuel hatred, and increase the atmosphere of intimidation of Muslims. In 2009, Jim Fitzpatrick, UK Farming Minister at the time attacked the concept of segregation of men and women in Islamic weddings, linking the practice to ‘extremism'. In 2011, Jack Straw attacked men from the Pakistani community for having a ‘specific problem' in the way they viewed white girls, suggesting that this was the cause for the sexual abuse of teenage girls by a grooming ring in Derby. This narrative was replicated by Sayeeda Warsi, former Tory party co-chairman who in response to the Rochdale grooming ring case claimed that some Pakistani men see white girls as ‘fair game'. It is only inevitable then that such a stereotype of Muslims shapes the view that the wider society holds about them; leading people including even children to see them as enemies in their society.

This is alongside the labelling of those Muslims fighting against Western and foreign occupation or colonialism in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir, Pakistan, Mali, Somalia and Palestine as terrorists, as well as the consistent demonization of those struggling for Islamic rule under the Khilafah "Caliphate" state as we see in Syria and other countries as extremist and linking them to violence and terrorism and hence a threat to the UK. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said recently "There is enough uncontested space in Syria for some violent Islamist groups to provide extensive training. This is particularly concerning as we assess some of the individuals being trained will seek to carry out attacks against Western interests in the region or in Western states, now or in the future."

All this has generated a climate of hysteria and fear towards Muslims and Islam in the UK. Muslim women are the frontline targets of the racist and Islamophobic attacks that result from this highly charged environment of suspicion and hatred because their hijab, jilbab, or niqab directly identify them as Muslim.

Western Foreign Policy is Fuelling Islamophobia

Ultimately such demonization of Islam and Muslims by the British political establishment has one main purpose for the UK and other Western Governments and that is to justify their foreign policy of interference or wars in the Muslim world as in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali or Somalia which is aimed at securing their economic interests and to prevent the establishment of Islamic rule in the region in the form of the Khilafah "Caliphate" state. This state, based on the Laws of Allah (swt) alone would not be subservient to any foreign power and would bring an end to the regimes and systems in the Muslim world that serve the interests of Western states, establishing in their place a leadership that sincerely serves the people. The Khilafah "Caliphate" would also end Western hegemony and control over the oil, gas and other resources of our Muslim lands and ensure that these are utilized instead for the benefit of the citizens of the state. The establishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate" would therefore threaten the UK government's financial, political, and strategic interests in the region. Hence the demonization of Islam and Muslims is used by Western governments to legitimize to their people the presence of their troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and hence ensure continued public support for their destructive meddling, occupation and wars in the Muslim world, aimed in large part to ensure that the Khilafah "Caliphate" does not materialize.

How Should We Respond to this Growing Islamophobia?

Within this climate where Islamophobic attitudes constantly bombard the British public from the UK mainstream media and politicians alike, it is therefore hardly surprising that according to the Race and Reform report above, 75 per cent of non-Muslims believe Islam is negative for Britain, and 63 per cent don't disagree that "Muslims are terrorists." In light of these shocking statistics, how should we as Muslim women in Britain respond to this growing Islamophobic climate and racially motivated attacks?

(1)   As Muslim women, to even walk down our local high street can become a frightening affair due to the abuse we may face but this fear should never cause us to compromise our Deen. Rather we must continue to hold on to our Islamic beliefs and abide by our Islamic obligations, including adhering to our hijab just as the Prophet(saw), his companions, and the early believers in Makkah held onto their Deen despite facing severe persecution at the hands of the Quraysh. We should remind ourselves of the actions of the first martyr of Islam Sumayyah (ra), who endured unbearable torture for being a Muslim but never once renounced her Islam, preferring death rather than compromising her Islamic belief. Thus we must be courageous in this difficult climate.

(2)   Allah (swt) says,

(إنما ذلكمُ الشيطانُ يخّوفُ أولياءَهُ فلا تخافوهم وخافونِ إن كنتم مؤمنين." (آل عمران: 175''

"It is only Shaytan that suggests to you the fear of his Auliya' (supporters and friends (disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger, Muhammad(saw))) so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers." [TMQ Al-Imran: 175]

(3)   We must defend Islam and speak out when Islam and Muslims are attacked and not allow the media or politicians to insult or spread lies about our Deen without responding. We should also expose the real intentions behind the negative media propaganda and statements of politicians against Islam and show that it is Western foreign policy through its economically-driven wars, support of dictatorships, and robbing of the resources of the Muslim world that has caused instability and insecurity in the region and beyond.

(4)   We must carry the Islamic dawah to our non-Muslim colleagues and contacts, to explain the truth of Islam, its sublime values and laws, and the great qualities of our beloved Prophet (saw). In addition, we need to counter the lies and misconceptions about our Deen including on issues such as the Shariah laws, the position and role of women in Islam, the Islamic dress code, and the system of Allah - the Khilafah "Caliphate", and highlight Islam as an alternative way of life that has solutions for problems faced even in the West.

Indeed, holding onto Islam, defending it when it is attacked, and carrying the Islamic dawah to those around us may seem like a very difficult task within this environment that we live that is hostile towards Islam but we should remember the words of our beloved Prophet(saw) who said,:

(يأتي على الناس زمان القابض على دينه كالقابض على الجمر." (الترمذي''

"There will come a time when holding onto your Iman will be like holding onto hot coal" (Tirmidhi). In addition, we should remind ourselves of the great rewards in Jannah that await those believers who keep steadfast in their Deen, no matter the hardships they face. Allah (swt) says,

((إنّ الذين قالوا ربُّنا الله ثم استقاموا فلا خوفٌ عليهم ولا هم يحزنون. أولئك أصحاب الجنّةِ خالدينَ فيها جزاءً بما كانوا يعملون))

[الأحقاف: 13-14]

"Verily, those who say, ‘Our Rabb (Lord) is (only) Allah and thereafter stand firm and straight (on the Islamic belief) on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve. Such shall be the dwellers of Jannah (paradise), abiding therein (forever), a reward for what they used to do." [TMQ Al-Ahqaf: 13-14]

Women of Hizb ut Tahrir / Britain

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