On Thursday, 16 Jumada I 1434 AH, corresponding to 26 March 2013 Hizb ut Tahrir / Indonesia rallied under its intense rejection of the draft law social organizations currently discussed by the House of Representatives, marched in several major Indonesian cities, most notably the march Jakarta which was attended by more than 5,000 demonstrators surrounding the building of the House of Representatives firmly asserting their refusal of the bill which targets Islam and Muslims. It included participation from various organizations and other Islamic parties in the march in response to the Hizb invite.

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As Friday approached, I was thinking of what topic I should cover in the Jumuah Khutbah. In the end I ended up discussing a basic Islamic concept which should be well known to even a young Muslim but which needed re-inforcing as it was being actively undermined - even by some prominent Muslim voices in the UK.

The UK House of Commons recently voted by 400 votes to 175 to legalise same-sex marriage in Britain. Muslim MPs such as Sadiq Khan, Rushanara Ali, Sajid Javid, and others voted in support of this legislation. At election time, these same MPs (and other politicians) visit Masajids and other Muslim institutions seeking the Muslim vote, yet, here they were voting for same-sex marriage which Islam clearly forbids. Facing a backlash from his Muslim supporters, the Muslim MP, Sadik Khan wrote a blog titled, ‘Why I voted in favour of same-sex marriage', defending his position. In it, he wrote "I voted in favour of the legislation because I believe that this is fundamentally an issue of equality." What was new was that some other prominent Muslim commentators also started to argue that Muslims must not oppose same-sex marriage because if we Muslims want to be accepted as equals in British society, we must stand for equality for all types of practices - including same-sex marriage.

So again and again, there were voices in the Muslim community saying we must see this issue through the prism of equality and anti-discrimination.

I remember a friend once saying that the way you change some of the core values of a community over time is to stop public discussion or promotion of their core ideas. So over a long period of time, as those ideas are no longer discussed, people (especially the younger generation) no longer hear them. Further down the line, raising that idea publicly becomes a strange thing and could even become unacceptable. At the moment, ideas like the supporting the jihad of Muslims in Afghanistan as they fight and defend themselves against occupation by Western forces - is an example of this. So UK masajids and some Muslim groups shy away from mentioning this issue because some in the media and government label those who raise this as ‘extremists' or accuse them of being involved in ‘radicalisation'.

A similar thing started to happen with public opposition to same sex-marriage. However, this time, it is some few and strange voices from within the Muslim community who are telling Muslims to view this issue through the prism of ‘equality'.

Hence, I decided to cover the following points in my khutbah and subsequent video on the issue of same-sex marriage as a way to remind Muslims of the absolute need to hold onto the Islamic criteria of halal and haram and to equip Muslims to argue back rather than be bullied into silence and abandoning the Islamic criteria.

• We come to this issue as Muslims who believe in Allah (swt), the Qur'an He revealed to Prophet Muhammad (saw) and that Allah (swt) is All Knowing and hence the One who decides what is right and what is wrong.

• When humans (through parliament) try to legislate right and wrong, we witness contradictions and harmful consequences on society. In the West, adultery was once illegal, now it is legal and glorified in movies, plays and popular culture. Similarly, homosexuality was once illegal, now it is legal, glorified and now there are moves to legalise same-sex marriage. What will be next? Incest? Assisted suicide?

• Islam's position is clear on the prohibition of same-sex marriage, adultery and other such lifestyles.

• Islam's laws protect the family and prohibit things that harm family life.

• Muslims should not be apologetic for adhering to the rules of Islam which come from the All Knowing Creator - Allah (swt).

((وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤۡمِنٍ۬ وَلَا مُؤۡمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ۥۤ أَمۡرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡخِيَرَةُ مِنۡ أَمۡرِهِمۡۗ وَمَن يَعۡصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۥ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلاً۬ مُّبِينً۬ا))

"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision." [Sura Al-Ahzab 33:36]

Taji Mustafa
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain

News:

LAHAD DATU: Eight people who were among a group of Sulu gunmen involved in a stand-off and subsequent attacks against Malaysian security forces, were charged here Wednesday with terrorism and waging war against the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong. No plea was recorded from the eight men, from southern Philippines, after each of them was charged under Section 130 KA of the Penal Code with launching terrorism acts and under Section 121 of the Penal Code with waging war against the King. Section 130 KA provides for a jail term of up to 30 years and while Section 121 provides for the death penalty, upon conviction. Dressed in purple lock-up uniforms, the eight were charged before Sessions Court judge Amelati Parnell, sitting as Magistrate, at the hearing that began about 1pm. Suspects are taken to the court under heavy police escort on Wednesday. Senior federal counsel Datuk Nordin Ahmad led the prosecuting team. The charges were read out Bahasa Malaysia while interpreters translated the proceedings into Suluk and Bajau at the hearing held in a makeshift courtroom at the new district police headquarters here that was under tight security since morning. Upon Nordin's application, Amelati transferred the case to the Tawau High Court for hearing. Immediately after the completion of the hearing at 1.45pm, the eight accused were seen boarding four trucks under heavy police escort to be taken to Tawau. Media personnel were barred from entering the courtroom and were unable to immediately obtain details of the accused, including their names and ages. [Source: The Star Online]

Comment:

Early this month, Malaysia was suddenly awakened by the standoff between the Malaysian police, armed forces and a band of Sulu (South Philippines) armed Muslim group calling themselves the "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo" in Lahad Datu, Sabah. This standoff was said to have started with the Sultan of Sulu's claim on Sabah, but ended in bloodshed and killing among Muslims. Nine members of the security forces of Malaysia and about 70 of the Sulu ‘military members' died. One question that had been playing in the minds of many Malaysians is the fact that this tragedy occurred when the Malaysian 13th General Election (GE) is very close. With the unprecedented increase in corruption, cronyism and all sorts of scandal, this standoff had been described as a conspiracy to cover up all the flaws and weaknesses in the government over the years. In line with all flavors of defamation, slander and political recrimination that flourish in a democratic system such as the one in Malaysia, the Lahad Datu tragedy is not spared. Pro-government media, Utusan Malaysia and TV3 have linked the participation of the opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in this tragedy. On the other side of the coin, the Vice President of the People's Justice Party (PKR), Tian Chua, also accused the government of creating a drama. Whether these slanders are true or not, the fact remains that many lives have been lost or sacrificed. The fact is also, when the security forces are fighting in the field, the ruling and the opposition parties are also fighting a war in the media. This is democracy, a system in which the participating parties are left to wallow in it, using whatever issues and ways to discredit their political opponents, all for the sake of gaining votes in the election and for the sake of power.

Among the key questions that need to be resolved here is the claim over Sabah (if true) by the Sultan of Sulu and the infringement issues that occur. Sabah came into Malaysia in 1963 based on the results of the Cobbold Commission, a Commission which was established by the Kuffar colonialists to subdivide Muslim lands. However, as Muslims, it is Allah's rule that counts. Based on the decree of Allah, Muslims are one nation and must unite. But today, Muslims are cut into pieces, each creating their own identity, far from being a united Islamic Ummah. The truth is that Muslims have lived together under the auspices of the Caliphate for more than 1300 years. It is only after the advent of colonialism and the treason of Muslim leaders at that time, that the Muslim world, in particular the Muslim Malay archipelago consisting of Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines are broken into pieces ruled by independent rulers. The poison of assabiyyah and wathaniyyah were planted into the body of the Muslims. With this poison, Muslims are willing to fight and kill one another just to defend their ‘nations', which are really based on the false boundaries set by the kuffar colonialists. With this wathaniyyah attitude countrymen of a particlular land will defend it from being "invaded" by another ‘country' even though they are fellow Muslims. This is exactly what happened to Malaysia and Sulu. Disputes and wars occur when each party claims and fights over territory rights. This feeling of wathaniyyah (patriotism) has closed the feeling of love, brotherhood and unity required by Allah on fellow Muslims.

Based on Islam, the issue of consolation payment to the heir to the throne Sultan of Sulu should not exist and at the same time, we are not supposed to drive out the people of Sulu, who wants to live in Sabah or in any state in Malaysia, because we are all brothers, we must unite and it is haram for a Muslim to wrong let alone kill another Muslim brother. Muslims must understand that wathaniyyah and assabiyyah is haram and whatever effort or attempt to divide the land of the Muslims such as attempts to separate Sabah from Malaysia, or to separate East Timor or Aceh from Indonesia, or to separate South Sudan and North Sudan or to divide Malaysia and Indonesia and the like, are all haram. What more when Muslims argue over and kill each other in carrying out this unlawfulness. It is a great sin and a colossal disaster for the Muslim Ummah.

"لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ دَعَا إِلَى عَصَبِيَّةٍ وَلَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ قَاتَلَ عَلَى عَصَبِيَّةٍ وَلَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى عَصَبِيَّةٍ"
"It is not from among us those who call upon assabiyyah, on the basis assabiyyah fight and die for (defend) assabiyyah" [HR Abu Dawud].

O Leaders, police, and army! Our real enemy is not each other but the Kuffar who wishes to destroy us. The real mission of a Muslim army is to strive against the Kuffar, to liberate all occupied Muslim territories, freeing the oppressed Muslims and unite the Muslims under the auspices of the State ie the Khilafah "Caliphate". Strive for Allah to defend and consolidate the territories of Islam, in the name of Islam alone, not in the name of wathaniyyah assabiyyah which is forbidden by Allah (swt).

Dr. Muhammad

Malaysia