To all Sincere Muslims

[showkot]

Definition of a State

Introduction

It is a well acknowledged fact that Islam is a complete way of life which necessitates the existence of the State to implement the Shariah both at an individual and societal level comprehensively. Individuals can abide by so me rules of Islam related to the prayer, fasting, and Hajj. The other rules of Islam that organize the various political, social, economic, and international relationships requires the existence of the State with the authority to organize the myriad of re lationships that characterize the society and the resources to mobilize the Ummah towards propagating Islam.

Muhammad (saw) initiated a dynamic ideological and political struggle in Mecca in order to demolish the existing societal framework and reconstruct the social structure based on Islam. After thirteen years of struggle, he managed to establish the Islamic State in Medinah. From the first moment of its creation, that Islamic State implemented the Shariah comprehensively, conducted the affairs of the society solely according to Islam, and propagated Islam throughout the world for over thirteen centu ries. Occasionally internal tensions fractured the integrity of the State, but such incidents were short-lived. Throughout its thirteen centuries of existence, the Khilafah continued as a single, indivisible entity that united all the Muslims under a sing le flag, a single constitution, and a single authority.



After the dissolution of the Khilafah in 1924, many states emerged and have claimed themselves to be Islamic ones. Saudi Arabia and Iran claim themselves as Islamic states and have inscribed the Islamic Creed on their flags. Pakistan also claims itself as an Islamic republic, and, recently, Sudan has coined the term 'Islamic State' to describe its governmental structure. Even Iraq, during the Gulf war, inscribed the words "Allah hu Akbar" on its flag. Many other regimes and figureheads have employed te rms as "Islamic Democracy" and "Islamization" to add an Islamic tinge to their actions and convince the masses that they are structuring their agenda based on Islam.



Whenever a new state emerges and claims itself as Islamic, many calls are made from the masses to support this new entity. A number of intellectual and scholars even begin to validate such claims by amassing evidences and twisting facts to justify their preconceptions. Such individuals propagate their ideas and eventually facilitate the public opinion of the masses towards supporting such self-proclaimed Islamic regimes.



The lack of clarity and understanding of the structure of the Islamic State has left the Muslim Ummah in a state of confusion that the existing regimes have exploited. The regimes that preside over the Muslim lands - even those who have proclaimed them selves as Islamic - have no resemblance to the Islamic State modeled by the Shariah. Fully aware of the Ummah's feelings towards Islam, the regimes conjure such false claims and slogans to prey upon the Ummah's sentiments while, behind the facade, they co ntinue to work on behalf of their Imperialist masters to undermine Islam. In order to verify the validity of these claims and prevent itself from rallying behind a facade or chasing a political mirage, the Muslim Ummah must establish a crystallized defini tion of the Islamic State and measure all such allegations objectively with the correct Islamic terminology.

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What is a state?

Most of the definitions characterize a state as an entity that implements a set of laws upon the people. A specific constitution that emanates from a unique doctrine gives rise to an ideological state that implements the doctrine, extracts its laws solely from the doctrine, and propagates the doctrine to other nations.



The Islamic State is an ideological state because its constitution is derived exclusively from the Islamic Aqeedah, and all the laws and systems that define its structure emanate from the Islamic Creed. America is also an ideological state that derives its laws and constitution from the doctrine of Democracy/Capitalism, and propagates this doctrine to other nations. States such as Congo, Madagascar, and the Philippines do not constitute ideological states because the laws and codes that define its soci al framework do not emanate from a particular doctrine but are imported from various sources and lumped together haphazardly.

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What is the Islamic State?

The term Islamic State is composed of two words: "Islam" and" State." The Muslim Ummah has come to realize that the solution to their problems resides in creating the Islamic State, but much confusion remains in defining its param eters. Does a majority Muslim population establish an Islamic State, regardless of the laws, systems, and constitution imposed upon it? Does the partial implementation of some aspects of Islam or having the name Allah on the state flag suffice to consider a state as Islamic? Does the existence of Islamic movements in positions of authority constitute an Islamic State? Even if a state possesses all of these elements, it would not be considered the Islamic State. Because Islam is the Qur'an and the Sunnah, the Islamic state revolves around the Qur'an and the Sunnah and not around Muslims. The presence of a large Muslim population or Islamic movements does not produce the Islamic State.



Because Islam is composed of the Aqeedah (doctrine) and a collection of laws emanating from it, the Islamic State must derive its entire constitution from the Islamic Aqeedah. All of the systems, laws, and regulations must emanate solely from the Islam ic Aqeedah and the sources of Shariah, and substantiated by a Daleel (evidence) to verify such a law or article as derived from Islam, for a state to be considered Islamic. Any contradiction that exists between any law or article in the constitution and I slam will exclude such a state from the circle of Islam.

The Islamic Aqeedah would form the basis of every aspect of the social structure of the Islamic State. Islam would define the state's foreign policy and objectives. The questioning of the rulers and authorities, the formation of political parties, and the checks and balances that the state would establish to maintain its integrity, all would emanate exclusively from Islam. The Islamic State would not allow any concept or idea emanating from a source other than Islam, even if it had a similarity to Isla m, to take root or establish itself within the social fabric.

In addition to establishing its structure solely upon Islam, the security of the Islamic State must rest in the hands of the Muslims and not with any other entity, state, or power. Because Saudi Arabia depends upon the United States for its security, t he Saudi regime does not meet the criteria for the Islamic State. Complete authority over its internal affairs and its territory must reside exclusively with the State and the Muslim Ummah for such an entity to be the Islamic State. When Muhammad (saaw) a sked a tribe for the authority (Nussrah), the chiefs of the tribe said, "We have an agreement with the Persian empire. They have authority in specific areas so if you want us to provide you with the Nussrah then this Nussrah will be restricted to that are a only." The Prophet (saaw) told them explicitly, "No, I am looking for a person who has full authority, no person deserves to protect or support this deen without having the full authority." From this incident, the Shariah establishes full authority upon its territory as a condition for a state to be Islamic.

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Are today's Islamic States really Islamic?

None of the states in the Muslim world today consider Islam as the sole source of their laws, constitution, and security. All of them implement various shades of man-made monarchies and republics tainted with an Islamic costume. M any argue that the structure of the government is irrelevant as long as the government implements Islam. But the Qur'anic ayah that says, "And rule them by what Allah revealed to you," invalidates such claims and establishes concretely that Islam mandates both the implementation of the rules and the specific structure that implements them. The Islamic State, in addition to implementing the rules of Islam, must establish its political structure according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Because none of the re gimes resemble the model government defined by the Shariah in any respect, Islam invalidates all of these governments on this premise alone.



The foreign policy of the existing regimes exposes their true colors. All of the states in the Muslim world, including Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt are members in the UN. The UN is a Kufr organization because the UN charter recognizes the territorial boundaries that exist in the world as well as those that divide the Muslim Ummah. Islam prohibits any political division between the Muslims, yet such states willingly submit to the conditions of the UN and succumb their agenda and polici es to the US foreign policy objectives. Omar al Basheer, the Sudanese President, said in a interview with a magazine called Palestine Al-Muslimah (January, 1992 Issue) regarding his relations with the US government, "We found that America is, politically speaking, the best state to deal with because they don't have the religious hatred that European states have," in spite of the atrocities and invasion of Muslim lands by the US during the Gulf War.

All that remain of the Shariah are some aspects of the Social and Punishment Systems, but even such vestiges are fraught with distortions. Local customs and traditions have mixed with the social fabric to produce a mutated social order full of stifling customs and double standards that turn many Muslims away from Islam, particularly women and youth. Even though some regimes implement the Islamic punishments, in the absence of the Islamic system, they do little in the way of performing their role of pro tecting the integrity of the society and only add to the oppression that the people endure. While the Saudi regime busily cuts the hands of the petty thieves in the streets, the Saud family is safe to continue robbing the wealth of the Ummah.



Some individuals, intellectuals, and groups, who champion such regimes as Islamic justify their claim on the notion of gradual implementation, claiming that Islam must proceed in its implementation in a gradual manner before reaching its climactic stag e where Islam as a system is fully established. Such a notion completely contradicts Islam because the implementation of 20% of Islam, by simple mathematics, implies the presence of 80% of Kufr. And Allah (swt) condemns those who take Islam in pieces in t he ayah when He (swt) says,



"Do you believe in a part of the Book and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment."[Al-Baqarah : 85]

Any authority that claim itself as Islamic is bound by the Shariah of Allah (swt) to implement Islam completely.

The presence of a large Muslim population or a few laws from Islam does not denote the Islamic State. During Numeri's era in Sudan, he claimed himself to be a ruler for an Islamic State while he was conspiring against the Muslim Ummah by helping the tr ansportation of Jews from Ethiopia to Israel. After Numeri was removed, Dr. Turabi and his movement started denouncing the actions of Numeri. Now the current regime is claiming itself to be attached to the same movement! The Prophet (saw) indicated in a f amous Hadith that the Believer cannot be fooled twice. The regimes presiding over the Muslim lands have fooled the Ummah too many times with slogans and false assertions that thrive upon the Ummah's unguided emotions.



The Muslims must avoid wishful thinking and establish their ideas and objectives upon concrete facts, submitting to the text of the Qur'an and the Sunnah and not to their emotions. Every Muslim desires to have the Islamic State, but this wish should no t overshadow the vivid facts. The Muslim Ummah, and particularly those who are carrying the Islamic Dawah, should hold firmly to the Quran and Sunnah and consider Islam as the only reference for their thinking despite the whims and hopes of the people.