3rd March - Scars from the Past

The Prophet (saw) said, "The knots of Islam will be undone one by one until every one of them is undone, and the first one to be undone is the ruling by the Book of Allah (swt) and the last one is the prayer."

The Prophet (saw) established the knots of Islam upon the earth. For thirteen years, he (saw) endured many hardships so that the earth could be shaded by ruling by the Book of Allah (swt), the Islamic State. For thirteen centuries thence, the Muslims lived by this noble rule. In this period, they enjoyed Allah's (swt) pleasure, for they ruled by that which pleased Him (swt). In the above hadith, the Prophet (saw) spoke of how this would not last. Throughout the centuries of Islamic rule, Muslims who read this hadith shuddered at the mere thought of the loss of the Islamic State. The Khilafah was abolished on 3rd March 1924. In its place today are over fifty secular, states. Their ruling is by other than the Book of Allah (swt). The advocates of secularism would have us feeling no remorse at this huge loss. Secularists perceived it as a step forward; the destruction of the Islamic rule was a sign of ‘progress’.

The abolition of the Khilafah, has been far from a step forwards. Its demise inflicted wounds, from which we are still scarred today. The events surrounding its abolition revealed many vital issues that affect us. It was not a freak occurrence or an accident. It was a culmination of decades of work by the colonial powers, with Mustafa Kemal merely pulling the trigger. Here follows an account.

The Khilafah is a shield, standing in the way of secular designs
At the end of the 19th Century, Prime Minister Disraeli, held a copy of the Book of Allah (swt) in the British Parliament. He stated that Muslims could never be defeated until it was taken from them. Today the Qur’an is still present amongst us, it is recited in our houses and mosques. What Disraeli meant specifically was the ruling and living by Islam. And with good reason, for Muhammad (saw) said, "The Imam is a shield, you fight from behind him and are protected by him"

The European powers endured the consequences of this hadith. The Khilafah ably protected the Islamic Lands from the designs of the kuffar. These designs remained unfulfilled for centuries. Disraeli and Bismarck conferred in Berlin (1887) to divide the Islamic Lands. Plans reiterated in the Sykes-Picot (British-French) secret agreement of 1916. They had already occupied many of the Islamic Lands. However, they still harboured the same fears that filled the hearts of the original Crusaders. They succeeded in occupying Islamic Lands, although it was short-lived. Within years, they were completely routed as Khaleefah Nur-ud-Deen launched a jihad against them. The defeat of the Crusaders showed that while the Khilafah existed, the latent power within the Muslims could always be unleashed. Therefore, Britain demanded that Muslims abolish the Khilafah at the Lausanne conference (20th November 1922 to 4th February 1923). Also previously, in 1915 the Russian ambassador to Britain, sent a message back to St Petersburg:

"The Italian Government supports the Russian Government's opinion. The Italian government wholeheartedly supports wresting the Khilafah from the Turks and abolishing it if necessary".

Their ground work was laid long before when the Europeans sponsored missionary activity within the Khilafah. Missionary centres sprang up around, and even within, the borders of the decaying Islamic State such as those in Malta (end of 16th Century), ash-Sham (1725) and Beirut (1820). Their objective was not to convert Muslims to Christianity, this idea was as ludicrous as it was unlikely. Rather it was to dupe Muslims into adopting Islam as the Europeans had adopted Christianity. Specifically, they wished that Muslims followed their example, by having a secular Reformation. That is that the Muslims would separate the deen from the State. They formed many associations and parties for this purpose. Through this and other means, they recruited Muslims to their secular crusade. Now all that remained was the implementation of the secular vision. Time proved that this was not to be an easy task.

Secularists in Turkey try to abolish Khilafah
By the early 1920’s the ‘Union and Progress’ and the ‘Young Turks’ manoeuvred towards implementation of secularism. Their boldest initiative was a proposal for a secular constitution, presented to the National Assembly. This evoked an angry response. Kathim Qara Bakir, the ‘Uthmani Khilafah General , said, "

I have vowed to prevent any steps undertaken with the aim of transforming the country from a Sultanate to a republic, no matter how dear the sacrifice were."

A leading secularist, Mustafa Kemal retorted,

"The constitution drafted by the National Assembly is not final...There is nothing in these laws to suggest that the sacred Sultanate and the sacred Khilafah would be undermined, or to suggest an incitement towards adopting a republican ruling system. Those who imagine that we wish to destroy the Sultanate and substitute the Sultanic rule by the republican rule are in fact living in another planet than the one we live in, that is the planet of fiction and imagination."

History has shown how empty these words were. Their ensuing actions showed that they wished to bring this planet from the realm of fiction and imagination, into bitter reality. The real motive for this apparent climb-down was that they realised Bakir was well respected for his sound reasoning by the Ummah. His views represented the view of the Ummah of the time. Indeed, the Ummah was aware that Islam dealt with all life's affairs, including that of the government. They held no concept of a secular government i.e. a government that looked outside of Islam for its form and detail. This was all but spelled out to the secularists when they later showed their true colours. In the midst of debate in the National Assembly, Kemal suggested the separation between the Sultanate and the Khilafah, thus abolishing the Sultanate and removing the Khaleefah, Wahid-ud-Deen. A foreign affairs committee was called upon to examine this matter the following day. It included in its ranks Islamic scholars. The committee spent hours studying the issue of separating the Sultanate from the Khilafah. The committee rejected the proposal unanimously, citing texts from the Qur’an and the Sunnah forbidding a secular government.

Islam forbids Secularism and commands Khilafah
The following verses of Qur’an, are just a few of the Islamic evidences that clearly demonstrate that Islam came to decide all matters. Secularism denies Islam any say in politics. Allah (swt) revealed in the Qur’an:

"But no, by Your Lord, they can have no (real) faith until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest submission." [Qur'an 4:65] "And if you judge between people, judge with justice." [Qur'an 4:58]
"Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those of you in authority..." [Qur'an 4:59]
"Whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such are disbelievers." [Qur'an 5:44]
"Whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such are oppressors." [Qur'an 5:45]
"Whosoever does not judge by that which Allah has revealed, such are transgressors." [Qur'an 5:47]
"So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their desires away from the truth that has come to you." [Qur'an 5:48]
"Judge between them by what Allah has revealed and follow not their desires but beware of them lest they seduce you from some part of that which Allah has revealed to you." [Qur'an 5:49]
"The rule is to none but Allah." [Qur'an 6:57]

Allah’s (swt) Messenger (saw) said,

"The Prophets took care of the affairs of the children of Israel, whenever a Prophet died another Prophet succeeded him, but there will be no Prophet after me. There will be Khulafa’a and they will number many."

"Whosoever removes a hand from obeying Allah will stand before Allah on the Day of Judgement with no evidence/complaint, and whom of you who dies without pledging his oath to a Khalifah will have died the death of a non-believer."

Secularist confront the Ummah and Islam
The secularists were up against the word of Allah (swt), and an Ummah that held them sacred. Thus a conflict between the Ummah and the secularists ensued. The following quotes and events demonstrate the intensity of that conflict. One can clearly see that the Ummah of the time proved to be a worthy example, for the present generation of Muslims that face secular rule in the Islamic Lands.

November 1922.

"The Sultanate must be separated from the Khilafah and abolished. This will happen whether you agree to it or not. All there is to it is that some of your heads will roll in the process."

Mustafa Kemal’s response to hearing the rejection by the foreign affairs committee. The National Assembly rejected the proposal, despite the fact that Mustafa Kemal’s supporters rested their hands on pistols. Yet, the speaker announced that the Assembly had endorsed the proposal by a general consensus. Upon this a number of deputies jumped on top of their seats protesting and shouting,

"This is not true, we did not agree to this."

Kemal dissolved the National Assembly and hold fresh elections, hoping to acquire a majority. However, this new Assembly was also against secularism.

29th October 1923. Mustafa Kemal addressed the National Assembly,

"...I have decided that Turkey should become a republic with an elected president."

When the voting took place, fewer than 40% of the deputies took part. However, the decree had been prepared beforehand by the secularists. It declared that there was approval for the formation of a secular Turkish Republic, with Kemal as its first President. The masses turned against the secular proposals. The word was spread everywhere that the new rulers of Ankara were kuffaar. Many prominent orators started to attack Mustafa Kemal. Leaflets and caricatures which attacked him fiercely were distributed. Many of the deputies and prominent figures left Ankara and headed towards Istanbul, to rally around the Khaleefah Abdul-Majid. Kemal then gauged opinion amongst the army. He attended the annual military manoeuvres near Izmir and spent days reviewing the situation, with Fawzi and Ismat, probing the low ranking officers and soldiers. He found a strong opposition to secularism. Secularists resorted to brutality. The National Assembly endorsed a bill declaring that any opposition to the republic and any inclination towards the deposed Sultan, would be considered an act of treason, punishable by death. Kemal ordered the assassination of one of the staunchest critiques of secularism, as he was returning from the National Assembly. When yet another deputy delivered a speech in support of the Khaleefah, Kemal threatened him with hanging.
1st March 1924. The Greater National Assembly convened. Mustafa Kemal demanded the abolition of the Khilafah. Again there was fierce opposition.

2nd March 1924. The National Assembly convened once more in order to review this decree; the session went on all night until 6.30 a.m. Again nothing was resolved.

3rd March 1924. In spite of the opposition from the Assembly and the Ummah, the abolition of the Khilafah was announced, and with it the separation of the deen from the state.

Scars from the Past
The Prophet (saw) said, "Your enemies will eat of you as guests eat at a dinner."
With the Khilafah destroyed, indeed the enemies feasted without any fear of reprisal. As now Britain’s condition was fulfilled, Lausanne was reconvened on 23rd April 1924. The Lausanne Treaty was signed on 24th July 1924. The British Foreign Secretary, Curzon announced in the House of Commons,

"The point at issue is that Turkey has been destroyed and shall never rise again, because we have destroyed her spiritual power: the Khilafah and Islam."

The foreign powers continued dividing up the Islamic Lands according to the Sykes-Picot agreement and the Berlin Conference. Unlike the Crusaders of the past, these modern day secular crusaders had no Khilafah to confront them. Within years of the Khilafah’s abolition, they were able to extend their colonial hegemony over the resources of the Islamic Lands. Within decades, Britain was able to extend their support of the Zionists, culminating in the formation of Israel (May, 1948). To this day the Islamic Lands are divided and fall under the shadow of secular rule.

Today, many Muslims have made a realisation of their own. They have realised the impact of the loss of the Khilafah. Muslims must make this realisation act as a spur to motivate them to take on the work for the re-establishment of the Khilafah. For the best reason that there could ever be. Its re-establishment is a command in Islam. Just as the Ummah in the time of Mustafa Kemal worked hard to resist secularism, so must we. Just as they loathed even the thought of secular rule, so we must seek to uproot it from the Islamic Lands. Finally, the Muslims must take heart that the Prophet (saw) reported on the Khilafah’s return after its demise. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,

"The Prophethood will remain among you for as long as Allah wills, then Allah will lift it when He wishes to, then it will be a Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided) on the method of the Prophethood, it will remain for as long as Allah wills, then Allah will lift it if He wishes, then it will be a hereditary leadership which will remain for as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it if he wishes, then it will be a tyrannical rule, and it will remain so for as long as Allah wills, then He will lift it if He wishes, then it will be a Khilafah on the method of the Prophethood, then he kept silent."