1 How will the Islamic state deal with different Madhabs (Schools of Thought in Islam)?
The Muslims are united under the Islamic ‘Aqeedah and by the fact that the Qur’an and the Sunnah are sources of Shari’ah, none of the madhabs differed on this issue at all. Due to Ijtihad, they differed in the understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and as a result of this difference various schools of thought emerged. Ultimately Muslims are commanded by the Divine rule and not by the Madhab. He/she takes the rule by means of Ijtihad if he can, otherwise he takes it by following a Madhab if he is unable to make Ijtihad. As long as all the Madhahib embraced the Islamic ‘Aqeedah, and believed in the Qur’an and Sunnah – as the sole source of Shari’ah – they would be considered Islamic.
The Khilafah would not interfere with Madhabs as long as they do not deviate from fundamental Islamic principles.
2. Is the Khilafah state solely for Muslims?
Islam is a universal message for all of mankind. Many ayah in the Qur’an outline that Islam has come for all of mankind. Non-Muslims who live within the Khilafah territories are citizens and enjoy all the rights of security, opportunity and prosperity like any other citizen. Throughout most of Islamic history Muslims were the minority,
According to Albert Hourani, the English historian, in his book: ‘A History of the Arab Peoples: “At the end of the Umayyad period, less than 10% of the people in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain were Muslim. Only on the Arabian peninsula was the proportion of Muslims among the population even higher than this.”
3. Are you working to establish the Khilafah in Western states like Britain?
The work for resuming the Islamic way of life and establishing the Khilafah is focused in the Muslim world. This is the natural place for its establishment, as it is the history of the region and part of its heritage. The work outside these territories is focussed towards building the case for Political Islam and defending the Ummah and Islam.
4. Will women be given education?
All people within the Islamic territories irrespective of gender, religion or creed have the right to education. It is an Islamic command to gain knowledge and this applies equally to men and women.
Education is central to building the Islamic personality and ensuring Islamic culture takes root and both men and women are central to this.
5. What will the Khilafah teach other than Islamic education in it's schools?
An Islamic education is one which addresses the temporal and the spiritual, the ideological and the practical. The Khilafah would seek to educate the people in a manner such that well rounded individuals are developed ready to participate in all areas of society. The curriculum of the Khilafah shall equip students with all the necessary skills needed to develop a prosperous economy and an advanced nation. This means that subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering and other sciences shall be taught to the point where the Ummah once again becomes the leading nation in these fields. In addition to this, subjects such as languages, philosophy, politics, economics and other ideological subjects will also be taught in order to elevate the intellectual level of the Ummah.
6. What will be the Khilafah's view towards technology and the internet?
Islam’s view towards technology and industry is that in generality all objects are permitted. However, their use has been restricted as all actions require a Shari’ah evidence. Islam views all the material matters which include the sciences, technology and industry, as merely the study of the reality and a study of how matter can be manipulated to improve the condition and living standards of humanity. This is the view of Islam on science and technology. Therefore Islam permits the use of telecommunication technologies and will provide funding to such areas to develop the Khilafah.
The poverty in the Muslim lands exist due the architecture the departing colonists left in the Muslim lands and the subsequent neglect by the Muslim rulers of their own people. Add to this some very questionable IMF and World Bank structural adjustment polices and you have the reasons for poverty in the Muslim lands. The Muslim territories may have some of the world’s coveted minerals but none of this has lifted the many who lumber in poverty. The Islamic economic system is composed of various rules and policies that outline the method of distributing wealth and ensuring it circulates throughout the economy. The Islamic lands are not even established upon their strengths, this would be the first policy of the Khilafah.
8. Will the Khilafah close itself to the foreign world like North Korea and other rogue states?
The objective of the foreign policy of the Khilafah is to call all mankind to light of Islam. This is in contrast to the foreign policy objectives of capitalist states, which is to subjugate all other nations in order to extract the maximum amount of wealth possible. This is also in contrast to the foreign policies of all existing Muslim states, which beyond obtaining a few favorable trade deals and consolidating the grip of the ruling elite upon the country, is geared to serve the interests of foreign colonialists. The Khilafah will have a new ideology for the world and as a result it will not have a passive foreign policy but one where it will shape global issues.
9. How will a Khilafah state emerge?
A Khilafah state will emerge when a number of key factors converge within a suitable land within the Muslim world. Firstly, when the people wholeheartedly reject the current system/s that oppress them. Secondly, when there is a public opinion for the Islamic Ruling system as the system of government for the people. Thirdly, when those people who hold the balance of power in that society appreciate that the only viable alternative to misery, exploitation and chaos for them is the Islamic Khilafah and a political path independent of Western colonial powers.
10. What will be the basis of foreign relations?
Recent examples of Afghanistan have shown a lack of political thinking. We seem to equate an Islamic state with a state that wages war on the world. The basis of foreign relations will be Islam and the invitation to Islam. The Khaleefah is the one who will allow trade agreements, diplomatic relations and treaties according to Islam. The Khilafah does not seek to live in a bubble but to have normal relations with other nations for the benefit of the state and it’s citizens. The Khilafah will buy and sell from other nations, attend international conferences and summits and partake in international norms. All of these relationships however will based upon the Islamic Shariah and no action can be partaken by that state that violates it. Abiding by the Shariah on the global stage is an ideal opportunity to show the justice of Islam to the world, in stark contrast to the conniving tricks and double standards the world is put under by the colonial, capitalist nations that seek to rape the world for the benefit of corporations and powerful individuals. In addition, the Muslim Ummah as a whole has a duty to mankind in general: to enjoin good and forbid evil, and to be the Ummatan Wasata – a just, middle Ummah – to witness over mankind according to this justice. Accordingly the Khaleefah, as the representative ruler of the Muslims, has the duty to be interested and involved in global affairs, to speak out against injustices and invite other nations to behave according to what is good and just, and to invite them to Islam.
11. How will your Islamic state deal with political actions such as embargoes, isolation and other political actions from hostile states?
There can be little doubt, from the actions and rhetoric of colonial states, that they plan to embark on belligerent measures against the Khilafah state – before and after it is established. As such the Khilafah state can be under no illusions about those who will try to threaten its security from day one. That will require an enormous effort to:
a) expose the plans of the colonial states internally and to the international community, who have for too long, maintained their hegemony over the world
b) engage with other states in the world to develop treaties and trade independent of the grasp of the colonial powers
c) prepare the state’s military and defence capability
d) unify the population around the Islamic constitution to pre-empt and counter colonial attempts to sow the seeds of division
e) rally neighbouring Muslims lands to join with the Khilafah, forcing the colonial powers to reassess such actions
12. How will your Islamic state deal with Israel?
The Khilafah state will work to end the occupation of Palestine, which was occupied by the British in 1917 and then in 1948 by the Zionists, who went on to usurp further lands in subsequent years. The people and the land must be liberated from this brutal occupation and the Khilafah will utilise all its tools towards this end, including: a diplomatic offensive around the world exposing the horrendous crimes of this occupying entity; enforcement of an economic and travel embargo of the occupier; and the mobilisation of the Islamic military to counter a brutal 60 year military occupation.
It is a fact that the only period when this region saw significant stability and tranquility – for Jews Christians and Muslims – was under the Islamic Khilafah.
13. What will be the basis of relationships with other Muslim countries?
The relationship will be aimed to unify the Islamic lands which have been artificially divided for decades. The Khaleefah is the leader for all believers in the world, and not only those that lie within the state’s current borders. Therefore it will be the duty of Muslims, in particular the Muslim armies out side of the Khilafah to unify with it, remove the treacherous tyrants in their lands and have the Khilafah implement Islam on their lands once more.
14. Will your state be run by clerics?
No. The state will be run by a capable Islamic politician of integrity, along with other capable Islamic politicians of integrity as assistants, deputies, governors and delegates. The basis of the Khilafah state is the Aqeeda of Islam and the Shariah of Allah, which has been derived by scholars throughout our rich history and to present day scholars who will need to derive laws for the new issues we face today. It is the role of the Islamic politicians of the Khilafah state to implement the Shariah of Allah throughout the different regions and aspects of the state. A more detailed view of the state’s political structure can be seen in this organisational chart [View Chart]
15. Would the Caliph be elected and held accountable for all his actions?
Yes. Contrary to notions of the Islamic Caliphate being a religious dictatorship presiding over an authoritarian system, the head of state is elected within an open transparent election and is directly accountable for all his actions to the people. This accountability is maintained by having a vibrant open society and political parties, the presence of strong institutions including independent courts as well as the presence of strong values. There are many Islamic evidences that are well known that obliged enjoining good and forbidding evil (amr bil maaroof wa nahi anil munkar) upon rulers.
Within the Caliphate there is a specific institution called the Court of Unjust Acts (Mahkamut ul Madhalim), which has the mandatory power to look into any complaint against the Head of State, his advisers, any assistants or the governors in the provinces. Indeed the court itself has the right to look into any case of injustice by the executive even if nobody filed a complaint.
16. Explain in brief the key principles of the Islamic political system
The Islamic political system has a number of key principles, two of the fundamental ones are that:
1. Legislation is derived from the divine sources i.e. the Qur’an and Sunnah, Ijmaa as-Sahaba (Consensus of the Companions of the Prophet) and Qiyas (Analogical reasoning)
2. The authority lies with the people.
The former principle contravenes the key tenet of secular democracies, while the second principle undermines the key features of dictatorships.
17. What do you mean by ‘authority belongs to the people’?
This means in origin that the people are the ones who hold the authority of ruling and they contract the ruler (Caliph) to rule according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. The contract or bai’ah stipulates that the ruler is permitted to rule the people as long as he rules according to the Quran and Sunnah. The appointment of the ruler is thus through popular consent from the people via an electoral process.
A ruler must have a mandate from the population or is considered illegitimate. This completely puts to rest the myth that the Caliphate would be some kind of religious dictatorship imposed upon the people through religious order.
18. People say this would be an election that is ‘one-man one-vote one-time’
There is no fixed-term limit for a leader. The Court of Unjust Acts can remove him at any time, if he breaches the constitutional contract of ruling or contravenes any of the qualifying conditions to rule. There is no need to wait five years for the next election to do this. The principle is rooted in divine law but can be seen as providing long term continuity as well as avoiding the compromises and money dependency that short term electoral cycles bring in modern democracies.
19. But with no fixed-term limits, doesn’t this just become an elected dictatorship?
No a leader if he contravenes the constitutional limits or commits egregious acts he can be removed by the Court of Unjust Acts at any juncture. This court is independent from the executive and can listen to any complaint. In addition accountability – by ordinary citizens, political parties, independent media and the elected assembly is a constant obligation on the people – not to be exhibited once every four or five years via a ballot box.
20. Apart from the head of State are there any other elected institutions in the Caliphate?
Yes there are. There are regional assemblies (Majlis ul-Wilyiah) in each province (wiliyah) that are directly elected and whose term limit is five years and whose representatives then elect from amongst themselves a national assembly known as the Council of the Ummah (Majlis al-Ummah).
They have the responsibility to account the Head of State at the national level and account the appointed Governors at the local level. In addition their views/decisions sought on general public interest matters is considered binding. Allah says in the Qur’an:
‘And do consult them in the matter, and if you decide (on an action/opinion) put your trust in Allah’ [al-Imran, 3:159]
The regional assembly can also by majority vote remove the locally appointed Governor by passing in effect a vote of no confidence.
22. If legislation is divine in origin, does that not make the Islamic State a theocracy like Iran or Saudi Arabia?
No! Theocracies at their heart believe that there is a group or leaders who are infallible and who have an exclusive right to interpret the word of God, where no one is allowed to challenge their interpretation and anyone doing so is condemned. Muslims believe Prophets are selected by God but that subsequent political leaders are not. Their legitimacy must emanate from the authority of the people. The Islamic political system is not theocratic in nature with anyone allowed to challenge any ruling by either scholars or the head of state. We also do not accept either Iran or Saudi Arabia as valid models; the former has a split religious-secular model, neither Islamic nor democratic; while the latter is a hereditary monarchy that uses the religious establishment as a tool to control opposition to their capitalist and pro-West agenda.
23. Political parties who adhere to the constitution should operate freely within the system. But if you believe the Caliphate is not theocratic, then surely your state is religious and therefore not pluralistic?
Like most states, an Islamic state would have a written constitution that governs the society and therefore allows individuals and political parties to operate within that constitutional construct. Of course an Islamic constitution would be different to a constitution that promoted free-market capitalism and social liberalism. However constitutions, written or implied, in democratic states also constrain individuals and parties to ensure that everyone operates within the same political rules and systems. The Islamic system in that sense is no different.
To a certain extent, though since 9-11 we are seeing a greater intolerance of people who are challenging fundamental ideas. Within an Islamic political system, accounting leaders and their decisions is not merely encouraged – it is mandatory.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ ۚ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
‘Let there arise from amongst you group(s) who call to the khair, enjoin maaroof and forbid munkar. They are those who are successful.’ [al-Imran, 3:104]
meaning that there must at any one time be groups within the Ummah that account the rulers. We also know that Islamic history has a long record of accounting rulers, debate and discussion, and Islam draws a clear line between debate, criticism of authority on one hand and gratuitous abuse of key beliefs – unlike Europe’s position during the Danish cartoons abuse.
25. How can this be reconciled with a ‘free media’?
Media in the Caliphate is independent, in general not require any permission for work. Every citizen in the Caliphate is allowed to set up any kind of media operation within the agreed general guidelines of the laws – which prevents libellous attacks, the promotion of any kind of sexual depravity, racism or issues relating to national security. But scrutinising policy, questioning and accounting the executive and other branches of government is fully within their mode of action.
26. If legislation is sourced from divine law, how can you progress and solve new challenges and problems?
Islamic jurisprudence has detailed solutions and key principles derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah that are timeless. These can be applied to any new challenge or problem. This is well established in Islamic jurisprudence under the discipline of Ijtihad. Most democratic states still cite the Magna Carta in 1215 and the United States is based on a constitution written in 1776. In addition pan-national treaties or conventions like the European Convention on Human Rights or the Geneva Conventions are also viewed by their supporters as timeless accords.
Furthermore if one studies Islamic history one can see how during the Islamic Caliphate the Muslim world was at the forefront of science, technology and progress.
27. Are you therefore saying that people have no role in policies because everything is divinely ordained?
No, Islam evaluates human actions in five ways. Some actions are mandatory (fard), others are prohibited (haram) while some are disliked (makhruh) or recommended (mandoub or Sunnah). In any of these four categories, people have no right in setting policy – these matters can be seen as fixed principles in the state.
However the fifth category is that which is categorised as permissible actions (mubah) i.e. actions that human beings are free to do without divine restriction – many state policies may well be amongst the mubah actions. Here people have every right via their elected assemblies to fully debate and decide the best course for the State. There are many occasions from the life of the Prophet where people were not just consulted but their collective decisions were considered binding. These issues are generally related to areas of communal interest that do not require specialist scrutiny in areas of education, health, the economy, industry and agriculture.
28. Political leaders should represent the interests of all the people, not just a narrow elite. You are obviously critical of the closeness of big business in democratic societies, but how would you stop that happening in the Caliphate?
The Western cocktail of money and politics has caused huge problems in generating corruption, a degeneration of society’s values and instability in global peace and security as worldwide resources are constantly fought over. The Islamic system would take the money out of modern politics. The electoral circus every four or five years (every two years for the House of Representatives in the United States) in the West positively encourages the growth of money in politics forcing politicians to either raise grotesque amounts of money for re-election or maximise their own wealth before they get booted out.
The Islamic economic system is also the complete antithesis to the capitalist economy, putting the problems of the ordinary man over big business. Moreover, a record of corruption is a matter that would violate a contractual condition of ruling for the Caliph – meaning such a person would either not be allowed to take office, or would be removed once in office.
29. There should be a judiciary independent of the executive and who can hold the executive to account. Are you saying the judiciary is therefore independent from the State in the Caliphate?
Yes, absolutely! Judges and courts are completely independent from the head of state and the executive and are key parts of the Caliphate’s institutions. Moreover, a sitting judge who is investigating a matter relating to the executive cannot be dismissed till the conclusion of the investigation.
30. Are you therefore saying that no individual or group is above the law?
Correct. No one – including the head of state, their family, or any religious scholar – is above the law. And unlike the West where justice is skewed to those that are more powerful and wealthier, Islamic courts have historically – and will do so in the future – exercised justice for the weak, minorities and the less well off. This was because of the saying of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned in Bukhari and Muslim when he was petitioned to intercede for a noble lady who had committed theft: ‘The nations before were destroyed because if a noble person committed theft, they used to leave him, but if a weak person amongst them committed theft, they used to inflict the legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, committed theft, Muhammad would cut off her hand!’
31. Are you saying that the Caliphate will not discriminate against any of its citizens on the basis of creed, race, gender or disability? Surely by being based on Islam, Muslims will always be favoured and surely secularism is the best way to go?
No this is a common accusation but has no grounding in fact. The Caliphate is mandated by divine law to treat non-Muslim citizens well; protecting their right to their religious beliefs and protecting their places of worship.
The State is forbidden from discriminating at all between the individuals in terms of rule, judiciary and management of affairs or anything similar. Rather, every individual should be treated equally regardless of race, creed, colour or anything else.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَإِذَا حَكَمْتُمْ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ أَنْ تَحْكُمُوا بِالْعَدْلِ
‘And if you judge between people, judge with justice.’ (al-Nisa, 4:58]
وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَىٰ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا ۚ اعْدِلُوا هُوَ أَقْرَبُ لِلتَّقْوَىٰ
‘And let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just, that is nearer to piety’ [Al-Maida, 5:8]
Also the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said: ‘He who kills a covenanted person unjustly shall not find the scent of heaven; its scent is found the distance of a hundred year march.’ [Tirmidhi]
Historically Jews and Christians were well protected and examples of Islamic Spain and the refuge given to Jews by Istanbul at the time of the Inquisition are documented examples. In one famous case from the early period of Islamic rule a non-Muslim took the head of state to court over a property dispute and won the case. Non-Muslims of any creed (or none) have no fear from an Islamic system and for many who see Western societies increasingly mired in materialism and political corruption may seem pleasantly surprised at the Caliphate’s alternative model.
32. Arbitrary arrest, spying on citizens, internment, torture and extraordinary rendition should be absolutely prohibited. However if you do not believe in democratic rights, wouldn’t people say that made the system a Police State?
No Islam completely rejects this. Islam does not believe in arbitrary arrest or torture or rendition or internment. Every person has the right to a presumption of innocence, a right to privacy and a right to a fair trial. Secular democracies do not have a monopoly over respecting the rights of its citizens.
Islam prohibits the State from spying on its citizens – something endemic in Muslim countries but also on the increase in many Western countries: Spying on Muslims is haram as stipulated in this verse.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوا
‘And do not spy on each other’ [Hujraat, 49:12]
This is a general prohibition of spying confirmed by the hadith reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud in their narration from Al-Muqdad and Abu Umamah when they said:
The Messenger of Allah said: ‘If the amir sought for suspicion amongst the people he would undermine them.’ [Abu Dawud, Sunan, #4889 and al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, vol.5, p.218]
There are also clear constitutionally enshrined Islamic prohibitions on torture and abusive behaviour amongst other things – applied to the police, armed forces and security services as well as the general population – as a protection from such forceful rule.
33. Didn’t religious rule in Europe in the medieval period hold Western society back in terms of material progress?
Yes but this was specific to Europe where science was seen as an enemy to established tenets of the Church. The opposite happened in the Muslim world, the Caliphate actually drove scientific and technological progress on the back of Islamic tenets. Islam never mandated divine rules relating to science, administrative or technical issues. The significant achievements and advancements of the Caliphate historically have been recognised by many non-Muslim commentators, historians and experts.
34. Even if you reject the Western model based on its corruption and inability to tackle longterm challenges isn’t China an alternative?
China may have an amazing economic growth record but is a state that crushes its individuals and denies them any political rights. For China people are resources to be managed through the capitalist market not human beings who should be respected and treated like human beings.
Killing innocent people in cold blood for protesting in a public square is not a sign of a civilisation at ease with itself. Chinese internal policies in Xinjiang and Tibet are harsh and severe and are characterised by paranoia and the requirement for absolute obedience. China often accuses the West for engaging in brutal behaviour, however its treatment of the Uighurs shows its inability to build a cohesive society that can be attractive to minorities.
Despite attempts by Chinese politicians to portray the whole of China as vibrant, almost 40% or 500 million of China’s population live on less than $2 a day. Despite the great strength of China’s economy, too little of the new found wealth has circulated to the poor and the needy.
China has a terrible record when it comes to religious persecution. Its treatment of all religions but specifically Christianity and Islam is nothing short of horrific. Despite a huge propaganda effort to convince the world that China is becoming much more open and free since the June 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, religious persecution has been intensifying. Chinese authorities have intensified their violent campaign against religious believers, including Evangelical Christians, Roman Catholics, Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and other groups, such as the Falun Gong.
35. How would you choose a ruler in the Khilafah?
We can VOTE for our ruler as long as he rules by what Allah has revealed. Voting is not the same as democracy. Voting means to elect an individual to do an action on your behalf – i.e. to represent you or, in Arabic, to be your wakeel. Representation or wakala has an established set of rules in Islamic jurisprudence as we said before the key question is: what will the person represent you in doing.
In the Second Bai’ah (pledge) of Al-Aqabah, the Messenger (saw) said to leaders of the tribes of al-Aws and al- Khazraj (mentioned in Seerah of Ibn Hisham): “Select for me from amongst you twelve chiefs, who will be responsible for their people, including themselves…” This means he asked them to select and elect their representatives.
Also, in the example of the selection of the Khaleefah at the time of the passing of Ameer al Mu’mineen Sayyidina Omar ibn Khattab (RA) a group of 6 were chosen by him, on his death bed, to select/elect from amongst them the new Khaleefah – and he instructed to kill anyone who opposed the matter after 3 days and 2 nights – an instruction agreed upon by the Sahabah, which established an ijma of obligation of this matter of electing a Khilafah within this time. In the end, the people of Medina were consulted about the two nominees from this group and Sayyidina Uthman ibn Affan was elected.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has adopted that this process would work in the next Khilafah through the body known as the Majlis al Ummah – or the Ummah’s council. This body is elected from the people, by an election process and voting so the people chose their real representatives. Then these representatives would be responsible for reducing a list of nominees to 6 final candidates – checked by the Mahkamat al Mathalim – the Judge who would establish that they fulfilled the criteria for ruling. The Majlis would then elect the Khalifah from this shortlist and give the bay’ah. This is the practical manifestation of the principle that the authority is with the Ummah.
Thus, in the Islamic system, Sovereignty is for Allah and His Shariah alone – and authority is with the Ummah.
Islam doesn’t make accounting a government a right, it makes it a DUTY. This is an individual duty on Muslims if they are able; a duty to have groups that account the government according to Islam; a media that should be open and frank in their accounting; the elected people’s assembly – Majlis al Ummah – has a role in accounting; and a judge called the Qadi Mazalim – whose role it is to judge between the government, it’s office bearers and the people – who even has powers to remove the Khaleefah if he violates his terms of contract. Thus a ruler could be removed, if necessary, well before the average 4 year term in Britain and America; or he could continue in office if he is serving his people well according to Islam.
Source: http://www.hizb.org.uk/what-is-khilafah/qa-on-khilafah#_
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