News & Comment
Islam should Shape our Thinking and Behaviour

News

Three suspects wanted to carry out an attack ‘out of a right-wing extremist conviction’ that would have implicated asylum seekers, prosecutors say.
German police have detained a second soldier suspected of involvement in a plan by an army officer and a student to carry out an attack, possibly on politicians who do not oppose immigration, the federal public prosecutor said. (Source: The Guardian)

Comment

This shocking news should really get the Muslim communities thinking even more about the reality they are living in. This well planned act of terror and growing extreme right sentiment are a clear result of the ongoing anti-Islamic rhetoric used by the European governments and media outlets and the effects it is having on society.

Muslims are well aware that governments all over Europe have used these same type of violent incidents as justifications to further their programme to change the way Muslims perceive and adhere to their religion. Through linking “adherence to the deen” with these types of violent acts they have created an atmosphere within society that the more religious a person is, the more dangerous he could be. They have called for intensive reform through linking certain Islamic values, such as, addressing the plight of Muslims all over the world and feeling connected to a wider Ummah with words such as extreme and fundamentalism. The goal is to create a more acceptable Islam, a version which will fit within the Western frame work of religiosity and reduce Islam to a mere set of rituals which can preferably be limited at home.

But do we see the same outspokenness by these same governments when these acts of violence seem directly linked to the message that they themselves are spreading? We do not and will not see a change in this message given. Muslims therefore need to be aware that this situation is an ongoing one and that it is crucial that we stand as one when counterattacking the anti-Islamic sentiments.

This means that our behaviour and thinking should be based on that which was revealed by our Creator. He gives clear guidance on how we as Muslims should react to the type of situation we are living in. Because this anti-Islamic campaign has been ongoing since the coming of Islam and so we have many guidelines given to us on how to deal with it. One of many guidelines given to us is the following verse:

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ)

“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.”

How important is the above verse when put against the above news. We should recognize the challenges we are facing when living in Europe. Challenges to change our Islamic identity and values. And we should at all times do everything in our power to work to preserve these noble values and practise our Deen with pride. We should also recognise that we will only be successful in doing so when we solely go back to the Islamic sources as reference point for our thinking and behaviour.

(وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا)

“And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.”

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Yasmin Malik
Member of the Women’s Section in Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir