بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Secularism is Categorically Incompetent as a Universal Ruling System, Islam is the only Universal Ideology and Capable of Ruling Humankind with Justice
News:
A court in India effectively banned Islamic schools in the country's most populous Uttar Pradesh state. The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court declared the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004, “unconstitutional” and ‘a violation of secularism’. This court order affects 2.7 million Muslim students and 10,000 teachers in 25,000 madrasas. Madrasas provide a system of education in which students are taught about the Quran and Islamic history alongside general subjects like math and science.
Comment:
Even though this banning of Madrasa Education in Uttar Pradesh is a part of Modi’s election agenda, it primarily represents the secular nature of Indian Ruling system. India is considered as the largest secular democracy in the world and the secular foundation of this most populous country in the world dates back to British colonial era. Till date the ruling establishments of this country, including the judiciary, are carrying the legacy of British colonial rule and upholds secular values only. BJP’s Hindutva agenda coincides the secular democratic agenda and both shares the same viewpoint towards Islam, which is islamophobia. So, Modi’s anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic stance is nothing more than a secular stance, as secularism is inherently hateful and fearful of Islam and can’t tolerate the presence of Islam, even in personal ritual level.
The main feature of secularism as describes by its advocates is that religious belief constitutes a personal matter and every individual has the right to practice his or her personal religious rituals and secular state is there to uphold and protect that so called ‘freedom of belief’. However, when Islam is the matter of discussion, then this so called tolerant and all-accommodating secularism becomes intolerant and pursue a path of eliminating the presence of anything that is linked with Islam. Islamic schools, which are locally known as Madrasa, where Quran and Hadith are taught alongside general subjects like math and science, are mainly established based on a ritualistic belief of the Muslims that teaching their children Quran and Hadith is a matter of great worship to the Creator, which will yield them great rewards in the hereafter. But, ‘narrow’ secularism came down upon very hard on this personal belief of the Muslims by using the state judiciary and put more than five million Muslims living in that state in an imposed distress. Besides, the wicked and disgraceful banning of peaceful and intellectual Islamic political parties by many secular countries, including the mother of secular democracy Britain, is another proof of secularism’s hypocrisy and bankruptcy. This proves that secularism is an epitome of hypocrisy and is completely incompetent as a universal ruing system where Muslim communities are unable to live in harmony and peace while practicing their religious rituals. In contrast, Islam is the only universal ruling system that ever came into existence in the entire history of mankind, where all religious communities coexisted and practiced their personal religious beliefs while living in harmony and peace.
Secularism’s intolerance about Islam, even if in the matter of personal beliefs and rituals, is due the fact that Islam as a universal ideology is currently thriving all over the world and people irrespective of their past religious beliefs are accepting Islam by comprehending its justness and beauty, in a time when the bankruptcy and ugliness of secular values has been exposed and its integrity buried under the rubbles in Palestine. From the West to the East and from the Middle East to Africa, secularism has bared its poison fang like a serpent, because it’s fearful of mass scale rejection worldwide.
The world is in need of the return of Islam as a ruling system in a global scale (Caliphate) to uplift the whole mankind from the current abyss of moral and spiritual decline. Hizb ut Tahrir as the pioneer intellectual political party has been calling for the reestablishment of Caliphate (Khilafah) and outlined and presented an Islamic constitution to the world community. Article 5 and 6 of this constitution contain the provision that all citizens of the Islamic State enjoy the same rights and duties and the State is forbidden to discriminate at all between the individuals and every individual should be treated equally regardless of race, Deen (belief), colour or anything else. Article 7 specifically contained the special rights of the non-Muslims which states that ‘the non-Muslims will be allowed to follow their beliefs and worships within the scope of the general system and not only that, matters related to non-Muslims’ foodstuffs, clothing, marriage and divorce will be settled according to their faith and within the scope of what the general rules permit’. Quran and Sunnah is the evidence for this provisions and history of more than 1300 years is a practical proof that no sane person can deny. Allah (swt) calls mankind unto the true guidance in the glorious Quran:
[يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ]
“O Mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may get to know one another. Surely, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the one who is most mindful of Allah’s commands and prohibitions amongst you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware” [Surah Hujurat: 13].
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Risat Ahmed
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Bangladesh