Modern War is a Form of Imperial Hunting

News:

Four Iranian officials said in telephone interviews this week that the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered the military to devise multiple military plans for responding to an ‘Israeli’ attack. (NY times)

Comment:

Situation and the reaction to the situation in the Muslim world are both dangerously and disastrously tragic. Death and destruction on this level and with this much of social awareness are not easy to mask and reactions are unavoidable for the ones who claim to share the same belief (Islam) and so, statements pour in.

Analyses are made on those statements, talk shows and interviews are conducted, and thus an attempt is made to establish opinions. Since October 2023, people have completely lost their faith in the Western solution, and the “American Dream” transformed into a nightmare, no one seems to be escaping from.

People have witnessed an evolved version of war and warfare. Battles transformed in history, before the destruction of the Khilafah (Caliphate), Muslims fought for establishing and declaring the Sovereignty of Allah (swt)’s Deen, while the others fought for expansion and regional control. Imperialism introduced the benefits of greed and for the first time the world map was transformed into a political map, with political divisions and national boundaries, and this division gave birth to modern diplomacy, which in other words is an art of deception.

Despite the slogans echoed by Iranian hard-liners, the reality of Iran’s strategic thinking is more circumspect. Iran’s foreign ministry’s spokesperson Nasser Kanani has recently expressed the official thought while saying that, "there is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,", adding that Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories "have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression".

While we read and hear continuous conflicting statements coming from Iran and other Muslim leaders, we never see them ever take it as a religious obligation. It is not a matter of choice and neither does it fall in their domain to measure the capability of the people against whom a war is waged. Shouldn’t the whole Muslim world combine against the enemies of Allah who have joined each other in killing the innocents of Gaza through bombing, starvation and disease? This is not a war, this is an act of imperial hunting, when the hunt is gathered in a limited assigned and guarded area, and the hunters hunt down the trapped and the helpless. Iran’s abstinence from actual action may delay the inevitable but will not save it from being hunted down. The current reaction of Muslim leaders is not based on Allah’s Ahkaam (rulings), nor it is based on a disbelieving predator instinct. The response is of a trapped animal who is watching its brother being devoured by the enemy, not knowing, next it will be his turn.

Muslims are commanded to be steadfast and hold onto the rope of Allah, only then they will be able to see the path to victory.  When Mughira ibn Zara presented the three options to the Persian king and the king refused to embrace Islam or give Jizya, Mughira went back to Saad ibn Waqas and said, “Be of good cheer, for by Allah, Allah has given us the keys to their kingdom”. Our brothers and sisters are not being killed on a battlefield, if Iran moved its forces once and the trained soldier sons of this Ummah fought and embraced martyrdom then we would call it a war. Currently it's a massacre and no one has a right to claim that the ones who are being massacred are able enough to fight and need no help.

Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei knows he holds a bad hand, and that he has repeatedly folded in the face of ‘Israeli’ pressure. He should recall that Muslims are forbidden to gamble. We the Ummah of Muhammad (saw) know that you have betrayed the Muslims of Gaza and the Muslims you directly rule over. All the people of power and resources, who claim to be Muslims and are not recognising to prioritize the crisis of Gaza must remember that Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran:

[وَمَن يُوَلِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ دُبُرَهُ إِلَّا مُتَحَرِّفًا لِّقِتَالٍ أَوْ مُتَحَيِّزًا إِلَى فِئَةٍ فَقَدْ بَاءَ بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَمَأْوَاهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ]

“And whoever turns his back to them on such a day, unless swerving [as a strategy] for war or joining [another] company, has certainly returned with anger [upon him] from Allah, and his refuge is Hell - and wretched is the destination” [Al-Anfal:16].

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Ikhlaq Jehan