Lip Service of Muslim Rulers is no Panacea to Rohingya Genocide – Only the Khilafah can be the Shield that Protects Muslims

By: Imadul Amin*

Genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state has entered a new and horrific stage of mass annihilation. A fresh bout of state-sponsored persecution has been taking place since August 24, 2017 as the murderous Burmese military together with Rakhine Buddhist terrorists armed with swords, machetes and guns have started raiding villages of innocent Rohingya civilians in the name of “area clearance operation”. Responding to a ‘shady’ insurgent attack on the Myanmar police and border outposts, Burmese military has undertaken this deadliest military crackdown of the decades. And the most horrible part of this genocidal operation is that the entire Rohingya population, including women and children, were collectively declared guilty of the attacks!! Despite there being no substantiated evidence that if the attackers were in fact from Rohingya, the entire Muslim population is being targeted as “extremists” who are to be completely wiped off the face of the earth.

According to Myanmar military official statement announced on September 2, 2017, nearly 400 Muslims have already been killed in last one week, even though we know that the actual figure is undoubtedly much higher, and the numbers are escalating everyday as we speak. Those who escaped the surging persecution are recounting their gruesome experiences carried out by the regime’s army and Rakhine Buddhist militia. Men are being blindfolded and rounded up to be slaughtered en masse in front of their family members, women and young girls are being subjected to gang rape, young children, even newborns, were also stomped or beheaded or thrown into lakes. Laa hawla walaa quwwata illa Billaah! Google satellite images revealed the large scale burning of Rohingya villages; more than 2,600 houses have been set ablaze by the Myanmar army. To make the matter worse, Myanmar army has been firing mortars and machine guns at fleeing civilians as they attempt to cross the border into Bangladesh to escape bloodshed.

Amid such horrendous atrocity, one of the most infuriating feelings that we are coping with is to helplessly see the betrayal of the Bangladeshi government against the victimized Rohingya Muslims. Instead of providing sanctuary to the survivors, treacherous Hasina has ordered her border security force to push them back to that hell or dump them in the Bay of Bengal. Those who could manage to reach Bangladesh are not easily allowed to further move into the territory. Since last Saturday (26/08/2017), already around 38,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Rakhine to cross into Bangladesh, and right now, 20,000 of them are stranded in no-man’s land of the border area. Hasina government is showing no mercy to their misery while they are living under open sky or making shelter with plastic sheets to save themselves from scorching heat or monsoon rain almost without food. Even those who get lucky to enter are being subjected to inhumane treatment by ruling party (Awami League) criminals. It is reported in some mainstream media that many of the Rohingya women’s jewelries, dairy animals and buffaloes, and even their essential kitchen utensils are being looted by the ruling party syndicate while they managed to seek refuge in the camps.

And not content with this level of treachery, Hasina government has now proposed joint “anti-terrorism operations” with genocidal Myanmar forces to assist them in their killings! On Monday 28th August (2017), Bangladesh Foreign Ministry sent a formal proposal to Myanmar Embassy in Dhaka expressing Bangladesh’s interest to help the Myanmar army that is slaughtering our own brothers and sisters over there! This government is concerned about the security of Myanmar, but pays no heed to the plight of Myanmar’s 1.1 million persecuted Rohingya Muslims who have been seeing some worst tragic developments in the last few days.

The role of the rest of the Muslim leaders is also nothing short of utter betrayal. Other than giving lip service, rulers of powerful Muslim countries are essentially doing nothing to stop this genocide. Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qassemi, has only voiced his deepest worries over continued military crackdown against Rohingya Muslims. All what Turkey’s Erdogan did was to accuse Myanmar of genocide as if that was not obvious! Sheikh Hasina considers Rohingya as potential threat to Bangladesh’s security; thus, she ignores their plight. The stateless and most persecuted Muslims have no shelter of protection from the terror of the kuffar. The only solution to this crisis is to get rid of traitorous nation-state rulers in favor of the sincere and brave leadership of the righteous Khilafah on the method of prophethood. Only the Khilafah (Caliphate) can again unite the Muslims and establish a courageous leadership on the Muslim lands independent of Western control that will ensure protection of the life and honor of the Muslims and other citizens.

* Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Bangladesh

* Written for Ar-Rayah Newspaper – Issue 146