Again, with the reason to implementation of UN Resolution, a number of Western Countries led by U.S Military Force invade a Muslim country, Libya. According to them, this invasion is very urgent to prevent the assassination of President Khaddafi towards his people - who are holding him back from his position that has been held more than 42 years.
As many experience high petrol prices, higher living costs and job loss, demand for iPads and Nintendos remains very high
As over 250,000 demonstrated in London over the weekend against the government's program of cuts, there was an equally impressive demonstration and passion for another cause as many people formed long queues along Oxford Street (one of the major shopping streets in London) and simultaneously in many shopping streets around the UK. They queued for the Apple iPad 2, which sold over a million on its first weekend. Many more thousands lined up overnight outside hundreds of shops from Slough to Sheffield trying to get their hands on the latest Nintendo 3DS (games console), with Street Fighter 4 and Nintendogs + Cats leading the games rush.
This is in the same Britain where hundreds of thousands are loosing their jobs in the coming years including teachers, doctors and many other public and private sector workers due to government cuts aimed at trimming the state and reducing the deficit. The same Britain where the price of petrol and the general cost of living has risen in the last few months. The same Britain where many are angry, gloomy and demonstrating due to the economic squeeze.
Are there two Britain's? That of cuts and that of huge spending on designer goods, and games consoles - amongst all levels of society? The iPad 2 costs between £399 and £659, depending on the fancy features you need (and apparently 25% of those buying it also bought the iPad 1 only a few months ago). The Nintendo 3DS retails for around £229.99 (minus street fighting or other games).
Are the tens of thousands rushing to buy these gadgets all bankers and highly paid Premier League football stars? No. In the queues, you will find students and all other sorts of people. Some - especially those buying the Nintendo gaming console - were ordinary mums and dads squeezing out a few hundred pounds to make sure their kids had something to boast about at primary school as they compare gadgets with other kids.
So while the West recently endured a recession, and while there continues to be a squeeze on most people's personal finances, the population finds money for Ipads and games consoles. The now ancient precursor to the latest Nintendo 3DS sold a global 145million over the years and the Nintendo 3DS is set to do even better. Research says it's what all kids "must have". So it's what all parents have to buy - along with a smartphone, a Wii, and an iPad 2 (before the latest gadget arrives and knocks it off the list). This isn't some entirely voluntary option, it is now regarded as a test of a parents "love". It is a necessity. A necessity which leads some to incur debt in order to keep up.
It's about status, children, love and the consumer industries ability to manufacture new must haves. It is about a constant redefinition of wants which parents, workers and all have to keep up with no matter the strained economic circumstances. It is about something deeply rooted in the secular capitalist culture and its values of constant gratification through consumption. Sadly, this culture has been exported to the world and the same demands can be seen from Dubai to Durban.
As the world talks about issues as diverse as global pollution or the huge personal debt incurred by individuals trying to acquire these new ‘wants', the world would do well to question this western export. As Muslims struggle to establish a society built on Islamic values, the Khilafah "Caliphate", many in the world will welcome an alternative set of values where consumption takes place but is not the be all and end all or a main means to status or a child's love.
Taji Mustafa
Media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain
Over a thousand women, Muslim and non-Muslim from across the UK and from Europe attended a conference in Central London on Sunday 20th March, organised by the women of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain.
Media is streamed through a specific and unique lens depending on the views it holds regarding society and life. Media in all of its forms; print or broadcast all strive to promote a certain perspective to the masses. This is most evident in media geared towards females of all ages. We all feel the tangible effects of the media on both genders. However, we are yet to feel the direct effects of Islamic media. There are several stark differences between Islamic media and western media.
The detrimental effects of the media have a ripple effect on society. Western media has distorted the image and role of the female to extreme unrealistic standards and impressions. Affecting both man and woman in this warped concoction of acting and looking like a so-called woman. She is to be a sexual object that takes great advantage of her femininity and sensuality to further her social and financial status. This is all done without anyone, whether it be the industry or any activist right campaign, condemning or reprimanding her or the people who exploit her. This is the very thing that destroys her as a human being. It is surely a double-edged sword or a double jeopardy of sorts. A woman, often times a very young woman, is encouraged to display her body in all of its beauty yet is stunned when she is attacked by the very people who she tries to lure.
Another problem is self-inflicted through a slow and direct stream of poison being injected into young naïve females of the ideal female persona. This false portrayal of the young attractive woman has been the source of widespread epidemic of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia being linked to low self-esteem. Causing a warped sense of false beauty including long term effects on her health. The numbers are phenomenal resulting in hundreds of support groups and health campaigns against these disorders all the while billboards and magazines are still flashing erotic images. They only address the symptoms and not the root of the disease. Women are hopelessly chasing after unattainable ideals while jeopardizing their mental, emotional, and physical health. Thus, resulting in failed relationship with their partners and families.
There is an easy solution but many will quickly reject it as this type of media is a multi-billion dollar industry which capitalizes on the human desires.
The solution lies within the system .... Islam holds a very direct and clear perception of a woman not as an object but as a dignified human being. Islam plays a vital role in lifting one's character emphasizing on the best of Islamic values while upholding the highest code of ethics and discipline. It is indeed an unfortunate absence in today's society, one that is sorely needed to free ourselves from the constant stream of poisons. Islamic media as a result would greatly differ as a result of this viewpoint and concept.
Islamic media would encourage good and noble deeds and reject the vices of society like violence towards women in its many forms. It would educate and inform the general public in their actions, elevate their thoughts, purify their emotions leading a correct positive viewpoint. Therefore leading to a great revival steering society towards greatness, enveloping non-Muslims as well. Obscene and derogatory material will be forbidden in all types of media. There will not be this type of freedom of expression as this destroys society as a whole including its individuals. Men will be reminded of how to properly view women in public and how to treat them as honorable respectable persons. Most certainly, men's minds/concepts will be re-trained on how to treat and speak to their counter-parts. Thus influencing how the masses view and process the image of a woman. Islamic media will promote a positive welfare environment eradicating feelings of racism, discrimination, and nationalism, that leads towards a spiral of decline something we as Muslims feel and realize the catastrophic results today.
It will inspire young females to be great role models as mothers, wives, and dawah carriers. Therefore building self-esteem and the confidence something that is desperately needed to wash away all the corrupt ideas thus promoting a healthy self-image of themselves. Take the sahabiyaat and the Prophet's wives (ra) as their role-models. Allowing them to be a successful and beneficial part of society's fabric. Indefinitely, the great number of social problems will diminish to a bare minimum. Inshallah.
(( يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ إِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلًا (28) وَإِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْمُحْسِنَاتِ مِنْكُنَّ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا)) الأحزاب 28،29
((28. O Prophet! Say to Thy Consorts: "If it be that ye desire the life of this world, and its glitter, - then come! I will provide for your enjoyment and set you free in a handsome manner. 29. but if ye seek Allah and His Messenger, and the home of the Hereafter, Verily Allah has prepared for the well-doers amongst you a great reward.)) 33 (29, 28)
Manal Bader
Bayt Al-Maqdes
On 07 March, 2011, Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladeshi version of Colonel Gaddafi, in person has approved a policy whereby she amends the Book of Allah swt (Na'uzubillah). The title of the policy is known as ‘National Women Development Policy 2011' which she approved at a weekly cabinet meeting a day before the International Women's Day. The policy is the revival of 1997 Women Development Policy, which was formulated during the previous tenure of her party. The National Women Development Policy adopted in 1997 stipulated equal rights for women to inheritance of property and land contradicting the inheritance rules of Islam. Regarding the policy, prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said in a press briefing ‘The cabinet has approved draft Women Development Policy 2011 with provisions for ensuring equal rights for women in every sphere. This will help empower women in decision-making and ensure protection for them,' ‘The women should be given equal opportunity to property, employment, market and business,' reads one the clauses of the policy which was also supplemented by another clause that advocated their economic empowerment. Moreover, Shirin Sharmin, the state minister for women and children has said that they would draw a national action plan based on this policy which says, "Provide women with full control over their right to land, earned property, health, education, training, information, inheritance, credit, technology and opportunity to earn... And enact necessary new laws to put these rights into practice." Earlier the caretaker government of 2007-2008 had announced in 2008 the Women Development Policy legalizing women's equal rights, including property rights, but finally stopped to implement the policy with strong opposition from ulama and Islamic political parties including Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The step that this government has taken in the name of empowering women and providing justice to women by amending the rule of Allah (swt) decreed in Surah Baqarah, Surah Nisa and others, is nothing but sheer deception, lie and ignorance. If we take a look to the record of the immense nature of brutality, oppression and subjugation of women under this government or the previous ones be it under secular democratic governments, caretaker, autocratic or dictatorial governments of the past it shows how this man made western secular systems have systematically oppressed women, deprived them from education, honor and dignity. Sheikh Hasina's government knows it fully well that, it is her government which has produced serial rapists. According to press reports, BCL (the students wing of Awami League) activists in many universities and institutions have notoriously established torture cells and rape houses. In many cases, they record the violent rape scenes, make CDs and sell them in local video shops. It is worth mentioning that last time when Awami League was in power (1996-2001), in 1998 one notorious cadre of BCL named Jasimuddin Manik openly celebrated his ‘rape century' by distributing sweets in university campus as he completed raping 100 girls at Jahangirnagar University, second most prestigious university in Bangladesh after the university of Dhaka drawing huge media coverage! Though serious resentment and curse roared the country at that time, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina government remained mum and the criminal did not face any exemplary punishment. Moreover the then Sheikh Hasina's government has arranged a scholarship for this rapist to Australia to have his higher education! This is Hasina's record in women empowermentt. Moreover Sheikh Hasina who wishes to empower women by amending the law of Allah swt, is indeed very nonsensical! How can she reply to this that she herself has ratified a law where prostitution has been legalized as a profession in Bangladesh? Is this how she is going to empower women at the order of her imperialist master, UNHCR? Is this how she fulfills her election manifesto of providing economic opportunities to women? Is this is how she is going to make women respected in the society? Sheikh Hasina must know that today during the rule of capitalism at least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect. Does Hasina know that globally, at least one in three women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime under secular capitalism? (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)
Indeed in following the command of the westerners, the government of Hasina is playing dangerously with the belief of 160 million Muslims in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina indeed will be personally responsible for her action which she is undertaking to please her masters USA and UK while angering the Lord of the universe, Allah swt. Surely her action in developing a women policy in contradiction to the law of Allah swt will do no good to the muslimah in Bangladesh except increasing family discomfort and more violence against women. It is only under the system of Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" that women and man will truly be liberated from any kind of oppression and injustice that humanity is suffering today.
Jafar Muhammad Abu Abdullah
Dhaka
