Press Release

The Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Coordination with Muslimah Hizb ut Tahrir Indonesia Successfully Held a Momentous International Women’s Conference in Indonesia: “Al-Khilafah "Caliphate" & Education: Reviving the Golden Age”

On Saturday 11^th of March, the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in coordination with Muslimah Hizb ut Tahrir Indonesia successfully hosted a momentous and remarkable International Women’s Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia entitled, “Al-Khilafah "Caliphate" & Education: Reviving the Golden Age”. This important event, which was organized to address the causes and solution to the severe ‘Educational Crisis’ affecting the Muslim lands, was attended by around 1700 influential women from various countries as well as from across Indonesia. Delegates included teachers, lecturers, education practitioners responsible for the management of schools, journalists, academics, scholars, university students, youth activists and representatives of organisations. The speeches were delivered by female members of Hizb ut Tahrir from Indonesia, Palestine, Tunisia, the Arab Gulf, Malaysia, Turkey, Holland, and Britain. The atmosphere was electric and there was a resounding and passionate expression of support from attendees for the urgent re-establishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) based on the method of the Prophethood as the means to end the mountain of problems afflicting education in the Muslim world today under secular regimes and systems and the path to establish a first-class education system in the region. Delegates also expressed their determination to protect Muslim children from the intensified efforts of non-Islamic governments across the world to secularise Muslim children through education and destroy their Islamic identity. The event, which was broadcast online to viewers internationally, also included a parade of influential women involved in education who voiced their support for the ideas of the conference. The day also included a press conference, attended by various media.

Conference speeches detailed how the secular and capitalist view towards education in the Muslim lands had shaped education towards simply preparing students for employment and measuring their success on their value to the labour market rather than building their Islamic personality, life-skills, and directing their acquiring of knowledge to serve the needs and improve the lives of their societies. This alongside the poor organization and miserly funding of education under capitalist systems in the region, as well as the continued imposition of regressive colonial based education models whose aim was simply to enslave the minds of future Muslim generations to the western secular liberal culture, are the root of the education crisis. Speakers discussed that to build a first-class education system required the establishment of a first-class political system: the Khilafah "Caliphate", founded purely upon Islam. The conference therefore presented the education policy of the Khilafah "Caliphate" as detailed comprehensively by Hizb ut Tahrir in its various publications, such as “The Foundations of the Education Curriculum in the Khilafah "Caliphate" State”. The event discussed how this state would embrace an independent vision for education aimed at building distinguished Islamic personalities and excellence in the understanding of the Deen and of the empirical sciences, resulting in the generation of an abundance of Islamic scholars, and experts in every field of science and academia. It would also establish a strong connection between the education system and the vital needs and interests of the society in industry, agriculture, the economy, the military, science and technology and all other sectors, harnessing the best minds and skills of this Ummah to do so. This would ensure self-sufficiency of the state, break the dependence on other nations for development and progress, and end the brain drain from the Muslim lands. Furthermore, as a state that views securing quality education for all its citizens as an Islamic obligation, and that seeks to lead the world with the ideology of Islam, it would also prioritise investment in the education sector, including to build a world class higher-education system, and research, and specialization facilities – all funded by its sound Islamic economic system.

Speeches also highlighted how the Khilafah "Caliphate" would lead the world in the excellence of women’s education as well as embrace teaching methods that would inspire, build creative analytical minds, and a thirst for knowledge. The conference highlighted that through this unrivalled Islamic education system, the Khilafah "Caliphate" would therefore once again take its rightful position as the centre of learning of the world as well as generate a golden civilization of scholarship, innovation, and scientific advancement. The conference also discussed the importance of pre-school education as the first pillar in building the Islamic personality and enabling the child to deal with their surrounding environment. It also addressed the vital link between the Arabic language and education, ijtihad, understanding the Deen and returning the glory of Islam. And the final talk provided guidance on how to shape Islamic education today in the absence of the Khilafah "Caliphate" to build Muslim youth with strong Islamic identities who are equipped to deal with the challenges against their Deen.

The conference was preceded on Friday 10^th of March by a marvelous exhibition, attended by around 2500 girls and women from across Indonesia, including students from schools in 5 cities in and around Jakarta. It presented a host of exhibits and videos showcasing the subject matters of the conference and included talk shows on the provision of Islamic education today, and the failures of western educational models.

The conference and exhibition alongside the three-week global campaign on the subject of education, Islam and the Khilafah "Caliphate" which preceded them, made a significant contribution Alhamdulillah to the current debates on how to formulate a successful educational model for the Muslim lands and indeed the world.

Conference and exhibition speeches, discussions, videos, and pictures can be accessed at: https://goo.gl/g9Wt2B & www.facebook.com/WomenandShariah.

﴿الَر كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ﴾

“Alif Lam Ra. (This is) a Book which We have sent down to you so that, by their Lord’s permission, you lead out the people from the darkness (of ignorance) into the light (of faith), to the way of the Mighty, the Owner of Praise.” [Ibrahim: 1]

Dr. Nazreen Nawaz

Director of the Women’s Section in the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir