Press Release
Rulers and Officials in Sudan Trade in People's Suffering and Misery for the Benefit of Capitalist Companies!
(Translated)

The Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Dr. Yahya Abdullah, revealed a tendency to suspend calls on WhatsApp and other free calling applications, and said in an interview published, Monday, 17 Jumada II 1439 AH, 5/3/2018, by Al-Tayyar Newspaper (Issue No. 2155): “We raised the subject with the Arab organization as an Arab bloc”, pointing out that there are over 200 million users, and considered that these free applications negatively affect the revenues of companies. He said: "Not only WhatsApp but all the freely used services; WhatsApp, Imo, Skype...etc.”.

At a time when people are complaining about the high prices and narrow living conditions, we are presented with such strange and weird statements, which their utterer is not ashamed of, not from Allah nor from people. People have turned to these applications because they are cheap in comparison to the expensive telecom tariffs because of taxes, and various other charges and the capitalist greed. So, instead of seeking ways to relieve people from the burden of high cost and the difficulty of living, the state, through its officials, is increasing the distress of people and their misery.

Islam has ordered those in charge of a matter of people’s affairs to treat them with kindness and relieve them and facilitate their lives. The Prophet (saw) said:

«اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ وَلِيَ مِنْ أَمْرِ أُمَّتِي شَيْئًا فَشَقَّ عَلَيْهِمْ فَاشْقُقْ عَلَيْهِ وَمَنْ وَلِيَ مِنْ أَمْرِ أُمَّتِي شَيْئًا فَرَفَقَ بِهِمْ فَارْفُقْ بِهِ»

“O Allah if a guardian is in charge of a matter of my Ummah and makes it difficult for them, then make matters difficult for him, and if a guardian is in charge of a matter of my Ummah and makes it easy for them, then make matters easy for him”. (Narrated by Muslim). And here is the righteous Caliph, Omar bin al-Khattab says: “If a goat tripped on the road in Iraq, I would be afraid that Allah would ask me why you didn’t pave the road for her oh Umar?”

Communications are public property which are owned by the public, such as air, sea, rivers, solar energy, etc., and public property should not be privatized in the hands of a few capitalists. Thus, originally, all people should benefit from them, and the state provides them to the public at a cost price only, and there is no profitability from them. And the origin of any respectable state is to take care of the affairs of its subjects, not to take care of the affairs of the capitalist companies, which gain profits from these public properties. The Khilafah Rashidah State (righteous Caliphate), on the method of the Prophethood, facilitates these services in accordance with the provisions of Islam for the welfare of its subjects, not to profit from them, but to satisfy Allah almighty.

As for the Minister's argument that all the countries of the world suffer from these applications, it is flimsy since capitalist nations are based on sucking people’s blood and plundering their wealth for a handful of rich people at the expense of the poor and the oppressed. This has been confirmed by many global reports; Oxfam reported on Monday, January 22, 2018 that: 82% of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth.... And that the wealth of eight wealthy people is equivalent to half what the people of the world have!

We, in Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah of Sudan, warn the government and its officials of the erroneous view of caring for the affairs of the people. It is the view based on the capitalist democratic system, which is based on increasing the wealth of the rich at the expense of the poor. So, it is necessary to change this corrupt system, the incapable of all good; to establish the rule on the basis of Islam with its state, the Khilafah Rashidah State (righteous Caliphate) on the method of the Prophethood, in which the governors are guardians and not money collectors, servants to the nation, not brokers of the capitalist companies at the expense of people's misery and suffering. The Prophet (saw) said:

«الإِمَامُ رَاعٍ وَمَسْئُولٌ عَنْ رَعِيَّتِهِ»

“The Imam is in charge (Raa'i) and he is responsible for his citizens.” (Narrated by Bukhari).

Ibrahim Othman (Abu Khalil)
Official Spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Sudan