The US announced a major change in its attitude to Iran on March 18,
when secretary of state Madeleine Albright announced a
partial lifting of sanctions against Iran. Iran will be permitted to
export Persian carpets, pistachios, caviar and other 'luxury
goods' to the US, but not to import US equipment for its oil sector.
US companies will remain banned from investing in Iran.
This minor change was accompanied by further overtures towards Iran:
promises to consider releasing Iranian assets frozen in
the US since the Revolution; and regret for the US's past meddling
in Iranian affairs (including the CIA's coup against
Mossadegh in 1953), and for its 'support' for Iraq during the war.
The US support for the 1953 coup, she said, was "clearly a
setback for Iran's political development, and it is easy to see now
why many Iranians resent US intervention in their affairs." She
also acknowledged Iran's Islamic character, saying that "we recognise
that Islam is central to Iran's cultural heritage."
There are two ways of looking at this development. One is to marvel
at the US's brazen hypocrisy. The change of tone is a
turnaround of remarkable proportions. Iran remains on the US's list
of 'rogue states' (states which 'sponsor terrorism'), but this
was quietly ignored. So too was the fatwa against Rushdie. Albright
explained the turnaround in terms of president Khatami's
election in 1997 and the smooth elections earlier this year. In truth,
however, the statements of western politicians are so hollow
that US hypocrisy in this case can simply be ignored.
More relevant are the implications for Iran. The question of relations
with the US has long been debated. Imam Khomeini was
totally against them, insisting on speaking out against the US's role
in the world, and being determinedly 'undiplomatic' (ie.
truthful). Even before his death, however, some Iranians argued that
Iran needed some relationship with the US. One prominent
advocate said that the object was to disarm Iran's greatest enemy by
engaging it in talks, albeit cool and distant talks between
neighbours who would really prefer not to have to deal with each other,
rather than maintaining openly hostile relations in which
the threat of conflict was ever present. In this spirit there have
been indirect contacts between American and Iranian officials.
The US now clearly hopes to take relations to a new level. "I call
on Iran to join in writing a new chapter in our shared history,"
Albright said. "Let us be open about our differences and strive to
overcome them. Let us acknowledge our common interests
and strive to advance them."
Islamic Iran must now decide how far to go, knowing that the US's long-term
agenda can only be to destroy the Revolution,
albeit perhaps by 'friendship' instead of hostility, which has singularly
failed to damage the Islamic State. The danger is that some
of Iran's leaders may be tempted to go too far, in the hope of benefits,
either not realizing the danger that the US poses, or
thinking that they will be able to control the damage. What Iran must
realize is that there is no level of relations that is harmless.
Even the sense among Iranians that the US may not be as great an enemy
as traditionally thought is a dangerous development.
Iran must also recognize that the west has powerful tools of seductive
propaganda and subtle manipulation. The effects of the
decades of western dominance have themselves not yet been fully cleansed
from Iranian psyches. One symptom of this is the
continuing emphasis on 'democracy', an empty concept which the west
has given the status of a universal value while ignoring
itself. Islam is the truly universal value system; why then should
the politicians of an Islamic state talk in terms of democracy?
The same is true of human rights, international law, the 'international
community', the norms of diplomacy and other western
fictions used to disguise and legitimise their hegemony. A totally
false, rosy image of western society as an egalitarian,
meritocratic, just utopia which other societies should emulate is also
promoted. And the material wealth of the west will be
flaunted to tempt Iranians with the 'good life' available through good
relations with the west.
How Iran now responds remains to be seen. It may decide to respond positively
at this stage, bearing in mind the need to draw
a line further down the road. And that may well be the right decision.
But an ancient Irish saying, reflecting all humans' instinctive
morality, is worth bearing in mind: touch the devil and you can't let
go.
http://www.muslimedia.com/editor83.htm
"Let not the Muslims take the Jews as supporters (awliya)"
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim,
On Friday (21st January, 2000) Muslims going to
the Jum�ah prayer
witnessed a strange state of affairs in many
of the Masjids in
Tashkent. That day the streets close to and around
those Masjids
were overwhelmed by the presence of militia forces
(the police).
During the salatul jum�ah many Muslim dai�is
came forward and
asked the President, the people and Uzbekistan,
to forgive them for
the crimes that they have committed. Two days
after that on the 23rd
of January Uzbekistan radio transmitted a special
report regarding the
aforementioned incident. They also broadcasted
the Jum�ah Khutbah
of the imam (by the name of Rahmatullah) of the
Jami� (Kusha)
Masjid. He is the chief principal of the Islamic
university of Tashkent.
The Khutbah primarily concentrated on the leaflets
distributed by
Hizb ut-Tahrir which - Rahmatullah claims - contain
nothing from
Islam. Rather he contends that they are lies,
and merely pieces of
paper that are devoid of any meaning. And at
the same time that
Khatib described the Jew Karimov as having a
good heart like the
Messenger (saw) and he was highly praised. Similarly,
the Friday
Khutbah, in the Kukaldosh Masjid was given by
the foremost Imam of
Tashkent (Anvar Tursonov), but was also along
the same lines.
Before we clarify the true reality of the incidents
mentioned above we
wish to briefly deal with the ugly and disgraceful
claims of those two
hypocrite Khatibs such that this discussion should
be more than
enough to demonstrate the truth to the aware
Muslims.
It is well known that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a politico-intellectual
organisation which has been established on the
basis of the Islamic
�Aqeeda, to realise its objective of resuming
the Islamic way of life. In
this regard the Hizb follows the footsteps of
the Messenger (saw) and
adheres to the Qur�an and Sunnah in solving every
issues it faces. It
does not undertake any act of violence or material
activities. Rather
its activities and work are confined to the political
and intellectual
field. In its leaflets the Hizb exposes the conspiracies
of the rulers
against the Ummah by presenting factual proofs
to prove the
truthfulness of what it says. As well, the Hizb
calls people to Islam
and to the adherence of its rules.
Therefore, we turn to you O Khatibs so that you
may answer in all
honesty: Are the thoughts presented by the Hizb
in its leaflets, such
as democracy being a system of kufr, and that
the republican system
contradicts Islam, or that the Jews are the enemies
of Allah, His
Messenger and the Muslims. Are these thoughts
unIslamic? Is
exposing the fact that Karimov is a disbelieving
Jew and that he kills
Muslims, arrests thousands of believers, bans
Muslim women from
wearing the attire prescribed by Shari�ah, lies
to the people, plunders
their wealth and squanders their resources. Is
this not true?
And is the idea of rescuing the Muslims from this
injustice and
oppression by re-establishing the Khilafah state
which will unite the
Muslims and return them again as the best Ummah.
Is this idea
nothing and without meaning? Furthermore, is
a ruler who rejects the
implementation of Islam and announces his refusal.
Is he a kafir or
not?
Answer us in all sincerity if you can or are you
scared of saying the
truth?
The obligation upon you, while you stand in the
house of Allah (the
Masjid) is that you do not violate its sanctity
by making false
statements. Were not those Muslims who presented
their excuses
helpless? Were they not compelled by force to
do that as a result of
the tyranny.
O Khatibs! Why do you not inform the people about
those Muslim
da�is who are being tortured in prison during
the past year and a half.
They are firm, they did not accept to forward
any excuses or show
remorse for what they did in the Path of Allah
(swt).
You O Khatib and your Jewish president forgive
the da�is only when
they renounce the da�wa of the Messenger al-Mustafa
(saw). This
action of yours will open to you the gates of
Jahannam. And your
President O Khatib will never be able to save
you from the torment of
the fire of Jahannam. The hypocrites shall have
a dark fate when the
Muslims establish the Khilafah and similarly
when they are brought
before Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgement.
So how do you answer the facts we have mentioned
O Khatib? The
Muslims await your answer. Otherwise the falsehood
claimed by you
will fade away and collapse before the clear
facts. The so-called
Rahmatullah in his Khutbah mentioned that Hizb
ut-Tahrir describes
Masjid Khatibs as being (government Khatibs who
are appointed by
the rulers to justify their positions). All right,
this is what the Hizb�s
members say, but will you deny that? Do you deny
your loyalty to
this kufr authority which is headed by a Jew?
Karimov addressed you
during the parliamentary session, reminding you
of your duty to
defend and protect him. He said: "What are our
Khatibs waiting for?
They must fulfil their duties and commitments
to the state. What else
should they be concerned with?" O Khatibs, your
obedience to this
Jewish President will not be of any use to you
on the Day of
Judgement. And nor on that Day will your excuses
and justification
benefit you. Thus, Allah (swt) says:
"And they will say: Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed
our chiefs and our
great ones, and they misled us from the (Right)
Way" [Al-Ahzab:67]
You O Khatibs are like the ones who memorise the
Ayat of Allah but
do not make use of them. Rather, they sell them
for the enjoyment of
a transitory dunya; money, benefit, privileges
and pleasure. Then they
support the Kuffar without giving these verses
any weight. Their
example has been given by Allah (swt) in His
saying:
"And had We willed, We would surely have elevated
him with them
(Our Ayat) but he clung to the earth and followed
his own vain desire.
So his example is that of a dog: if you drive
him away, he lolls his
tongue out, or if you leave him alone, he (still)
lolls his tongue out.
Such is the example of the people who reject
Our Ayat. So relate the
stories, perhaps they may reflect" [Al-A�raf:176]
Now, if we take a look at the incident mentioned
above we will find
that it is an evil plot hatched by Karimov. Hizb
ut-Tahrir, after
exposing the crimes committed by Karimov, then
analysed them
politically and intellectually. And after demonstrating
Karimov�s
rejection of Islam and his refusal to implement
it, all of which was
established through sound proofs, the Hizb began
to disseminate this
amongst the people in its communiques. With these
the Hizb called
people to Islam and to the adherence to its rules
and exposed those
crimes. As a result, these communiques were met
with support and
acceptance not just from the Muslims of central
Asia but from the
world at large.
As a consequence, Karimov became upset and he
waged war on the
Hizb using dirty and ugly means. Though in the
end he lost the war
with the Hizb, especially after the Hizb disclosed
Karimov�s Jewish
origins. Karimov appreciates his lack of success
in the direct
confrontation/opposition: the intellectual and
political confrontation
with Hizb ut-Tahrir. So he incited the Khatibs
and other national
organisations to confront the Hizb on his behalf.
With this he aims to
create conflict amongst the Muslims themselves.
But why does Karimov fight Hizb ut-Tahrir which
works for the
resumption of the Islamic way of life and
for the return of Islam to be
implemented in life�s affairs? The reason, simply,
is his intense
hatred for Islam and its application. Because
making Islam the judge
in life will prevent him and other Kuffar from
controlling the Muslims
and becoming rulers over them.
Karimov�s plans and objectives against Islam will
end up in failure, by
the permission of Allah. They are like the building
which stands on
moving sand. The Muslim Ummah will move from
a state of
humiliation to dignity and honour, from defeat
to victory with the help
of Allah. He (swt) says:
"It is He Who has sent His Messenger (saw) with
guidance and the
Deen of truth, to make it prevail over all other
ways of life, even
though the Mushrikun (polytheists) may hate it"
[At-Tawbah:33]
After the Hizb�s leaflet (dated 30/12/99) which
exposed Karimov�s
Jewish origins and his cooperation with Jewish
organisations in his
war against Islam. The Jews who previously concealed
their
cooperation with him began to declare their cooperation
openly. Their
support to Karimov the Jew in his election campaign
in the
presidential elections was disguised by �international
observers�. To
cite an example we shall quote what was mentioned
in a letter sent
by the head of the organisation of American Jews
Ronald Loder and
his representative Malcolm Ho Neely to Karimov
which was published
in the Ishonsh newspaper on the 4th of January
2000: Dear
President, we are confident that the new century
shall witness more
and more development in Uzbekistan�s relationship
with American
Jews. Recent years have shown the importance
of developing friendly
relationships with Uzbekistan. Your leadership
of the country has
assured increasing success in these relationships
with Boris
Kondova - chairman of the conference of Bukharan
Jews in America -
you have exerted huge historic efforts in good
customary hospitality
and friendship towards Jewish groups which have
spread during
events of the holocaust. Uzbekistan will be an
example to other
states in the friendly relationship between Muslims
and Jews. It gives
us great pleasure to notify you that our guest
delegation will
participate in supporting your presidential elections.
We pray that
Uzbekistan continues in its development and growth
which began
during your era. As well we are confident that
your dedicated actions
in eliminating huge obstacles before you have
and will be successful�
This letter shows the clear cooperation between
the Jews in their
intense hostility towards the Muslims. Allah
(swt) says:
"Verily, you will find the strongest among men
in enmity to the
believers the Jews and those who are Mushriks
(polytheists)"
[Al-Maidah:82]
Oh Muslims: As you can see the Jews are praying
for the
continuation of Karimov�s policies in harming
Muslims on one hand
and on the other praying to achieve benefits
for the Jews and
developing their interests. The time has come
oh Muslims for you to
turn to Allah and work for your revival
in which is your good. Allah
(swt) says: "You are the best of peoples ever
raised up for mankind;
you command the good (al-ma�ruf) and forbid the
evil (al-munkar), and
you believe in Allah" [Al-�Imran: 110]
And since this revival will be realised through
the return of the
Khilafah and the implementation of Allah�s Law
so that the Islamic
State becomes the number one state in the world.
Therefore, it is
obligatory on you to work with the correct party
which works to
achieve this objective. Your neglect of this
work helps the Jewish
kafirs to realise their objectives. The Messenger
of Allah (saw) has
described the Muslims in his ahadith as brothers
and as one body:
"The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim.
the similitude of the
believers in their mutual love and compassion
is like that of one body,
which when a part of it hurts then the whole
of the body responds
with sleeplessness and fever."
Oh Muslims: Do not enable the enemies of Allah
to sow discord and
lead you astray. Do not be weak in confronting
that. Allah (swt) says:
"But beware of them lest they turn you away from
even some of that
which Allah has revealed to you" [Al-Maidah:49]
Be sincere in your submission to Islam and in
carrying its call and
calling people to it. As long as you are on the
Straight Path and the
Clear Truth, then these trials and tribulations
contrived by enemies
will, by the permission of Allah, be a prelude
to the light which comes
after darkness. A prelude to the great victory
and the bounteous
reward from Allah (swt). Allah (swt) said: "Allah
is with you, and He
will never decrease the reward of your good deeds"
[Muhammad: 35]
And He (swt) said: "So do not become weak (against
your enemy),
nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory)
if you are indeed (true)
believers" [Al-�Imran: 139]
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Uzbekistan
20 Shawwal 1420
27th January, 2000
