(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Followers of his Facebook Page "Fikri")
To: Malik Murad
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
I ask Allah to grant you success and to bless us with victory at your hands, our Ameer, in the near future, if Allah wills, for He is the Guardian of that. We bear witness before Allah that you are the best successor to the best predecessor...
It was stated in the book Concepts of Hizb ut-Tahrir, page 79: "Carrying the Islamic da'wah and the political struggle for its sake occurs only in the society that the party defines as its field. Hizb ut-Tahrir considers the society in the entire Muslim world as one society because its cause is one, which is the cause of Islam. However, it makes the Arab countries the starting point, as they are a part of the Islamic lands, and it considers that the establishment of an Islamic State in the Arab countries as a nucleus for the Islamic State is the natural step in that regard."
It was also stated in the book The Party Structuring, page 7: "Therefore, it is natural for the Islamic State to arise in the Arab countries to be the nucleus for the Islamic State, which includes all the lands of Islam. However, it is also inevitable that the da'wah be sent to the rest of the Islamic lands. The start of the work in the Arab countries does not mean that work is not done elsewhere before their unification in the Islamic State; rather, work is done in the Arab countries to establish the Islamic State, and then the State grows into neighboring areas, regardless of whether they are Arab or non-Arab countries."
Should it be understood from these texts that the target countries in which we work to establish the Khilafah are only the Arab countries, while the remaining non-Arab countries are worked in for the purpose of da'wah and not for the purpose of establishing the Islamic State there? Especially since it was mentioned that the nucleus of the upcoming Islamic State, by Allah's permission, must be in the Arab countries first and then spread to the rest of the Islamic countries.
I hope you can clarify for us what is specifically meant by these texts, as I have some confusion in understanding them. May Allah bless you, our Ameer, and grant victory through you and at your hands.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
It is not understood from the two texts quoted from the books Concepts and Structuring that the work to establish the State is restricted to the Arab countries. The two texts only state that this is the natural thing. The original basis is that the State should arise in the Arab countries rather than elsewhere, because the Arabic language is the language of Islam; it is essential for understanding Islam and for Ijtihad within it. Therefore, it was more appropriate and more likely for the State to be established in the Arabic-speaking Arab countries.
However, this may not be realized, and the State could be established in non-Arab countries, as the entire Muslim world is a suitable place for the State of the Khilafah to arise, even if the Arab countries are more prioritized. The Party does not restrict its work for the establishment of the State to the Arab countries; rather, it works in non-Arab countries for the sake of establishing the State there.
Nevertheless, the Party originated in the Arab countries and began working there, and the field in the beginning was in the Arab countries where the Party existed and worked. But when the da'wah extended outside the Arab countries and gained weight outside the Arab world, the Party expanded its field and began working to establish the Khilafah in the Islamic countries, whether they were Arab or non-Arab. If the "natural thing" occurs and it is in the Arab countries, then praise be to Allah; and if it is in other Islamic countries, then likewise, praise be to Allah.
وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَارُ
"And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses." (QS. Al-Qasas [28]: 68)
And Allah is the Helper.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
Link to the answer from the Ameer's Facebook page
Link to the answer from the Ameer's website
Link to the answer from the Ameer's Google Plus page