Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. To proceed:
I had supervised the preparations for this conference, the drafting of its speeches, and the study of its proceedings, until we were on the verge of its convening. However, Allah (swt) willed that I would not open this conference with an audible or read speech “for reasons”... as I used to do... and Allah decreed, and what He willed happened...
Therefore, I am here with this short speech to fulfill something as a qada’ (compensation) after it could not be fulfilled as an ada’ (performance on time)!
This conference is not an innovation among our conferences through which we have addressed the Ummah from all its segments: the rulers and the ruled, the elite and the general public, the thinkers and the scholars, and even the shuyukh al-salatin (scholars of the sultans)! We have stood before them proclaiming that which unites them after division, that which honors them after humiliation, and that which revives them after a long slumber... calling them to the collective cause, the Rightly Guided Khilafah, and the effective remedy for their problems which was revealed by the Lord of the Worlds... Thus, there was the Call, the Letter to the Rulers, the Khilafah Conference, the Economic Conference, the Scholars' Conference, the Female Da’wah Carriers' Conference, and then there was this Media Conference...
Yes, it is not an innovation among those conferences through which we addressed the Ummah, but it has two distinct features:
The first is a media-related distinction in a time when sincere media has become rare... a time when it is rare for anyone to speak the truth... a time when the word has become a commodity, bought and sold, whose only concern is to gain money and “drumming and trumpeting” for the people of power and status, even if it is at the expense of the deprived and the oppressed!
This is the first distinction of the conference: it came to proclaim the serious and sincere word in addressing the issues of the Ummah, without fearing the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah... the word of truth is its weapon... a weapon more potent than the sword in the face of the oppressors...
As for the second, it is the global presence. The conference brought together the white and the black, the red and the yellow, in both Arabic and non-Arabic tongues... their colors are different, and their languages are likewise, but they speak together, and they bear witness together to the testimony of truth: La ilaha illa Allah Muhammad Rasul Allah... through which their tongues and colors are united, through which they gain honor in this world and succeed in the Hereafter, as brothers facing each other on thrones.
Such is the great Islam, a mercy to the worlds, a global call in which there is no place for ethnic or nationalistic prejudice, but rather:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ
"The believers are but brothers." (Al-Hujurat [49]: 10)
الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ لا يَظْلِمُهُ وَلا يُسْلِمُه
"A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, he does not wrong him nor does he hand him over [to an oppressor]." (Narrated by Bukhari)
In conclusion, despite all the methods of the oppressors and hypocrites surrounding the conference with plots and hatred, and their intensive attempts at prevention and obstruction, it was held by the grace and favor of Allah, and the people of evil returned with the wretchedness of their words and deeds... The conference was held, and its state spoke to the hateful oppressors in a powerful, resounding voice:
قُلْ مُوتُوا بِغَيْظِكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
"Say, 'Die in your rage. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts.'" (Ali 'Imran [3]: 119)
And as a final note, the result of the conference was that the righteous and sincere supported us and were with us, while the lying oppressors feared us and stood against us... and as much as the former approached us with love and desire, the latter fought us with rage and dread... but the [final] outcome is for the righteous, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
2010-12-01 CE
Ata Bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir