Witnesses Over Humankind

Muslims hold Western nations as role models in all spheres of life, from economic to health care. This served as a prompt for large numbers of Muslims to migrate to the West. The USA, for example, is accepted as being the leading nation of the world. Others such as Britain and France are seen as influential and aspiring to be the leading nation. However, countries within the Islamic Lands, such as Bangladesh or Kuwait, are relatively insignificant in their world-profiles. In fact, if one were to reflect upon the station of any of the Muslim countries in the world arena, far from being an influence over nations, they themselves are influenced by others. Consideration of these facts is not an academic matter, but is of fundamental importance for the Islamic Ummah. For Allah (swt) has ordered the Islamic Ummah to ensure that Islam emerges as the sole standard for all peoples, as it is the last message of divine guidance for humankind.

The world is currently dominated by the values of Capitalism

This domination is tangible. Events are judged by the standards arising from Capitalism. The media's picking up of the story of Nigerian outlawing of beauty pageants clearly reinforces the dominant concept of 'freedom'. The action of the Nigeria is harshly condemned, as it is seen as an affront to the personal freedom of the people, and also a restriction upon freedom of speech of the media. What is not considered is whether it is appropriate for Muslims to measure actions according to the scale of man-made freedoms, rather than the rights and duties Allah (swt) has revealed. Another example of cultural domination is the 'peace process'. The mandate of the United Nations and the brokerage of America are accepted norms. In fact some Muslims are outraged at Israeli intransigence because these norms were rejected. Ariel Sharon is seen as obstinate to the American plan of establishing a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli one. Here, the authority of the UN and American mandate is accepted with-out questioning whether Islam accepts them. Thus Islam as a standard for Muslims has been explicitly rejected and replaced by what is called (man-made) international law.

Cultural domination requires a state

In these examples, it is clear that the 'aqeedah of Capitalism and the concepts which stem from it, have become the dominant criteria in the international and domestic affairs of nations. This did not occur spontaneously. It was targeted by those who believe in Capitalism and was executed practically by the states that represent this ideology, chiefly America. This can be seen in Bill Clinton's recent visit to China. He specifically raised the call for 'freedom' by commenting on the domestic situation of China. On 28 June, from Beijing University, he called upon China to adopt Capitalist standards. He said, ''Today we do not seek to impose our vision upon others, but we are convinced that certain rights are universal - not American rights or European rights or rights for developing nations, but the birthrights of people everywhere, now enshrined in the UN's Declaration of Human Rights.''

By calling 'human rights' universal, he meant that the entire world must adopt them as a standard. As such this was a small part of a consistent campaign initiated by the American state. For decades the state machinery has used a variety of measures to ensure that Capitalism is the sole standard. These have included presidential addresses, conferences, 'human rights' reports and surveys. Since the time of the Carter presidency, America has published annual, global 'human rights' surveys to impress upon other nations that the standard of conduct should be the Capitalist values.

America also has taken great care to ensure that no challenges arise to Capitalism, challenges that may remove it from its present standing. So it employs the state machinery to refute other ideologies. For decades, when Communism was represented as a state, the US government used many tools to ensure that Communism was regarded with hostility. The media, conferences and committees destroyed the idea of Communism as a viable standard for the international arena. People shuddered at the thought of a 'Red Dawn'.

Muslims are also aware of this fact. Although there is no state to represent Islam today, America knows that it is only a matter of time. Consequently, she has preemptively launched a global attack against the Islamic culture. All this, she hopes, will serve to maintain Capitalism as the sole standard in the minds of people, even when the Khilafah returns.

The absence of Islam as a standard for the international arena

Allah (swt) revealed,

''We made you the just Ummah so that you may be witnesses over humankind, and the Messenger (saw) is a witness over you.'' [ 2:143]

Many Muslims have a heartfelt desire that Islam should be the standard for all peoples. They feel sorrow that even Muslims today are mesmerised by the Western nations and their values. They feel sorrow that Islam is dragged through the streets and the gutter press. As a reaction, Muslims have established forums, media monitoring groups and organisations to address this. They chase after the attacks and defamation of Islam in newspapers, on the TV, the radio and the internet. Yet the tide has not turned. Still Islam is in the shadows as 'freedom' hogs the limelight.

This is because it does not fall upon the individuals alone to make Islam dominant in the world. Islam has specified that a state should be targeting this. From the examples of the Prophet (saw) it can be seen that the Islamic State spares no effort to ensure that Islam is the sole standard. Indeed Islam was the dominant standard for the world for centuries and the Islamic State was the leading state, right up to the Eighteenth Century. The measures it employed can all be seen in the Islamic texts.

The example of the Prophet (saw)

After the Prophet (saw) had established himself in Madinah, he (saw) very quickly sent emissaries to the leaders of the Romans, the Persian and the Egyptians, ordering them to accept Islam, and if not, to submit to the authority of Islam. To this end also, the speech of the leader of the state should address the international affairs from the viewpoint of the Islamic 'aqeedah. In Persia during the time of the Prophet (saw), the daughter of Kisrah came to the throne. The Prophet (saw) commented upon the affairs of Persia. Sayyedona Muhammad (saw), as the ruler of the Islamic State said, ''They will never succeed, those who appoint a woman in authority.''

What was meant by success is the success (al-falah) that Islam has defined in terms of seeking the pleasure of Allah (swt). It was impressed upon all, that the Islamic state wished all the political events and incidents to be viewed from the vision of Islam, wherever in the world and whenever they may occur. Furthermore, it also made clear that Islam must be the sole standard to the exclusion of others. So, the Prophet (saw) did not mean success as being the material success that other beliefs hold and other states aspire to.

Today, therefore, the Islamic State must not only present Islam, it must also remove Capitalism as a standard by showing its corruption and contradictions. It must be made clear to all peoples that 'human rights' are far from universal as America claims. They are not 'rights' that are for the benefit of humankind. Rather they are 'rights' that Capitalist states espouse to numb the senses of those they seek to exploit. The Islamic State must shake the people back into seeing sense, using all the means that it has available to it. Can the people not see that it violated the rights to life, food and medicine that the Iraqi Muslims have, by calling upon others to bomb and boycott them in the name of 'human rights'? Where indeed are its precious rights when nations such as Israel continue to occupy the lands of Muslims? Can it not be seen that Latin America and Africa have been ravaged and pillaged to the point of starvation, whilst Western multinational companies destroy foodstuffs, or hoard them as milk lakes and butter mountains, to inflate their prices? Is it not the case that the rights that the Creator (swt) of humans has commanded are superior to the 'rights' that humans assign to themselves?

Conclusion

The example of the Prophet (saw) is not followed by any of the states in the Islamic Lands today. The speeches and the delegations do not challenge the non-Islamic standards, rather they conform to their agenda. The call for freedom and democracy is uttered from the mouths of all the so called Muslim rulers as it would be from the mouths of Bush, Chirac and Blair. There is no attempt to offer Islam as a standard in global politics. Nor is there any refutation of the corrupt Capitalist values.

This is why Islam, despite being one of the most populous beliefs in the world, exerts no influence in the world arena, in the way that Capitalism does. Islam is carried by individuals, and Capitalism is carried by states. According to Islam, it is the Islamic Ummah, and the Islamic belief she represents, which should take this leading role in the world. For the moment it has been usurped by America. This is why, the role that Allah (swt) has defined for the Ummah requires an Islamic State.