The caliphate abolished on March 3, 1924, by sinful hands that voted for its dissolution was not merely an outdated, reactionary administrative system whose time had passed. What was abolished was the Islamic system of government; what was destroyed was the Muslim nation’s strong shield and political leadership, and the central point of geostrategic balance.
The caliphate is Islam’s system of government. Without it, many provisions of Islamic law are not applied, preventing the full and comprehensive implementation of Islam; preventing the light of Islam from reaching the world through outreach and jihad; preventing Islam’s principled political character from appearing; preventing groups that have lost their way from returning to the right path; and preventing the presence of an authority working to cleanse the earth of corruption, humiliation and rampant vice.
The reality of the lives, states and societies in which we live speaks to this, as disbelief, wrongdoing and forbidden acts have spread. Is there anything other than the caliphate capable of cleansing this corruption, vice and disobedience to God?
The caliphate is the nation’s strong shield and political leadership because Islam commands Muslims to unite under one political leadership, pledge allegiance to one caliph, and unite Muslim lands within one state.
Today, political entities such as the United States, the European Union and Russia are based on unity or federation among several states, because unity brings strength and division brings weakness. Yet despite the clear religious obligation of Muslim unity, Muslims remain weak and in decline, without a defender or protector, divided among more than 50 political entities.
The result has been occupation of their lands, plunder of their wealth, attacks on their beliefs and rituals, imprisonment and torture of their children, and the shedding of their pure blood. History is full of examples of the dignity and leadership of the caliphate in defending Muslims, their property, lands, sacred places and beliefs against the tyrannical powers and unjust, aggressive kingdoms of the time.
The caliphate is the central point of geostrategic balance because the Islamic lands on which it stands occupy the world’s most important strategic location, possess the largest share of its natural resources, and sit at the intersection of vital global transport routes.
Reestablishing the caliphate means the birth of a new great power with the foundations needed to become the world’s leading state within a short time. It means the birth of the world’s largest, resource-rich economy and the greatest state in terms of prosperity, welfare and integrated human and social relations among its people, living within Islam’s bright spiritual atmosphere, far removed from vice and decline.
Reestablishing the caliphate means ending greedy global capitalist colonial domination and consigning it to the dustbin of history. It means extending Islam’s justice and rule, so that oppressors cannot act as they please and the rich do not grow richer at the expense of the poor.
It means people living lives filled with virtue and the blessings of Islamic guidance, in an atmosphere of security and reassurance, with their entire lives shaped in a way that pleases God, Lord of the worlds.
The caliphate abolished on March 3, 1924, is therefore nobler, greater and higher in standing than the understanding of the sinful handful who conspired against it and voted to dissolve it.
By God’s grace, kindness and care, the Muslim nation has awakened from its heedlessness, recognized the caliphate’s true place and value, and begun to await and deeply yearn for its establishment. The changes we see today in Arab countries are a living example of the nation’s readiness for real, radical change. At the same time, they have revealed the extent of the West’s fear and anxiety about that possibility.
God willing, the radical revolutionary change represented by the establishment of a rightly guided caliphate following the prophetic method is now very near: “That is not difficult for God.”
O Muslim people of Turkey, Hizb ut-Tahrir works among you and with you, day and night, to establish this great obligation, which will carry the goodness of Islam to the East and West. It openly proclaims and calls for the truth despite the slander, deception, threats and attacks directed against it.
Turn toward the truth that this party proclaims, and respond to its life-giving call, may God have mercy on you.
“O you who believe, respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. Know that God stands between a person and their heart, and that to Him you will be gathered.”