2. Establishing a Caliphate following the guidance of the Prophet

Establishing the Caliphate is that great objective which has been lost due to the Muslims' ignorance and negligence. The mass of the Muslims do not know that there is an objective called as such. They think that it was an early period in the history of this Ummah which has long since vanished and will never be revived. Those who claim to work for Islam, on the other hand, either ignore it or neglect their duty to establish it. We are eager to achieve this objective, driven by the commands of Islam and filled with a longing for its past glories.

We aim to re-establish the Islamic State and its political entity which had spread justice in the world, over a period of thirteen centuries, from China in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the West, and from Central Europe in the North to Central Africa in the South. Islam also commands us to reestablish our Caliphate and choose a Caliph to rule it. The entire Muslim Ummah with all its different sects: the Sunnis, Shiite, Murji'ah and others, unanimously agree concerning the obligation of putting a Caliph in charge of the affairs of the Muslim Ummah. As we set forth towards this noble objective we hear the hypocrites and those with diseased hearts say (which means), "Their religion has deluded these [men]." [Surah Al-Anfal (8), Ayah 49.] But we reply to them, saying (which means): "And whoever puts his trust in Allah, then surely Allah is Mighty, Wise." [Surah Al-Anfal (8), Ayah 49.] We go forward towards this noble aim, knowing that the splendour of the victory we are seeking is in proportion to the volume of sacrifices we intend to offer. 50 rules by Allah's laws. So, let our struggle and sacrifice rise to this level.

Let our blood flow to cover every inch of the land we aspire to include under the Caliphate rule. Let us offer sacrifices as did the first generations of our Ummah who did not spare anything to establish the Caliphate. A Caliphate which ruled with justice over the majority of the world's population in its time, and whose capital moved from Madeenah to Kufa, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and Istanbul. It is true that the Caliphate knew periods of weakness due to the negligence of Muslims, transgressions of its rulers and the plots of its enemies from within and from outside. In spite of all this, it remained a custodian of religion, a defender of its sanctity and protector of its peoples and lands.

Many were the ferocious onslaughts it had to endure. Starting with the attack of the Qur'aish on the embryonic Islamic State in Madeenah, through the Christian Crusades in the West and the Mongol hoards from the East, to the final onslaught by the satanic alliance of Christians, Jews and apostate secularists, such as Kamal Ataturk. Satan managed to gather all his strength and deal the final blow to the Caliphate in October 1924, after 1340 years in power. With its fall, the gates were flung wide open before our enemies, who descended upon us with the hatred of 1340 years of enmity boiling in their chests. They carved our Ummah up between them, occupying the vast majority of its land and controlling the mass of its people.

This military onslaught went hand in hand with an equally fierce, determined and insidious intellectual attack. `Human wolves' from every sect and religion embarked on seizing the Muslim Ummah with their claws, targeting Muslims' hearts and minds. Successive Muslim generations fell easy prey to this cultural invasion. Their 'Aqeedah was distorted and their faith shaken and weakened. Some abandoned Islam altogether. Those who remained Muslims forsook virtually all the values and principles of the faith.

This intellectual invasion assumed the form of an all out and relentless doctrinal war, calling Muslims to false ideologies such as secularism, nationalism, socialism and capitalism. Free rein was given to calls to libertinism and the so-called freedom which stripped our youth of the purity and decency of Islam, and left them to the mercy of fleeting whims and unfettered desires. The media and educational systems have been employed in this war, supported by organizations and institutions run by Jews and Christians, and protected by governments and their armies. The military invasion aimed at destroying the Caliphate which represented a political system holding the Muslims together, and succeeded in achieving this aim. The intellectual invasion, on the other hand, which aimed at weakening Islam in the hearts and minds of its followers, succeeded to a large extent in distorting its meaning and shaking its foundations.

Our enemies knew well that removing the Caliphate from the political life of the Ummah is no guarantee in itself that it will disappear altogether. They have learned that as long as Islam, in its comprehensive, all-embracing sense, remained rooted in the hearts and minds of its followers, this concept will drive the believers to reinstate it to its full glory. History has seen this happen many times before and the enemy has had plenty of opportunities to learn the lesson. This is historically supported by the fact that the Caliphate capital knew different countries, ranging from the Hijaz, to Syria, to Iraq, to Egypt and finally to Turkey. This time they want to uproot the comprehensive concept of Islam from the minds of Muslims once and for all, so that 51 instate it.

It is for this reason that secularism has been promoted amongst Muslims as a new religion to replace Islam and to become the cultural and doctrinal alternative upon which many republics and sultanates in the Arab world are based, in order to supersede the Caliphate. By calling for the separation of state and religion, it aims to isolate Islam from legislation, politics and government. Religion, according to the new creed, should be confined to the mosque, used for preaching, permitted only in the form of rituals and acts of worship, and welcomed to festivities and state celebrations. It should never attempt to come anywhere near leadership and authority, for these areas are the preserve of the secularists. This new religion permits Islam to use only the pulpit, and nothing else.

It refers to the state as being its prerogative while the mosque remains the only concern of Islam, and no-one should interfere with the affairs of the other. Many a Muslim has adopted this new creed and many a state has been established on its basis. We have, as have our governments, lived for a long time under the oppressive burden of secularism as a creed, system and ideology. This creed, trumpeted by the media, covers all walks of life: the government, legislation, the judiciary, education and the media. It has also been forcefully implanted in our midst to spawn these ignorant regimes which have replaced the laws of Allah with those of Satan.

These governments have given their loyalty completely to either the East or the West, instead of raising their voice with the saying of Allah (which means): "Your [real] friend is Allah and His Messenger and the believers." [Surah Al-Ma'idah (5), Ayah 55.] It calls to liberalism or socialism instead of responding to the truth: "And judge between them by that which Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires." [Surah Al-Ma'idah (5), Ayah 49.] It supports nationalism instead of Allah's saying (which means): "The believers are but a single brotherhood." [Surah Al-Hujuraat (49), Ayah 10.] It relinquishes our lands and dignity to our enemies instead of raising the banner of true 'Aqeedah: "And fight them until there is no more persecution and the religion is wholly for Allah." [Surah Al-Anfal (8), Ayah 39.] It moves Islam aside, derides its laws, fights those who call to it, kills its followers, neglects its set limits, makes the forbidden permissible and prohibits the permissible, destroys the religion and corrupts life. The opinion of Islam concerning these regimes and governments is simply that they are disbelieving, ignorant and have no legal basis. They have no right to exist and should be removed in order to regain our Caliphate with a view to recovering our status and lands, establishing the religion, guarding it and ruling the world by its laws. 52 "Here we are again, the followers of Muhammad . We have returned with the aim of re-establishing the Caliphate. As the scheming and intrigue of our enemies has continued unabated for thirteen centuries from the emigration of the Prophet to the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, our struggle and Jihad will continue, by the will of Allah, until such a day when we regain our lost Islamic State.

We suffer and sacrifice the same way our enemies do, but we are not like them: we seek from Allah reward and martyrdom which they do not, and our martyrs are in Paradise while their dead are in the Hell-Fire. The Caliphate which we seek to establish cannot be compared with any manmade political system that humanity has ever known. The foundation upon which our Caliphate is based is that Allah (SWT) alone is the legislator and Muhammad is His Messenger who conveys His message to Mankind. The right to legislate belongs neither to the Caliph, nor to his advisors, nor to the parliament, nor to a party, nor to anyone else; it is Allah's prerogative alone. Practicing Ijtihad to know Allah's judgement concerning new circumstances and issues which arise now and then, however, is not an act of legislation, but rather an attempt to know Allah's judgement concerning these circumstances through the methods which He approves: "If they had only referred it to the Messenger and to those charged with authority among them, surely the proper investigators would have understood it from them [directly]." [Surah An-Nisa (4), Ayah 83.] Finding out Allah's judgement rests with the qualified scholars who, in so doing, do not legislate for the Ummah, but merely infer Allah's judgement concerning the various matters and issues that arise now and then.

Also; in carrying out Ijtihad, they adhere to the Islamic Law, its principles, rules and regulations and do not part from it an inch. Our Caliphate does not put anything above Allah and His Messenger , be it a word, an action, a command, a prohibition or a legislation. Our Caliphate refers all matters to Allah and His Messenger : "And in whatever they differ, the decision thereof is with Allah (He is the Ruling Judge)." [Surah Ash-Shura (42), Ayah 10.] "If you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger." [Surah An-Nisa (4), Ayah 59.] Our Caliphate establishes Islam in its entirety amongst its subjects and on all its lands. Islam also determines its relations with the rest of the world in matters of peace, war, alliance and treaties. The Caliph simply carries out the commands of Allah and His Messenger.

His chief duty is to safeguard the religion, protect it, disseminate it and rule by it in all worldly matters. Imam al-Maawardee said, "The Imamate is there to succeed Prophethood, by safeguarding religion and administering the affairs of the life of the Muslims." Mutual consultation is one of the traits of the Muslim Caliph's rule: 53 perfectly, and who [conduct] their affairs by mutual consultation."[Surah Ash-Shura (42). Ayah 38.] Justice is also a characteristic of his rule: "And that when you judge between men, you judge with justice." [Surah An-Nisa (4), Ayah 58.] Justice is what Allah and His Messenger have commanded. The Caliph's judgement in any case or his ruling in any issue is either directly derived from the judgements of Allah and Ills Messenger, or reached through a process of Ijtihad. The Ulama stipulate that a Caliph should possess the knowledge of the Deen that would enable him to practise Ijtihad concerning new issues and cases.

The appointment of the Caliph can be reached through the following methods: 1. Al-Istikhlaaf, in which case the existing Caliph appoints as his successor either a man or a group of men who will then appoint the new Caliph from their midst. 2. Bai'ah (or Pledge of allegiance) given by the influential people who are in power (AhlulHalli wal-`Aqd) to a man who meets the conditions required of a Caliph. 3. Al-Isteelaa', or what is known as Imaaratul-Mutaghallib, in which case the position of the Caliph passes on to a new man by force. Details of these issues are to be found in books of jurisprudence and legal politics.

As for the conditions which the Caliph has to meet, then Al-Mawardi has mentioned seven: 1. Justice with all its comprehensive conditions.