Nation State is the Biggest Hurdle in Protecting the Honor and Life of Muslims Whether in India or Gaza

News:

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar strongly condemned the incident in which Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulled down the hijab of a Muslim woman Nusrat Parveen at a government event, calling it 'extremely disturbing'. Dar described the incident as shameful, saying it highlighted the urgent need to safeguard minority rights and curb the rising tide of Islamophobia. [Tribune]

Comment:

It is not the first incident in India where a Muslim woman was harassed and disrespected. Since the creation of India in 1947, the Hindu rulers of India never valued the life, property and honor of the Muslims living under their authority. Since 1950, at least ten thousand Muslims have lost their life in communal riots, often happening with the consent of the Hindu rulers, no matter to which political party they belonged. In the Gujrat riots of 2002, Hindu mobs raped, looted, and killed in a campaign of violence that persisted for more than two months. Women were mutilated, children set afire, and fathers hacked to pieces. About 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Some 20,000 Muslim homes and businesses and 360 places of worship were destroyed, and roughly 150,000 people were displaced. In 1992 Hindu mobs destroyed the historical Babari Masjid and in January 2024, the Butcher of Gujrat, now the Prime Minister of India, inaugurated the temple build on the ruins of the Babari Masjid.

Beating and killing of Muslim men on the accusation that they have slaughtered a cow has become a common phenomenon. However, now the escalation against the Muslims of India has reached new heights. They are directly attacking the honor of Muslim women by tearing their abaya (loose outer garment) or khimar (headscarf).

The most unfortunate part of this belligerent stance of the Hindu state is that whenever such an incident happens, the rulers of Pakistan, which possesses the strongest armed forces in the Muslim World, equipped with nuclear arsenal, simply condemn the act and call to the so-called international community to account the Hindu state. However, they never take the responsibility to teach such a lesson to the Hindu state that she never dares to do it again.

What is the reason behind such a shameful course of Pakistan? Does it not know the importance of protecting the honor of women? Or does it not consider itself responsible to deter such an aggression, as it is only responsible to the protect the people living inside the boundary of Pakistan?

In Islam, the honor of a woman has to be protected at any cost. At the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw), a Muslim woman visited the Banu Qaynuqa (a Jewish tribe) marketplace in Madina. A Jewish goldsmith pinned her dress to her back, exposing her legs when she stood up, causing laughter from the Jewish men present. The woman screamed, drawing a Muslim man who killed the goldsmith in retaliation. The Messenger of Allah (saw) besieged the Banu Qaynuqa, forced them to surrender and ordered their exile from Madina.

The Messenger of Allah’s (saw) example set the standard for the protection of the honor of women. Because of this standard, Umayyad Khalifah’s governor of Iraq, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, ordered Muhammad ibn al-Qasim to invade Sindh and rescue Muslim women captured by Raja Dahir's pirates. A battle took place in 712 CE, resulting in Dahir's defeat and death, and the liberation of the captives.

In accordance standard set by the Messenger of Allah (saw), Abbasi Khaleefah Al Mu'tasim sent an army to liberate a woman who called him to liberate when she was captured by the Romans.

The current state of Pakistan is not based on the Islamic Aqeedah which necessitates to protect the honor of a Muslim woman. On many occasions the political and military leadership of Pakistan has stated that the armed forces of Pakistan are only to protect the people living inside Pakistan. This is the main reason that despite endless hostilities against Muslims whether in the Hindu State, in Occupied Kashmir or in Palestine, the rulers of Pakistan do not feel compelled to respond to their cries and calls for help, rescue and liberation.

The concept of nation states stops us from abiding by and responding to the commands of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) with respect to the protection of Muslim women. So the Muslims of Pakistan must join the struggle of Hizb ut Tahrir for establishing the Khilafah (Caliphate), which will respond to the calls of oppressed Muslim women in India and Occupied Kashmir and fulfill the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah (saw) about Gazwa-e-Hind. It was narrated by Thawban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (saw), that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

«عِصَابَتَانِ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَحْرَزَهُمَا اللَّهُ مِنَ النَّارِ عِصَابَةٌ تَغْزُو الْهِنْدَ وَعِصَابَةٌ تَكُونُ مَعَ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلاَمُ»

“There are two groups of my Ummah whom Allah will free from the Fire: The group that invades India, and the group that will be with 'Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him.”

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Shahzad Shaikh – Wilayah Pakistan