بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
News:
The Hormuz crisis brings renewed attention to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest maritime passages (Al Jazeera and news agencies).
Comment:
The Strait of Malacca, which connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans and lies between Malaysia and Indonesia, sees 100,000 ships pass through it annually, carrying trillions of dollars’ worth of goods. It is a vital energy corridor for industrialized Asian nations such as China, Japan, and South Korea.
Recently, Indonesia and Singapore announced their intention to impose fees on ships transiting the Strait of Malacca, coinciding with the events in the Strait of Hormuz.
The situation in the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with the discussions surrounding the Strait of Malacca, opens the door to a re-evaluation—not just reflection, but astonishment—at the immense power and control possessed by Muslim countries. This power enables them to exert pressure and influence in times of both peace and war without firing a single shot.
The Siliguri Corridor (the “Chicken's Neck”), controlled by Bangladesh and connecting India to its eastern states, the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, and the Strait of Gibraltar... these are the vital lungs through which global trade breathes.
The impact extends beyond these straits, which can severely constrict the world’s economy when disrupted. Even the raw materials that flow through and into them—oil, fertilizers, gas, minerals, and more—have far-reaching consequences. Their effects aren’t limited to American farmers, medical imaging equipment, power plants, and factory engines in Europe, and so on. They all point to a single truth: the elements of military power and strategic influence an Ummah possesses beneath its feet, are equivalent to the arsenals of weapons held by major powers.
It is only through the corrupt hand and impotent management and policies of those resources that their effectiveness in the affairs of Muslims, their lives, their blood, and their livelihoods has been reduced to near nought. This is the management practiced by agent rulers who
[بَدَّلُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ كُفْراً وَأَحَلُّوا قَوْمَهُمْ دَارَ الْبَوَارِ]
“exchanged the favor of Allah for disbelief and settled their people in the abode of ruin” [TMQ Surah Ibrahim: 18]. Through their actions, the decision-making authority, independence, strength, and dignity of the Ummah have been lost, and the elements of military power, sources of wealth, and resources have been placed in the hands of the enemy of the Ummah, to be exploited as they please! Changing all of this depends on changing the rulers of Muslims, restoring ruling authority to where it belongs—to the Ummah—and restoring legislative sovereignty as it should be: sovereignty for the Deen and Shariah Law of Allah (swt).