It's the word that politicians dare not publicly mention for several decades in the hope it was dead and buried in 1924.
Yet the issue has now emerged explicitly such that it is impossible not to mention it. Earlier this year a CIA think tank predicted the re-emergence of the Caliphate by 2020. Then on Saturday 16th July 2005 Tony Blair made a speech where he gave his definition of what he thinks are the end aims of what he calls the 'evil ideology' of Islamic extremism.
‘They demand the elimination of Israel; the withdrawal of all Westerners from Muslim countries, irrespective of the wishes of people and government; the establishment of effectively Taleban states and Sharia law in the Arab world en route to one caliphate of all Muslim nations.’
This has been the most open declaration so far that the War on Terror is a war to prevent the reestablishment of the Khilafah (the Caliphate). Hitherto, there has only been deceptive language about terrorism, WMD, and 'talebanisation'.
Yet he deceives the public because he will not say, and perhaps he has shut his mind to the fact, that the Caliphate is not simply the desire and aspiration of jihadi groups. Ask a Muslim who follows a Sufi Tareeqa if he or she wants to see the re-emergence of Khilafah Rashida and you may see tears of hope in their eyes. Muslims from the so called conservative brands of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula to the 'tiger economy' regions of Malaysia & Indonesia dream of the return of Khilafah. To reject this fact is to deny the obvious. Most, simply pray for its return; some try to work for it through existing systems; a small number think that fighting the existing oppressive rule is the way to see it established. But the largest group internationally works by non-violent political work to change the existing system via thought and opinion.
We ask all Muslims to express their positive views for Khilafah to all the people they meet so that a false impression does not get presented to the wider society that somehow Khilafah Rashida is associated with the negative stereotypes Blair hopes to associate with it. To desire Khilafah is not backward, extremist or terrorist.
It is the legitimate aspiration of the Muslim world for its own governance, sadly denied and obstructed by western governments and the puppet regimes they create and support. Many non Muslims are beginning to realise the injustice of their own government's foreign policy and we can lead the way in articulating clearer arguments.
It is not just about Palestine or Iraq, it is about the right of the Muslim world to govern itself in the way it wants, in a desire to please Allah. We pray all people must send a vocal message to Western colonial governments that their efforts to prevent this will only perpetuate misery, instability and insecurity in the whole world.
