Jun 30, 2018
In this episode, we discuss with Uthman Badar a variety of topics related to Islamic activism, political dimensions of Islam and Khilafa.
Uthman Badar is a writer, activist and PhD student of philosophy, and also a student of Arabic and Islam. He is member of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia.
Hosts: Tanzim
Please email us your comments, feedback, and questions at: boysinthecave@gmail.com, and leave a review and 5-star rating on iTunes!
Follow us on:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/boysinthecave/
Instagram – @boysinthecave
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uthman Badar’s Online Visibility:
https://www.facebook.com/uthbadar/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shownotes
[0:00] Podcast - not affiliated with HT, we are talking about the perception of HT prevalent in the media; we have a negative image, of people with big beards - that is the stereotype we see.
Preaching something scary; in university scene we see the discussions and panels which are of great benefit, so we see that angle also of the hizbut tahrir personalities.
Wassim Doureihi video which went viral on ABC - boosted so much faith in our ability to control the narrative; the constant need to condemn; line of thinking made us realise many things .
Playing cricket with uthman; just a regular brother outside of his media personality.
Natural that people bring their own personalities and politics to discussion. The media gives us all of it in a negative light regarding HT, as such compelling people to stay away.
USYD talk - uthman badar form HT singled out as a radical figure in a negative light without raising any actual discussion.
We live in that society where conversation is skewed and not steered towards where it should be.
That’s sort of a natural consequence of living in this society; normative positions society hold which we have to fight against.
Having a debate about God is not too controversial, but about western foreign policy, it will be much more challenging to discuss that in this society - do we stay away or give it the justice it deserves, and what islam demands us to address of it.
[10:00] Is islam even part of the political realm?
Islamic society in sydney has several realms, of islam becoming about work on yourself, of islam coming to fruition through our internal struggle.
Those who try get by in society, doing the obligatory and not too much more.
And those who are more politically active and aware.
Many more nuances in how muslims go about this, in their particular ways of activism.
Different focus of other groups.
People can be engaged in various ways;
Whole idea of Khilafa - concept we probably haven’t heard of living in the West.
Are groups of islamic activism a cause of division? How can you claim something to help the whole ummah when the whole ummah is not on board with your vision?
Uthman: as long as those efforts are based in something sincere, then its not part of the problem - what is instead is that the vast majority of people don’t do much work, in this realm of trying to revive islam.
There is nothing much wrong with doing something but in different ways - what counts in the effort.
If someone is doing something beyond the personal obligation at a community level, then that is what is good. Collective effort is better. The condition of the ummah wont improve without collective effort.
So long as it is sincere and based in islam.
Problems exacerbated by the way different groups interact with each other.
Going further into the khilafa - what does it mean and how to go about it, and the history behind it.
What is it?
[18:00] Basically - the vehicle by which islam is implemented; it is not an additional thing for muslims, but the basis.
It is the way by which you implement islam completely;
The road to implement islam continues after the death of the prophet (saws).
The deen in its totality. Not about individuals - who can pray on their own.
Certain aspects that individuals can’t do - state processes, civil society, etc.
Vast area of islam you cannot do without such a state - the contracts in islam, vast majority cannot be done without khilafa - like how interest is haram; the individual cannot do anything about that at a society level unless it is implemented.
We live in a time when the dominant paradigms structured our living when we think on individual terms, atomistically, and many muslims have internalised that thinking; of fixing themselves and nothing else.
The social and political aspects of islam are considered an afterthought whereas in reality they are central.
Historically it was implemented for hundreds of years, over a thousand.
[22:00] Do we need to worry about khilafah in our context of comfortable western lives? Don’t we just pray and fast and we’re good?
Allah’s pleasure lies in us doing what he wants us to do - and this is how the prophet saws implemented islam.
Different contexts require different things for us - the type of test we have changes.
We are responsible for what we did or didn’t do in trying to strive for the khilafa.
Role to pass on - of enjoining good and forbidding evil.
We need to learn about our responsibilities here and expand our scope.
Learn about political system and strive for it.
[26:00] The abyssinian model - our situation in west is not like mecca or medina, but like abyssinia, where we practice only to the extent we can.
But that model is a footnote to the prophet’s life - not intended as a permanent state, so we can’t make an analogy between our situation and them
As people only migrated to abyssinia temporarily, to come back to mecca and carry on their Islam.
We can’t just consider our situation here in the West as here and doing our basic personal prayers and otherwise enjoying life.
Society’s systems and structures shape us - the colonial invasion of the muslim world.
[30:00] European bought ideas of secularism, liberalism - that have influenced us over time. When you migrate to the west its the same thing on steroids, because we are on their own turf. We can’t see anything otherwise
World structured differently , in how we think.
Liberalism discussion.
[35:00] Reformation, science, rationality as the starting point for our understanding of RELIGION now.
Religion as interior.
[40:00] religion fed to us as something that oppresses and limits progress. West sees itself as the only one capable of progress.
Religion as limiting everything - the perception.
The West Universalizes themselves. They read violence into religion.
[46:00] Isis discussion.
ISIS makes the discussion more obscure as it is about American
foreign policy.
[48:00] fulfilling conditions of Khilafa.
[51:00] Practicality of the Khilafa in a world dominated by western institutions and states. How can Khilafa fix the ills of the world system already in place?
We have to learn our best and understand - but we can’t assume all changes to be in our hands.
[57:00] How to we reconcile islamic punishments with this age?
Certain areas left for people to decide on themselves.
European punishments were also cruel not even 100 years ago
[1:00:00] Christians in their attempt to reconcile faiths with modern western science.
Responsibility to study this and realise the basis of our faith, the difference between science and scientism
[1:09:00] The liberal standard cannot be our criteria. Present islam in a way that gives people the best chance.
[1:15:00] Jizya and Zakat - jizya can be less than zakat; not unequal as people think it all is, unless you use a western lense.
Body of muslim statehood and power - to protect those muslims now who are being persecuted.
Needs leadership that is sincere and based in Islam.
[1:20:00] Khilafa in the modern day - is it possible, what does it require - material force and public opinions.