London and indeed many other parts of the U.K look more like a battle field. Cars have been left over turned on streets, countless consumer goods were looted from shops, such as Nike trainers or plasma T.V’s. Peoples livelihoods have been destroyed, and we saw the very sad case of our brothers in Islam murdered in Birmingham. May Allah grant them Jannah al-Firdous and grant their families sabr.
After these riots, many condemned unruly youth, and called the rioters ‘inhuman’. Politicians and tabloids alike called the riots ‘meaningless violence’. However no one (or very few people) questioned the riots and actually asked why they happened. The Messenger of Allah SAW said:
“The example of those who maintain Allah’s limits (hudood) and those who surpass them is like the example of those who share a boat. Some would occupy its upper deck and some its lower deck. The occupants of the lower deck would have to go to the upper deck to have access to the water. If they said, ‘why don’t we drill a hole in our part (to directly access the water) and do not cause any inconvenience to those above us’. If those on the upper deck let them do what they wanted then all of the passengers would sink. However if they prevented them from doing so then all would be saved.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
The Prophet SAWS was telling us how to create a functional society. From this hadith we can learn four things. The first is that society has individuals; this is indicated by the people of the lower and upper decks. The second is that they all have emotions, which is indicated by the desire to want water. The third is that they all have thoughts, which is indicated by the people of the lower deck wanting to drill a hole in the boat. Lastly, the Prophet SAWS tells us that we must have a system to bond together these individuals, emotions and thoughts in order to be successful and to progress.
Despite the rhetoric of Politicians and policy makers, these riots were not an ‘abnormal event’ which was not in keeping with societies norms. These riots were driven by the emotions, thoughts and system of capitalism. Capitalism constantly drills its citizens with ideas of consumerism, greed and envy. We can see this clearly in over-sexualised advertising, pushing us to buy the latest car, gadget or jewellery. On top of this, this society glorifies crime and thuggery, and this is seen clearly in computer games such as GTA, or films such as ‘Scarface’.
As well as instil greed and corruption into the soul of every individual, capitalism makes us very individualistic. So much so that we do not care about our neighbours or even our family members. We are driven to become conniving people, always trying to attain the best for ourselves while oppressing others.
When we look at those who have been convicted, we do not find our ‘usual suspects’ of disruptive youths, or petty criminals. We actually see that every demographic of society was present at these riots. People who have been convicted include; a lifeguard, a charity worker, a ballerina, numerous students, and even teachers. It is also worth mentioning that many youths were egged on by their parents, who wanted to adorn their living rooms with the latest flat screen T.V’s.
These values stem from the ‘muscular’ liberalism that David Cameron wants to force on Muslims. The values of ‘you’re only a criminal if you get caught’, and ‘it’s not a crime if there are no witnesses’. These are the values that are present in every institution of society, from politicians, who only a couple of months ago stole money from their constituents to fund their corrupted habits to the police and media, who subvert justice by brazenly lying to us, as was the case with the phone hacking scandal. As well as greedy bankers who caused this recession, making countless families destitute and homeless. So is it any surprise that the rest of society should want, and then claim their dues?
The capitalistic system inevitably corrupts the individual. This can best be shown with the example of infanticide. The majority of cases of infanticide are perpetrated by the mother, even though the mothering instinct in a woman is stronger that her survival instinct. But capitalism has disfigured and mutilated the nature of every man, woman and child beyond any recognisable form.
This is the ugly face of secular-liberal values, which David Cameron himself called broken. Yet like a madman he still clings on to them hoping they will bring him some enlightenment. These values are systematically being rejected by the west on every level, even the Peter Oborne writing for the Mail Online (arguably the most islamophobic paper bar ‘The Sun’) hailed the Islamic values that were displayed by Tariq Jahan and all the Muslims who actively opposed the riots.
Muslims should reject these ‘hand me down’ values from the west, domestically they should protect the community’s sublime Islamic values and globally work to establish a society based on Islam via the re-establishment of the Khilafah. A society which has taqwa at its basis. When a society fears Allah, it will not succumb to mindless acts of violence and greed, which was displayed brilliantly by the U.K over the last week. A society which has social responsibility, forbidding the munkar and commanding the righteous on one another (nahy anil munkar wa amr bil maruf). These are the values that Muslims should base their societies on.
The system of capitalism allows the people of the lower deck to drill the hole in order to drink, and so the whole of society is sinking and being destroyed. Islam has come to regulate the thoughts and emotions of individuals under the Shariah so that society can flourish and grow. Rather than suppress the individual and destroy his fitrah, Islam nourishes it and helps the individual maximise his potential. Therefore allowing society to maximise its potential.
Al-Mahi
Source: www.iculture.org.uk
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