Media Office Hizb ut-Tahrir Pakistan

LC 21 02 2013

Thursday 11^th Rabii uth Thaanee 1434                          21/02/2013                                N0: LC13022

Letter of Clarification

To the Editor of “The News” English Daily of the Jang group in Pakistan

السلام عليكم

Regarding your editorial “Losing control” of Tuesday 19 February 2013, in which you wrote “The arrest of five members of the banned Hizbut Tahrir outfit in Rawalpindi shows just how different these forces are. The HuT, for instance, aims to win over the educated elite. Different groups have different audiences and they operate in diverse ways. The purpose, however, remains the same – to damage those committed to peace and opposing militancy.”

It is regrettable that a publication of such repute, read widely by the “educated elite” that you say Hizb ut-Tahrir is aiming to win over, would choose to misinform its readers so grossly. Indeed, your respected offices have received numerous communications from Hizb ut-Tahrir regarding Islam’s condemnation of all forms of ethnic and sectarian division for over a decade. These include the recent policy statements issued by Hizb ut-Tahrir on ending the troubles in Baluchistan and Karachi, as well as a press release about the horrific attacks on the people of Quetta. Not only do you choose not to publish a single word of these statements, you now take it upon yourselves to contradict what Hizb ut-Tahrir has issued in clear terms.

In the interests of debate and opinion, in the sincere search for truth, we nonetheless repeat our stance for you now:

Firstly, we remind you that for centuries Muslims belonging to different schools of thought have been living peacefully under the Islamic rule. Thirteen hundred years of Muslim history show us that a Shafai Muslim had never killed his Hanafi Muslim brother or a Hanafi had ever killed his Jafferi Muslim brother, just because of juristic differences of opinions. This current strife is the creation of the Western colonialist nations, who invaded and occupied Muslims lands and sowed the seed of hatred on the basis of nationalism, racism and sectarianism. Islam severely condemns nationalism, racism and sectarianism and declares all human beings as the siblings of Adam عليه السلام and the Muslims as a single Ummah. Not only did the Muslims peacefully deal with their fellow Muslim brothers for centuries, the Dhimmis (Non Muslim citizens of Islamic state) like Hindus and Zoroastrians were never subjected to oppression at the hands of Muslims, although their creed is totally different from that of the Muslims.

Secondly, Hizb ut-Tahrir once again stresses that America is behind such malevolence. America is killing Muslims all over the country through the terrorists of Raymond Davis Network supported by its loyal agents in the political and military leadership of Kayani-Zardari. Hizb ut-Tahrir has reminded all Islamic parties that through these horrific acts Western colonialists want to create a wall of hatred between the Muslims, so that they will be able to capitalize their colonialist objectives in this country and strengthen their presence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

We request that you redress the wrong that your publication has attempted to make against Hizb ut-Tahrir and its good name and standing amongst the Muslims of Pakistan. We remind you that you have a responsibility before Allah SWT, His Messenger SAW and the Believers to convey Islam to your readers in a clear way, without wrongly portraying it. We remind you that you, like Hizb ut-Tahrir, should not fear the censure and threats of the current Kayani-Zardari regime, for they seek to malign Islam only for the sake of their masters, America. We assure you that the educated elite and the masses are widely aware of Islam, Khilafah and the related matters, and are now turning away from those who take the sides of these agent rulers in their words, written and spoken. It is a credit to your Deen and to the reputation of your paper that you print this letter of clarification as it is. As always, the members of the media office in Pakistan are available for discussion on any matters you would raise.

Yours sincerely

Shahzad Sheikh

Deputy to the Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Pakistan