THE PEOPLE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO REPLACE THEIR RULERS

Guest · #1

Recently we have seen an upsurge in popular protest on the streets of Manila and Jakarta. The then president of Philippine Joseph Estrada, like Ferdinand Marcus before him, was left in no doubt that he has lost public support he needs to remain in office. Indonesia is again seeing thousands of people marching on its Parliament calling for the removal of its President Abdul Wahid Rahman, the likes of those that precipitated the departure of the previous President Suharto.The unconventional departing of rulers such as Estrada are normally linked to corruption a disease erupted as a direct consequence of the ruling capitalist system in their countries. Since benefit is the basis of this ideology it is of no surprise its leaders are lining their pockets whilst the Ummah is deprived of its basic needs. It is a man made system and therefore provides limited, contradictory solutions for mankind leading them to misery and despair for those who live under it. So as the faces change the problems remain.If we look more closely at such events as Estrada's disposition we can begin to understand what is necessary to bring about real change.Mr Estrada a former movie actor was accused of mass corruption and deceit his eventual downfall was not brought about by an impeachment process lodged by his political opponents but as a result of public opinion. Although a public show of discontent played a part in his downfall it was not the only ingredient present. The collapse in the currency was a decisive factor in getting the elite such as businessmen and professional people to support his overthrow. There was pressure from other people of influence such as the clergy, the Archbishop Cardinal Sin urged Filipinos to join the anti-Estrada protester gathered outside a church. In a full-page newspaper advertisement 60 retired military officers demanded Mr Estrada's resignation. All this put immense political pressure on the government causing him to lose support from his long time cronies with resignations from key members of his cabinet including the vice president, finance secretary and the treasurer followed by the National Chief of Police Paniflo Lacson. But the final straw came when the physical support in the form of the military shifted its power when chief-of-staff, General Angelo Reyes, resigned and announced publicly he was withdrawing the loyalty of the entire armed forces from the president and throwing their support behind the protesters.Also if we looked to Serbia, after 13 years of rule, the tyrant Milosevic who haunted Europe was ejected by a similar fate. He gave way at the delirious display of people power that was repeated over and over in the capital of Belgrade, followed by the media switching its allegiance to the opposition, riot police joined the protesters, while the Army troops sat quietly in their barracks. Within a matter of days, Milosevic had nothing left to sustain his rule.Such instances are proof that if a people wish to replace their rulers, it is not an impossible task. Furthermore we can see from these events, similar to the downfall of Suharto and what is facing Abdul Wahid Rahman today, that the practical steps in changing a government is to build public opinion, to gain influence of the elite, and obtain physical support from the military. Indeed these were the key elements in the Prophet (saw) work to create change except that he (saw) not only worked to replace the rulers of his day, but he (saw) worked to replace the entire kuffar system with the system of Islam i.e. the Khilafah.He (saw) went out openly into the society and engaged in an intellectual and political struggle. He (saw) challenged the false creeds, thoughts of the society; he (saw) also challenged the systems and the rulers in order to build a public opinion for Islam. Today this means we should challenge the corrupt ideas of Capitalism which have penetrated our societies by refuting them and showing their contradiction with Islam. It also means we should challenge the Kufr economic, social and political system which is imposed upon the people. Today we should challenge the rulers as the Prophet (saw) challenged Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl by exposing them and their imposition of Kufr upon the people. All this to demonstrate to the societies how the only solution for their problems is to re-establish the People's state which the Prophet (saw) built with his (saw) own hands.Furthermore the Prophet (saw) sought out the people of power who could physically establish the Islamic state for him. He (saw) approached many tribes who held the power at his time asking them to support him and establish the Deen. Many rejected him until the 2 tribes of Madinah, the Aus and Khazraj accepted, they pledged allegiance to him and aided him to establish the Islamic State in Madinah to which the Prophet (saw) and the Sahaba migrated. We should emulate this and seek out people of power today which are essentially the armies in the Muslim lands where it works. We should aim to win the support of some amongst them who aid us to re-establish the People Power via a coup.It is clear from what has been said the Prophet (saw) worked for change to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing the People's Rule through building public opinion for Islam by way of influencing the elite and seeking the military support (Nussrah). But we must remember the re-establishing of People Power is an individual obligation which cannot be achieved by a lone individual; rather it requires individuals to be part of a group which follows a method derived from the Quran and the Sunnah. Allah (swt) obligated us to have a group,"Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), ordering what is right (all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding what is wrong (all that Islam has forbidden). And it is they who are successful." [TMQ Al-i-Imran 3: 104]The secret is to fight the oppression by staying within the oppressed regime NOT fight oppression by opting out by self exile or bysimilar weak-kneed actions.

Guest · #2

exactly my point. Fight the kothar openly and let them know about the corruption and the bad apples that exist. The intent being to improve the system and punish the wrong doers. The baneful effects of the corrupt kothar has had some painful effects on the young generation of the developed countries.Even some children of the royal family are aware of the dirty string pulling of their fathers to satisfy their selfish desires and have opted to lead different lives. Openly go out and speak the truth without fear or repose. Do not be afraid that your daughters will not get married,or no one will take the misak or give you a burial. These are petty matters and are only as important as you make them. Trust in Allah and the rasool and let the quran be your guiding light. Please,please do not give in to the exploitation of the kothar and its goons. After all you are a humanbeing and difinitly have some respect.

Dawoodi Bohra Forum