The past few months have been momentous in Bangladesh. What started at the beginning of July as a student protest with a relatively simple demand – an end to a quota for the children of those who died fighting in the 1971 war – turned into the death knell for Hasina’s decades long hold over the country. Frustration with the quota, which was seen as a way for the regime to reward those who were connected to it, resonated with a much vaster exhaustion with a regime that was mired in corruption, stagnancy, and alienation from the values of everyday people. 

While the courts tried to engage with the protestor’s demands, Hasina’s response was characteristically vindictive. She publicly associated the protestors with treachery, while her party’s student league in collaboration with the police killed hundreds of protestors. This did nothing to quell the protests.  Finally, by the beginning of August, hundreds of thousands of protesters marched on Dhaka, storming Hasina’s official residence. She fled to India the next day, and the military announced it would be establishing an interim government until a new government is voted in. 

Since Hasina’s ouster, Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as the interim leader. Multiple appointees of Hasina’s regime, especially in the justice department, have resigned following continued protests. There is still no timeline for a general election, or any inkling of what structural changes will be made to the country’s political and economic system. 

The events in Bangladesh have reverberated across the Muslim lands. As an Ummah infested with power hungry tyrants, seeing one of them dethroned by her people is encouraging. The question on everyone’s mind is what happens now? And what should be our role in encouraging a promising future for the people of Bangladesh.

A Testament to Courage

To begin with, it is crucial to recognize the resilience, fortitude and courage of the young men and women of Bangladesh. They were committed to hold accountable a tyrant who was known for the disappearance and torture of her enemies in prisons like the notorious Aynaghor.  Her party, the Awami League, was known for having a violent and thuggish student league that was associated with the assault, gang rape and murder of other students, going as far as allegedly having torture cells on campuses. 

In the face of all this repression, the brave students were steadfast in their demands of justice, honesty and progress in their political system. They have demonstrated through their bravery the central truth that is ignored by many public intellectuals, political elite, and even religious scholars. This is the core fact that a tyrant cannot be negotiated with. There is no incremental, gradualistic way of removing power from a criminal who is committed to keeping it. There is only one solution, which is to overthrow them completely and settle for nothing less. 

This should be a lesson for all of us in the Ummah. The only way to rid ourselves of the treacherous rulers who ally with the enemies of Islam to plunder our resources, imprison our young and corrupt our societies is to stand up against them directly. While many “pragmatists” may recommend working within their oppressive systems, being part of their sham parliaments, or being silent about their oppression, the young men and women of Bangladesh have shown us that the real answer to oppression is the vision, courage and commitment to bring the oppressor down.  

This is not just repeatedly borne out in history, but is the sunnah of all the prophets, whether it was Ibrahim (AS) in the court of Nimrod, Musa (AS) in front of the magicians of Firawn or RasulAllah (SAW) on the hill of Safa. None of them tried to find a way to compromise with the leaders of oppression. Rather they held them to account and continued in their mission, until Allah (SWT) either removed them from the situation, or removed the oppression. 

The Cause of the Corruption

Courage is admirable, but it is not sufficient in creating a better future for the Ummah. Rather, courage coupled with an understanding of what we are struggling against is required to achieve liberation. The cause of the corruption in the Muslim lands is not a particular ruler, or a single party. When the Capitalist powers defeated the last government built on Islamic rule, the Ottoman Khilafah, in 1924, they divided our land into small, unstable states ruled by the worst of us. To cement their control over our lands and resources, they invested heavily in replacing the 1400-year-old institutions and systems of Islam with their own systems, that they fund and control. These include the central banks, the judiciary and justice systems, and most importantly the leadership of the militaries of the Muslim world. These institutions form what is often called a deep state, that continue to serve the interest of the Capitalist powers, even when the corrupt politicians are overthrown. It is this deep state that is the core cause of corruption in the Muslim lands, and until we can show the same courage, foresight and fortitude in replacing them, we will never break free from our miserable state. 

There are many examples of this in recent years. Consider the case of Egypt, whose people courageously gathered together in Tahrir square at the height of the Arab Spring. They made it impossible for Hosni Mubarak to continue his reign of terror in the land. Mubarak was forced to step down, and the military leadership announced a path to an election, in which Mohammed Morsi was successful. But the military leadership remained in power, and used its connection in the business class and the media to eventually retake control of the entire country, ousting Morsi, installing General al-Sisi in power, and intensifying the oppression to a level worse than even the time of Mubarak. They even killed Morsi; may Allah (SWT) have mercy on him. 

More recently, consider the case of Sudan, whose military dictator was removed from power by a popular uprising against him in the streets. The military leadership stepped in, and appointed an unelected civilian government to form a power sharing agreement with. This civilian government was not responsive to the needs of the people, was following the dictates of the IMF to leave the most vulnerable in Sudan further impoverished.  It even sought to normalize relations with the Zionist entity. Eventually, the military decided to step in directly, arresting the civilian government and taking control, enacting the same corrupt economic and foreign policy, while engaging in a civil war with an associated militia to hide their illegitimate rule. 

These are two of many examples. The courage and resilience that the Muslims show time and time again against the brutal tyrants should not go to waste. The blood of our martyrs should be used to nourish a new Muslim world, that has removed the claws of the Capitalist powers from deep in its flesh and stood against every Capitalist institution in our lands, from the riba based central banks, to the military leadership who get their funding and training from the enemies of Islam.

A transition government, or an election will not protect our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh. It is only when the deep state and the corrupt system associated with it are removed as a whole can we begin to imagine a future for any of our lands that is free from oppression.   

The Core Problem

To liberate ourselves from the corruption of the Capitalist world system, we need to understand what is ultimately wrong with it. Otherwise, we will just replace the current deep state with another deep state that is equally corrupt if not more so. We will just replace the systems and institutions of Capitalism with another set of misery inducing systems and institutions. 

The core problem is not the wickedness of a particular military leadership or another. It is not even the evil of the Capitalist world order specifically. The core problem is the rule of man. The only way to liberate ourselves from oppression is to liberate ourselves from the rule of the created, and turn our obedience to the Creator. 

This is the central message of our deen, and the core work of our Beloved Messenger (SAW). To liberate men from the slavery of created things, so that we can be guided to the worship and obedience of the Creator. This guidance is not restricted to our individual acts of worship, but extends to how we build our families, conduct our businesses, serve our communities and build our systems of politics, economics and justice as well. As our Creator tells us:

“By your Lord, they will not be true believers until they let you decide between them in all matters of dispute, and find no resistance in their souls to your decisions, accepting them totally.” [TMQ 4:65]

It is only when we are fully reliant on the perfect wisdom and unparalleled mercy of the Creator, and the teachings of the Beloved Messenger that we will be freed from the cycles of repression and violence that plague the Ummah. 

 What is to be Done?

The task then is to work collectively to learn about and call for the revival of the systems and institutions of Islam in the Muslim lands. This cannot be done by an individual, no matter how talented, knowledgeable or sincere. We must work together as a political group to achieve this shared purpose.

As Muslims in Canada, we can use our position of relative ease, comfort and safety to raise our voice for the complete implementation of the Islamic way of life in the Muslim world by a righteous Islamic leadership that unifies our lands, confronts the enemies of Islam and creates a beacon of hope for all believers and seekers of truth to be guided and protected by. May Allah (SWT) return us to His prescribed system of rule, the Khilafah upon the method of Prophethood.

“The disbelievers said to their messengers, ‘We shall expel you from our land unless you return to our religion.’ But their Lord inspired the messengers: ‘We shall destroy the evildoers, and leave you to dwell in the land after them. This reward is for those who are in awe of meeting Me, and of My warnings.’ They asked God to judge, and every obstinate tyrant failed.” [TMQ 14:15]