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| Southeast Asia |
| Islamists urge caliphate revival |
| 2007-08-12 |
| Some 100,000 Islamists have met in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, to press for the re-establishment of a caliphate across the Muslim world. The Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir - which organised the conference - said it had been the largest gathering of Muslim activists from around the world. However, the group is illegal in many countries and key speakers have been stopped from entering Indonesia. A caliphate - or single state for Muslims - last existed in 1924. Hizb ut-Tahrir regards this as the ideal form of government, because it follows what it believes are the laws of God as set out in the Koran, rather than laws designed by man. The group says it seeks to set up a caliphate by non-violent means - but many experts see it as ideologically close to jihadist groups. It is banned in most of the Middle East and parts of Europe. The BBC's Lucy Williamson in Jakarta says that of the estimated 100,000 people packing the stadium hired for the event, the overwhelming majority were women, who have travelled from across Indonesia to attend. If the audience turnout was impressive, not so the speakers lined up to address the crowd, our correspondent adds. One by one, over the past few days, seven of the delegates invited to speak have dropped out. Controversial Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was asked to stay away on security grounds, while three national leaders cancelled at the last minute. The Palestinian delegate was unable to leave the Palestinian Territories, and representatives from Britain and Australia landed in Jakarta on Friday but were refused permission to enter the country. Hizb ut-Tahrir's spokesman in Indonesia said he was disappointed about these problems and said that the Indonesian authorities had not told the group why its speakers had been barred. Hizb ut-Tahrir - or Liberation Party - was founded in Jerusalem in the 1950s by Palestinian religious scholar Taqiuddin an-Nabhani. Today it has a mainly clandestine following in the Middle East, a large presence in Central Asia - where hundreds of its members have been jailed - and active supporters in the West, including London, which is believed to be one of its main bases. Many experts see it as ideologically close to jihadist groups, and suspect its commitment to peaceful means is purely tactical. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #9 Patience tu, patience! |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Goat-related STDs Division 2007-08-12 22:31 |
| #8 tu3031: Not earthquake, flu. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-08-12 16:09 |
| #7 Hizb ut-Tahrir regards this as the ideal form of government, because it follows what it believes are the laws of God as set out in the Koran, rather than laws designed by man. One sure reason for opposing such a notion with all your might. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was asked to stay away on security grounds We must have had a hit man in the crowd. The Palestinian delegate was unable to leave the Palestinian Territories Qu'elle surprise! Many experts see it as ideologically close to jihadist groups, and suspect its commitment to peaceful means is purely tactical. All taqiyya, all the time, baby. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-12 12:37 |
| #6 "it follows what it believes are the laws of God as set out in the Koran, rather than laws designed by man." Umm Muhammed, The Koran was desigend by a man. One man and HIS belief of God. The caliphate has never, nor ever shall work. |
| Posted by: newc 2007-08-12 11:29 |
| #5 A convention of Islamics. Bet the goat herders made the big bucks. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2007-08-12 10:48 |
| #4 Where's them earthquakes when ya need them? Somebody asleep at the switch over at Halliburton? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-08-12 10:08 |
| #3 Well, God at least permits evil to exist. Yeah, blame God. You get free will and you still blame him. All you have to look around at the crazed left to see that We permit evil to exist as long as it serves our need be it political or non-involvement. However, We choose. We get the consequences. We do not lack the means. We do not lack the resources. We simply lack the will particularly when it means we have to get our own hands bloody. Better to be lesser creations and let God do the correcting than be a greater creation and do the job ourselves. "The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane". |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-08-12 10:05 |
| #2 laws designed by man First, all of mankind is under the rule of God, so God allows all laws, for His purpose. I suppose that'd include Hitler, too. Well, God at least permits evil to exist. Second, remind me again, who wrote the Koran? And all of the interpretations thereof? And the fatwas; who writes them? Ahh, but see, I have a logical mind - sort of like an engineer. Pity the poor moose - surrounded by mooselimbs. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-08-12 09:07 |
| #1 A caliphate - or single state for Muslims - last existed in 1924. Err... the Ottoman Empire might have been ruled by a Sultan calling himself "Caliph" but he was never the religious and temporal ruler of all the world's Muslims. The Shahanshah (King of Kings) of Iran also claimed to be Caliph. The Badshah-e-Hind (Emperor of India) also had supreme religious authority in his realm. The various kingdoms in what is now Indonesia were never under the rule of the Turkish Sultan. |
| Posted by: john frum 2007-08-12 08:49 |