A jahili Hajj

By Abu Dharr

Makkah and al-Madinah were always open to all Muslims but under the Saudis, these have become off-limits. If the Prophet (saws) or Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (as) wanted to perform Hajj today, the Saudis would insist they obtain a visa before coming!

The Hajj (the annual journey to sanctified Makkah) is in progress as these words are being written. Alas, the Hajj this year, as has been the case for many, many years, is a non-Hajj. Why? Simply because it is a fact, and a recurring one at that. Hajj was meant to have meaning(s).

In Hajj we have the tears of Hajar (Isma‘il’s loving mother); we have the survival of Isma‘il, the dying baby. We have the desperate but hopeful mother Hajar running between al-Safa and al-Marwah to save the life of her infant son who was dying of natural and social causes on the hot Arabian sands of that desolate area in Hijaz. Hajj was meant to relay to humanity the physical and behavioral construction of Allah’s (swt) sanctuary and asylum for the homeless and the stateless.

Makkah itself came into existence to lodge and accommodate Prophet Ibrahim (a) who was expelled by his own people from his original society and its culture. Prophet Ibrahim (a) lived humanity’s first dispersion and homelessness. Thus came a time and place where Ibrahim and his son Isma‘il (a) would (re)construct Allah’s (swt) sanctuary — the inviolable Ka‘bah — as a haven for the world’s displaced and destitute. One of the meanings of circling around the Ka‘bah is to establish the fact that we (the displaced, the marginalized, the oppressed, the victims) do exist — in the manner that neutrons (elementary particles with zero charge and mass about equal to a proton) enter into the structure of the atomic nucleus, eventually becoming a mass — crowds of people, critical mass with meaningful and life-sustaining movement.

The Hajj is meant to motivate us to take issue with Satan in a physical way. The pelting of stones (ramyu al-jamarat) at the symbol of Satan demonstrates our willingness to do battle with the forces of evil, and not be satisfied with words of condemnation alone. These are the forces of evil that have rendered us the forlorn Rohingya, the rootless African-American Muslims, the exiled Islamic movement members, the landless Palestinian populations of the world and the tens of millions of refugees who have been scattered all over the world.

One of the meanings of Makkah, alienated from our conscience, is to offer meat and food to the starving, the poor, the hungry, and the malnourished. When Prophet Ibrahim was ordered to sacrifice his eldest and begotten son Isma‘il (a), the very fiber of human nature said “no.” How can a father (Ibrahim) sacrifice his own son Isma‘il (a) who together with Hajar are the genesis of Makkah, their newly and only home and homeland? How can an alienation of a lifetime suffered by Ibrahim be permitted to revisit him again as a consequence of Isma‘il (a) being sacrificed? But Allah’s will had to be done. And when the father began to actualize the putting to death of his beloved Isma‘il (a), Allah’s (swt) mercy, His sole prerogative, intervened and overturned His command to Ibrahim (a). Allah (swt) did not want human sacrifice; it was a test of Ibrahim (a).

Thus we have, at a minimum, a meaning and a lesson: (a) obeying Allah (swt) eventually leads to feeding the hungry, the thirsty, and the dying; and (b) the intention to sacrifice the most precious thing one has in life becomes reclamation of life itself.

This inclusive and hospitable Makkah lost its meaning and identity, the first time around, when its rulers forced our beloved Prophet (pbuh) to leave under the threat of assassination — when he went to Yathrib (Madinah). Nowadays, Makkah has again lost its meaning and identity when its rulers forbid the Hajj and the ‘Umrah to anyone who recaptures and assimilates the character of Prophets Ibrahim, Isma‘il, and Muhammad (a).

The Hajj was meant to break down all barriers and to fulfill the objective of unity and uniformity among all those who attend. Muslims shed their worldly positions and their social status when they don the ihram. You can’t tell by looking at a person whether he/she is upper class or lower class, military or civilian, from the elite or from the working class, etc.

All of these meanings and much more are absent from the Saudi-ized Hajj. Initially, their British masters and now their American overlords have managed to macro-manage the Hajj through the Saudi petro-family. And due to the absence of the thinking Muslim Ummah the Yahudi-Saudi Hajj has become meaningless ceremonial customs and ossified observances and programmed practices.

Who said that Muslims are only allowed two or three weeks in the land of the Prophet (pbuh) and the Qur’an? With current Saudi rules and regulations Prophets Ibrahim, Isma‘il, and Muhammad (a) would have to apply for visas to go to Makkah and Madinah, and then have to endure security checks once they arrive.

Makkah, Madinah, and the Hijaz have always been open to all the Muslims of the world, until, that is, the advent of the Anglo-Yahudi Saudis. Makkah was the melting pot of the Muslims of the world. Any Muslim from anywhere in the world — from Sumatra to Timbuktu — had he/she so intended and was able to do so, could go to Makkah for the Hajj and/or the ‘Umrah and stay there for the love of Allah (swt) and His Prophet (pbuh). Not any more. Now the Saudi regime sees to it that all Muslims who come to perform the Hajj and ‘Umrah must leave the land of Muhammad (pbuh)… and stay away. The security setup is going electronic and the Saudis with coaching from Washington and Tel Aviv will have files on Muslims coming for Hajj!

Poor Muslims! Under these imposed conditions, they do not have it within their larger selves to take these hydrocarbon Saudis to the cleaners. O Muslims! Where is the ‘Umar and ‘Ali in you? Don’t you know you have all the Allah-given rights to go and be in the vicinity of the Prophet (pbuh) and be there as long as you can support yourselves without the Saudi bid‘ahs of imprimaturs, visas, and other secular endorsements that beg the permission of royals to obey Allah (swt)?

At a time when Palestine is occupied in the bloody manner that breaks out in wars every few years, resulting in thousands of people killed, tens of thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands becoming homeless, why can’t you the Muslims demand to go to Khaybar? Is Khaybar off-limits to the hujjaj (pilgrims)? Is Khaybar occupied territory? At a time when the Saudis are meeting incessantly with the Yahudis to do war against Islamic self-determination, at a time when their intelligence chiefs are frantically exchanging notes and ideas on how to defeat an awakening of Muslims in Asia and Africa, at a time when Wahhabi Arabia finds common purpose with Talmudic Zionism, at a time when Riyadh receives its orders to classify activist Muslims as “terrorists,” with all the accompanying legal and penal consequences, isn’t it high time that we the Muslims who are going to a purposeful Hajj also go to Khaybar to recollect our thoughts and inspire our generation with our Prophet’s (pbuh) defeat of Yahud in Arabia the first time around?

You heard it here first. Hajj has to become meaningful — it has to have a meaning and a purpose. Al-Hijaz has to be accessible to all Muslims every day of the year. And every place the Prophet (pbuh) went in Arabia should be approachable by any Muslim who so intends to walk the footsteps of the Prophet (pbuh) That obviously and boldly includes Khaybar, the stronghold of Yahud, that was liberated by the Prophet (pbuh) and his committed generation of combat-ready Muslims.

Have you ever taken a few minutes to think about the fact that we don’t have even a picture of Khaybar today? Even the Muslims, who are Saudi citizens and who — it would appear — do not have the same restrictions and restraints placed upon them as other Muslims have — even they do not trek up to Khaybar and have programs there about Zionism and its evil nexus of clients who all cooperate to reduce Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims to what we have become in today’s world.

Why can’t we, the Muslims of the world, think about holding an international and global conference about Palestine in Khaybar itself? Is there any sacred or secular law that says we can’t or shouldn’t? Why aren’t all programs pertaining to Palestine — political, humanitarian, social, educational, academic, etc. — convened in Khaybar?

The simple answer is that Yahud have reoccupied Khaybar through their Saudi soulmates. Just like Palestine no longer belongs to the Muslims, Khaybar, too, no longer belongs to the Muslims. Palestine is under Hebrew occupation and Khaybar is under Arabian occupation.

The Saudi regime is wasting our precious time on their imperialist and Zionist sponsored Hajj. They are wasting our holy places by physically and morally demolishing them in Makkah and Madinah. They are wasting our wealth by financing the imperialist-Zionist military industrial banking complex. They are wasting our din by their Wahhabi nihilist outfits.

And what is due to Allah is for people to journey to the Inviolable House — whoever is able to trek that path… (3:97).

The Saudis’ relentless drive to destroy the historic sites of Islam

By

 Zafar Bangash

Muslims are under attack on almost every front, from the military to the cultural and areas in between. Not only are tens of thousands of Muslims being slaughtered by foreign forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Chechnya, but in many Muslim countries (Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, for instance) their own armies are attacking them as well. The military assaults are compounded by cultural attacks from the West. But perhaps even this grim reality pales into insignificance when compared to what the Saudis are doing in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, jointly known to the Muslims as the Haramayn. A toxic mixture of greed and Wahhabi zealotry has led to the destruction of Islamic monuments, which, in a few years, will have completely wiped out the rich historical heritage of early Islam forever.

While most Middle Eastern oil-producing countries are gripped by construction-mania, turning deserts into imitations of New York, Houston or Las Vegas, the Saudis have embarked on an enterprise that will destroy the physical heritage of the Ummah. If the Saudis had concentrated on building Riyadh in the image of Las Vegas few Muslims would be bothered, but they are going after Makkah and Madinah, obliterating the historical sites of Islam and replacing them with concrete and glass towers that not only surround the Masjid al-Haram but dwarf it, assaulting its spiritual ambience.

Most Muslims are already denied the opportunity to perform Hajj because of exorbitant prices that continue to increase each year. Instead of being the spiritual journey that Muslims long for, Hajj has been turned into a financial racket in which Saudi royals and their allies gouge the hujjaj of their life’s savings. Categories of Hajj have been developed; travel agents in the West now offer Five-Star Hajj packages as if the Hajj were a holiday trip to Disneyland. Such distortion of one of the fundamental ibadaat of Islam is completely contrary to the spirit of Hajj and the principle of equality and brotherhood that the Hajj is supposed to demonstrate, as emphasized in the Qur’an and exemplified by Allah’s Messenger (saws). But the House of Saud is not interested in the teachings of the Qur’an or Sunnah, although they are quick to denounce as bida’ any act of which they do not approve. The Saudis’ own mega-bidas are justified by their paid agents and court-ulama by spurious arguments for such violations of Islam’s fundamental principles. Were the Prophet (saws) to appear today, the Wahhabis might well accuse him too of introducing innovations in the deen and indulging in bida’ (nastaghfirullah min dhalik).

Although the court ulama seem to find nothing wrong with the Saudi desecration of Islam’s historical sites and the commercialization of Hajj, it has not escaped the attention of others, including some non-Muslims. Zvika Krieger, for instance, writing in the New Republic magazine on March 26, drew attention to a promotional DVD that lures future “spiritual tourists” to Makkah. Prepared for the Abraj al-Bait Towers, a giant new skyscraper complex that will be built at a cost of US$6 billion just across the street from one of the entrances to the Haram, it “shows a beautiful woman sitting in one of the towers’ luxury apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook thousands of pilgrims circling the Ka’aba below. Eyes flashing a come-hither stare from beneath her tightly wound headscarf, she asks prospective buyers in Arabic, ‘Would you like to be here in this place in front of the Ka’aba year after year?'” Must hujjaj be enticed with such vulgar ads to visit the House of Allah? Surely they are coming as pilgrims and not as tourists going to a casino in Monte Carlo or Las Vegas?

Beyond this sort of vulgarity lies the even greater issue of historic buildings and sites that have either been destroyed or are scheduled for destruction. The vandalism to which the Baqi’ Cemetery in Madinah has been subjected will seem minor if the Saudis succeed in their nefarious designs for the Prophet’s (saws) grave in Madinah. Some ten years ago, Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi’i, a student at the University of Madinah, wrote a thesis titled “About the Dome Built over the Grave of the Messenger,” sponsored by Shaykh Hammad al-Ansari. In this paper, Muqbil ibn Hadi demanded that the Prophet’s grave be brought out of the Mosque. He said that its presence and the dome over it were major innovations (bidas) and that both have to be destroyed. His thesis was applauded and received high marks from the university, confirming their complete disrespect of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

How this upstart Saudi came to the conclusion that building the dome was a bida’ or that the grave needed to be taken out of the Masjid-e Nabawi needs critical review. Is he more knowledgeable about Islam than the illustrious Sahaba (Companions) of the noble messenger of Allah (ra), who did not object and in fact paid great respect to the messenger (saw) by visiting his grave? Further, two of his closest companions are also buried beside him. Does Muqbil ibn Hadi know more than Abu-Bakr and Umar (ra)? The question that Muslims must ask is: what right do the Saudis have to do whatever they like to these sites? The Saudis do not own the Haramayn; they are usurpers of the Arabian Peninsula, whose name they have illegally changed to “Saudi” Arabia. This is bida: Allah’s Messenger named this land the Arabian Peninsula (Jazeerat al-Arab). In their zeal to impose their own distorted version of Islam on everyone, they have embarked on wholesale destruction of Islam’s historical sites. Last year the city planning board of Madinah changed the colour of the famous green dome of the Prophet’s Mosque and painted it silver. The green dome identifies and symbolizes the Prophet’s grave; due to the Mosque’s expansion, it has now been surrounded, yet it is a unique visual focal point. Was the purpose to pave the way for its destruction, since most Muslims might not even realize what had happened if they hear or notice that a silver dome has been destroyed in Masjid-e Nabawi? After all, a number of silver domes in the Masjid-e Nabawi have already been obliterated using the pretext of expansion and renovation. Intense protests by concerned citizens forced the board to restore the dome to its original color, but it would be wrong to conclude that the Wahhabis have realized the error of their ways.

In their zeal to “save” Muslims from shirk (associating partners with Allah) and bida’ (innovations in the deen), the Wahhabis have been involved in the destruction of historic buildings and sites for decades. “It is not permitted to glorify buildings and historical sites,” proclaimed Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Baz, the kingdom’s chief alim, in a much-publicized fatwa in 1994 when he was alive. He went on: “Such action would lead to shirk (polytheism). … So it is necessary to reject such acts and to warn others away from them.” But the Wahhabi zealots are not content with mere warnings. They have embarked on a plan, in conjunction with the hordes of Saudi princes, to destroy Islam’s heritage. One is constrained to ask how many Muslims have become mushriks by visiting these places and what right the Wahhabis have to prevent Muslims from doing so?

Dr Irfan al-Alawi, historian, founder and former executive director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, who is one of the most vocal opponents of the destruction of the Haramayn and their environs, says that last year the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs distributed a pamphlet in the Masjid-e Nabawi calling for the demolition of the green dome. Endorsed by Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, the kingdom’s current grand mufti, the pamphlet brazenly declared: “The green dome shall be demolished and the three graves [where the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar are laid to rest] flattened in the Prophet’s Mosque.” The groundwork for such sacrilegious statements was prepared by another prominent Saudi scholar, the late Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen, who for 35 years delivered khutbas in the Masjid al-Haram. “We hope one day we’ll be able to destroy the green dome of the Prophet Muhammed [saws],” he said, in a recording provided by Dr Alawi.

Dr Alawi estimates that 300 historic sites have been destroyed or are scheduled for destruction. An old house that had belonged to Umm al-Mu’mineen Khadijah al-Kubra (ra) was recently razed to make room for a public toilet facility, among other things. The birthplace of the Messenger (saw) in Makkah was first turned into a library and named “Maktabat Makka al-Mukarrama”, and is now being turned into a parking lot. While libraries are important, the plan was not based on the Wahhabis’ desire for learning but on their determination to destroy all vestiges of Islam’s heritage. The few remaining historical sites in Makkah can be counted on one hand and will probably not survive much past the next Hajj, according to Dr Alawi. “It is incredible how little respect is paid to the House of Allah [in Makkah].”

An ATM (cash-dispensing machine) has opened on the site where the ancient mosque named after the first khalifah, Abu-Bakr Siddiq (ra), once stood. The sites of the historic battles at Uhud and Badr have become parking lots. The graves of Amir Hamza (ra) and the other shuhada of Uhud have suffered even greater indignity: garbage litters the site and the Wahhabis expressly forbid any identification-markers on them, again under the spurious excuse that this would lead to shirk. The 1,200-year-old mosque and tomb of Sayyid Imam al-Uraidhi ibn Ja’far al-Sadiq, four miles from Masjid-e Nabawi in Madinah, was destroyed by dynamite and flattened on August 13, 2002. Imam al-Uraidhi was ninth in line from the Prophet (saw).

The Wahhabis’ zealotry works in tandem with the greed of thousands of Saudi “royals”–”sons, daughters and grandsons of Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud, founder of the Saudi dynasty. Destruction of Islam’s historical sites facilitates the construction of hotels, restaurants and other modern structures on the pretext of providing better services for the hujjaj. This is a complete fraud: the overwhelming majority of hujjaj will never be able to afford the kind of prices such hotels charge.

To get an idea of what is afoot, consider this report by the Saudi British Bank (SABB), one of the kingdom’s biggest lenders. It estimates that $30 billion will be invested in construction and infrastructure in Makkah alone, from local and foreign companies, in the next four years. Up to 130 new skyscrapers are anticipated, including the $6-billion Abraj al-Bait Towers, a seven-tower project that, once completed in 2009, will be one of the largest buildings in the world, with a 60-floor, 2,000-room hotel; a 1,500-person convention centre; two heliports; and a four-storey mall that will house, among 600 other outlets, Starbucks, the Body Shop, UK-based clothing line Topshop (Kate Moss is a guest designer), and Tiffany & Co. Rich ‘pilgrims’ can already shop at cosmetic superstore MAC, perfumery VaVaVoom, and Claire’s Accessories. H&M and Cartier are on the way. “All the top brands are flocking here,” says John Sfakianakis, SABB’s chief economist, proudly. Crass materialism of the worst kind is replacing the spiritual aspects of Hajj, all in the name of progress. When the house of Abu-Bakr (ra) was destroyed to make room for Makkah’s Hilton Hotel, Ivor McBurney, a spokesman for Hilton, had the gall to say: “We saw tremendous opportunities to tap into Saudi Arabia’s religious tourism segment.”

Most Muslims visiting Makkah long to climb to the top of Jabal al-Nur (“the mountain of light”), to visit the Cave of Hira. It was to this cave that the Prophet (saws) used to retire in the month of Ramadan for prayer and meditation. He (saws) received the first revelations of the Qur’an while in the cave. The Wahhabi zealots want to destroy the mountain to prevent pilgrims from visiting the cave. At the foot of the hill the Wahhabis have posted a fatwa: “The Prophet Muhammed (saws) did not permit us to climb on to this hill, not to pray here, not to touch stones, and tie knots on trees…” Can the Wahhabis provide any evidence that he forbade Muslims from going there, or are their rants based on their hatred of Islam and the Muslims’ attachment to and love for Allah’s Beloved Messenger?

By contrast, there is no doubt that both the Qur’an and the Prophet (saws) absolutely forbid Muslims to take the kuffar as their awliya (masters and protectors), yet Wahhabi ulama have never issued a fatwa condemning the subservience of the House of Saud to the greatest enemies of Islam. As recently as last May, US president George Bush was in the kingdom. Bush has the blood of millions of Muslims on his hands; perhaps that is of little concern to the Saudis, but if Muslims wish to climb the Jabal al-Nur to reach the Cave of Hira and link with the history of divine revelation, the Wahhabis go berserk. The Muslims’ devotion to the Sunnah so irks the Wahhabis that they want to destroy an entire mountain. Such thoughts can only emanate from demonic minds. Perhaps in a few years’ time the mountain will be dynamited to build a hotel owned by some prince, or even another parking lot.

At every step, the Saudis are violating the principles of Islam. For instance, part of the $6 billion funding for Abraj al-Bait Towers is coming from the King Abdul Aziz Endowment (Waqf), which the towers’ developers conveniently describe as a “religious property” created to serve interests “vital to the welfare of Islamic society.” What religious interest is being served and why is it considered vital to the interests of the Islamic society when the Saudi royals line their pockets with money even stolen from Waqf Funds? It is appallingly hypocritical and criminal of them to do so, but it is their wanton destruction of irreplaceable historical sites that is inexcusable.

“It’s not just our heritage, it’s the evidence of the story of the Prophet,” according to Dr Alawi. “What can we say now? ‘This parking lot was the first school of Islam’? ‘There used to be a mountain here where the Prophet Muhammed (saws) made a speech’? … What’s the difference between history and legend?” he asks. “Evidence,” he replies without waiting for an answer, “that the Wahhabi zealots are busy obliterating.” Regrettably, few people in the Muslim world have expressed any great concern, much less alarm, to prevent the Saudis’ vandalism in order to preserve the most significant history and monuments of Islam.

The important question is why there is such indifference among Muslims to the destruction of the symbols and sites of Islam.

Zafar Bangash

Zafar Bangash is Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and gets featured on Media Monitors Network (MMN) with the courtesy of ICIT.

Imam Khomeini (r.a.) on the significance of the Hajj for the global Muslim Ummah

Imam Khomeini

  After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Khomeini (r.a.) started a tradition of issuing an annual message to hujjaj as they gathered in the Hijaz for the Hajj. Here we reprint an abridged version of his message to the hujjaj given in Dhu al-Qadah 1403AH (August 1983CE).

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful...

I congratulate the Muslims of the world on the great Islamic festivity, Eid al-Adha. This holiday brings to the minds of people the place of (Prophet) Ibrahim’s sacrifice: a place which offers a lesson of devotion and struggle in the way of Allah to the progeny of (Prophet) Adam, may the blessings of Allah be upon them all.

This leader of monotheism (tawheed), the great iconoclast (Ibrahim as), taught us that offering sacrifices for the sake of Allah, aside from monotheistic and religious considerations, also has political dimensions and social values. He taught us to offer our most cherished possessions for religion and the establishment of divine justice. He fostered understanding in Adam’s progeny that Makkah and Madinah were the places of sacrifice by all devotees of religion, places for the promulgation of monotheism and for the rejection of blasphemy.

He taught man to make jihad for truth and instructed us to convey to the world from these great places the virtues of devotion and self-sacrifice. He told the people of the world to forget their own egotisms for the sake of truth, for the establishment of divine justice and for cutting the hands of the world’s infidels. He taught man to sacrifice everything in the spirit of Ismail ibn Ibrahim (as). This idol-breaker and his beloved son, as well as another idol-breaker, Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, taught man to break idols no matter what they are, and that the Ka’aba should be purged and cleansed from idols for as long as the world exists, no matter what the idols are, be they statues, the sun, the moon, animals or man.

No idols are worse or more dangerous than taghuts which have been present throughout the course of history, from Adam to Ibrahim and to Muhammad, upon whom be peace, to eternity when the last idol-breaker shall issue the monotheistic cry from the Ka’aba. Are not the present superpowers big idols, which have forced the world to obey and worship them? They impose themselves upon the world through force and deceit. The great Ka’aba is the only place for breaking these idols. Ibrahim and Muhammad, upon whom be peace, raised the cry of monotheism from the Ka’aba, and their descendant the Mahdi will also do so in the world’s last days. Allah said to Ibrahim: 

“And proclaim the pilgrimage among men. They will come to thee on foot and [mounted] on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways” (al-Qur’an, 22:27). They are to be purified from all impurities, above all blasphemy as it is said in the Qur’an:

“And an announcement from Allah and his Apostle, to the people (assembled) on the holy day of the great pilgrimage: that Allah and his Apostle dissolve (treaty) obligations with the pagans” (9:3).

We should break idols with our cries, invitations, revelations and assemblies in Makkah. And we should reject all evils, the first of which is the great Satan [the US], lest it be said that there is “noise but few real Hajj pilgrims”.

It is hoped that the Hajj pilgrims in Makkah, irrespective of their sects, will pray for the victory of Islam over global blasphemy, and for the vigilance of Muslims and their governments. May Allah show mercy to Muslims, help them to regain the splendour of their religion and cut the hands of world expansionists from their countries. And may Allah shower upon them forgiveness, for He is the most generous forgiver.

Here are some important reminders to the Hajj pilgrims.

1. An important duty incumbent upon Hajj pilgrims and the ulama of Hajj caravans is the learning and teaching of Hajj rituals. Any failure in this matter will create such problems as the wasting of Hajj ceremonies. The ulama of Hajj caravans should invite the pilgrims of their caravans to classes set up for instructions on Hajj ceremonies. And Hajj pilgrims should learn them without waste of time. They should observe Hajj with complete understanding.

2. All of us know that it is the ignorance of Muslims about socio-political aspects of Islamic matters that has for the past two centuries in particular paved the way for aggression against Muslim nations by foreign governments. This ignorance is being imposed on oppressed Muslims by the neo-colonial imperialists and their lackeys. Most of the ulama used to think that Islam was separate from politics and that a Muslim should not interfere in political issues. Deceitful plunderers attempted, with the assistance of so-called intellectuals, to push Islam into isolation as they did with Christianity. They imprisoned the ulama within the framework of religious issues. They confined prayer-leaders to mosques and wedding ceremonies, and limited people’s activities to rituals.

3. Among the things that keep the world’s Muslims and other oppressed people from struggling to free themselves from the yoke of imperialists is the widespread propaganda of the agents of the west and the east. This is either as a result of their (the agents’) own shortsightedness or of their obedience to the dictates of the superpowers. Such propaganda is aimed at convincing the oppressed that the sciences and development are exclusive possessions of the two wings of imperialism and communism, and that they–especially the westerners and recently the Americans–are the superior race, while the rest are inferior.

4. One of the obstacles barring Muslims from defending their countries is the wide-ranging propaganda aimed at magnifying foreign powers. In the past, through the efforts of the so-called intellectuals, westernized and western-educated people, they made a giant out of Britain. They impressed on the oppressed nations that if a harsh word was uttered to a janitor of the British Embassy, Iran would be destroyed and that if the embassy’s flag was hoisted on the rooftop of any criminal’s house, he would become immune to punishment. Today, the two powers, especially the US, have replaced that giant and have become even bigger. Because of these false notions and rumours, Muslims have lost the courage to defend their rights.

5. What is the solution, and what is the responsibility of the Muslims and oppressed for dispelling these illusions? The primary solution, from which emerges all other solutions for cutting the roots of these problems and eradicating corruption, is the unity of Muslims, rather the unity of all oppressed and enslaved peoples in the world. This unity is gained through widespread tabligh and invitation. And the centre for this invitation and tabligh is the holy city of Makkah during the congregation of Muslims to perform the Hajj. This was started by Ibrahim (as), continued by Muhammad (saw) and will be followed by Hadrat Mahdi. It was enjoined on Ibrahim to call people to Hajj to attend to their needs–that is, the political, social, economic and cultural issues of the society óand so that they could witness how Allah’s Prophet laid upon the altar the fruit of his life, for the sake of Allah.

Everyone should follow the leader of monotheism and recite what was instructed in Sura Tauba to be read at the gathering in Makkah: 

“an announcement from Allah and his apostle, to the people [assembled] on the day of the great pilgrimage that Allah and His Apostle dissolve [treaty] obligations with the pagans” (9:3).

We renounce the infidels during the Hajj rituals. This is a political-religious renunciation that the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, enjoined.

The court alim who considers the slogan of “Down with the US, Israel and the Soviet Union” contrary to Islam should be told that if he considers following Allah and His Prophet’s instructions as contrary to Hajj rituals, then he and other pro-US ulama are the ones who are disobeying Allah’s instructions and the Prophet’s deeds, by separating Hajj rituals from renunciation of blasphemy. It is they who are forgetting Allah’s orders and His Prophet’s instructions for their own interests.

6. Another point that must be noted, as the world’s Muslims and the oppressed rise up against international exploiters and expansionists, is that superpowers are implementing their vicious plots either through creation of terror, or by their propaganda, or their treacherous subservience. But if, through their vigilance and unity, nations stand against these powers, they [the superpowers] will not be successful. The living proofs of that in our own region are Iran and Afghanistan. Iran was one of the US military bases and its [Iran’s] army was in the hands of American advisors. Culture was in the hands of mercenaries while the shah, his government and majlis were but obedient servants. The economy was in its worse state of dependence. The shah was the most powerful policeman in the region, thanks to his affluence and sophisticated military hardware, supported by the US and other lackey States in the region.

However, the Iranian people, empty-handed and relying only on Allah, in a short period of time miraculously broke the idols created by those affected by the west; and they [the Iranian people] put an end to the 2500-year-old tyranny, as well as to the myth created by idolaters. The Afghan people crushed the brute assault of the Soviet Union. They are doing it with the power of faith and by relying on Allah. And it was the committed ulama who expelled France and Britain, which had usurped Algeria and Iraq.

These examples are sufficient to remove unfounded terror created by imperialism and the imperialists, and to awaken Muslims and the governments of Muslim States, so that Muslims and their governments become free.

7. When, insha’Allah, the unity enjoined by Allah is established among Muslims, the governments of Islamic States, governments of Muslim countries with the backing of their people, can form a joint defensive army with 100 million trained reserves and a tens of millions-strong army. They could thus gain the greater power in the world. It would enable us to free ourselves from the disgrace of bowing before the superpowers and to taste the sweetness of independence and freedom.

8. Muslims, and especially the oppressed people of the region, should know that Israel will not abandon the idea of dominating Muslim States from the Nile to the Euphrates, despite the changing of figureheads aimed at deceiving the Palestinian and Lebanese combatants. The US will support an agent such as Israel through which its crimes in the region are being committed. Therefore, their political games should not be ignored and those backing Israel should know that they are stroking the serpent that, given half an opportunity, will poison the region. This venomous serpent must be denied the opportunity to do so.

O Allah, save us from following the devil and worldly desires. Save us from ambition for status and earthly belongings. Save Muslim States from being afraid of the superpowers and inform them of their Islamic and humanitarian responsibilities. Ameen.

-Imam Khomeini