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An article in the latest issue of the "Voice of Khurasan" – which is published by the Islamic State (ISIS) – criticizes the concept of territory-based nationalism, advocates the idea of religion-based caliphate, and declares Afghan Taliban of Afghanistan, Hamas of Palestine, and Ikhwanis (Muslim Brotherhood) of Egypt as apostates, i.e., those who have left Islam.
The Voice of Khurasan is published by Al-Azaim Foundation, the media arm of the Islamic State's Khurasan Province (ISIS-K). The latest edition of the English-language monthly magazine, Issue 6, is dated Shawwal 1443 in the Hijri calendar, the month beginning May 2, 2022.
A screenshot of the coverpage article
The article, titled "Nationalism Is Rotten" – argues that Islam conceives of all Muslims as a single ummah ("nation") irrespective of tribal, nationalistic, or other affiliations. It argues that after the failure of the Crusades, the Western countries worked on a policy of dividing the Islamic world by co-opting Muslims and Islamic clerics, whom it dubs as "evil scholars," to undermine the global unity of Islamic Ummah.
Following are excerpts from the article:
"Messenger Of Allah [Muhammad] Said Prohibiting Asabiyyah (Nationalism): 'He Is Not One Of Us Who Calls For Asabiyyah Or Who Fights For Asabiyyah Or Who Dies For Asabiyyah'"
"[...] The Messenger of Allah [Muhammad] said prohibiting asabiyyah [nationalism]: 'He is not one of us who calls for asabiyyah or who fights for asabiyyah or who dies for asabiyyah' –(Abu Dawud). Also, he [Muhammad] said: 'He who calls for asabiyyah is as if he bit his father's genitals' – (Mishkat at-Masabih).
"On one occasion, a non-Muslim youth in the Islamic State was sent to incite memories of the Battle of Bu'ath that took place between the Aus and Khazraj (the two tribes that formed the Ansar) before Islam reached them [in Medina]. The poetry that the youth recited stirred strong emotions and, as a result, there was a call to arms. When the news reached the Messenger of Allah [Muhammad], he rushed to the situation and said, 'Oh Muslims, remember Allah, remember Allah. Will you act as pagans while I am present with you after Allah has guided you to Islam, and honored you thereby and made a clean break from paganism; delivered you thereby from disbelief; made you friends thereby?' When the Aus and Khazraj heard this, they wept and embraced each other as brothers.
"Allah then revealed in Surah Al-Imran: 'O you who believe! Fear Allah as he should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam and hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah's favor on you, for you were enemies one to another but he joined your hearts together, so that, by his grace, you became brethren, and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, and he saved you from it. Thus, Allah makes his ayat [verse] clear to you, that you may be guided.'
"The Khulafah Rashideen [the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, i.e., the first four caliphs] and the rulers who followed by integrated this concept within the state: the bond of the Islamic aqeedah [creed] was the basis of the relationships between Muslims for over a thousand years. Islam, therefore, united people irrespective of their color, race, status, or language. It was this bond that provided strength and might to the Khilafah [caliphate]."
"After Failing To Defeat The Muslims In The Crusades, Britain, And France, Along With The United States, Focused Their Attention To Separate Muslims From Islam"
"After failing to defeat the Muslims in the Crusades, Britain, and France, along with the United States, focused their attention to separate Muslims from Islam. One of these means was... [incomplete sentence]. Britain and other European states managed to influence individuals who claimed to be upon Islam, especially through evil scholars of the fragile Ottoman Empire, who could be easily bought with money to adopt concepts of nationalism like the times of ignorance [i.e., the era before Islam]. Such individuals formed Turkish nationalistic groups, such as the Young Turks, who managed to infiltrate within the ethnically diverse Muslim societies.
"In parallel, Arab nationalist associations were established by the missionaries, which were led by Arab Christians who were able to exploit tensions to promote Arab nationalism to Arab Muslims. These nationalistic tensions led to the rupture between Arabs and Turks. By the turn of the 20th century, the fever of nationalism had spread to all corners of the Muslim lands.
"When the Colonialists occupied various parts of the Islamic lands, by dividing them into weak and artificial states, patriotism (the temporary bond between people of a geographical location against an external threat) emerged among the Muslims as a reaction to the political and economic oppression of the Colonialists. At last, the Muslims were no longer united with the bond of being Muslim which focused on the aqeedah which the Messenger of Allah and his companions left behind. Rather, there were additional ties of race, ethnicity, tribe and geographical location.
The magazine's coverpage
"Today, if we look at the societies of Muslims, the sickness of the disease of nationalism is so severe that they would rather have their Wala [loyalty] toward a kafir mushrik [unbeliever polytheist] who belongs to their own tribe rather than a muhajir [immigrant] who has made hijrah [migration] for the sake of Allah and his religion [to the Islamic state].
"Today, Muslim communities, especially those of minorities, such as the Uyghurs of China, Muslims of Myanmar, Muslims of India, primarily in the occupied Kashmir, are left to be killed at the hands of disbelievers while the heads of the so-called Muslim states and their evil dollar scholars hand out fatwas saying it's internal matters of their own country."
"We Call The Muslim Ummah To Reject The Borders Drawn Up By The Kuffar [Infidels] And Supported By The Taghuts [Tyrants] And Evil Scholars"
"Murtad [apostate] groups such as the Taliban, Hamas, and Ikhwanis [i.e., the Muslim Brotherhood] proclaim to be the saviors of the Islamic Ummah. Nevertheless, they openly and secretly extend their hands toward the kafir [unbeliever] states to be recognized by the world at the cost of leaving the oppressed at the hands of their oppressors, stating it is their internal affair. Today, the murtad groups rather, they fight for their proclaimed land, they fight for the borders drawn up by the kuffar. The Prophet of Allah said: 'He is not one of us who calls to tribalism. He is not one of us who fights for the sake of tribalism. He is not one of us who dies following the way of tribalism' – (Abu Dawud).
"Today, they fight for the systems of kufr [unbelief] and shirk [polytheism] while abandoning the shari'a and the sunnah [traditions] of the Prophet. They fight hand in hand with the kuffar [unbelievers] against the true mujahideen, who accept only the rule of Allah, who accepts no borders as every single land belongs to Allah. Today they fight the Islamic State, which has stood up and revived the Islamic Caliphate, whose call is to unite the Islamic Ummah with the call of Tawheed [Islamic monotheism].
"In the name of terrorism that was defined by the Crusader America and supported by the Dajjal [anti-Christ] Mufti and his group of scholars of Saudi Arabia, they handed over Muslim brothers and sisters to the hands of the kuffar to prosecute them in their dungeons of which atrocities have no bounds.
"The Muslims today must realize and must wake up that unless this Ummah unites on the way of Islam, they can never be people of honor. Instead, the humiliation would continue to make their lives miserable. Especially to the Muslims of Palestine, we remind you, unless you leave the fight for land, fight for the Taghut of Hamas, and make your fight for the sake of Allah, for the sake of his religion, you shall remain humiliated at the hands of the Jews and al-Aqsa will remain under occupation.
"We call the Muslim Ummah to unite under the Islamic State and crush the disease of nationalism that has turned our Ummah from being the most honorable to the most oppressed today. We call the Muslim Ummah to reject the borders drawn up by the kuffar and supported by the Taghuts [tyrants] and evil scholars. We call upon the Muslim Ummah to reject the false claimants of jihad whose only wish is to spearhead their interest. We call upon the Islamic Ummah to come toward the Islamic State, unite, and take Islam where it belongs.
"Tariq ibn Shihab reported: [Islam's second caliph] Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, 'Verily we were a disgraceful people and Allah honored us with Islam. If we seek honor from anything besides that with which Allah honored us, Allah will disgrace us' – (Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, 207)."
Source: Telegram, May 17, 2022. The original English of the quoted text has been lightly edited for clarity and standardization.
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