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On May 16, 2024, the Afghanistan branch of the global Islamist organization Hizb-ut-Tahri issued a statement, which it translated into English, rejecting Iranian government's move to fence the border with Afghanistan in order to prevent Afghan youths from entering Iran for work. In the statement, Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan said that such a policy contradicts shari'a and serves to divide the Ummah into nation-states.
Following is the text of the statement:
"All Muslims Must Be Under The Rule Of The Islamic Sovereignty, And The Division Of Islamic Lands Into Weak States And Fragile Regimes With Separate Borders Is Non-Islamic"
"Iran Once Again Revealed Its Treacherous And Non-Islamic Face By Its Border Confinement Plan On Afghanistan And Migrants' Deportation
"The Iranian government has recently decided to confine its border with Afghanistan by building fences along the borderline. The aim of this plan is to prevent Afghans from entering Iran. This plan includes the construction of a four-meter-high concrete wall, barbed wire and fence, which will be constructed with an estimated budget of $3 billion over the next three years. On the other hand, the Minister of Interior of Iran has announced the expulsion of 1 million and 300 thousand immigrants, most of whom are Afghans...
"The Media Office of Hizb-ut-Tahrir/Wilayah Afghanistan condemns any ominous plan and scheme aimed at confining the border between Afghanistan and Iran as well as other Islamic lands, and not only considers it a divisive plan but also a source of separation of the Ummah of the Messenger of Allah [Muhammad]... The government of Iran has once again revealed its treacherous and non-Islamic face with this inauspicious plan.
"Principally, all Muslims must be under the rule of the Islamic sovereignty, and the division of Islamic lands into weak states and fragile regimes with separate borders is non-Islamic. Unfortunately, after the fall of the Caliphate [in 1924], the Islamic world fell under the rule of the nation-state being divided into smaller parts by colonial borders... most of the borderline between Iran and Afghanistan was drawn by British General MacLean and Colonel McMahon.
"With the establishment of nation-states dictated by colonialism, the concepts of 'Islamic Ummah' and 'Islamic brotherhood' have faded away and states have been formed based on secular ideas and national interests – the tyrannical government of Iran is also part of this worldwide trend."
"We Remind The Rulers And Muslims Of Afghanistan And The Region To Prevent The Execution Of The Divisive Plan Of The Iranian Government By Not Allowing The Muslims To Be Separated From Each Other"
"In fact, the entire Islamic lands stretching from Indonesia through Morocco belong to Muslims and any individual Muslim should be able to settle in and work anywhere in these lands. Based on this shari'a and Islamic right, there is no need for passport, visa, residence permit and work permit for a Muslim to travel to another Islamic land.
"However, the Iranian government not only does not adhere to this shari'a principle, but also exploits the presence of Afghan immigrants in Iran (treating them with indignity and cruelty) as a political and economic tool in its foreign policy.
"Therefore, we remind the rulers and Muslims of Afghanistan and the region to prevent the execution of the divisive plan of the Iranian government by not allowing the Muslims to be separated from each other like the fencing [by Pakistan] along the Durand Line [Pakistan-Afghan border not accepted by Afghans].
"While after the atrocious and heart-wrenching incidents in Gaza, the public opinion of Muslims is moving toward intellectual, political, and geographical unity as all Islamic Ummah want to live under a united system, the [Afghan Taliban emir Mullah Hibbatullah] Akhund-centric government of Iran is trying to implement divisive plans, contrary to the ruling of shari'a and the common desire of Muslims.
"In fact, Islam strongly rejects the idea of national government, presence of borders between Muslims and fencing off and confinement of the border, considering them all as the contemporary idols (taghut). In fact, the Al-Wala [loyalty] of Muslims should be for Islam, believers and the Caliphate, and their Al-Bara [disavowal] should be against infidels (kuffar) and nationalist thoughts. But unfortunately, the current governments apply this concept in the opposite way.
"... 'And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided' – (Aali 'Imran:103)."
Source: Hizb-Afghanistan.com (Afghanistan), May 16, 2024. The original English of the statement has been lightly edited for clarity and standardization.
