On October 17, 2022 Hizb ut Tahrir – America, the American branch of the global Islamic movement Hizb ut Tahrir issued the following statement:
Muslims of Dearborn, Michigan Standing Firm for the Protection of our Children: Islam Vs. The Secular LGBTQ Agenda
“يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡ وَأَهۡلِيكُمۡ نَارً۬ا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلۡحِجَارَةُ عَلَيۡہَا مَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ۬ شِدَادٌ۬ لَّا يَعۡصُونَ ٱللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمۡ وَيَفۡعَلُونَ مَا يُؤۡمَرُونَ” (التحريم ٦)
“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allāh in what He commands them but do what they are commanded”. [TMQ 66:6]
All eyes are on Dearborn, Michigan—home to the largest concentrated Arab-American population in the country—as parents, primarily by Muslim parents, en masse protest the circulation of elicit LGBTQ books across the city’s public-school system. The protests that jammed and shut down the school board halls boiled over as the community and school board stood at odds, the school board imposing the mandates of the Secular State against a community who felt their voices, concerns, and authority over their children usurped. This is a common tension tearing through the veins of the country, with seemingly minority groups like the LGBTQ lobby enjoying far reaching support from the system over a seemingly silent majority of traditional communities—however, a visible first for the Muslim community in America. One sign held in the protest, in particular, captured the frustration on the ground, stating that “If Democracy Matters, We’re The Majority.”
The reality behind this frustration—on whose rights, whose voice, and whose way of life truly matters— runs much deeper than this particular series of events unfolding in Dearborn, Michigan, and speaks to the incoherent, contradictory, and biased system of Secular Democracy itself. In the removal of God from the sphere of public and social life, there is no source of objective morality, right or wrong, and in its place compete various parties for their self interest—many times at the expense of those weaker in strength or number. With no objectively right answers, the only answer that remains is that might makes right! It’s no wonder that as the Secular State advances, instead of harmony and cohesiveness, what erupts is dissenting voices, partisan politics, confusion, and disharmony. Today kids can seek hormone blocking therapy and irreversible surgery without even the consent of their parents, the traditional family structure is challenged, and there is an ever increasing alphabet of new sexual identities and realities that are imposed on the people.
Islam, in contrast, is a way of life, system, and paradigm which is clear cut, without contradiction, and the only cure for the state of Jahiliyah (ignorance, injustice, confusion, lost state) today. Islam is simple, summarized in its testification of faith: that there is no God except Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final Messenger of Allah—and that everything that emanates from that is the truth, morally correct, and the basis from which society is built. The reality today is that all other ways of life have bowed, buckled, or fizzled out in relation to the Secular World Order—that is, except Islam! Accordingly, as Muslims, we have a duty to uphold, stand firm, and call others to what is best for them in this life and the life to come. Allah and his Messenger (peace be upon him) have declared what is appropriate and inappropriate in terms of family structure, sexual relations, rights and wrongs—and the response of the Muslim who has rationally accepted that basis is to only say in response that we hear and we obey—no matter what the pressure, petty partisan politics, or a school board!
“وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤۡمِنٍ۬ وَلَا مُؤۡمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ ۥۤ أَمۡرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡخِيَرَةُ مِنۡ أَمۡرِهِمۡۗ وَمَن يَعۡصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۥ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلاً۬ مُّبِينً۬ا” (الأحزاب ٣٦)
“It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.” [TMQ 33:36]
In conclusion, It is very encouraging to see the Muslim community in Dearborn standing up to protect the innocence of our children. Muslims throughout the country need to support our fellow parents and children. In doing so we must do the following:
Parents need to counter Secular liberal values from a very young age and encourage children to think critically about what is taught to them and challenge these ideas with clear Islamic ideas.
Realize that schools and society at large indoctrinate children with secular liberal ideas and values. Hence, it is extremely important to articulate the Islamic position on male-female relationships, marriage, intimate relations, family, society and state. We must familiarize children with the social system of Islam. By extension, this means articulating an alternative system of life in opposition to the secular liberal system.
The Muslim community must demand that Muslim organizations, leaders and activists disassociate themselves from the Liberal (Democrat) or Right wing (Republican) agendas. We must map our own future based on our unique Aqeedah [faith], principled ideas and sublime values.
Finally, to be proud of Islam and our values and protect our children no matter what labels those who hate the truth may hurl.
Our families, neighbors, lands, and World today are badly in need of the mercy, harmony, justice, and truth of Islam—and accordingly, it is time that we as a community and Ummah [Islamic nation] work and run our activism exclusively under the banner of Islam and that we resume our mantle as the best Nation raised forward for Mankind!
“كُنتُمۡ خَيۡرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخۡرِجَتۡ لِلنَّاسِ تَأۡمُرُونَ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَتَنۡهَوۡنَ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنڪَرِ وَتُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِۗ وَلَوۡ ءَامَنَ أَهۡلُ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ لَكَانَ خَيۡرً۬ا لَّهُمۚ مِّنۡهُمُ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ وَأَڪۡثَرُهُمُ ٱلۡفَـٰسِقُونَ” (آل عمران ١١٠)
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah”. [TMQ 3:110]
Hizb ut-Tahrir America
Rabiʻ I 21, 1444 AH
October 17th, 2022 CE