This is an Interview of an Lebanese "Shia HT Leader" by the name of Mohammed Jaber. Since the exposure of this Interview HT have chosen to remove this from this site but it has been copied and it appears on many Islamic sites.
Read and weep!!! There are so many things wrong here don't know where to begin!
Mahan Abedin - Is it true that you are a Shi'a Muslim?
Mohammed Jaber - First and foremost HT doesn't attach significance to sectarian identities and differentiation within Islam. Our objective is to promote a common Islamic identity on the global stage. But in answer to your question I was born into a Shi'a Muslim family in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon. I was attracted to HT for many reasons, one of them being HT's non-sectarian attitudes. According to HT beliefs, religious differences in Islam - for instance the number of times Muslims pray daily and minor differences in how they pray - are of no significance whatsoever. What is important is to adopt, maintain and strengthen a common Islamic identity with a view to political mobilization on a global scale.
Furthermore, we adopt a vision and plan to eventually eliminate these schisms and sectarian divisions among the Muslims; in our view a person is either a Muslim or a Kafir (non-believer); if he's a Muslim he's supposed to work with his fellow Muslims to serve the Deen (Faith), otherwise we call upon the non-Muslims to enter in the faith and join the global community of Muslims
Mahan Abedin - But according to some scholars, adopting HT's ideology is tantamount to relinquishing core Shi'a beliefs!
Mohammed Jaber - I don't agree with this statement. And you will find that many leading Shi'a clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah of Lebanon, would not agree with this statement.
Mahan Abedin - HT claims to be non-sectarian, but do you sincerely believe that all HT chapters around the world follow this policy?
Mohammed Jaber - There is an HT ideological-political training book called the "Fundamentals of Islam" - issued in 1953 - which clearly states that adherents of the Jaafari school of Islam (i.e. Twelver Shi'as) are fully-fledged believers who have the right to play an active role in the Islamic state, including acceding to the highest political-religious office, namely that of the Khalifah (i.e. Caliph). I can sincerely and categorically claim that there is no sectarianism in HT at all. Anyone who adopts sectarian beliefs or attitudes has stepped out of the HT ideological framework
Mahan Abedin - The ultimate objective of HT is the creation of a Caliphate but throughout Islamic history Shi'a Muslims - on account of their minority status - have had at best a lukewarm attitude toward this institution. Do you think it is possible to surpass the weight of history and ameliorate deeply-rooted fears?
Mohammed Jaber - This is an important question. You are correct to state that generally speaking Shi'a Muslims are not convinced about the virtues of the Khilafah. The best way to overcome this misunderstanding is through education and the involvement of Shi'a Muslims at every level of the wide-scale effort to bring about the Islamic state. Let's not forget that Imam Ali (AS) was also a Khalifah.
Mahan Abedin - If you look at the development of modern Islamic political thought and wider intellectual trends in the past 200 years one of the most striking features is the absence of the Khilafah concept from Shi'a political thought. This idea is exclusive to Sunni Muslims. How can you bridge such a vast intellectual and political chasm?
Mohammed Jaber - It is not correct to say that Shi'a scholars reject the Khilafah. For instance, both Grand Ayatollahs Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah and Mohammed Baqer Al-Sadr [1] expressed support for the creation of the Khilafah. Furthermore we believe that all Muslims must refer to the prophet Mohammad (SAW) in providing the true Islamic concept of the Islamic state; we aim to build a consensus on this central issue. Our success across the Ummah proves that this is both possible and necessary.
Mahan Abedin - In my discussions with HT leaders and members across the world I have noted that they provide different, and at times conflicting, evaluations of Hezbollah. What is the official HT attitude toward Hezbollah?
Mohammed Jaber - HT regards Hezbollah as a sincere religious Islamic political group and resistance organisation. It is a religious duty to support Hezbollah's resistance against the Zionist regime and its drive to liberate occupied Palestine. But HT is critical of Hezbollah's close ties to Syria and Iran, since we believe that these countries are somehow complicit in American policies in the region.
We are particularly critical of Hezbollah's relations with Syria since we suspect that the Syrians' tough rhetoric on Israel is a smokescreen for their secret desire to reach accommodation with the Zionist entity. We constantly talk to Hezbollah about these issues and we do our best to advise them.
Moreover, we strongly criticised Hezbollah's deep involvement in Lebanese domestic politics, which has seriously undermined the original Islamic platform of the resistance organization. Sadly they failed to advance a pan-Islamic political programme and instead became a mere participant in the political order imposed by the colonial Sykes-Picot Agreement . Here, indeed, lies our basic central difference with Hezbollah [2].
Mahan Abedin - I have heard that you met the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Paris back in late 1978, a few months before the victory of the Islamic revolution. What was your assessment of the late Ayatollah Khomeini and what is your assessment of the Islamic revolution in Iran?
Mohammed Jaber - When I met Imam Khomeini back in 1978, the HT delegation delivered a letter to the Imam and we asked His Eminence if his movement had a project to create a global Islamic state and we also asked him if they had prepared a constitution. We impressed upon the Imam the importance of devising a proper constitution for the Islamic state. We told him in no uncertain terms that HT was prepared to assist the Iranians in building the Islamic state, even if this state was dominated by Twelver Shi'as. But we had one condition, namely that this state must belong to all the Muslims. It shouldn't be an Iranian national state.
Mahan Abedin - What was the exact date of this meeting, how many people were in the HT delegation and who were they?
Mohammed Jaber - We met the Imam on three occasions. The first meeting happened in October 1978; the second in December 1978; and the third in early February 1979, just before the Imam's return to Iran. The delegation consisted of three people; myself, the head of HT in Europe at the time and his assistant.
Mahan Abedin - What was Ayatollah Khomeini's response to your overtures?
Mohammed Jaber - Imam Khomeini listened much more than he talked. And when he talked he did so in general terms. The Imam was reluctant to get bogged down in details.
Mahan Abedin - Based on the experience of the first decade of the Islamic revolution (1979-1989), in your view was Imam Khomeini a true champion of the politics of pan-Islam?
Mohammed Jaber - Doubtless Imam Khomeini was a great and sincere Islamic leader. He had a global impact in the political and juridical fields. The Imam also changed the course and some underlying concepts of international relations, particularly in our region. However, the state that he led can not be described as Islamic in the strictest definition of this term. It may have been a state for specific type of Muslims, but it wasn't a state for Muslims as a global community.
Mahan Abedin - In the light of recent political events in Iran, what is your assessment of the survivability (or otherwise) of the Islamic Republic of Iran?
Mohammed Jaber - I am going to give you my personal opinion, but this opinion is shared by most HT leaders and members across the world. The Iranian regime is strong precisely because its legitimacy is based on Islam. It is an imperfect Islamic state, but nonetheless it aspires to reach the stage where it can qualify as a truly Islamic state. In any case, that is how the Islamic Republic projects itself to the outside world.
Yet we maintain that the leaders of the revolution have failed to advance a truly pan-Islamic vision encompassing the entire Muslim Ummah; instead they drifted toward a nationalistic Iranian agenda, even if it meant collusion with American plans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Lebanon. Nevertheless, the West wants regime change in Iran - and failing that to at least alter the nature of the regime - but I don't think the Iranian people want a Western-friendly government.
Jazakallah..I personally think there are many strings being pulled with this group and they are doing everything possible to give Muslims a very bad name.. i don't know what sort of khalifa they are looking for? and they wouldn't to tell even if they saw one. *********************
Sahih Aqeedah (correct beliefs) are a necessity of faith (Imaan) and are a definite criterion between Imaan and Kufr. It was for this very reason that the Ulama had initiated the compilation of Aqaaid 1200 years ago.
Nowadays, many propounders of Baatil (falsehood) are putting forth their corrupt theories for no reason other than to facilitate fulfilment of their base desires. By the Fadhl (grace) of Allah, this was long ago anticipated by the Ulama who worked to keep the Aqaaid of Deen pure and unadulaterated. This latest falsehood bein promulgated by the Hizb al-Tahreer is in fact nothing new or unecountered by the Ulama of Deen. Some of the Baatil being promulgated by them is, in fact the same as originated by the Mu'tazila 12 centuries ago and more recently by the Jamaat Islaami of Pakistan. The Ulama have successfully repelled both these and numerous other attempts to adulterate the pristine purity of Islam and will, Insha Allah, continue to do so.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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