In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
The president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, had recently issued oppressive laws aimed at combating Islam and limiting religious expression in the country. After banning prayers and religious practices for under 18s, and having the police forcibly shave men’s beards in the streets, he issued a new egregious law that prohibits newborns from being named Muhammad, claiming that it is a foreign name that is not in line with the national values of Tajikistan. He also banned women from wearing hijab, claiming that it is a foreign dress that is not part of the country’s heritage and culture. To add insult to injury, celebrating Islamic holidays, such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, were also made illegal.
His Eminence, Sheikh al-Habib, condemns these decisions in the strongest terms, and considers them as ‘an act of war’ against Islam and its practices. His Eminence stressed that this unjust war is doomed to fail just as its predecessors have. Ataturk (the Turkish ruler), and Pahlavi (the Iranian king) have made similar decisions in the past, and yet the Turkish and Iranian people remained committed to their Islamic identity despite all the campaigns of death, torture, brutality, and abuse that they faced. Hijab came back stronger than before, and people continued to name their newborns the holiest of all names: Muhammed. Strangely, Rahmon does not seem to have learned this lesson from his predecessors. He is a delusional man who thinks it is possible to deprive the people of Tajikistan, who have a long and proud Islamic history and a deep-rooted love for the Prophet and his Household (peace be upon them all), from their Islamic identity.
His Eminence adds that while it is possible for tyrants to have free reign for a while – by employing force and terror to enforce their will – to tighten the noose around the Muslims and force them to conceal their religious identity and practices, it will ultimately not last as these tyrants are fated to end up in hell, and their plans are doomed to fail and perish. Islam’s fate, however, is renewal and re-emergence, because God had decreed that no one will be able to extinguish the light of Muhammad (God’s prayers upon him and his Household), to prevent his mention, or to eradicate his faith. It has been reported in the narrations that after the conquest of Makkah, and witnessing how the prominent figures of the Arabian tribes submitted to Muhammad (God’s prayers upon him and his Household), and surrounded his pulpit while he stood atop them and delivered his sermon, Abu Sufyan (God’s damnations upon him) began to feel humiliated and unwanted. Hatred rose in his chest and he said to himself: ‘Muhmmad! You have been so successful in submitting these skulls that now you are able to ascend these planks of yours and say what you want. If God permits, I will fill Yathrib with horses and men, and [use them] to wipe out your tracks [i.e all mention and memory of you].’ The Prophet (God’s prayers upon him and his Household) interrupted his sermon and said: ‘Abu Sufyan! Not in my lifetime. As for after that, another who is more wretched than you will come, and what you and your household wish for will come to be, but [know that] you will never extinguish my light or prevent my mention, and [what you attained] will not last, and God will take it from you and place you forever in hell.’
His Eminence mocked this tyrant’s claim that his decisions were aimed at fighting extremism. He pointed out that it is decisions like these that birth extremism and strengthen it. Extremist ideologies will use the widespread feelings of oppression and religious suffocation as a pretext for their crimes, and as a means to garner sympathy for their cause. These decisions only serve to provide extremist groups with the excuses they need to commit their crimes and drag the young generations into an endless cycle of terror, violence, and hate. If this foolish ruler had any wisdom, he would have pulled the rug from under the terrorists’ feet by preserving the religious freedoms of the Tajik Muslim people so that they may live in peace.
His Eminence calls for exposing Tajikistan’s ruler in all forums, and to work diligently to support the oppressed Tajik people by spreading religious awareness in their country in accordance with the principle of ‘al-Thaqalain’ [i.e The Quran, and the Household of the Prophet, peace be upon them.] His Eminence also recommends praying to God (The Most High, the Most Capable] to hasten the demise of all the tyrants who oppress the people of this nation with the emergence of its Imam and Sole Leader, the Greatest Authority of God, al-Hujja bin al-Hassan al-Mahdi (God’s prayers and peace be upon them, and may He hasten his noble relief).
Sheikh al-Habib
