Press Release

O Scholars of Al-Azhar: If You Do Not Speak the Truth Today... When Will You?!

At a time when the chapters of Jewish massacres in Gaza are escalating, and food, medicine, and water are being withheld from children, women, and men, Al-Azhar issued a statement condemning the "crime of starvation" practiced by the criminal Jewish entity. The statement was later deleted! Is it permissible for a cry in the face of the oppressor to be deleted?! And will the voice of the scholars be silent in the face of massacres?! The statement was laden with humanitarian expressions, urging (those with living consciences, the international community, and influential forces) and calling for the opening of crossings and the provision of relief. It described the Jewish entity as committing the crime of starvation, accused it of genocide and preventing aid, and called for the movement of humanitarian organizations, the United Nations, and international bodies to open the crossings, while praying for the people of Gaza that God would grant them victory and take their rights.

But what was missing from the statement - which is the essence of the matter - is that the legal duty that must be issued from a platform the size of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif is to call on the armies to move, to remove the regimes that guard the Jewish entity with iron and fire, and to speak the truth in the face of the ruler who closes the crossing, prevents food, and colludes with the Jews.

The statement has turned from a legal duty into a bland humanitarian text, appealing to the international system, that is, asking for help from the war criminals themselves, while Muslims possess armies, equipment, faith, and the Sharia that obliges them to support the oppressed.

Al-Azhar should have declared the truth, not hidden it, for the God-fearing scholars do not suffice with describing the tragedies, but rather speak the truth, call the crime by its name, expose the conspirators, and explicitly call for changing the evil.

We in the Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the Wilayah of Egypt affirm that:

• ·     The Egyptian regime is a full partner in the crime of starving the people of Gaza, by preventing solidarity convoys from crossing Egypt, closing the Rafah crossing, and arresting those who extended a helping hand to them, thus restricting them in every way.
• ·     Silence about this regime, or ignoring it, is collusion, and statements that do not reveal it or expose it and its masters, are statements of betrayal disguised in the guise of preaching.

In this regard, we demand that the scholars of Al-Azhar, led by its Sheikh, if he is sincere in his concern for the blood of Gaza, take a stand of truth in the face of this cowardly siege, and launch from Al-Azhar Mosque a clear and explicit cry that the regime that prevents the victory of Gaza is sinful, its removal is obligatory, rebelling against it is a duty, and supporting the people of Gaza with weapons is obligatory on the armies of Muslims, and whoever is silent about this is concealing the truth and is a partner in the crime.

In conclusion, we renew our call for the establishment of the Second Rightly-Guided Caliphate according to the method of Prophethood, for it alone will implement Islam, move armies, uproot the Jewish entity from its roots, and liberate Al-Aqsa and all of Palestine. We call on the soldiers of Kinana to work with us for this great duty, may God accept them and forgive them for what has passed, so that they may be supporters of this religion. O God, hasten it and make Egypt its center, and make the soldiers of Egypt its supporters.

﴿And what is [the matter] with you that you do not fight in the cause of Allah and [for] the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper"?﴾

The Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir

In the Wilayah of Egypt