Anti-Jihadist

As a (now former) writer at Malaysia Today (M-T), I have been accused in no uncertain terms of committing sedition with my articles and ideas. I make no apologies for my positions that call for reform—even radical reforms—to save the country. Yet, nowhere in my work have I taken the position of advocating the downfall of Malaysia as an independent state.

So, it stands to reason, were any group to emerge that called for the destruction of Malaysia as sovereign nation, that such a group would be inherently (and unmistakably) seditious, and would therefore be prosecuted by the Malaysian authorities to the fullest extent of the law. Certainly, the current ‘authorities’ have not been shy in rattling the sword of the Sedition Act against our own RPK (M-T's editor) , whom is the most loyal citizen of the state that I know.

Yet, there is a group of Malaysians, active at this very moment, which seeks nothing less than the end of Malaysia as a self-governing country. They are a large and growing movement inside of Malaysia’s borders, operating overtly and their aims open to all. And yet, the thugs, petty fascists, and bumbling bureaucrats of UMNO, ever vigilant to protect only their own selfishly-defined turf or interests, have done nothing.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Khilafah (Caliphate) Movement, a.k.a. Hizbut Tahrir (HT), a fundamentalist group actively scheming to overthrow Malaysia’s government and wipe out its Federal Constitution and civil laws. These Khilafah conspirators hide in plain sight as they peddle their poison. They grow ever more antagonistic, aggressive, and audacious as the authorities supposedly entrusted to protecting the state grow ever more craven, corrupt, and cowardly.

‘Khilafah’ is a movement that is hardly lacking in ambition. They seek nothing less than a supersized Islamic state (a.k.a. the Caliphate), an empire that unites all Muslim countries under one clerical government (read dictatorship) first regionally, then globally, under the totalitarian aegis of Sharia law. Never mind the fact that the last “Islamic Empire” existed a thousand years ago or more, and flew apart as quickly as it was cobbled together. But reality has never stood in the way of the visions of the wild-eyed.

This past weekend, on 12 August 2007 in Shah Alam, was the latest demonstration of Hizbut Tahrir’s growing Malaysian might. Their activities surely grow in size and sophistication with each passing month, no doubt emboldened by the total lack of any challenge to their treasonous activities by the guardians of the state. Apparently, Pak Lah (the Malaysian Prime Minister) is too busy sleeping!

This movement is not happening in isolation, nor is it confined only to Malaysia. The 12 August event in Selangor was timed to occur in conjunction with Khilafah rallies in Jakarta, ‘Palestine’, the UK, and elsewhere. This contagion is worldwide. I have not yet been able to establish a reliable number of attendees in the occasion at Shah Alam, but reliable press reports place the number present at the Khilafah rally in Jakarta this past weekend at 90,000 strong, enough to fill an entire football stadium—in other words, not an amount to be cavalierly ignored.

For the moment, these plotters claim that they seek their goals via ‘non violent’ means. But does this make their stated objectives any less abhorrent or seditious? And does anyone doubt for a moment that these self-proclaimed revolutionaries would ‘reconsider’ their heretofore ‘non-violent’ tactics if they were to perceive this to be to their advantage?

HT does have a proven track record of spawning a number of violent Islamist organisations that do advocate violence. One such HT spin-off group is called 'al-Muhajiroun' and was founded by the former HT head in the UK, the infamous and vile “Islamic scholar” Omar Bakri. This group is notorious for, among other things, having published a poster which praised the 9/11 terrorists as the “magnificent 19.”

A group of Malaysians plotting sedition against their own state is bad enough. But if they are aided and abetted by foreign persons unknown, which I strongly suspect they are, then this goes beyond sedition. This is foreign-sponsored subversion, and a dangerous threat that we underestimate at our own peril.

Hat tip to longtime M-T commenter Farouk for his input and assistance for this article.