15 senior members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have been arrested in Jordan in the aftermath of a campaign against Jordan’s ongoing changes to the school curriculum, which the Hizb has been at the forefront of exposing through a nation-wide campaign.
After 2 years of editing, some of the changes to the curriculum include the removal of almost every mention of an Ayah or Hadith in school books, replacing them with fables and stories. There has also been a removal of nearly all Muslim names and the names of the companions specifically, replacing them with more “generic” names. This has resulted in Muslims around the country burning the new books in protest.
Hizb ut-Tahrir in Jordan has led a campaign against this increasing “secularisation”, including the national school curriculum which is being altered under the auspices of a $90m US government grant, given under the USAID program.
The arrests of Hizb ut-Tahrir members come after secularist Nahed Hattar, who published a cartoon in local papers mocking Allah (swt), was shot in the head while walking out of court by a member of the public. A local paper soon falsely accused the shooter of being associated with Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the government went on a campaign to arrest members of the party.
Some of the arrested members include Sheikh Abu Iyyas Mahmood ‘Uwayadha, an Islamic scholar, jurist and thinker above the age of 70 who is known for writing many books of fiqh and various shar’i topics, and Sheikh Abu Imad Sa’eed Ridhwan, another Islamic scholar above the age of 70 who is well known for the videos he makes about the Muslim ummah’s issues on Hizb ut Tahrir’s “HTmediaTV” YouTube channel.
The Jordanian government is working with the most rabid secularists in the country – with US funding – to facilitate this agenda, promoting acts such as insulting Islam under the notion of “freedom of expression,” and attempting to remove all traces of Islam from the education system.
It is not surprising that the US government is explicitly supporting such efforts through funding programs, as Allah (swt) informed us:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنْفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَسَيُنْفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ
“Those who disbelieve spend their wealth to obstruct the Path of Allah; they will continue to spend it, but in the end it will become a deep regret for them, and then they will be defeated; and the disbelievers will then be gathered into the Hellfire.” [Surah Al Anfal:36]
What is most shameful is this government assisting these efforts so actively, although nothing less can be expected of this continuously corrupt regime.
Please make du’a for the brothers and their hasty release, including the mashayekh who have been arrested, and for the protection of the Muslim children who the national curriculum targets. May Allah strengthen their foothold.
