We wish all our readers the warmest Eid greetings and Hajj Mubarak to those that made Hajj – may Allah accept from all of them, and the sacrifice from all of us in this blessed month.

Sadly, it is not only the slaughter of animals remembered in this month.The global war on Islam has escalated, with a war in Waziristan joining the on-going bloodshed in the rest of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. But, there are clear signs of desperation amongst leaders of the colonial power.

There is an escalating body of opinion in Washington and London that the bloody war of occupation in Afghanistan is failing. But also, an escalating body of opinion in Pakistan that the United States – and the Zardari regime that is enslaved to America – is the root cause of instability and insecurity in the region; together with an ever clearer view that the oppressive regimes across the Muslim world are the obstacle to real progress and Islamic revival in those countries.

In response to these problems facing the West, we have seen increasingly desperate actions and hysterical arguments.The American response to their new Vietnam has created confusion over whether to answer the call by General Stanley McChrystal for 40,000 more troops, with some fearing this would merely fuel the casualty figures. Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan to pressurise Pakistan to pursue US interests in South Waziristan more

aggressively.Also, she tried – in vain – to win the hearts and minds of Pakistan’s middle class and students. But whilst Zardari and his cronies bowed down to Clinton obediently, the Muslims accounted her with harsh words about the Kerry-Lugar act and the presence of private US security firms in Pakistan, so exposing American plans.

The regimes tried to court greater favour with America, by stepping up their campaign against the dawah carriers – arresting 35 people attending a peaceful seminar by Hizb ut-Tahrir in Islamabad – and banning Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh, so criminalising the call for the Khilafah there.

These ‘democratic’ leaders are proving that they are every bit as oppressive and unjust as dictators; they are proving that they cannot win an argument – and so resort to bans and arrests.

In this edition of Khilafah magazine we also address the cat and mouse game being played with Iran over its nuclear programme; and the on-going economic crisis one year down the road from the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Moreover, we see how the war on terror has fuelled the rise of xenophobia and Islamic hatred across Europe, and explore the reasons behind this.

Yet despite this on-going oppression the believer always has hope in Allah (SWT).

Don’t be faint of heart, and don’t grieve: for you are bound to rise high if you are [truly] believers. [TMQ 3:139]

Throughout history, when problems escalated for dawah carriers and for this Ummah, those with faith knew this meant the victory of Allah was ever closer.This was the case for the Prophets of Allah, and also for the believers, for example, at the time of the Battle of Ahzab.What appeared to some people was the critical point for the Islam, was actually nothing less than the death blow for kufr.

Those with foresight should see these signs now. For when we look at the Western colonialist powers – with their tremendous economic problems, crisis of confidence in their political system, worsening social problems and military overreach – one can easily see that the ‘share-price’ of capitalism is plummeting, whilst the demand in the global market for Islam is rising.

We in Hizb ut-Tahrir continue to exhaust our efforts to satisfy this demand, and call upon you all to join us in the best of trades.

O you who believe! Shall I show you a trade that will save you from a painful torment? [TMQ 61:10]