Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir: 2003-till)

The Current Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir

On Safar 11, 1424 (Hijri) or April 13, 2003, the head of Deewan al Mazaalim of Hizb ut Tahrir announced the appointment of a renowned jurist, scholar and engineer ‘Ata Abu Rashta Abu Yaseen as the Ameer of Hizb ut Tahrir at whose hands, we hope, that Allah (swt) would bring victory for the muslims for under his leadership, Da’awa has certainly touched its peak and the work has been well organized administratively. He has capitalized greatly on the capabilities of Shabab.

Some aspects of the life of ‘Ata Abu Rashta

‘Ata bin Khalil bin Ahmad bin Abdul Qadir Alkhateeb was born in 1362 (Hijri) or 1943 in a village Ra’ana of the city of Al Khalil of Palestine. He belonged to a very religious family. In his childhood, he saw with his own eyes the pain of Palestinian people and occupation of Palestine by Jews with the help of Britain and treacherous Arab leaders. This occupation forced his family to move to a refugee camp near Al Khalil.

He acquired his basic and middle level education in the same camp. Then he obtained his matriculation degree from the school named Al Hussain Bin Ali in Al Khalil in 1959. Then he cleared the examination of Al Saniya al ‘Ama (as per Egyptian syllabus) in 1960 from the institute Al Ibrahimi of Al Quds Shareef. After that he got admission at the Engineering College of Cairo University in the academic year 1960/61 and graduated in the year 1966. He served as an engineer in many Arab countries after completing his education. He has authored a book about Civil Engineering by the name of ‘Al Wast Fi Hisab Al Kimiyat O Maraqabatal Mabani wat Taraq’.

He joined Hizb ut Tahrir whilst he was a middle school student during mid 50s. He suffered persecution and imprisonment in the dungeons of the oppressor as a punishment for raising the words of truth. He performed all the organizational and institutional duties in the administrative structure. He served as a Daris, Mushrif, Naqeeb of Mahliyya, Member of Wilayah, Mo’atamad, Member of the Office of the Representative of Ameer. On Safar 11, 1424 or April 13, 2003 he took charge as the Ameer of the party. He is ever praying to Allah (swt) that He may help him in discharging his duties graciously.

Following are the Islamic books written by him:

1. Tafseer of Surah e Baqarah ‘Al Teeseer Fi Asool at Tafseer’
2. Drasat Fi Asool ul Fiqha – Teeser at Wusool Ilal Asool
3. And following are the booklets authored by him:
4. Economic Crisis, Its Reality and Its Solution from the Islamic Perspective
5. The New Crusades in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf
6. Industrial Policy and Industrialization of the State

During his time, the following books have been published by the Hizb ut Tahrir

1. The Essential Elements of Islamic Nafsiyya
2. Political Issues – Occupied Islamic Lands
3. Addition to the book ‘Islamic Concepts’
4. The basis of the Education Policy of Khilafah State
5. Institutions of the Khilafah State

He is ever praying to Allah Almighty that He grant him the courage to discharge his duties in a manner that Allah (swt) and His Prophet (saw) would be pleased with; he is ever praying that Allah (swt) bestow upon the Ummah the state of Khilafah through his hands; our Lord is All Hearing and will answer our prayers.

The steps taken by him during his time include the warm call made to Muslims on Rajab 28, 1426 or September 2, 2005 with relevance to the painful incident of abolition of Khilafah 84 years ago. This appeal was initiated in Indonesia, then it was made on the shores of Pacific ocean in the East as well as on the shores of Atlantic ocean in the West at the Friday prayers. This call affected the Ummah greatly. Additionally, he has been actively raising his voice for the Truth continuously at various conferences, seminars and conventions of Hizb ut Tahrir.

The early years of his leadership are full of khair and we pray to Allah (swt) that He may increase His barakah in his leadership. There are clear signs of imminent Nussrah under his leadership with the Will of Allah (swt). We are looking up to him hopefully and we pray that Allah (swt) decrees His victory during his time, amen.

The piety of this exalted Ameer is exemplary. He is passionate about his mission and always worried about fulfilling his obligations in gracious manner. He has proved his capabilities while he held many offices in the administration of Hizb ut Tahrir and fulfilled his obligations in the best possible manner. Some of the noteworthy services rendered by him include the ones that he did when held the offices of Representative, Mo’atamad and Assistant to the previous Ameer. This is the reason why he is fully aware of the responsibilities that he carries as the Ameer and perceives them rightly. He monitors all the activities actively, therefore, the Shabab feel his presence in everything that they do; no matter how small or huge the task is. This is the way how he is utilizing the full potential of  Shabab.

This is the summary of the journey Hizb ut Tahrir that departed from the Al Aqsa mosque in the mid 50s; the caravan had just one basic goal in their mind i.e. the re-establishment of Khailafah Rashida. The leader of this caravan was the great scholar Sheikh Taqi ud Din Nabahani who continued to lead this caravan till his death. He remained the leader of the party for 25 years. The renowned scholar Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum took charge of the leadership of the party in 1977 after the death of the founding Ameer. During his time, the Da’awa  of Hizb ut Tahrir flourished a great deal. The number of the members of the party increased. The party reached many countries of the world. Thus, Hizb ut Tahrir succeeded in making thousands of people a part of the party. This great scholar left us at the age of 80 after serving as the Ameer of the party for 25 years. After him, another esteemed and qualified scholar, an established expert of jurisprudence, ‘Ata Abu Rashta became the global leader of the caravan of Hizb ut Tahrir. He is working hard to harvest the benefits that were sowed during the time of his predecessors.