Press Release
True Independence Is the Fundamental Condition for an Independent State
(Translated)

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev sent an official congratulatory message to Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow on the 35th anniversary of the country's independence.

In his message, the Azerbaijani president emphasized that Turkmenistan has achieved significant successes in all spheres of life, is developing dynamically, and is strengthening its position on the international stage. He also highlighted the high level of strategic partnership and traditionally friendly relations between the two brotherly nations. (orient.tm, 26/9/2026)

There is no doubt that political, military, and economic independence is the fundamental condition for a truly independent state. The term "independence," meaning liberation from colonial rule, was originally used by the kuffar to separate Muslim lands from the weakened Uthmani Khilafah (Ottoman Caliphate). Britain and France raised the slogans of independence to detach Arab and African countries from the Ottoman Caliphate and colonized them. Then World War I began, followed by the fall of the Khilafah. The colonial powers were not satisfied with the territories they had occupied, so World War II broke out. As a result, America, aspiring to global leadership, put forward the initiative for independence, and the Atlantic Charter was the first step in the process.

Indeed, in this context, the independence declared by Turkmenistan in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union is false and merely on paper.

O Muslims:

- Can a country that adopts artificial borders drawn by colonial powers (Russia and the West) and implements secular national systems instead of Islamic law be considered independent?

- Can an agent or collaborating regime that keeps its people oppressed and places its natural resources (natural gas and oil) at the service of global powers instead of the interests of the Muslim Ummah be considered independent?

- Can a country that uses "permanent neutrality" as a cover to evade the awareness of the Muslim Ummah and conceal colonial exploitation be considered independent?

- Can a country be considered independent if, in the post-independence period, it allows Russia to attempt to maintain its influence over Turkmenistan through the Commonwealth of Independent States and bilateral energy agreements?

- Can a state that adopts Russia's rhetoric on "Islamic terrorism and extremism" as a guiding principle in the region, aiming to subjugate the Muslim populations of Central Asia and legitimize its hegemony, and which punishes sincere preachers and Muslims with the harshest penalties, truly be considered an independent state?

- Can a state that deals with Turkmenistan in a purely capitalist and self-serving manner, and cooperates closely with Western powers whose sole interest is transporting Turkmenistan's vast natural gas reserves to their markets, bypassing Russia through projects that cross the Caspian Sea, truly be considered an independent state?

- Can a dictatorial regime that serves Western interests, using human rights and democracy rhetoric merely as a tool of pressure for its own economic and geopolitical gains, truly be considered an independent state?

- Can a state caught between Russian political and military pressure and Western economic and capitalist demands truly be considered an independent state?

O Muslims: Let us not be deceived by lies such as the false independence. Let us strive to restore the justice of the Khilafah (Caliphate), which is the only way to rid ourselves of the darkness of democracy and the tyranny of the colonizers. For our lands were ruled by Islam for a long time, and our forefathers were strongly adhering to their Islam. Furthermore, you must unite under one Khaleefah (Caliph) to stop the plundering of our wealth by the kafir (disbelieving) colonizers, for it is not permissible for you to live under oppression and humiliation. Allah (swt) says:

[وَلَن يَجْعَلَ اللهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلاً] “And Allah will never grant the disbelievers a way over the believers” [TMQ An-Nisa: 141].

The Central Media Office
of Hizb ut Tahrir