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Answer to Question
The Deep State
(Translated)
Question:
The term "deep state" has become widely used among politicians and in the media. However, upon examining these statements, it becomes clear that they are different. Could you clarify the most likely meaning of this issue so that we can understand the political realities related to this term, and provide some examples for further clarification? I apologize if my request for these examples distracts you from the more important and valuable work you are doing. Thank you.
Answer:
Yes, there is a difference in what is published about the term "deep state." Some interpret it to mean the influential classes outside of government, working secretly against the existing regime, as was the case in Turkey. Others interpret it as the controlling force within the regime; it rules the country whenever it wishes. If a problem arises, it pins it on someone else.
It leaves the ruling and brings in another party to blame for the problem, then returns to power again, as is happening in Britain. Others interpret it as a struggle between influential parties, as is currently happening under Trump in America. Others use it as a scapegoat for their governance shortcomings and failures, thus linking this to what they call the "deep state." Others manipulate this term whenever they want to distract people with something, mentioning it in its own words or using other terms. Others interpret colonial states as the deep state in their colonies. To clarify the correct meaning of this issue, we will review the following points:
First: Some definitions of the deep state:
1- Webster's Dictionary, one of the oldest dictionaries in the world, describes the deep state as: “an alleged secret network of especially nonelected government officials and sometimes private entities operating extralegally to influence and enact government policy”. This means that, beyond the laws and constitutions, there is a deeper power that controls the nation. This power has its own agenda and can undermine the decisions of the elected government.
2- Wikipedia states: “In Turkey, the deep state (Turkish: derin devlet) is a group of influential anti-democratic coalitions inside the Turkish political structure, composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services (domestic and foreign), the Turkish military, security agencies, the judiciary, and mafia...The political agenda of the deep state network purportedly involves an allegiance to nationalism, corporatism, and state interests. Violence and other means of pressure have historically been employed in a largely covert manner to manipulate political and economic elites, ensuring that specific interests are met within the seemingly democratic framework of the political landscape.”
3- By examining what these people mean by the term “deep state,” we find that it means the existence of a hidden force within or outside the state apparatus that controls the political system, i.e., imposes its policies, opinions, and orientations on legally elected politicians... This hidden force is an organized network of individuals that penetrates sensitive centers such as the military, security, and political forces, and operates independently of the elected government... Sometimes different terms are used to refer to this network... such as “deep state,” “parallel state,” “shadow state,” or “state within a state”.
4- There is another, different definition offered by a defeated politician in government or elections, using it as a pretext for his defeat in government or elections. In other words, it is a misleading concept, used to exonerate rulers when corruption, injustice, or treason are widespread in the country. It is a deception by the ruler, who places the blame on individuals in the shadows, whom he calls the "deep state," then misleads the people about the fact that he is responsible and must be replaced.
5- There is also the claim that colonial powers are the deep state in their colonies, controlling the systems of their colonies, keeping some rulers and removing others.
Second: The Most Likely Definition:
1- By carefully examining these definitions and reflecting on their contents, the most likely definition is that the deep state in a country means an influential force, whether political, economic, or influential aristocratic families from within or outside the country. This force is not officially part of the government apparatus, but rather influences the state covertly or secretly. It exerts effective and influential pressure on the official government apparatus to implement its desires or change them.
2- As for the ruler's misleading of the people to deflect the accusation of corruption from him and pin it on another entity he calls the "deep state," i.e., a scapegoat for his poor governance and corruption, calling this deception the "deep state" is incorrect, as it is a deception perpetrated by the ruler, not by other entities against him.
3- As for considering the colonial states as the deep state, this is also incorrect because the colonial states are the ones that control their colonies and are foreign to them, and they are not other forces from the people of the country that work in secret, hidden from the elected ruling forces, which are also from the people of the country.
Third: Examples of the deep state in some countries, for further clarification:
1- Turkey [Turkiye]
a- The origin of the term "deep state" originated in Turkey. At the end of the Ottoman State, officers belonging to the Committee of Union and Progress, who were influenced by Western ideas, staged a coup in 1909, overthrowing Caliph Abdul Hamid II and appointing his brother, Muhammad Reshad, as Caliph with authorities less than their own.
* This marked the beginning of the emergence of a class stronger than the Caliph, influencing his survival or downfall in a visible, rather than hidden, manner. However, they did not overthrow the Caliphate and Islamic rule. They were not, in reality, a state within a state, in the sense of a hidden, deep state. They were visible within the state, but they controlled the government.
b- After the First World War, Mustafa Kemal, who was loyal to the British, was able to seize power and then was able to destroy the Caliphate (Khilafah), abolish Shariah, and the implementation of its laws. He declared the Republic and built it on secular foundations. He carried out coups against Islamic rule, and even against manifestations of Islam, such as what is known as the “letter coup”, which was changing the letters of the Turkish language from Arabic to Latin. Or the “religious dress coup”, replacing it with Western dress, and so on. Thus, he established the army and security forces according to specific standards to protect the republic and secularism, and to prevent the return of Islam to power and the re-establishment of the Caliphate. The army became a force controlling the government, intervening whenever it saw a deviation from Kemalism, in addition to maintaining subordination to Britain. The tyranny of the Kemalist rule and British support prevented the emergence of a deep state against this rule.
c- When Erdogan came to power in Turkey with the momentum of the ballot box results, and with American political, financial and economic support, he was aware of the power of the army generals, the guardians of secularism, subservient to the British, and that they represented the backbone of the state and could, if they wished, stage a coup against him. Therefore, he promoted the values of democracy and freedom and besieged them with the power of popular legitimacy to prevent them from staging a coup against him. America was making the Turks salivate through its financial and economic veins. Erdogan was afraid of these soldiers and was unable to dismiss them due to their large numbers and their ability to control the backbone of the army over the years. However, he quickly created a new reality in Turkish life, the prominent title of which was “democracy” and economic success, and this constituted an obstacle to a coup.
* During this period, the description of the existence of a "deep state" in Turkey operating in secret from within the state apparatus, especially the army, resisting, opposing, and trying to thwart the directions of the elected Prime Minister Erdogan was an accurate description. These people were a network whose features were not apparent to those with a superficial view who believed that things were proceeding perfectly and that everyone was committed to the constitution and the law. This Turkish network, in addition to its nesting within the army, judiciary, and ministries, was connected to secular parties that were outside the state and represented the opposition, and was connected to the center in London. Its members met secretly, consulted, and discussed matters of Erdogan's regime until they decided to carry out a coup in 2016, but it was unsuccessful. Erdogan then used this as justification; therefore, he uprooted them from the army, along with their followers from the judiciary and ministries, until the purge reached university professors. Thus, Erdogan succeeded in uprooting the deep state affiliated with the British within the Turkish army and was close to ending its existence. However, they still had followers, albeit weaker than before, who are trying to revive the description of the "deep state" facing the regime.
2- The United States
a- Government in America is divided into two actual levels. The first level appears to represent popular legitimacy, working to implement the will of the people who elected this president and these representatives. Thus, the state's appearance is "democratic." However, this legitimate level can only steer the country's policies in accordance with the wishes of the second level, which is an internal, invisible, and unelected level. This means it is illegitimate according to the "democratic" system. This is what they call the "deep state." The individuals at this level, i.e., the representatives of the deep state, hold sensitive positions within the state apparatus. The apparatus they control cannot act in accordance with the directives of the first level except through them, because their positions are sensitive. These individuals in America are either major capitalists or their representatives. Major capitalists in America are keen to ensure that senior officials in the state apparatus protect their interests, they maintain constant contact with these officials in order to advance their interests. For example, financial companies are keen to have followers among the employees of the tax departments, while arms companies are keen to have followers in the Pentagon and the military contracting departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pharmaceutical companies are keen to have followers in the Ministry of Health and government insurance departments. Thus, over a long period of time, large corporations have succeeded in effectively controlling the state in America through these employees in sensitive positions and through pressuring lobbies.
b- This is the reality of the political system in America. Accordingly, the major capitalists and large corporations are the origin and living root of the deep state in America. It is the hidden, latent force behind the state's political orientations, and it is the force that motivates employees in sensitive positions to oppose the state's orientations if they conflict with the interests of those corporations. In this description, it lies outside and within the state apparatus and is active in the financial, business, and industrial sectors, but its activity is evident within the state apparatus in America.
c- When Donald Trump came to power in 2016, he faced discontent among senior government officials and various agencies, especially security agencies. He sensed their rejection and opposition to his policies, which then developed into intense resistance from within the US state, almost a mutiny. There were many leaks of embarrassing information from security and intelligence agencies... Then, many lawsuits were filed against him, the most famous of which was Russian support for him in the elections. Investigations and impeachment attempts erupted in Congress, until the US Department of Justice became one of his most vocal enemies. The attack on him was not only from within the state, as pharmaceutical companies that had discovered a coronavirus vaccine refrained from announcing these discoveries until after Biden's victory in the elections was announced at the end of 2020, i.e., to prevent Trump from benefiting electorally from these discoveries. Then, as a result of his suffering from this hidden, organized force working against him, the president cast doubt on the results of the elections and did not recognize them, considering them fraudulent and that the victory had been stolen from him. He added the state election commission to his list of enemies. "Either the deep state destroys America, or we destroy the deep state," Trump said to a crowd of supporters in Texas after his ouster from the presidency in 2023. Examining this American reality during the first Trump administration and this description of a hidden force within America preventing the president-elect from changing course, we find that this description describes the true reality of the American system of government.
d- On 21/3/2023, Trump announced a 10-point plan in a video clip, saying: “I will shatter the Deep State, and restore government that is controlled by the People. (Congress; British Daily Mail, 21/3/2023)).
This is the reality of the American political system. Accordingly, the major capitalists and large corporations are the origin and living root of the deep state in America. It is the latent, hidden force behind the state's political orientations, and it motivates employees in sensitive positions to oppose the state's directions if they conflict with the interests of those corporations. In this description, it lies both outside and within the state apparatus and is active in the financial, business, and industrial sectors, but its activity is evident within the state apparatus in America.
3- Britain
As for Britain, it has a deep state. Its ruling system is represented by the Conservatives, Britain's aristocratic families and wealthy elites. They are the true rulers of Britain. However, their declared policies sometimes lead the country to crises, meaning they sometimes harm the country's interests. Therefore, the Conservative Party goes into hiatus, and the Labour Party governs the country. The Labour Party's mission is to resolve crises and prevent harm to the country's interests. Then it steps down. What we have witnessed recently—the resounding defeat of the Conservative Party and the sweeping victory of the Labour Party—is the work of the Conservatives. After Brexit, Britain is experiencing a severe economic crisis. Indeed, its exit from the European Union was the result of its miscalculations in the British referendum on Europe. Since the Conservatives were the ones who created and caused this crisis, the Labour Party is required today to solve it.
The deep state in Britain is the old and wealthy families. They have been always the rulers of Britain. If they step aside and bring in the Labour Party, it is to solve a crisis caused by the Conservatives. The “deep state” in Britain controls the government with ease and smoothness, meaning that Britain’s old and wealthy families are the source of the government and its guardians, whether they exercise it or have “hired” another party to exercise it. In order for that control to continue with that smoothness and ease, the “source of effective government” in Britain and its “living root” spreads values that reject change and elevate the status of antiquity and pride in the past. This is what is observed in Britain from the intense popular interest in the royal family, its news and stories, the birthdays of its princes and its way of life...!
In Conclusion:
* The deep state is an influential force within the existing government. It is a network of citizens of the country, both domestically and abroad, working secretly or covertly against the ruling class in that country to change or weaken it.
* However, if this network is not from the people of the country but rather a foreign power, such as a colonial state operating against it, or a hostile state, then such forces are not considered a deep state. Rather, their discussion falls under the category of colonialism, war, and aggression.
* Similarly, if this network is prepared by the ruling class to attribute to it the work against the state and its plans, in order to deflect blame from the ruler and shift the blame to a fictitious network of its own creation, with the aim of deceiving the people about the ruler's corruption and incompetence, then such a network is not considered a deep state.
* The bottom line is that it is a network of the people of the country inside or outside the country working against the existing regime in that country to change or weaken it. In this sense, it only exists in countries that are governed by man-made laws, where it is possible for networks to exist inside or outside that differ in the type of rule they want, and conflict occurs between them regarding the type of man-made rule required.
* If the rule is based on legislation from the Lord of the Worlds, then Muslims, whether at home or abroad, cannot have a deep state working to replace the rule of Islam with different rules. This is unless the Muslims working at home or abroad are driven by an external colonial or aggressive force. In both cases, it is not a deep state, as we mentioned before.
Therefore, the observed changes or coups in some Muslim countries, as has happened or is happening in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, etc., cannot be described as a deep state, because colonialism is the one driving events in the agent countries that serve it.
**If there is a movement in Muslim countries that is ruled by man-made law, and this movement is working to replace the man-made rule in Muslim countries with the rule of Islam, the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly-Guided Caliphate), then this movement is not called a deep state. Rather, it is a movement of Nusra (support) for Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw).
We ask Allah (swt) for help and success in re-establishing the Khilafah Rashida (Rightly-Guided Caliphate), so that Islam and Muslims may be victorious and disbelief and disbelievers may be humiliated:
[وَعَدَ اللهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ]
“Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will certainly make them successors in the land, as He did with those before them” [An-Nur: 55].
6 Dhul Qi’dah 1446 AH
4/5/2025 CE