Anyone who observes the trajectory of modern nations, with an expert eye for the causes of rise and fall, will fully grasp the critical stage America is currently experiencing. For decades, it has been on a downward spiral, despite its unparalleled position at the top. Its continued dominance does not stem from any ongoing ascent in the ladder of hegemony, and cultural and material leadership, but instead, from the absence of a sufficiently strong competitor to displace it from the top.

The reasons for its decline are rooted in the accumulation of crises and its abject failure to address them, coupled with increasingly erratic and haphazard approaches to reform. Since a vacuum is unacceptable, what exacerbates the challenge facing this powerful nation is that its adversaries around the world are actively seeking ways to bring it down and dismantle its hegemony.

As for the crises, many observers have discussed them, and the most prominent can be highlighted as follows:

A Crisis of Ideological and Civilizational Values:

America presented itself as the champion of democracy and human rights worldwide, fighting dictatorships, tyranny, and reactionism. It also presented itself as the leader of the free capitalist economy, offering everyone the opportunity to invest, compete, and prosper. However, this lie quickly crumbled in the face of the reality of the greedy, colonialist capitalist ideology, which prioritizes the material gain of the wealthy, over all purported values ​​and rights. The inevitable result was the emergence of the brutality of Western countries, particularly America, in their treatment of the world’s peoples through oppression, plunder, and colonialism. Awareness of this lie also spread to the Western public itself, which suffered from plunder, oppression, and tyranny, leading to a loss of faith in the capitalist system, and a period of confusion and search for an alternative.

Financial and Economic Crisis:

There is no doubt that the massive financial bubble created by American policy, through a fictitious riba (interest economy and the printing of dollars without backing from gold or real commodities, coupled with excessive spending and unlimited borrowing, has led leading economic experts to warn of an imminent burst of that bubble, and a historic collapse of the American economy that would make the Great Depression, of the last century, seem like a minor incident in comparison. America is no longer able to stop financial inflation and economic stagnation, except through failed attempts to raise or lower the interest rate on treasury bonds, or to plunder billions from other nations, and to fuel the arms industry with wars here and there. This is not, in reality, a radical solution as much as it is an escape into new problems, that exacerbate the previous crises. Therefore, it is expected that the American economy will suddenly collapse, and the American people will find themselves bankrupt or nearly bankrupt, after the illusion they were living in, based on the digital numbers piled up in bank books and stock exchange tables, collapses.

Domestic and Foreign Political Crises:

America is currently experiencing a sharp domestic division among its various power factions, with escalating political disagreements on numerous issues. These include white supremacy, which perceives America as facing an existential threat from immigrants of color from around the world; the ongoing crisis surrounding liberal freedoms, gender, homosexuality, and gender reassignment; the new crisis of sharp disagreement over support for the Jewish entity in its brutality; the growing desire among wealthy states within the United States for independence from the federal union; and the dispute over how to govern the country and the future of coming generations. All of this portends an imminent civil war, or at best, revolutions and unrest that will destabilize the domestic situation.

In terms of foreign policy, the current US administration has left itself without allies worldwide, having deliberately adopted an unprecedentedly arrogant, and condescending approach, towards all nations. It has even gone so far as to threaten to invade friendly countries, occupy and annex their territories by force, and openly declare its desire to control oil, gas, and energy resources globally, using them to pressure those who do not comply with its unreasonable and unpredictable demands. As a result, the US has become a despised nation, with all countries now seeking alternatives for cooperation, and alliances, after losing faith in this arrogant and volatile entity.

A Crisis of Failure to Contain Rivals and Competitors:

America has utterly failed to halt China’s industrial, scientific, economic, military, and political progress. China has indeed become a leader in several fields. If China were to decide to dethrone the US as the world’s leading power, it is capable of doing so today and its ability is growing daily. Furthermore, America has failed to break Russia, despite the Ukrainian trap that may soon backfire on it and Europe. It has also begun to lose the loyalty of some regimes in Muslim countries, that once served its interests and implemented its will there.

One of the most important things America failed to do was eliminate the Islamic project, and what is known as “political Islam,” despite the relentless attacks against it on all levels, especially with the growing awareness among the people of the hostility of the US and the West, and of the necessity of Islamic unity and a return to the ruling governance of Shariah and to the comprehensive Islamic state, the Khilafah, and with the growing strength of those working for this project, and the spread of the idea of Khilafah among those working in the arena of the Islamic Dawah, which heralds a sudden rise of the most dangerous enemy to America and to Western civilization as a whole.

The Middle East War Crisis:

Last but not least, America has become embroiled in a conflict with Iran and its regional proxies. America’s prestige and image as a deterrent force have been dragged through the mud. It failed to topple the regime from within, and lost the sympathy of its opponents, who, in addition to their opposition to the regime, harbored animosity towards America and the Jewish entity, which they accused of killing, destroying, and demolishing the country, while openly declaring their intention to return Iran to the Stone Age. America also failed to force the fighters to surrender, a goal Trump had deluded himself into believing he could achieve in the early days. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) refused to halt the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, except under humiliating conditions for America. Continuing the war now means further depletion of American anti-missile capabilities, further destruction of American bases in the region, further damage to the Jewish entity’s infrastructure, and further attrition of the Jewish army in southern Lebanon. Should Trump decide to launch a ground operation, he risks heavy casualties. His only remaining option is to resort to unconventional weapons to impose a scenario resembling Japan’s surrender after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an action that could backfire completely, as it opens the door to a global nuclear war. Furthermore, the surrender of the Revolutionary Guard afterward is not guaranteed. Instead, the entire region might erupt in flames against the US and its pampered protégé, the Jewish entity.

In short, everything America is doing today is hastening its downfall, so that the soon-to-be-established Khilafah (Caliphate), by the Permission of Allah (swt), will deliver the final, fatal blow.

* Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir