Hizb ut-Tahrir

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Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic: حزب التحرير; English: Party of Liberation) is an international non-sectarian Sunni Islamist political party whose goal is to establish a caliphate to unify the Muslim world under a "unitary ruling system." ^[1]. Sheikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, an appeals court judge^[2] and Sufi from Jerusalem, founded the organization in 1953.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is dedicated to what it sees as the political unity of Muslims through the re-establishment of the caliphate, destroyed in 1924 by "disbelieving colonialists," the removal of what it sees as neo-colonialist western control of the Islamic world, and a return to government based on Islamic law. In accordance with that the party has called for "an end to US interventions, energy inspired wars, puppet (Muslim) governments and western values forced by the barrel of a gun ^[3] It states that "Israel is founded upon a land that was taken by force, after its people were driven out^[4]" and believes that the only solution is a caliphate that "will provide stability and security to all the people of the region, Muslims and Non-Muslims"^[5]. Hizb ut-Tahrir "has spread its message" to more than 40 countries, and is estimated to have about one million members.^[6] Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned, but still active in, several Arab and Central Asian countries, is very active in the west, particularily in the United Kingdom. It has attracted controversy in the past, with allegedly anti-semetic comments related to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, while the group maintains that they are anti-zionist not anti-semetic.

Contents 1 Aims 2 Methods 3 Timeline 4 Policies 5 Allegations of anti-semitism 6 Position on terrorism 7 Hizb ut-Tahrir by region 7.1 In the West 7.2 Russia and The Central Asian Republics 7.3 South and South East Asia 7.4 Africa and the Arab world 8 Prominent members 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading

[edit] Aims

The stated aim of Hizb ut-Tahrir is to unite all Muslim nations in a single Islamic state or caliphate, which will have a "unitary ruling system" headed by an elected caliph. According to the BBC, the group "professes non-violence and calls for the return in Muslim majority countries to the caliphate which oversaw the so-called golden age of Islam before European imperialism colonized the Middle East."^[7] HT says that the Western world's concept of freedom does not exist in Islam;^[8] and that Islamic law will be applied making it theocratic, which HT says is superior to capitalism and communism^[8] although HT rejects the concept of a clergy in Islam. They claim the caliphate would "wrest the reins of initiative away from other states and nations" and become the dominant hegemony in the world, before Islam, ultimately, wins over the world.^[9]

Party doctrine is clear on the vital importance of the Islamic state. It is not voluntary but a religious duty, "an obligation that Allah has decreed for the Muslims and commanded them to fulfill. He warned of the punishment awaiting those who neglect this duty." ^[10]

[edit] Methods

Hizb ut-Tahrir has set out a three-stage plan of action to achieve its goals:

1. Establish a community of HuT members who work together in the same way as the companions of Muhammad. Members should accept the goals and methods of the organization as their own and be ready to work to fulfill these goals.^[11]
2. Build public opinion among the Muslim masses for the caliphate and the other Islamic concepts that will lead to a revival of Islamic thought.^[11]
3. Once public opinion is achieved in a target Muslim country through debate and persuasion, the group hopes to obtain support from army generals, leaders, and other influential figures or bodies to facilitate the change of the government. The government would be replaced by one that implements Islam "generally and comprehensively", carrying Islamic thought to people throughout the world.^[11]

Dosym Satpayev, director of the Assessment Risks Group, a Kazakh think tank based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, said HuT

"plans its development in three stages... First they convert new members. Secondly, they establish a network of secret cells, and finally, they try to infiltrate the government to work to legalize their party and its aims."^[12]

Kyrgyz Hizb ut-Tahrir members campaigned unsuccessfully for an affiliated candidate in Kyrgyzstan's national presidential election in July 2005,^[12], but have participated in municipal elections where their followers have won in a number of regions ^[13]

[edit] Timeline

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This is a partial annotated timeline of HuT actions relating to their adopted method to fulfil the party's original raison d'etre ^[14] by assuming authority and implementing Islamic law.

Year	Snapshot of Status
1953	Party inception & Starting Point in Jerusalem.
1956	Party yet to decide how it would assume authority [15]
1960	Interaction Stage begins in Jordan, and society is unresponsive. Party revises its method. [16]
1961	Party adopts the method of seeking support from the influential faction(s) to assume power. [17]
1964	Party announces that society in Jordan had responded positively to its call, forcing it to attempt to take power in Jordan.[18]
1968/69	Party allegedly involved in two (failed) coup attempts in Jordan and Syria. [19]
1974	Party allegedly involved in (failed) coup attempt in Egypt. [20]
1977	Party founder and leader Taqiuddin al-Nabhani dies in Lebanon, succeeded by Abd al-Qadim Zallum, a Palestinian cleric.[21]
1978	Party acknowledges that the Muslims had reached a state of total surrender and despair and was not responding to anything. Party acknowledges that this had caused the level of activity to decline almost to standstill, mainly due to misconceptions. [22]
1998	Party indicates that the Caliphate is now the wish of all the Muslims.[23]
2003	Party leader Abd al-Qadim Zallum dies in Lebanon, succeeded (earlier that year) by Ata Khalil Abu-Rashta, a Palestinian civil engineer.[24] [25]

[edit] Policies

"Rights" or "Freedoms"

Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects the notion of absolute freedom in religion or capitalism. Article 7 of its Draft Constitution declares that Muslims who "have by themselves renounced Islam ... are guilty of apostasy (murtadd) from Islam [and] are to be executed."

Professor David Commins of Department of History at Dickinson College, wrote that according to Hizb ut-Tahrir's opinion:

"The primary difference between capitalism and socialism is that the former gives primacy to the individual and his freedom whereas socialism gives precedence to the social collective, which is expressed in the state...(But in Islam) Individuals do not have absolute freedom as in capitalism: Apostasy, adultery, alcohol, and certain economic practices are forbidden. But within well-recognized bounds, the Muslim enjoys much freedom. The means for maintaining the social order is the (Caliphate) state, but the state is not the source of the order. It is an instrument, not an end. The sovereign is the sharia. The state serves the nation by seeing to the observance of the sharia. Moreover, because Islam is rooted in a transcendent authority, its order is fixed and unchanging, guaranteeing forever human dignity, security, life, and property"[19]"

At a more philosophical level the party founder Nabhani;

"endorses free will in the sense that individuals choose to act or not to act in the knowledge of that choice's moral value. Humans do not enjoy unlimited freedom of action; human action is restricted by natural limits or impelled by instincts. Thus, individuals are morally responsible only for those acts that arise from free choice [20]

Democracy

Hizb ut-tahrir criticize pure or direct democracy as defined by President Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address. Hizb ut-tahrir argue democracy is "the rule of people, for the people, by the people. The basis of the democratic system is that people possess the right of sovereignty, choice and implementation. ... it is a Kufr system because it is laid down by man and it is not from the Shari'ah Laws." They argue against democracy as a form of a Mobocracy or Ochlocracy similar to Aristotle's or Platos' criticisms of democracy [21]. However being a Sunni organization, they favor a system of elections in a Caliphate and electing the head of state, they argue that the Caliph

"is the head of state in the Khilafah. He is not a king or dictator but an elected leader whose authority to rule must be given willingly by the Muslims through a special ruling contact called baya. Without this baya he cannot be the head of state. This is completely opposite to a king or dictator who imposes his authority through coercion and force. The tyrant kings and dictators in the Muslim world are ample examples of this, imprisoning and torturing the Muslims and stealing their wealth and resources."[22]

Women

"The primary role of a woman is that of a mother and wife. She is an honour ('ird) that must be protected." ^[26] Unlike some Muslim traditionalists, Hizb ut-Tahrir, advocates women's suffrage or right to vote, the right of women to choose a partner freely, right to seek employment, have custody of children after divorce, and run in elections. However women would be barred from the ruling positions of caliph, Chief Justice (lit judge of the 'Court of Unjust Acts'), provincial governor or mayor. Article 109 of the party's draft constitution outlines segregation of the sexes in public institutions and during sporting events. Muslim women would be required to dress in accordance with khimar and jilbab^[27], but not necessarily with the niqab favoured by more fundamentalist movements (images of women's section:^[28]) although they defend the right of women to choose the wearing of a niqab.^[29]

They argue,

"Women in the Khilafah are not regarded as inferior or second class citizens. Islam gave women the right to wealth, property rights, rights over marriage and divorce as well as a place in society. Islam established a public dress code for women – the Khimar and Jilbab in order to establish a productive society free from the type of negative and harmful relationships prevalent in the west."[23]

Non-Muslims

In HuT's draft constitution for an Islamic state, non-Muslims may voice "complaints in respect to unjust acts performed by the rulers or the misapplication of Islam upon them," but may not serve in any of the ruling offices, such as the position of caliph, nor vote for these officials. "Every mature male and female Muslim, who is sane, has the right to participate in the election of the Khaleefah [head of state] and in giving him the pledge (ba'iah). Non-Muslims have no right in this regard."

Hizb ut-Tahrir has argued that Muslims have a special responsibility to respect the rights of non-Muslims.

"The rights of Jews and other non-Muslims are enshrined within statuary Islamic Law (Sharia). These were laid down by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when he established the first Islamic State in Medina in the 7th century. He (SAW) said, "Whoever harms a dhimmi (non-Muslim citizen) has harmed me." Under subsequent caliphs, these rights were protected. During the reign of the second caliph - Umar bin al-Khattab, some Muslims stole a piece of land belonging to a Jew and then constructed a mosque upon it. This clearly violated the rights of the Jew, so Umar ordered the demolition of the mosque and the restoration of the land to the Jew. "Non-Muslims in the khilafah (caliphate) will have established channels to air any grievances or denial of their rights. All citizens will be empowered with the right to speak out where necessary. Non-Muslims will enjoy an elevated status with respect and tolerance shown to their beliefs and places of worships. The Khilafah will look after the needs and protect the rights of all its citizens-Muslim, Jews and Christians."^[30]

The above statement indicates a distinction between statutory Islamic law, and non-statutory Islamic law regarding the rights of non-Muslims.

Law

The draft constitution argues that "there is no such thing as a clergy in Islam", that "every Muslim has the right to perform ijtihad" (personal exertion to derive hold opinions in Islamic law), and that "every thing or object is permitted, unless there is an evidence of prohibition" in the Qur'an. It is incumbent on Muslims to implement the hudud law, divinely ordained capital punishment for certain crimes. HuT's constitution states that "every individual is innocent until proven guilty", "no person shall be punished without a court sentence" and that "torture is absolutely forbidden and whoever inflicts torture on anyone shall be punished." Article 7 of the constitution institutes capital punishment for ridda (see ridda article for various definitions). It maintains that under the caliphate, "Arabic is the language of Islam and the sole language of the state." The only sources of legislation to be considered divine & statutory, and therefore to be accepted without debate, according to Article 12, are those based upon fair interpretations of the Qur'an, the Sunnah, the consensus of the Sahaba, and legitimate analogies (Qiyas).

Article 186 of the draft constitution states: "The State is forbidden to belong to any organisation that is based on something other than Islam or which applies non-Islamic rules". They also view the UN, the World Bank, and the IMF and the Arab League as contradicting Islamic law and being oppressive to the developing world. Article 185 of the draft constitution states: "It is permitted to conclude good neighbouring, economic, commercial, financial, cultural and armistice treaties."

Economy

The draft constitution also details an economic system which allows private enterprise, but reserves public ownership of utilities, public transport, energy resources such as oil, health care, and unused farm land, similar to Socialism. It calls for use of the Gold Standard, gold and silver coinage and gives quite specific instructions for the gold and silver weight of the coins arguing

... it is the duty of the Khilafah State to make its currency in gold and silver and to work on the basis of gold and silver as it was during the time of the Messenger of Allah and his Khulafa'a after him...to fix the weight of dinars equal to the Shari'ah dinar or 4.25 grams (of Gold) for one dinar...the dirham has the weight of 2.975 grams (of Silver). The basis of gold and silver as currency is the only way to solve currency related economic problems and the high inflation rates that are common in the world, and to produce currency stability for rates of exchange and progress in international trade. ... Only by taking gold and silver as the standard, can the American control and the control of the dollar as an international currency, be demolished in international trade and world economies.^[31]

Defence

Article 56 of the draft constitution of the proposed state describes conscription as a compulsory individual duty, for all citizens. Muslim males past the age of 15 would be obliged to undergo military conscription on the basis of this being a collective duty.

[edit] Allegations of anti-semitism

In an article entitled "The Muslim Ummah will never submit to the Jews", Hizb ut-Tahrir stated on its website six years ago:

...they insist on expelling more and more of the people of Palestine so that they can bring in more of the world's Jews. They are demolishing homes, confiscating land and property, imprisoning people, torturing them, breaking their bones and killing them...They violate agreements and are disloyal to the treaties they have signed. They violate the airspace and waters of Lebanon every day and with their arms they bomb its cities and villages. They have occupied the lands of Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, and they increase daily in their provocation and defiance to all the Arabs and Muslims.... In origin, no one likes the Jews except the Jews. Even they themselves rarely like each other. He (in the Quran) said: "You would think they were united, but their hearts are divided" [TMQ 59:14] The American people do not like the Jews nor do the Europeans, because the Jews by their very nature do not like anyone else. Rather they look at other people as wild animals which have to be tamed to serve them. So, how can we imagine it being possible for any Arab or Muslim to like the Jews whose character is such? ... Know that the Jews and their usurping state in Palestine will, by the Help and Mercy of Allah, be destroyed "until the stones and trees will say: O Muslim, O Slave of Allah. Here is a Jew behind me so come and kill him." ^[32]

In October 2002 a court in Denmark handed down a 60-day suspended sentence to Fadi Abdelatif, Hizb ut-Tahrir's spokesman in Denmark, after he was found guilty of distributing racist propaganda. The title of a leaflet he distributed was a quote from the Quran: "And Kill Them Wherever You Find Them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out." ^[33] The leaflet continued: "The Jews are a people of slander ... a treacherous people ... they fabricate lies and twist words from their right context."

In January 2003, Hizb ut-Tahrir was banned in Germany from public activity on charges of spreading antisemitic propaganda and of being "hate preachers." Membership of the party is still permitted. German Interior Minister Otto Schily ruled that the group was "spreading hate and violence," and had called for the killing of Jews. ^[34] The charges originate from a conference at the Technical University of Berlin, organized by a student society allegedly affiliated with Hizb ut-Tahrir. The furore was caused because the conference was attended by members of the neo-nazi National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) sparking fears about an alliance between neo-Nazi groups and Islamists. Schily banned Hizb ut-Tahrir three months later for going "against the concept of international understanding" contained in the German constitution, a charge that has been used in the past against neo-Nazi groups. The High Court in Germany threw out a case to ban the NPD because a large percentage of the NPD's inner circle were undercover agents or informants of the German secret services, so the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further justify a ban. (see NDP 2003 banning attempt)

In July 2005 Dilpazier Aslam, a 27-year-old British Muslim and trainee journalist with The Guardian lost his position with the newspaper when it discovered he was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Citing the anti-Semitic statement discovered on the party's website, Guardian executives decided that membership of Hizb ut-Tahrir was not compatible with membership of the newspaper's trainee scheme. Aslam refused to leave the group, saying he was not an antisemite and did not consider Hizb ut-Tahrir's website to be antisemitic. ^[35]

After allegations that party members had spread antisemitic propaganda, in 2004 the British National Union of Students imposed a No Platform order. ^[36] The party then resumed recruiting at British universities under the name "Stop Islamophobia." ^[37]

However, at a recent NUS Policy conference, motion 804, the conference believed that;

• 24. A motion passed at 2004’s NUS annual conference falsely accused the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) of being racist and extremist. During the debate at conference, HT was wrongly accused of organising an event to celebrate the attacks in New York.
• 26. Contrary to allegations of sexism and racism, HT has members from both sexes and different races and who came from Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Atheist backgrounds.

...Conference resolved:

• 25. To remove Hizb ut-Tahrir from NUS’s no platform policy.^[38]

Response

In response, Hizb ut-Tahrir stated:

We reject decisively the charge of anti-Semitism because Islam is a message directed to all humankind. However, at the same time we decisively reject Zionism represented in the form of Israel, and Hizb ut-Tahrir, like the majority of other Muslim organizations, is opposed to the continued occupation of Palestine by the Israeli State. The state of Israel is founded upon a land that it took by force, after it drove out its people, both Muslim and Christian. This is injustice, which we will never accept from an Islamic perspective, regardless of the race of the perpetrators. In Palestine, Islam is in conflict with Israelis — not in their capacity as Jews who historically had lived alongside Muslims in peace and security for centuries — but in their capacity as occupiers and aggressors.

On August 15, 2005 British executive committee member Abdul-Wahid explained why the material had disappeared from the party's websites:

[S]ome who do challenge our political views often resort to partial understandings of individual texts that are detached from context — either of the Muslim world or of global history in general. For example, the war rhetoric prevalent in Europe fifty years ago was full of derogatory epithets and proud declarations, but these are no longer seen as appropriate.

Winston Churchill's "fight them on the beaches"(speech) is relevant to Normandy in 1944, not Barbados in 2005; the language of "freedom" used in campaigns for independence today differs between Scotland and Aceh. It would be ridiculous to assume that rhetoric relevant to a population that sees itself under occupation is symptomatic of the viewpoint of Muslims generally, and Hizb-ut-Tahrir specifically, on all issues relating (say) to Jews and Americans. Yet that is all too often what we see in these so-called challenges to our political ideas. In fact, the decision to remove some of our overseas literature from our British website was a considered response to the legitimate proposition that people who read it out of its context might see it as offensive. ^[39]

[edit] Position on terrorism

Accusations of HT's moral support for violence by critics have been limited to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. A BBC Newsnight program from 2003 quotes members of Hizb ut-Tahrir as calling suicide bombings in Israel "legitimate" acts of "martyrdom."^[40]

Shiv Malik Articles

A New Statesman article by Shiv Malik about the 2003 attempted suicide bomber in Israel; Omar Sharif, quotes an old friend who described him nine years earlier in 1994 as heavily attending all HT-organised meetings shortly after being exposed to HT in the first semester of Univeristy life in London. Shiv Malik claims "Sharif's e-mail inbox, examined by police after his death," shows an E-mail he recieved the day before his attempted attack, as being from 1924.org, a HT affiliated website which contained the words " '...destroy the hegemony of the colonialist powers." HT flatly denies that Sharif had any "affiliation whatsoever with Hizb ut-Tahrir" and that "Despite extensive investigations by the police and security services, including legal proceedings against members of the Sharif family, no link to Hizb ut-Tahrir has ever been proven." ^[41]

In other articles Shiv Malik, quotes Ziauddin Sardar claiming that that HT preaches "engagement with violence," although "it has not, strictly speaking, advocated violence." ^[42], Ariel Cohen of the right-wing think-tank the Heritage Foundation claiming HT is "enabling the creation of an environment for armed struggle" and Zeyno Baran of the Nixon Centre another Washington based think tank saying "Even if Hizb does not itself engage in terrorist acts, because of the ideology it provides, it acts like a conveyor belt for terrorists." Shiv Malik argues the idea that HT members may leave the party and move on to violent organizations "is not without foundation." He claims unnamed intelligence sources said to him, "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's man in Iraq, is a former member of the Jordanian branch of Hizb. According to the same sources, the al-Qaeda commander Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also spent time with the party" although in the same article Malik says "Although it (hizb ut-Tahrir) has never been directly implicated in an act of violence" ^[43]

Yusuf Smith on the left of centre 'The Sharpner' criticised Shiv Malik's journalism on HT by claiming;

"The British media since the July bombings have been full of reports which are at best irresponsible and alarmist and at worst mendacious and possibly malicious. This trend has occurred right across the political spectrum - I’m not just talking about the right-wing corporate media. For example, Shiv Malik has been able to rehash the “conveyor belt” cliché on at least three occasions, claiming in last Sunday’s Independent that Zeyno Baran, who coined the expression, warned him of Hizbut-Tahreer producing “thousands of manipulated brains, which then ‘graduate’ from Hizb and become members of groups like al-Qa’ida”, giving the impression of Baran saying this to him personally. In fact, the words are quoted verbatim from an article she wrote in the National Review in April 2004. "^[44]

Shiv Malik responded with threats to sue Smith^[45]. The Guardian Newspaper, after the Dilpazier Aslam affair, suggested that targeting of their Hizb ut-Tahrir employee may have been "obsessively personalised" by right-wingers after the HT member beat others to internship at the Guardian, and that Shiv Malik was "also briefly a Guardian intern" who later accused their employee of mounting "a sting by Hizb ut-Tahrir to infiltrate the mainstream media" and that "Many bloggers repeated Malik's untrue assertion" ^[46]

USA Government Position

Global Security has stated that:

"The United States Government is continuing to monitor Hizb ut-Tahrir. Despite the statements of governments of the region, the United States has found no clear ties between Hizb ut-Tahrir and terrorist activity. Hizb ut-Tahrir has not been proven to have involvement in or direct links to any recent acts of violence or terrorism. Nor has it been proven to give financial support to other groups engaged in terrorism. Because of that, it falls outside the definitions used by the United States and others to designate a terrorist group."^[47]

UK Government Position

According to a leaked unpublished government report produced for Tony Blair, revealed to The Guardian Newspaper printed on 8th August 2005, the prime minister has been advised that the party is not involved in violence or terrorism. A paper called ‘Young Muslims and Extremism’, was prepared for Mr Blair on the orders of the home and foreign secretaries. It says:

"Most of the structured organisations, e.g. Hizb ut-Tahrir, will not directly advocate violence. Indeed membership or sympathy with such an organisation does not in any way presuppose a move towards terrorism."

The document adds that young people attracted to terrorism may shy away from HT because they do not espouse violence, and would be seen as only engaged in "pointless pontification and debate". UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Bill Rammell agrued that;

“

"We have yet to see convincing evidence that Hizb ut-Tahrir as an organization advocates violence or terrorism. Nor are we aware of any co-operation between it and Al Qaeda." [48]

”

Explicit Condemnation of The September 11th Attacks

HuT issued a leaflet on September 18, 2001 after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York stating:

The rules of this Message forbids any aggression against civilian non-combatants. They forbid killing of children, the elderly and non-combatant women even in the battlefield. They forbid the hijacking of civilian aeroplanes carrying innocent civilians and forbid the destruction of homes and offices which contain innocent civilians. All of these actions are types of aggression which Islam forbids and Muslims should not undertake such actions."^[49]

Explicit Condemnation of July 7th Bombings in London

The day after the 7th July attacks in London, the party issued a nationwide leaflet which said:

"At a time when fingers will be pointed at us from the wider community we need to come together as a community with one voice. Yes, the rules of Islam do not allow the harming of innocent civilians.^[49]

Dr. Imran Waheed, spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, said after the July 2005 London bombings that he would "condemn what happened in London only after there is the promise from Western leaders to condemn what they have done in Falluja and other parts of Iraq and in Afghanistan."^[50]

Religious duty to report terrorists

Dr. Abdul-Wahid, British spokesman for the party said members should report acts of violence or terror to the police as a religious duty:

"If any Muslim citizen possesses information indicating an imminent act of violence, then he has an Islamic duty to prevent this from taking place, even if this means reporting to the police. Masood’s article was the first time I had ever seen a view to the contrary presented in the media, and it was sad that he did not check his facts, and instead made assumptions – a frequent problem when people talk or write about Hizb ut-Tahrir."^[51]

Al-Qaida condemn Hizb ut-Tahrir

The Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain or the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, a terrorist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda, issued a press release (No.5) with a photocopy of a book written by Al Qaeda members entitled "Une nouvelle vision des débiles et des modérés" or "A New Insight Into Weak and Moderate (Muslims)" listing HuT's stance against violence as weak, and accusing it of being moderate, rather than strictly religious.^[52]

Student Support

According to a comment in The Times by Ali Hussain, The National Union of Students (NUS) in the United Kingdom said Hizb ut-Tahrir members are "supporting terrorism and publishing material that incites racial hatred."^[53]. However, at an NUS Policy conference, motion 804, the conference believed that;

• 24. A motion passed at 2004’s NUS annual conference falsely accused the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) of being racist and extremist. During the debate at conference, HT was wrongly accused of organising an event to celebrate the attacks in New York.
• 25. HT is an intellectual and political entity that seeks to changes people thoughts through intelligent discussion and debate.
• 26. Contrary to allegations of sexism and racism, HT has members from both sexes and different races and who came from Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish and Atheist backgrounds.
• 27. HT has condemned the terrorism, which occurred in New York in 2001, Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005.
• 28. This motion, lead to a noticeable rise in Islamophobia on campus.
• 29. The NEC rightly opposed the state ban of non-violent groups such as HT.
• 30. Government proposals to ban non-violent Islamist organisations such as Hibz ut-Tahrir (HT), combined with the failure to address the fascist BNP reveals the hypocrisy and Islamophobia behind the ‘anti-terror’ measures.
• 31. There is a mass support from a wide range of organisations against the possible state ban on HT, including FOSIS, The Muslim Association of Britain, The Muslim Council of Britain, Respect, Stop the War Coalitions, Yvonne Ridley and others....

...Conference resolved:

• 25. To remove Hizb ut-Tahrir from NUS’s no platform policy.^[54]

[edit] Hizb ut-Tahrir by region

The Heritage Foundation says the organization is active in 40 countries with 5,000 to 10,000 "hardcore" members and tens of thousands of followers.^[55] The Foreign Affairs Journal claims a report that argues Hizb ut-Tahrir "dominates the British Scene" with some eight and a half thousand members in the United Kingdom; "while the MAB could only boast 1000" ^[56] It is proscribed in Russia,^[57] and in some Muslim countries, but is permitted to operate in the more liberal Muslim nations.^[58] It had a ban lifted on it by the Lahore High Court in Pakistan ^{[59] [60]}, and it survived proposed bans in Australia and the UK after clearance from the intelligence services and police.^[61][35]

HuT members have not won elections in any government. It is therefore impossible to establish with certainty what its position in terms of international relations, in practice, would be. However, publications on HuT's media websites show an anti-Western sentiment that has been characteristic of most Islamist movements.

[edit] In the West

In August 2006 a Danish court sentenced Fadi Abdelatif, Hizb ut-Tahrir's spokesman in Denmark, to three months in prison for threats against the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Party officials say the leaflet distributed by Abdelatif referred to the need to remove the dictators of the Muslim world who had not supported the Muslims of Iraq, and that it made no reference to the Danish prime minister. ^[62]

Australia

Despite being relatively new in Australia compared with its decades-long existence elsewhere, Hizb ut Tahrir has become a prominent voice for Muslim concern in Australia^{[citation needed]}, holding regular public lectures which typically attract 200-300 people once every few months^{[citation needed]}, as well as distributing leaflets outside Mosques on a regular basis^{[citation needed]}.

Hizb ut Tahrir Australia first recieved public scrutiny in Australia after a 2003 lecture on the impending Iraq war, where senior member Ashraf Doureihi spoke about Western involvement in Muslim countries.^{[citation needed]}

Following the July 7 2005 attacks on the London train system^{[citation needed]}, Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia faced scrutiny of its activities in Australia. The party survived a proposed ban in Australia after clearance from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.^[63]

The party planned it's first Khilafah conference in Sydney on the 27 January 2007. The planned conference led to many inaccurate newspaper reports, particularly from the big Australian tabloid newspaper the Herald Sun, that the party was linked to the July 2005 London bombings[24], that it wanted to establish Islamic law in Australia [25], and that it was banned in Britain.[26]. Politicians in the opposition party called on the local and federal governments not to grant visas to foreign speakers attending, and to re-consider the policy of not proscribing Hizb ut-Tahrir. The demands for a ban were rejected by Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock, who said he did not have sufficient evidence to warrant banning the group.

"I think it's time that Mr Watkins puts up or shuts up in relation to Hizb ut-Tahrir. If he has evidence that he believes warrants its proscription he should make it available to the Commonwealth so it can be considered."^[64]

Hizb ut-Tahrir members orginially planned to hold the conference in Bankstown's Town Hall, but the Sydney council cancelled it.^[65] Hizb ut-Tahrir secured another location the next day on 28 January. During the conference Palestinian Sheikh Issam Amera quoted a hadith, saying,

"Whoso comes to you while your affairs have been united under one man, intending to divide your staff or dissolve your unity, kill him."^[66]

The Herald Sun quoted him as saying, "If you people are united and a third person comes along and tries to incite disunity . . . kill him...," "Muslims are not unique in doing so, as most nations kill those charged with treason...," labelling incitement to civil war in a Caliphate treason. Spokesperson of Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia Ismail Yusanto said, "If the capital [of the Islamic state] fell and was occupied by the invading forces, the rest [of the Caliphate] must be involved in an all-out war against the occupiers..." He reiterated Hizb ut-Tahrir's proposed policy on military conscription by the Caliphate to defend itself once established with a "Call for all military-aged Muslims to obtain military training and prepare for jihad."

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Yusanto was invited to Canberra to speak at a security conference by the Federal Government at a conference sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in August 2004. This was organized by the think-tank The Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, and was opened by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Yusanto was also reported to be a regular guest at the Australian embassy in Jakarta. A paper reviewing the 2004 conference says Yusanto took part in an "enlightening discussion" with participants on the issue of the creation of an Islamic state.[27]

Conference spokesman Wassim Doureihi said the work of Hizb ut-Tahrir was not to change the political landscape in Australia. He said, "It is because of Islam and my allegiance to Islam that I am responsible for ensuring to do what I can to protect the safety and security of all peoples in this country and beyond."[28]

Morris Iemma Premier of New South Wales and MP for Lakemba, is quoted as saying "This is an organisation that is basically saying that it wants to declare war on Australia, our values and our people." The distinction between trying to establish a caliphate in the Muslim world, and not in Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald; "was lost on Mr Iemma, the MP for Lakemba where the conference was held, and where he is facing a challenge by Muslim candidates in the state election." Attorney General Philip Ruddock responded that the local government of Iemma should "stop playing politics and if it had any evidence helpful to the security agencies, it should give it to them."[29]

Despite a continued presence by Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia seeking to articulate the Islamic position on many of the aforemnentioned issues, a claim was aserted that there remains a clear agenda by both the Australian government and media personel alike, to blur the line between political Islam and political violence. This constant and systematic campaign has sought to distort the clear unambiguous message which Hizb ut-Tahrir delivers, denoting the intellectual bankrupsy of the proponents of such commentaries. Not withstanding this, Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia issued a media release (11 Jan 2007 Risala.org) strongly rejecting the baseless allegations perpetuated against it.

The Sydney Morning Herald said that,

"Concerns about terrorism, violent crime and integration have prompted a bidding war between NSW Labor and the Opposition about who can sound tougher on Muslims, a theme that is expected to continue until poll day on March 24."

[30]

A leading Australian Muslim and former chairman of the Federal Government's Muslim Community Reference Group, Ameer Ali, has said the government was right to allow Hizb ut-Tahrir to practice in Australia.[31] Crikey reported in an article entitled No need to be alarmed about Hizb ut-Tahrir that the opposition ALP "clearly wants to look tougher than the government on national security. But it risks alienating much of its support base in some Muslim circles by picking on a group many Muslims regard as harmless."[32]

United Kingdom

Hizb ut-Tahrir also survived a proposed ban in the UK after clearance from the intelligence services and police.^[61]. After the 7 July 2005 London bombings Tony Blair announced the British government's intention to ban the organization under new legislation.^[67] Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Imran Waheed said, "The move is a perilous route that is harming community relations and could lead to civil unrest comparable to that which affected the black community."^[68] According to The Independent Blair "shelved the ban after warnings from police, intelligence chiefs, and civil liberties groups that it is a non-violent group, and driving it underground could backfire."^[69] According an alleged leaked government report produced for Tony Blair, quoted in The Guardian, ^[70] the prime minister was advised that HT did "not directly advocate violence. Indeed membership or sympathy with such an organization does not in any way presuppose a move towards terrorism." The document added that young people attracted to terrorism may shy away from Hizb ut-Tahrir because they do not espouse violence, and would be seen as only engaged in "pointless pontification and debate." However, the Guardian went on to report that the "document does say membership of groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir 'may indicate ... the possibility of a few of its members being open to gradual consideration of far more extremist doctrine'." In November 2005, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) opposed the government's proposal to ban the party, arguing that it knew of no intelligence to justify proscribing HT.[33]

Mohammed M. Ramadan, a journalist and announcer at the BBC's Arabic section in London, was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir and opposed to the regime of Colonel Qadhafi of Libya. He was assassinated on 11 April 1980 by Libyan operatives outside London’s Regents Park Mosque.[34]

Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain emphasized the importance of Muslims choosing loyalty to their religion above loyalty to any nation. In a promotional video shown on BBC News a party representative asked

I think Muslims in this country need to take a long, hard look at themselves and decide what is their identity. Are they British or are they Muslim? I am a Muslim. Where I live, is irrelevant. ^[71]

They have also rejected nationalism of any kind, including Arab nationalism be they citizens of a majority Muslim or non-Muslim nation ^[72] adhering to Islamic anti-nationalism being pan-Islamic and internationalist in nature.

In 2006 it joined the British Stop the War Coalition and participated in its national demonstration.[35]

Dr. Abdul-Wahid, executive committee member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, has conceded their past failings, writing on "Open Democracy" in August 2005: "I welcome much of the sincere personal advice we have been offered by Muslims and non-Muslims since Hizb ut-Tahrir hit the media spotlight in the past few weeks. I have learned how our message to the Muslim community – one whose context, I truly believe, the community appreciates – is perceived by those outside. I also appreciate that errors made by immature young men almost a decade ago have been a factor in making our ideas difficult to reason with or accept."[36]

In November 2006, the BBC reported that a street gang in South London, which claimed to be Hizb ut-Tahrir, encouraged an undercover reporter to rob another gang to "prove his loyalty". The short documentary ended with the reporter claiming that the gang maybe a lone out-of-control group simply influenced by Hizb ut-Tahrir's notoriety. Dr Abdul Wahid when questioned on the program condemned the behaviour, asked the BBC to hand over all material to the police, said he would be extremely surprised if any of the gang were members of his organisation, and that if they were, he would have them removed.^[73].

Fuad Nahdi editor of the British newspaper Q-news said

"The issue of political agency and political action is important. Muslim youth have to find some channel for their political rage and anger. But it does not have to be called rage and anger. If we are talking about the left, it is called a political opinion. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is one organisation where Muslim people have found a political voice. There needs to be a series of options for people to choose from" [37]

Germany

German police expelled a member of the party from Germany for alleged ties to one of the hijackers involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, German police said the raids and searches in offices and homes revealed little.^[34]The German government then banned it from public activity after a charge of distributing antisemitic propaganda, a ban that is being challenged[38] (see above section on Controversy over anti-semitism).

[edit] Russia and The Central Asian Republics

Hizb ut-Tahrir is proscribed in Russia. ^[74] Most of its members in the former Soviet Union are ethnic Uzbeks.^[75]Amnesty has accused the Government of Uzbekistan of giving Hizb ut-Tahrir members unfair trials, saying members are convicted on little evidence and given heavy sentences. ^[76] Craig Murray, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, has made many claims about the Uzbek President Islom Karimov, and his alleged dictatorial practices, specifically against Hizb ut-Tahrir. He alleged that members were tortured into signing renunciations of their faith, to stop praying the 5 daily prayers of Islam (Salah), and that 2 members has who refused to do so;

...had been plunged into a vat of boiling water and had died both of them as a result. I didn’t know that at the time, I just saw the photographs of this body in this appalling state; I couldn’t work out what could account for it. I sent it to the pathology department of the University of Glasgow; there were a lot of photographs. The chief pathologist of the University of Glasgow, who is now chief pathologist of the United Kingdom, wrote that the only explanation for this was “immersion in boiling water”.^[77]

[edit] South and South East Asia

In Pakistan, Hizb ut-Tahrir was proscribed by Pakistani President General Musharraf in 2004, although it had the ban on it lifted[39] after a legal challenge against it's proscription in the Lahore High Court ^{[78] [79]}. Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid writes in Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, that there are "strong links and cooperation between the rank and file" of Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan especially when they are from the same village or town. However, according to Jean-François Mayer of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; the insinuation ‘that the party will turn violent and has links with the IMU’ is inaccurate: the comments attributed to a member ‘contradicted the party’s ideas’. Representatives of Hizb ut-Tahrir report that they have repeatedly attempted to contact Ahmed Rashid in order to make their views known, but say they have not succeeded. They are even considering writing a rebuttal of his book ^[80]

[edit] Africa and the Arab world

Hizb ut-Tahrir is proscribed in many Arab countries, but is permitted to operate in the more liberal UAE, Lebanon and Yemen.^[58]

Mohammed M. Ramadan, a Libyan journalist and announcer at the BBC's Arabic section in London, was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir and opposed to the regime of Colonel Qadhafi. He was assassinated on 11 April 1980 by Libyan operatives outside London's Regent's Park Mosque. Many members were killed in extrajudicial detention in Libya during the 1980s [40] and the party remains a source of opposition to Qadhafi, "criticizing the paralysis and corruption of the state" and advocating "a progressive agenda of equitable redistribution of wealth."[41] Amnesty International reported in its 2003 Libya report that "five prisoners of conscience ... who had been imprisoned for almost three decades for their peaceful involvement with the prohibited Islamic Liberation Party, Hizb al-Tahrir" were released, but that hundreds remained in prison.[42]

According to Amnesty, four Muslim Britons and several Egyptians were tortured in Egypt for suspected affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir. ^[81] Eventually 26 were put on trial for what many in Egypt considered weak and obscure charges.[43]

In 1969 when the son of Iraq's highest Shia Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim was arrested and allegedly tortured, during widespread persecution of Shia, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Badri, a Sunni Islamic lawyer (Alim) and local Hizb ut-Tahrir leader, criticised the regime, and was killed under torture. A Sunni member of Hizb ut-Tahrir is thus seen as the first martyr for the rights of Shia in Iraq, against the old Baathist regime [44]. The party has called for Sunni, Shia, Arab and Kurdish citizens to unite in Iraq.[45] Some of the party's prominent members have been murdered there, the bodies showing signs of torture.[46] Shias from Shiachat have speculated that these killings were either the work of al-Qaida or the Iraqi government.[47] Regarding the hanging of former president of Iraq Saddam Hussain, Ismail Yusanto, spokesman of Hizb ut Tahrir in Indonesia, said: "The punishment should have been given to Saddam, because Saddam killed many Iraqi people and also members of Hizb ut Tahrir there," and that President Bush and Tony Blair "deserved no better."[48].

In Syria, party members, along with their relatives and acquaintances, have been subject to repeated extrajudicial arrest. The Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (MEIB) issue July 2000 and the Syrian Human Rights Committee quoted on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees website, in its annual report of June 2006 reported that the Syrian authorities began its clampdown on Hizb ut-Tahrir in 1998-1999 with hundreds of members being arrested in a nationwide manhunt led by Air Force Intelligence (Mukhabarat). The MEIB issue of December 2000 states that "Representatives of the group have said that 1,200 of its members were arrested by Syrian security forces in December 1999 and January 2000." In its 2005 report Amnesty International stated that in 2004 dozens of Islamist students and clerics were arrested, many with links to Hizb ut-Tahrir and tried before military courts.[49][50]

Throughout 2006 a spate of HuT campaigns and related arrests took place throughout the Arab world. There were arrests in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and visible public activities in the Palestinian territories, Zanzibar, and Lebanon, enjoying growing support among senior army staff, government officials, and the intelligentsia.[51]

The Egyptian government banned Hizb ut-Tahrir in 1974 after an alleged coup attempt.^[82]

Syrian ex-member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Omar Bakri notorious for his activity in the UK, claims that a significant number of members primarily in Jordan split from the original body of Hizb ut-Tahrir members and formed another Hizb ut-Tahrir known as 'renegades' or 'HT camp 2'. This led to a further two minor splits of no significant membership. He attempts to partly attribute this to himself while simultaneously denying self aggrandization. [52].

[edit] Prominent members

• Shaykh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (founder)
• Shaykh Ahmed Dauor (Jordanian parliamentarian 1955-1957, deceased)
• Shaykh Abdul Qadeem Zalloum (second leader, deceased)
• Shaykh Ata Abu-Rashta (current global leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir)
• Jamal Harwood (Chairman of UK Executive Committee)
• Taji Mustafa (Media Representative and UK Executive Committee member)
• Dr Imran Waheed (Media Representative and UK Executive Committee member)[53]
• Dr Nazreen Nawaz (Women's Representative)[54]
• Dr Abdul Wahid (GP & UK Executive Committee member) [55]
• Maajid Nawaz (UK Executive Committee member. Former prisoner of conscience in Egypt)[56]
• Shaykh Ali Syed Abul-Hassan (Imam of Masjid as-Sahaba, Khartoum, Sudan spokesman, deceased)
• Mohammad Nafi Abdul-Karim Salih (Jordanian member, deceased)
• Shaykh Mahmoud Abdul-Latif Uweidah - Abu Iyas (Prominent Jordanian Member)
• Shaykh Taleb Awadallah (Palestinian Member from al-Khalil, Hebron)
• Shaykh Yusuf Ba'darani (Lebanese member)
• Shaykh Abdul-Aziz Badri (Iraqi member, deceased)
• Jalaluddin Patel (a UK leader)
• Ashraf Doureihi (a prominent Australia member)
• Wassim Doureihi (Australia spokesperson)
• Soadad Doureihi (a prominent Australia member)
• Mohammed AbdulWahhab (a prominent Australia member)
• Naveed Butt (Pakistan spokesperson)
• Imran Yousufzai (Pakistan spokesperson)
• Yilmaz Celik (Turkey spokesperson)
• Ayman Qadri (Lebanon spokesperson)
• Muhammad Ismail Yusanto (Indonesia spokesperson)
• Shaykh Ibrahim Othman - Abu Khalil (Sudan spokesperson)
• Mohiuddin Ahmed (Bangladesh Chief Coordinator and Spokesperson)
• Farhad Usmanov (Uzbekistan, died in prison)
• Abu Talha (USA member)
• Dr Mustapha Yousuf (USA member)
• Mohammad Hannini (USA member)

[edit] See also

• Caliphate
• Taqiuddin al-Nabhani
• Islamism
• Pan-Islamism
• List of political parties in the Palestinian National Authority
• Islam in Indonesia
• Islam in Uzbekistan
  • May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan
• Islamic democracy

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Photo report of Hizb ut-Tahrir street protest in London, Moonbat Media, August 19, 2006
• "BBC Hard Talk interview with Maajid Nawaz", BBC News 24 Hard Talk with Sarah Montague, April 2006
• 'Hizb ut-Tahrir–The Next Al-Qaida, Really?" by Jean-François Mayer, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland
• "PM shelves Islamic group ban" by The Guardian Newspaper
• The System of Islam Book by Founder of Hizb ut Tahrir, al-Nabhani - in English
• 'TAQI AL-DIN AL-NABHANI AND THE ISLAMIC LIBERATION PARTY' by Professor David Commins, Department of History, Dickinson College, Carlisle
• "al-Jazeera interview with Ian Nisbet and Maajid Nawaz - Arabic", al-Jazeera interview in Arabic, March 2006
• "Tony Blair and Hizb-ut-Tahrir: 'Muslims under the bed' Abdul Wahid, openDemocracy.net, August 9, 2005
• "The Prime Minister's statement on anti-terror measures" The Guardian, August 5, 2005
• Hizb ut-Tahrir's draft constitution
• "Cartoons ignite cultural combat in Denmark", International Herald Tribune, December 31, 2005
• "Fighting the War of Ideas", Foreign Affairs, November/December 2005
• "Hizb ut Tahrir", BBC Newsnight, August 27, 2003
• FAQ about Hizb ut-Tahrir by Khilafah.com
• Hizb ut-Tahrir official website in Urdu, German, English, Russian, Turkish and Arabic languages
• Hizb ut-Tahrir website in Arabic and English - open forum
• Hizb ut-Tahrir website in Arabic and English - open forum
• Official Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir website
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Germany
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Pakistan
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Malaysia
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Turkey
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia
• Hizb ut-Tahrir Denmark
• Inside ‘Islam’s political insurgency’ in Europe
• Q&A with Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman by MSNBC
• BBC Hardtalk's Tim Sebastian interview with Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman
• BBC Hardtalk's Sarah Montague interview with Maajid Nawaz, who was imprisoned in Egypt for belonging to the political party
• Arabic website
• (French) Article describing the autocontradictory policy of the Central asiatic authorities regarding Hizb ut-Tharir
• Interview with leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain by the Jamestown Foundation - PDF Format
• Recent interview with IRSN
• Interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Recent article in Guardian with interview of female members
• Simon Jones comment, journalist currently based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• 'The West needs to understand it is inevitable: Islam is coming back'
• Q&A: Hizb ut-Tahrir by BBC
• Article in New Statesman