Imran Waheed

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Imran Waheed (born in Birmingham, England in 1977) is the spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamist organization.^[1]

Waheed graduated from the University of Birmingham's School of Medicine. He has worked as a psychiatrist.^[2]

Waheed once said, referring to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, "By doing this, he is setting an example to the tyrant rulers of the Muslim world, encouraging them to further suppress their populations."^[3]

1 Terrorism in the United Kingdom
2 Iraq
3 Elections
4 Palestine
5 References

[edit] Terrorism in the United Kingdom

Main article: Terrorism in the United Kingdom

After the 7 July 2005 London bombings the British government announced that it would ban Hizb ut-Tahrir under recently passed counter-terrorism legislation. 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."^[4] He also said he would condemn the attack "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."^[5]

[edit] Iraq

Waheed participated in a demonstration organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir at London Central Mosque on 9 November 2004 against the "genocide" of Muslims in Fallujah. Waheed said, "At this time, Muslims in Britain must be the voice of the Muslims of Fallujah against this brutal genocide and the silence of the spineless rulers of the Muslim world. The re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah will end subservience to foreign colonialist powers. It is dishonest to label resistance to occupation as terrorism and insurgency. Muslims in Britain call upon the people of the West to question the militancy of western foreign policy across the globe and the continued interference of their governments in the Muslim world. Had Fallujah been any European city the world would have immediately cried genocide and moved to halt the massacre. Instead, we find Western thinkers and politicians, who are ardent practitioners of human rights and international law, silent at the brutal slaughter of civilians."^[6]

In an interview conducted on 7 August 2005, Mahan Abedin of Asia Times asked Waheed, "If you accept the premise that these people are harming Islam, then what is the best way of countering them? Please discuss in relation to non-foreign policy matters." Waheed said, "...I think you are using the term "jihadis" very loosely. If you are referring to people in Iraq who are fighting for their land and their dignity, then that is their right and we endorse that. They are engaging in defensive jihad. But we condemn without qualification the actions of the London bombers. Britain is not a battlefield and these actions are to be categorically condemned." He said U.S. efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East "were destined to fail, because democracy is on the retreat in the Muslim world."^[7]

[edit] Elections

Waheed has said that participating in elections in the United Kingdom is forbidden in Islam. He told journalists for Al Jazeera, "Part of the campaign is urging Muslims not to vote, as the existing political process and politics have brought false promises that harm our community. From an Islamic legislative perspective - as Muslims we can't participate in the British political system."^[8]

[edit] Palestine

Waheed has said he supports the 'destruction of Israel', as it 'does not have a right to exist'.^[9] He has criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, calling him "yet another Western puppet in the Middle East who has sold Palestine. Muslims reject outright Israel's occupation. The PLO was established as an alternative colonialist expression, working to rewrite history and turn occupation into a false secular two-state solution. History is testament to the fact that only the Islamic Khilafah, not secularism, allowed Muslims, Jews and Christians to live side by side in peace and tranquillity."^[10]