HIZB UT-TAHRIR

'Hizb ut-Tahrir' (Arabic: 'حزب التحرير'; English: ''Party of Liberation'') is an international, Sunni, pan-Islamist vanguard^[2] political party whose goal is to unite all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, ruled by Islamic law and headed by an elected head of state ''(caliph)''.^[3]
Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, a Sufi^[4] Islamic scholar and appeals court judge ''(Qadi)''^[5] from Jerusalem, founded the organization in 1953.
The party promotes "an elaborate and detailed program for instituting an Islamist state"^[2] which will "establish the laws of the Islamic Shariah and to carry the Da'wah of Islam to the world." ^[7] It believes this "comprehensive solution" will provide "sincere leadership that cares for and protects its citizens from the colonial foreign policies of Bush and Blair" and bring an end to "US interventions, energy inspired wars, puppet (Muslim) governments and western values forced by the barrel of a gun." ^[8] HT is strongly anti-Zionist and calls for "the dismantling of the illegal entity of Israel," whose leadership "has never concealed its hatred of Muslims and have been calling for the destruction of Muslims since the very beginning."^[9] HT believes a caliphate "will provide stability and security to all the people of the region, Muslims and Non-Muslims" ^[10].
Hizb ut-Tahrir has spread its message to more than 40 countries, and is estimated to have about one million members.¹ Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned, but still active in, several Arab and Central Asian countries, is very active in the west, particularly in the United Kingdom where a ban has been proposed due to its alleged support for violent extremism; a former home secretary has said the evidence was reviewed twice and considered insufficient to substantiate a ban.

Aims and methods

The stated aim of Hizb ut-Tahrir is to unite all Muslim nations in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, headed by an elected caliph.^[3] This it holds is 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." ^[12]
According to the BBC, the group "professes non-violence and calls for the return in Muslim majority countries to the caliphate which oversaw the golden age of Islam before European imperialism colonized the Middle East."Who's Listening to Whom?
Although ''hizb'' means party in Arabic, according to Zeyno Baran of the Washington based Nixon Centre think tank, HT usually doesn't register as a political party or attempt to elect candidates to political office in the countries where it is active.^[13] Nor does it usually engage in charitable or social service projects like the Muslim Brotherhood. ¹
Hizb ut-Tahrir's focus is on "ideological struggle" to establish its vision of the caliphate in the minds of Muslims.
This is not true in all countries or throughout HT history however. When it was first founded, HT ''did'' register as a public political organisation and stood for parliametary seats in Jordan in the 1950s, according to Suha Taji-Farouki. The group was banned by the regime at the time and its 'legal' status did not resume until the organisation was legalised in Lebanon in May 2006. ^[14])
Kyrgyz Hizb ut-Tahrir members campaigned unsuccessfully for an affiliated candidate in Kyrgyzstan's national presidential election in July 2005,, and have participated in municipal elections where their followers have won in a number of regions ^[15]
Hizb ut-Tahrir has set out a three-stage plan of action to achieve its goals:
#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.Untitled Hizb ut-Tahrir
#Build public opinion among the Muslim masses for the caliphate and the other Islamic concepts that will lead to a revival of Islamic thought.
#Once public opinion is achieved in a target 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.
A less sympathetic description of HuT plan by Dosym Satpayev, director of a Kazakh think tank Assessment Risks Group, is that 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."Central Asia's Islamic militancy BBC News

Hizb ut-Tahrir's organisation is said to be strongly centralized with its central leadership based in Palestine. Underneath its center are "national organisations or wilayas, usually headed by a group of 12, control networks of local committees and cells." New members "spend at least two years studying party literature, under the guidance of mentors," before taking an oath of loyalty to the party. "A parallel, separate structure exists for women, who are encouraged to become fully active members." ¹
The basic unit of the party is a cell of five members, the leader of which is called a ''mushrif.'' At least in areas where the party is illegal, such as Central Asia, only the ''mushrif'' knows the names of members of other cells. ^[16]
The BBC quoting an Indonesian member at the party's recent conference attended by 100,000 people said; "The method used in Hizb ut-Tahrir is a change in thought patterns. We call it 'thought revolution'. When someone is given Islamic teaching - given the brilliant thinking of Islam - then they'll naturally undergo a thought revolution, and will see what is good and what is bad." The BBc continues that "Unlike many other Islamist movements here, Hizb ut-Tahrir seems less interested in a broad mass following than a smaller more committed core of members, many of them drawn from Indonesia's educated middle classes." and that "Hizb ut-Tahrir says it is not an extremist organisation: it does not have a paramilitary wing, and has never been charged with violence." ^[17]

Leadership

Founder Taqiuddin al-Nabhani died in 1977 and was succeeded by Abd al-Qadim Zallum who was succeeded in turn by Ata Khalil Abu-Rashta when Zallum died in 2003.

Timeline

This is a partial annotated timeline of HuT actions relating to their adopted method to fulfil the party's original ''raison d'etre'' ^[18] by assuming authority and implementing Islamic law.

Year	Snapshot of Status
1953	Party founded by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani in Jerusalem.
1956	Party yet to decide how it would assume authority ^[19]
1960	Interaction Stage begins in Jordan, and society is unresponsive. Party revises its method. ¹⁹
1961	Party adopts the method of seeking support from the influential faction(s) to assume power. ^[20]
1964	Party announces that society in Jordan had responded positively to its call, forcing it to attempt to take power in Jordan.^[21]
1968/69	Party allegedly involved in two (failed) coup attempts in Jordan and Syria. ^[22]
1974	Party allegedly involved in (failed) coup attempt in Egypt. ^[22]
1977	Party founder and leader Taqiuddin al-Nabhani dies in Lebanon, succeeded by Abd al-Qadim Zallum, a Palestinian cleric.^[24]
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. ^[25]
1998	Party indicates that the Caliphate is now the wish of all the Muslims.^[26]
2003	Party leader Abd al-Qadim Zallum dies in Lebanon, succeeded (earlier that year) by Ata Khalil Abu-Rashta, a Palestinian civil engineer.^[27] ^[28]

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 (murtad) 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 that 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"[9]"

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 [10]

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, consensus ''(ijma)'', and legitimate analogies (Qiyas) from the previous three.
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."

Democracy

Hizb ut-tahrir rejects democracy as western and unislamic. Hizb ut-tahrir argues 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."''

However as a Sunni Muslim organization, HT believes the Caliph, i.e the head of the Caliphate state, should not be inherited through blood lines or imposed on Muslims, but elected by them. Muslims should then pledge their loyalty to the Caliph. 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."[11]

HT favor a system of elections for Muslims to chose the Caliph and other ruling officials.
Also part of the HT proposed draft constitution is a Majlis al-Umma for the Caliph to consult.
The founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, is careful to note that Shura differs from Western representative democracy in that while part of the "the ruling structure" of the Islamic caliphate, it's "not one of its pillars."

This is because the shura (consultation) in Islam is for seeking the opinion and not for ruling. This is contrary to the parliamentary system in democracy. ^[29]

In another book Nabhani clarifies that when the Majlis makes a decision on internal issues it is binding on the Caliph to accept the decision; the Caliph's powers outlined in the draft proposed constitution refer only to foreign affairs when in a state of war which he considered existent during his life. ^[30]

Women

"The primary role of a woman is that of a mother and wife. She is an honour ('ird) that must be protected." ^[31]. Unlike some Muslim traditionalists, Hizb ut-Tahrir, advocates women's suffrage or right to vote (provided she's a Muslim – only Muslims have the right to vote^[32]), the right of women to choose a partner freely (but only from Muslim men - women are not allowed to marry "maHram males", which includes non-Muslim men), right to seek employment, have custody of children after divorce (unless she's not a Muslim and the father is – then the custody always goes to the Muslim father^[33]), and run in elections. However women would be barred from the ruling positions such as caliph, Chief Justice (''lit'' judge of the 'Court of Unjust Acts'), provincial governor or mayor. Article 109 of the party's draft constitution proscribe segregation of the sexes except in certain special circumstances such as pilgrimage. Muslim women would be required to hide “their charms”^[34] and to dress in accordance with ''khimar'' and ''jilbab''Re: 'Of course women have a right to choose. But agreeing to wear a jilbab is no choice at all' Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, but not necessarily with the niqab favoured by more fundamentalist movements (''images of women's section'':hizb tahrir women Google Images), although they defend the right of women to choose the wearing of a niqab.Playing Politics with Communities: A Response from Dr Nazreen Nawaz Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain. Article 114 of the constitution specifies that women should not be allowed to be in private with men they could marry, and once married article 116 stipulate that she is obliged to obey her husband.^[35]
HT argues,

"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."[12]

Zionism

HT strongly opposes Zionism and the current state of Israel. It pledges supports for a "one state solution" for Israel and the Palestinians. However, by the phrase "one state solution" HT does not mean a secular state, rather, HT aims for one state where Muslims and non-muslims alike live under the caliphate system with statutory Islamic law^[36]

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."Minorities in the new Middle East of the Caliphate Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

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

The West

HT takes a strong stand against Western influence in the Muslim world. Its founder, Nabhani, has been described as preaching that "British plots in particular and western imperialist conspiracies in general pervade the modern history of the Muslim world and ultimately explain its main lines of political evolution." ^[2] In his book, ''The System of Islam,'' which is studied by all HT members, Nabhani describes the Western culture and its "agents" as the one thing standing in the way of resurgent Caliphate.

If it was not for influence of the deceptive Western culture and the oppression of its agents which will soon vanish, then the return to the domain of Islam in its ideology and system would be quicker than the blink of an eye.^[38]

While some believe the Muslim world lags behind the West or East Asia because of Muslim failure to borrow some political, cultural or social concepts of the West, in fact Muslim stagnation

commenced the day they abandoned this adherence to Islam and ... allowed the foreign culture to enter their lands and the Western concepts to occupy their minds.^[39]

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 moderate forms of 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.^[40]

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. Responsibility for defense in the state would go to the ''Amir al-Jihad.''

The Anti-semitism controversy

In a 2000 article entitled "The Muslim Ummah will never submit to the Jews", Hizb ut-Tahrir lamented what it saw as the behavior of the Jews: Jews

... 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." The Muslim Ummah will never submit to the Jews Hizb ut-Tahrir

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." Banned groups with roots in UK appeal to disaffected young Muslims, ''The Guardian''. 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 barred 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. Lambroschini, Sophie. "Germany: Court Appeal By Hizb Ut-Tahrir Highlights Balancing Act Between Actions, Intentions", Radio Free Europe, October 26, 2004. 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 was exposed 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. Dilpazier later sued for unfair dismissal and there was an out of court settlement
After allegations that party members had spread antisemitic propaganda, in 2004 the British National Union of Students imposed a No Platform order. ^[41] The party then resumed recruiting at British universities under the name "Stop Islamophobia." ^[42]
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.^[43]

'Response'
In response, Hizb ut-Tahrir stated:

We reject decisively the charge of anti-Semitism ... at the same time we decisively reject Zionism represented in the form of Israel...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 was removed from the party's websites:

Some 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. Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s distinction OpenDemocracy.net

Position on terrorism

HT officially opposes terrorism and in the West accusations of its support for violence have been limited to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. HT members have been quoted by the BBC and Guardian newspaper as calling Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel legitimate acts of resistance. "Hizb ut Tahrir", BBC News, August 27, 2003.
^[44] On the other hand, senior members of HT in Palestine have recently been quoted condemning Hamas, saying that sending poorly armed Palestinians to fight the Israeli army is "fruitless" and that Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands should be dealt with later by the combined armies of Islam (in a Caliphate).^[45]
Accounts differ over whether there was any connection at all between HT and an attempted 2003 suicide bomber in Israel by Omar Sharif. An article by Shiv Malik in the New Statesman magazine quotes an old friend of Sharif who described him as "heavily attending all, absolutely all, HT-organised circles" in the first semester of University in 1994. It also reports that his E-mail inbox contained a HT mailshot with the words "' ... destroy the hegemony of the colonialist powers...". HT flatly denies that Sharif had any "affiliation whatsoever with Hizb ut-Tahrir," and says 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." ^[46]
Critics have suggested that although HT opposes violence its indoctrination creates an "environment" friendly to violent jihad, or that its opposition to violence is temporary not general, and will support violence when a favorable opportunity comes. In another New Statesman article, Ziauddin Sardar claims that that while HT "has not, strictly speaking, advocated violence ... it certainly preaches engagement with violence," ^[47]. Authors from some conservative American think-tanks (Zeyno Baran of the Nixon Centre, and Ariel Cohen of the Heritage Foundation¹) have argued that although HT may not promote or engage in violence, it acts as a "conveyor belt" for young muslims, using its legal status to indoctrinate them before they leave HT to join more extreme groups which may advocate violence.^[48]. Shiv Malik says Hizb ut-Tahrir "has never been directly implicated in an act of violence" ¹ but he argues the idea that HT members may leave the party and move on to violent organizations "is not without foundation." He quotes unnamed intelligence sources saying, "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's man in Iraq, is a former member of the Jordanian branch of Hizb. ... the al-Qaeda commander Khalid Sheikh Mohammed also spent time with the party."
According to author Olivier Roy, "the Hizb ut-Tahrir position against the launching of jihad is purely tactical. The organization believes that the time has not yet come for jihad, but that it is a compulsory duty for any Muslim." ''Globalized Islam : the Search for a New Ummah,'' by Olivier Roy, Columbia University Press, 2004 p.256 Globalsecurity.org says much the same thing, calling HT "one of the most secretive fundamentalist Islamic organizations, it remains a radical organization. Hizb ut-Tahrir is not against violence as such. It is just against the use of violence now. But they still think jihad [holy war] is a positive concept."^[49]
The Terrorism Research Center complains that the initial response to the London 7/7 bombings by the website HT 1924.org was not to condemn the killing of civilians, "but to urge British Muslims to be strong in the face of an anticipated backlash. The letter [on 1924.org] accuses [G-8] world leaders of taking advantage of the London attacks "to justify their ‘war on terror.'"^[50] The full statement quoted below however does show a condemnation of the terrorist attacks.
Defenders say HT's use of the word Jihad is not limited to violence. According to Jean-François Mayer of the University of Fribourg writing for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; ''"Hizb ut-Tahrir insists that Islam ‘obliges the Muslims to oppose the rulers with opinion [only] and to account them for their actions’, quoting the Messenger of Allah, who is reported to have said that ‘The best jihad is the word of truth spoken to a tyrant ruler’. This is exactly what Hizb ut-Tahrir has been doing in various parts of the world,"Hizb ut-Tahrir – The Next Al-Qaida, Really ? PSIO'' Mayer ridicules the insinuation that HT could turn violent in his paper ''"Hizb ut-Tahrir – The Next Al-Qaida, Really ?"''.
Noman Hanif concludes in one of his papers; ''"Attempts by US think tanks to insinuate a link between HT and terrorism in order to frame it under the war on terror have conclusively failed." ^[51]
'Russia and Central Asia government positions'
HT has been accused by the governments of Central Asia of terrorist activity or illegal importation of arms in the former Soviet Union. In 1999, HT "was blamed for a series of bomb attacks in the Uzbekistan capital, Tashkent," according to globalsecurity.org HT "is believed by some to clandestinely fund and provide logistical support to a wide range of terrorist operations in Central Asia, and elsewhere, although attacks may be carried out in the names of local groups.".Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) Global Security The Uzbek government reportedly withdrew that accusation and blamed the IMU for those attacks, nevertheless human rights organizations and a former British Ambassador have accused central Asian governments of torturing HT members and violating international law. [16]
In February 2003, the Russian Supreme Court put "Hizb ut-Tahrir and 14 other groups on a list of banned terrorist organizations." The Russian government banned HT not for any terrorist activity, but because their definition of terrorism includes anyone who supports Chechen rebels in their cause for independence from Russia [17] In June 2003 Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested 121 illegal immigrants suspected of having ties with Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami. "Moscow media reports said hand grenades, explosives, and ammunition ... as well as Islamic propaganda leaflets" were found on two of immigrants, Alisher Musayev of Kyrgyzstan and Akram Jalolov of Tajikistan.Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) Global Security
However human rights groups and Russian Muslims have complained that authorities are increasingly becoming repressive and have planted evidence on Muslims to justify charges.^[52] ^[53]. The Russian governments position has been severely criticized by Russian human rights groups, specifically Memorial [18] who questioned the validity of the ban, and were consequently threatened by the government not to reveal its findings [19]
'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."Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) Global Security

'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;
'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."Banning non-violent Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT), is the real threat to the British way of life Petition Online

'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.Banning non-violent Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT), is the real threat to the British way of life Petition Online

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."For a decade, London thrived as a busy crossroads of terror The New York Times
'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."^[54]

'Al-Qaida condemnation of 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 HT's stance against violence as weak, and accusing it of being moderate, rather than strictly religious.^[55]
'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."'Stealth' Islamists recruit students The Times Online. 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.

★ 27. HT has condemned the terrorism, which occurred in New York in 2001, Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005.

★ 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.^[43]

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.Cohen, Ariel. "Hizb ut-Tahrir: An Emerging Threat to U.S. Interests in Central Asia", The Heritage Foundation, May 30, 2003. 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" ^[57] It is proscribed in Russia,^[58] and in some Muslim countries, but is permitted to operate in the more liberal Muslim nations.Hizb-ut-Tahrir's Growing Appeal in the Arab World Jamestown Foundation 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.Morris, Nigel. "PM forced to shelve Islamist group ban", ''The Independent'', July 18, 2006."Background: the Guardian and Dilpazier Aslam", ''The Guardian'', July 22, 2005.
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.

In the West

Hizb ut-Tahrir demonstrating in Copenhagen.

Denmark

The movement is legal in Denmark. 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. Russia: Division over Hizb-ut-Tahrir Turkish Weekly Opinion
In 2007 Hizb ut Tahrir caused an uproar in Denmark when Berlingske Tidende reported that a kindergarten in Copenhagen had being run according to the movement's strict Islamic principles.^[61] Several well known imams in Copenhagen attended a convention of Hizb ut Tahrir and announced that they are willing to work together towards mutual goals. This move attracted criticism.^[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, holding regular public lectures which typically attract 200-300 people once every few months, as well as distributing leaflets outside Mosques on a regular basis.
Hizb ut Tahrir Australia first received 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.
Following the July 7 2005 attacks on the London train system, 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 its 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 [27], that it wanted to establish Islamic law in Australia [28], and that it was banned in Britain.[29]. 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."Aussies called to jihad Herald Sun

Hizb ut-Tahrir members originally planned to hold the conference in Bankstown's Town Hall, but the Sydney council cancelled it.^[64] 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."''^[65]

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.[31]
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."[32]
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."[33]
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."

[34]
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.[35] 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."[36]

United Kingdom

Hizb ut-Tahrir also survived a proposed ban in the UK after clearance from the intelligence services and police.Morris, Nigel. "PM forced to shelve Islamist group ban", ''The Independent'', July 18, 2006.. After the 7 July 2005 London bombings Tony Blair announced the British government's intention to ban the organization under new legislation.Full text: The Prime Minister's statement on anti-terror measures The Guardian 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."Islamic radicals warn of city riots The Guardian 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."PM forced to shelve Islamist group ban The Independent According an alleged leaked government report produced for Tony Blair, quoted in ''The Guardian'', ^[66] 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.[37]
On December 24, 2006 an article in The Observer revealed that the government had shelved their plans to ban the organisation because there was a home office opinion that a legal ban would not stick. It also confirmed that the request to ban had come to prime minister Tony Blair from General Musharraf, Pakistan's military ruler, himself often the political target of Hizb ut-tahrir campaigns[38].
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.[39]
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. ^[67]

They have also rejected nationalism of any kind, including Arab nationalism be they citizens of a majority Muslim or non-Muslim nation ^[68] 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.[40]
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."[41]
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.^[69].
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" [42]

In July 2007, Leader of the Opposition David Cameron asked the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown why the organisation had not been banned from the United Kingdom, arguing it was an extremist group. Gordon Brown responded that more evidence would be needed before banning a group and, when pressed further, John Reid the previous home secretary stepped in arguing that there had already been two reviews of the group with insufficient evidence to justify a ban. Reid also urged the prime minister to "stick by the law and the evidence and not to be swayed by any arbitrary political advantage that he thinks might be gained...Nothing would be more politically disadvantageous than taking on a case without evidence and losing it. That would confirm all the accusations made against us by our opponents" ^[70] ^[71]

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.The German government then banned it from public activity after a charge of distributing antisemitic propaganda, a ban that is being challenged[43] ''(see above section on Controversy over anti-semitism)''.

Russia, Azerbaijan and the Central Asian republics

Hizb ut-Tahrir is proscribed in Russia. ^[58] Most of its members in the former Soviet Union are ethnic Uzbeks.Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) Global SecurityAmnesty 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. Covering events from January - December 2001 Amnesty International. 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”.^[73]

Hizb ut-Tahrir is also suspected of having several hundred members in Azerbaijan, another former Soviet republic. Dozens of its members have been arrested.^[74] The group has threatened to attack Baku in the past.

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[44] after a legal challenge against its proscription in the Lahore High Court ^[75] ^[76].
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 Hizb ut-Tahrir – The Next Al-Qaida, Really ? PSIO
About Ht’s activity in Pakistan and subsequent political crackdown Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court said in March 2005 : "Hizb ut-Tahrir has shown dissatisfaction on the policies of the [Pakistan] government which is the right of each and every citizen…I am unable to understand as to how distribution of these pamphlets in the general public was termed as terrorism or sectarianism."
HT has never been banned in Bangladesh and continues to work there openly.

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.Hizb-ut-Tahrir's Growing Appeal in the Arab World Jamestown Foundation
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.[47]

Palestine

According to a 2007 report by Globe and Mail reporter Mark MacKinnon, HT has been "capitalizing on public unhappiness with the recent bloodshed between the mainstream Hamas and Fatah movements that has split the Palestinian cause in two. A recent rally in the West Bank drew a crowd estimated in the tens of thousands." ^[77] He quotes HT Sheik Abu Abdullah as preaching to Muslims

Why are we watching infidels prosper in this world and not stopping them? ... Muslims in China, Indonesia, Pakistan and everywhere in their thousands are asking for God's government through the Caliphate. They demand the return of God's rule on Earth.

Libya

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 [48] 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."[49] 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.[50]

Egypt

According to Amnesty, four Muslim Britons and several Egyptians were tortured in Egypt for suspected affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir. Amnesty international press release Amnesty International. Eventually 26 were put on trial for what many in Egypt considered weak and obscure charges.[51]
The Egyptian government banned Hizb ut-Tahrir in 1974 after an alleged coup attempt.Muslim girl's brother linked to Islam radicals British Helsinki Human Rights Group

Iraq

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 [52]. The party has called for Sunni, Shia, Arab and Kurdish citizens to unite in Iraq.[53] Some of the party's prominent members have been murdered there, the bodies showing signs of torture.[54] Shias from Shiachat have speculated that these killings were either the work of al-Qaida or the Iraqi government.[55] 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."[56].

Syria

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.[57][58]
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 abusively as Nakithoun 'Renegades' by the organisation under the leadership of Abdul Qadeem Zalloum. 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.

Indonesia and Malaysia

Hizb ut-Tahrir also works openly in Malaysia and Indonesia and has never been banned in these two muslim countries. It held an international khilafah conference in Indonesia on August 12th 2007 at the Bung Karno Stadium, which has a capacity of 100,000 people and thus has the joint 10th largest capacity for any stadium worldwide. The event was attended by more than 90,000 people.

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)[59]

★ Dr Nazreen Nawaz (Women's Representative)[60]

★ Dr Abdul Wahid (GP & UK Executive Committee member) [61]

★ 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)

★ Abu Shakir(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)

★ Dr Mohammad Abu Talha (USA member)

★ Dr Mustapha Yousuf (USA member)

★ Okay Pala (Holland spokesperson)

★ Abdul Salam (USA member)

★ Sheikh KH. Muhammad al-Khatath (Prominent scholar in Indonesia who is part of the Majlis al-Ulema there)

★ Hafidz Abdurrahman, (Prominent leading member of Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia)

References

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2. Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani and the HT Party
3. Draft Constitution Article 16
4. Kuwait Times Article [1]
5. hizb ut tahrir al Islami
6. Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani and the HT Party
7. The Re-establishment of the Khilafah is an obligation upon all Muslims
8. HT Demonstration to the U.S. Embassy [2]"
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12. The Islamic State, p.9
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14. [5]
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18. HuT book, Structuring of a Party, 1953
19. HuT leaflet: 'Caesarean Section', 27 January 1972
20. HuT leaflet, 'A Style to Win the Ummah and to Take Its Leadership', 14 December 1980
21. HuT, Answer to a Question about Force, 20 March 1970
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24. Al-Waie magazine, issues 234-235, August/September 2006 (Arabic).[8]
25. HuT leaflet, 'A Letter to the Shebab', 20 July 1978
26. HuT Progress Dossier, 1998
27. Al-Sabeel newspaper, issue 489, p. 9, May 6-12, 2003 (Arabic).
28. Al-Waie magazine, issue 197, p. 3, August 2003 (Arabic)
29. ''The System of Islam, (Nidham ul Islam)'' by Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, Al-Khilafa Publications, 1423 AH - 2002 CE, p.61
30. ''Nethaam al-Huqm fil-Islam'', Chapter entitled Majlis al-Ummah
31. Draft Constitution Article 108
32. Hizb ut-Tahrir draft constitution, art. 26
33. Draft Constitution Article 118
34. Hizb ut-Tahrir draft constitution, art. 114
35. Hizb ut-Tahrir draft constitution, art. 116
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40. The Necessity of money being in Gold and Silver
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46. NS Profile Omar Sharif
47. Ziauddin Sardar explains the long history of violence behind Hizb ut-Tahrir
48. Globe and Mail: Muslim movement offers alternative to Hamas
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070822.whizb22/BNStory/International/home
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53. kyrgyz
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55. La Gazette Du Maroc [22], translated here: [23]
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58. 'Terror' list out; Russia tags two Kuwaiti groups, Arab Times
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60. High Court cancels detention orders of six members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir [26]
61. Islamic group took over nursery school, Copenhagen Post, June 18, 2007
62. Den ny muslimske alliance, Berlingske Tidende, June 24, 2007
63. Islamic group to fight on against banning moves The Age
64. Council refuses group use of town hall The Age
65. Narrated in Sahih Muslim)[30] Islamic world
66. Dodd, Vikram et al. "Islamist clerics face treason charges", ''The Guardian'', August 8, 2005.
67. Hizb ut Tahrir
68. "The roots of nationalism in the Muslim World" Chepter title " by Shabir Ahmed and Abid Karim
69. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVWFLSv5IGY
70. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6267656.stm
71. http://www.hizb.org.uk/hizb/news-watch/uk-government/hansard-cameron-presses-ban-on-htb.html
72. 'Terror' list out; Russia tags two Kuwaiti groups, Arab Times
73. http://www.craigmurray.co.uk/archives/2005/02/the_pathologist.html
74. Swietochowski, "Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam," World Policy Journal, p. 75.
75. High Court rules ruling that distribution of pamphlets carrying criticism of the government does not entail terrorism. [45]
76. High Court cancels detention orders of six members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir [46]
77. Muslim movement offers alternative to Hamas

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