Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

[18] In its work with non-Muslims, the party states it has engaged in panel discussions that "have helped to overcome the intellectual entrenchment" that characterises "most of today's debate" between Muslim and non-Muslim cultures, and hopes that its advancement of "Islamic values and culture" will make a contribution towards "solving" Western society's problems of "racism, alcohol abuse, substance misuse, family breakdown, sexual abuse and the decline in morality".

The Muslims should indeed harbour hatred for the British and a yearning for revenge over them...[37]Abdul Wahid (a pseudonym) was the leader of HT Britain, chairman of its executive committee as of mid-2015.

A lack of alternative scholarly voices advocating more traditional responses to state oppression and increased media awareness due to proliferation of Islamic literature on the internet.

[44]) In an HT promotional video shown on BBC News an HTB representative declared: I think Muslims in this country need to take a long, hard look at themselves and decide what is their identity.

[50][51] Despite this attempt to "soften" its image[52] and represent itself as a "non-violent",[53] "intellectual"[Note 6] alternative to democracy and capitalism, has not involved modifying its ideology, Ahmed and Stuart insist,[52] HT remains committed to a legal system that violates international norms of human rights, and an ideology of jihad, including plans for militarily expanding its proposed Islamic super-state by taking over non-Muslim countries.

[57][58] An alternative view is that HT has made an ideological shift and that the UK government has "achieved a considerable measure of success" in pressuring the party to moderate and pragmatise its approach.

[65] Mohammad Babar, who is linked to the seven men currently on trial in London on charges of planning terrorist attacks between January 2003 and April 2004, has stated that he was a member of HT while in college.

He was reportedly an associate of Abu Hamza, and is said to have preached to "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, along with Hanif and Sharif, at the North London Mosque in Finsbury Park.

Home Secretary James Cleverly presented a draft order to Parliament for the proscription of the group on 15 January 2024, stating that: "Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks.

[73] In July 2007, Leader of the Opposition David Cameron asked the then new Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown why the organisation had not been banned from the United Kingdom, arguing it was an extremist group.

[74][75] Jeremy Corbyn, who would himself later become Leader of the Opposition, at the time called such legislation "misguided", arguing that it would "end up entrapping the innocent and preventing legitimate debate.

", opposition Labour MP Toby Perkins stated: "When former home secretary Alan Johnson marked a year of Tory rule by asking Mr Cameron about the ban, the PM equivocated and in subsequent replies to questions from Ian Austin and myself his stance has got noticeably weaker still.

"[78] Cameron's party was re-elected in May 2015 and a month later the Guardian reported that he was planning to "press ahead" with a counter-extremism strategy that would includes blacklisting "extremists" "from appearing on the airwaves and speaking at universities", and hinting that the "first group" to be banned could be Hizb ut-Tahrir.

[79] A Hizb ut-Tahrir Media Information Pack quotes a variety sources opposing proscription—local student unions (Middlesex University Student's Union), Muslim organization leaders (Muslim Council of Britain, FoSIS) police officers (Bob Beckley) -- or finding no reason for the ban (Association of Chief Police Officers), or no evidence of terrorist activity (Verdict Turkish Second State Security Court).

[96] In 1996, Zallum, HT's global leader at the time, reportedly ordered Bakri to cease "controversial public rallies and combative debates on campuses".

[100] According to an internal communique dated 2005, HT's post-9/11 strategy was to increase its activity within British Muslim communities, and to engaged with non-Muslims warning them "that the principles of Western culture do not solve the problems of society" which "are drowning in crime and corruption".

Muslims are forbidden from obtaining the various conventional mortgage and insurance products and services in the forms currently offered due to their incompatibility with the principles of Islamic law.

An August 2003 BBC Newsnight report "discovered" that the HTB website "promotes racism and anti-Semitic hatred, calls suicide bombers martyrs, and urges Muslims to kill Jewish people.

"[108] In 2004, the National Union of Students (NUS) Conference passed a motion applying its "No Platform Policy" to HT,[109] claiming the party was "responsible for supporting terrorism and publishing material that incites racial hatred".

[110] A motion to revert the "No Platform" policy on HTB was supported by the umbrella group Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) at the 2006 annual NUS conference.

HT organised a demonstration by women in full hijab in front of the French embassy in London in protest against France's March 2004 law banning the wearing of religious symbols in state schools.

[121] In July 2005 Dilpazier Aslam, a 27-year-old member of Hizb ut-Tahrir and trainee journalist with The Guardian, lost his position with the newspaper, and sued it for unfair dismissal, leading to an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.

[Note 10] HTB leader Abdul Wahid explained 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.

[85] HTB took a stall at the 2007 Global Peace and Unity conference at the London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre, organised by Islam Channel, and tried (but was not allowed) to participate at the 2009 Hounslow Muslim Forum.

[128]) Several (now defunct) small local organizations set up by HT include Inspire Youth Association (IYA), Newgen Community Forum, Brick Lane Islamic Circle (BLIC).

[130] In February 2008, HT head Abdul Wahid won a debate at London Borough of Tower Hamlets with 78 per cent of the audience voting in favor of his resolution that political participation in Britain had "failed British Muslims" and that they should reject democracy and concentrate on initiatives such as building madrassas and mosques.

According to Sadek Hamid, the party developed a "reputation for deceptive opportunism to gain access and exploit the goodwill of other Muslims", by, for example participating in activities without mentioning that they were from HTB.

Opposition leader (at the time) David Cameron claiming that government Pathfinder fund—aimed at combating violent extremism—was being used to fund schools "run by an organisation with links to extremism", i.e. Hizb ut-Tahrir.

"[140] The BBC noted that it had received "many emails of complaint" about the broadcast accusing BBC of attempting to discredit Hizb ut-Tahrir,[141] but stated that in regard to the general question of the "radicalisation of British Muslim youth" in mosques, universities and on the internet, the File on Four/Newsnight project had found allegations of multiple reliable sources [Note 13] which directly contradicted the Hizb ut tahrir's "publicly stated position" and "are serious and worthy of examination".

[142] In the 2008 Tower Hamlets debate, the East London Advertiser reported debater and HT head Abdul Wahid's emphasis on importance of upholding of religion obedience over freedom of speech, his attack on Muslim MPs such as Sadiq Khan who voted for gay rights and failed to defend Sharia laws, and on Muslims for "selling out" their morals and principles by joined mainstream political parties.