Benevolent Islam Bringing Peace and Goodwill to the World at Large

"Hizb ut Tahrir categorically rejects the use of violence or material means in its methodology. The accusations linking the party to terrorism, extremism and violent activities are fabrications aimed at tarnishing its reputation."

"In light of the recent false accusations directed against Hizb ut Tahrir, it is necessary to clarify the truth and expose the baseless nature of these claims."

"The party operates in adherence to the Islamic prohibition of violence in political work, relying instead on intellectual engagement and political struggle to build public opinion and bring about societal change."

"Hizb ut Tahrir is an ideological and political party that works exclusively through intellectual and political struggle. Its sole objective is the resumption of the Islamic way of life through the re-establishment of the Khalifah [Caliphate] in the Muslim world on the method of the Prophethood, as obligated by the Qur'an and Sunnah."

Hizb ut Tahrir Canada

Hizb ut Tahrir logo.  Wickipedia

"This organization speaks to the extremism and radicalization that are becoming increasingly visible and toxic to Canadian society, posing a serious threat to our shared values and public safety through its hateful rhetoric and incitement."

"Hizb ut Tahrir's public calls for the defeat of Western democracies and promotion of antisemitism and terrorism are deeply concerning."

" This conference is a platform for radicalization and hatred. Canadians must stand united against this assault on our values of tolerance and inclusion."

Michael Levitt, president, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center

"Islam is the only correct ideology in the world. [Muslims must return to living in] an Islamic society such that all of life's affairs in society are administered according to the Shari'ah rules."

"Jihad then is the fighting to raise the Word of Allah [swt]  and to spread Islam, and it is a duty which has been established in the Qur'an and Sunnah.

"Jihad originally is fard kifayah [a collective duty to be fulfilled by a sufficient number of Muslims] but when the enemy attacks it becomes an individual duty for all Muslims. ... If no one from the Muslims begins fighting in any period of time, all Muslims then would have committed a sin by leaving jihad."

"And therefore jihad is in fact a war to raise the Word of Allah [swt], and it is compulsory originally in order to spread Islam and to carry its message even if the disbelievers did not attack us."

"[The relationship of ... the Muslim caliphate toward other nations] in the East or the West is defined by the demands of jihad and the interests of Muslims and the Khilafah State according to the divine law."

 Hizb ut Tahrir manifesto

Peace Tower, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (credit: CHRIS WATTIE/REUTERS)

 

The Canadian branch of an international Islamic fundamentalist group is determined to carry through with their annual conference addressed to the obligations of good Muslims living in Canada. This, despite an alarm raised by various groups over their presence and their agenda; anathema to any democracy that prides itself on balanced civic equality and protection for all its minority groups and diverse religious adherence among people from a myriad of backgrounds, ethnicities and beliefs.

In response to growing criticism and pressure to disallow the conference breathing room, the group has responded, denying accusations that its purpose is to overthrow governments for the purpose of installing a Muslim caliphate, accusing the media and those it quotes of painting its purpose as being adverse to Western democracy and its populations. It vehemently denies that its presence and the content of the conference poses a security risk in Canada, calling the descriptions published about it 'fake news'.

Their detailed manifesto, however belies that claim of innocence of purpose, when the goal is to ensure that "Islam encapsulates the world"; its propaganda painting it as anti-democratic, totalitarian, militant, and antisemitic, while emphasizing the primacy of jihad as a duty of the faithful. The Khalifah Conference, scheduled for January 18 at an undisclosed location, has aroused a public outcry. The Islamic group itself has been outlawed in a number of countries, but not in Canada; its call for a Muslim caliphate for life under Islamic Shariah law was originally scheduled to take place in Mississauga.

 

A backlash from city officials had it reschedule for another secret location, this time in Hamilton, where its mayor, Andrea Horwath said the event "has raised significant concerns for me and our community", bringing in the Hamilton police to oversee the situation. "We are actively working with our intelligence partners and the City of Hamilton to address this development and are closely monitoring social media for updates", advised Constable Adam Kimber with the Hamilton police. "We want to reaffirm that hate has no place in our community."

 

A screengrab from a promotional video advertising the Hezb ut Tahrir Khilafah Conference 2024. Photo by Screenshot / Hizb ut Tahrir

"Colonial/imperialist nations like the United States, Britain and France [along with] countries which have intentions on Muslim lands, like Russia [are in a] potential war [with the caliphate]."

"As such, the basis of all relations are as if war is engaged between us and them, irrespective of the current situation whether one of war or cease-fire."

"If any of these nations occupies Islamic lands as Israel has occupied Palestine, then legally no peace can be established with her even if the occupied territory only exceeds a square inch, because she has become an aggressor by this act."

"Islam then makes it imperative upon all Muslims to engage her in war and exterminate such a state and free the Muslim lands from her."

Hizb ut Tahrir manifesto

In its defence, Hizb ut Tahrir characterized the criticism has the purpose of "distracting from its call to establish Islam as a comprehensive system of governance and mercy for humanity". Within Islam the world is divided into three categories; Muslim land, land of unbelievers, and land of war. Muslim land represents an area of peace, while the land of the 'unbelievers' represents war. The intention of groups like Hizb ut Tahrir is to transform non-Muslim land from places of war to those of peace, which is to say, captured by Islam.

 

"This democratic system is against the laws of Islam", according to the group's manifesto. Freedom of belief, freedom of speech, personal freedom and freedom of ownership of capital: "four common 'freedoms' are in conflict with the laws of Islam", according to the manifesto. "The Muslim is not free in his opinion. His opinion is the opinion of Islam, and it is not allowed for a Muslim to have an opinion other than that of Islam. Personal freedom does not exist in Islam because a Muslim is not free in personal affairs, but he is rather restricted by the Islamic Law", clarifies the Hizb ut-Tahrir manifesto.

 

Its purpose is clearly stated in its manifesto, which is "to change the situation of the corrupt society so that it is transformed into an Islamic society", thus returning the Islamic world "to her previous might and glory such that she wrests the reins of initiative away from other states and nations, and returns to her rightful place as the first state in the world." As for present-day Islamic nations, they must defy and remove their leaders and become borderless in the interests of becoming a single entity, the Caliphate.

In the United Kingdom, the Centre for Social Cohesion, a non-partisan British think tank, in a 2009 report cautioned against Hizb ut-Tahrir, stating that the group had learned in the West to "disguise its intolerant ideology" with the use of "euphemistic language to hide its support for jihad, antisemitic beliefs and totalitarian system of governance". The report placed the group's ideology in the spectrum of al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood; that the party's ideology "legitimizes acts of terrorism". 

The conference listing on Eventbrite, an online ticketing portal was deleted, in response to the general concern over the group and its conference content. However, an alternate ticket platform for non-profits now distributes the conference tickets, under the name "Hizb Canada". 

 

That this group feels free to operate its agenda within Canada with impunity can be directly attributed to the uncaring attitude firstly of the federal government under the leadership of prime minister Justin Trudeau. The hope is that when the Liberals no longer hold the seat of power in Canada, their successor Conservatives under a new leader, Pierre Poilievre, will see fit to cleanse the country of such toxic groups like this one.

 

A poster advertising Khilafah Conference 2024.

Pakistan's Dangerous Islamist Intolerance

Police officers walk through the rubble of homes vandalized by an angry Muslim mob in a Christian area in Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district, Pakistan, Aug. 17, 2023.

"Clearly, in Pakistan, evidence is not required where the issue of blasphemy is concerned, and mobs take it upon themselves to dispense 'justice'."

"[Do] the rulers -- politicians and establishment -- as well as clerics and prominent society figures have the courage to confront this madness?"

Pakistan's Dawn editorial 

 

"[I was] gutted [by the images coming out of Faisalabad]."

"Stern action would be taken against those who violate law and target minorities. All law enforcement has been asked to apprehend culprits and bring them to justice."

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar

 

"[I am] deeply pained and distressed."

"We cry out for justice and action from law enforcement and those who dispense justice and the safety of all citizens to intervene immediately and assure us that our lives are valuable in our own homeland that has just celebrated independence and freedom."

Christian leader Bishop Azad Marshall

In this photo provided by district police office, a police officer pours water into a burning house in a Christian neighborhood in Jaranwala, near Faisalabad, Pakistan, Wednesday.  District Police Office via/AP

 

A Muslim mob in Pakistan, enraged over rumours that Christian Pakistanis had desecrated a Koran, went on a violent rampage of burning and looting and destroying Christian churches and the homes of Christians living in the country's east. Miraculously, no deaths took place, nor serious injuries despite the large scale of the rampage. Such mob violence takes place from time to time in Pakistan, one of several Islamic-majority countries with capital punishment laws against blasphemy.

Islamist clerics are known to whip their followers to a frenzy of anger over the very presence of Christians living in their midst. Hostilities between religious sects are not unknown anywhere, but in Pakistan they take in lethal qualities. Even politicians who attempt to support the presumed equal rights of non-Muslims in Pakistan have been assassinated for their efforts in hoping to establish a reasonable aura of civilized conduct toward Christians.

Unpredictable riots are known to break out and allowed to rage on viciously before anyone in authority appears to take notice. In 2010 a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, offended her workmates when she tried to drink from a communal source and her Muslim coworkers became angry that she would make the water unfit for them to drink. They accused her to authorities of taking the name of the Prophet in vain, and she was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. When a Pakistani court finally found her not guilty, mobs roamed the streets demanding her death.

Supporters of Tehrik-e Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hard-line religious political party, protest a Supreme Court decision overturning Asia Bibi's blasphemy conviction on October 31. Arif Ali/AFP

In the instance of Wednesday's mob actions representing some of the most serious sectarian violence outbreaks in recent years, police response was slow to break up the riots in Jaranwala, giving the mob ample time to deface and destroy a number of Christian churches, to enter people's homes and loot them, driving away with their gains, setting fire to the home interiors, effectively dispossessing the people whose homes they were, including those of priests.

The slow response to re-establish order in Jaranwala described by witnesses, raised questions whether officials in Pakistan are interested in dedicating resources sufficient to protect the country's religious minorities from the rabid hatred of fanatical Islamists. The global intake of breath over this latest manifestation of vicious intolerance obviously gave the government something to think about, and this time the response was a little more forceful, in the arrest of some 130 people who had lead the mobs.

Pakistan is a country of 248 million Sunni Muslims among whom Pakistan's Christians represent a mere two percent of the population. And in that country acts of sectarian violence most frequently target Christians. Police raids on Thursday in Jaranwala finally made an effort to counter this most recent mob violence targeting Christians where false charges of blasphemy often originate from sources interested in 'settling scores' as a method of putting Christians 'in their place'.

Pakistani authorities claim their response was timely, and their intervention served to prevent worse events from occurring. An estimated 6,000 people appear to have taken part in the riots. Before the enraged mob's frenzied attacks most Christians fled temporarily out of their community hoping to find safety elsewhere. Once thousands of paramilitary troops were deployed, authorities declared the situation under control.

A police officer fires in air to disperse angry Muslim mob during clashes in Jaranwala near Faisalabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Police say a Muslim mob has attacked a Christian area in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, burning a church, damaging four others and demolishing a man's house after accusing him of desecrating Islam’s holy book. (AP Photo/Muhammad Shafqat)