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July 5, 2007
UK's Failure To Ban Islamist Group Hizb ut-Tahrir Exemplifies Failure To Carry Out Blair's Anti-terror Strategy
GORDON Brown got off to a shaky start at his first Prime Minister's Questions session when he was thrown on to the defensive over the government's failure to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir and forced to plead with MPs: "I've been in this job for five days."
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamist fringe group that urges British Muslims to boycott all elections, reject the democratic process and campaign for the creation of a single, united Muslim state stretching from Morocco to Indonesia. Hizb ut-Tahrir, claims to be a non-violent organisation, but it has been banned by virtually every country in the Muslim world. Yet, it has a legal presence in Britain and has, in the past, commanded a strong following on several university campuses.
After the July 7 bombing in 2005 Tony Blair surprised ministers with a 12-point counter-terrorist strategy. It was criticised at the time as "spin''. One of the points was to proscribe Hizb-ut-Tahrir and successor organisation al-Muhajiroun, and to examine grounds for proscription to widen them. Today, Hizb-ut Tahrir is still operating. Al-Muhajiroun was banned but it has reformed into other groups. Criteria for banning groups expanded in Terrorism Act 2006. Still, nothing's really been done to counter the Islamists in Britain.
The following video is from a BBC show called "Politics of Terror" that focuses on Hizb ut Tahrir and their infiltration into British schools and institutions, and calls attention to what is happening right under the Brits' noses.
Here's the story of how a young London Muslim was turned into a potential jihadist. The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left.
His journey from theater-loving schoolboy to Islamic fundamentalist begins in primary school in the 1980s, where he plays with 'Jane, Lisa, Andrew, Mark, Alia, Zak' and learns about Islam from his family and a spiritual guide he called 'Grandpa'. His father, a devout Muslim opposed to Islamist views, ignores the advice of Husain's teachers not to send his son to Stepney Green, an all-boy, all-Muslim secondary school, a decision he will later regret.Soon, Husain identifies himself not as British or Asian, only Muslim. He describes his journey towards fanaticism as gradual, first coming across Islamism in the school textbook Islam: Beliefs and Teachings by Ghulam Sarwar, which says: 'Religion and politics are one and the same in Islam.' Enticed by its teachings and encouraged by a close friend, Brother Falik, Husain becomes drawn towards Islamism and the formation of the caliphate, a transnational Islamic state with a central foreign policy of jihad.
... In the end, it is Islamism's disregard for Islam itself that moves him to reject fundamentalism. 'True faith had not touched my heart in a decade,' he says.
Husain is appalled at the way unelected and unaccountable Islamist groups are portrayed by the media as representative. This captivating, and terrifyingly honest, book is his attempt to make amends for some of the wrongs he committed. In a wake-up call to monocultural Britain, it takes you into the mind of young fundamentalists, exposing places in which the old notion of being British is defunct.So, once again: How many of Mr Blair's pledges were fulfilled?
Related:
Asim Siddiqui says, "Not in our name"! - Blaming UK foreign policy is not the answer. Where are the Muslim marches in revulsion against acts of terror in Islam's name? (A sure must-read)
Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation).
"... a radical Islamic political movement that seeks 'implementation of pure Islamic doctrine' and the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Central Asia. The group's aim is to resume the Islamic way of life and to convey the Islamic da'wah to the world. The ultimate goal of this secretive sectarian group is to unite the entire ummah, or Islamic world community, into a single caliphate. The aim is to bring the Muslims back to living an Islamic way of life in 'Dar al-Islam' [the land where the rules of Islam are being implemented, as opposed to the non-Islamic world] and in an Islamic society such that all life's affairs in society are administered according to the Shariah rules."Muslim organisations in Britain - Britain's Muslims have established hundreds of organisations across the country to represent their interests and further the principles of Islam. The last national census in 2001 found that 1.6 million Muslims live in Britain - but recent immigration means that today's figure probably exceeds 2 million. The great majority are Sunnis of Pakistani or Indian origin.
Posted by Richard at July 5, 2007 10:00 AM
