August 8, 2005
Objection to Blair Terror Announcement Begins
The backlash against Tony Blair's announcement that Britain will be enacting tough new anti-terrorism laws has already begun. And one of the loudest objectors so far is the radical Islamist group Hizb-ut Tahrir. Many in the United States haven't heard of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which, in my mind, makes them all the more dangerous. Hizb ut-Tahrir--or HT--promotes the re-establishment of a worldwide Islamic state, or calpihate, through means of armed jihad. The Washington Post has described HT as “exhort[ing] Muslims to suicide bombings, martyrdom against American ‘infidels’ and the killing of Jews.” While HT claims to be non-violent, it has been outlawed throughout the Arab world and Central Asia, as well as in Turkey, Pakistan, Russia and Germany. It was also behind much of the recent anti-government rioting in Uzbekistan. Yet, strangely enough, HT operates freely in the United States (where the State Department has refused to designate it as a terrorist group) and Great Britian. In fact, the bulk of HT's pro-jihad propaganda is published in Britain, including its slickly-produced videos and websites.
Al-Muhajiroun, a notorious London-based jihadist group that supposedly disbanded last year, was originally formed as an offshoot of HT. Al-Muhajiroun openly praised Al-Qaeda and suicide bombings, even calling the 9/11 hijackers,"The Magnificent 19." So that gives you some idea of where HT is coming from as well. HT is known for holding large rallies throughout Britain, including one last month in the town of Birmingham that drew over 1,000 people--many of them young British Muslims. The same type of young British Muslims who carried out the 7/7 and 7/21 London bombings. Which is why Tony Blair is lobbying for the hugely influential HT to be banned. Indeed, the group may not directly carry out and plan terrorist attacks (at least, so far as we know), but it certainly provides ideological support and encouragement to people who do.
But, like any typical jihadist rabble, HT apparently isn't going to go quietly into the night. This past weekend, Imran Waheed, a spokesman for HT, called the Blair government's plans to outlaw the group "a perilous route that is harming community relations and could lead to civil unrest..." He added: "God help us if the level of frustration grows among the Muslim community...he (Tony Blair) has made statements that many in the Muslim community have interpreted as anti-Islamic."
These remarks were a not-so-subtle threat that HT plans on maintaining its stranglehold over the hearts and minds of Britain's young Muslims, and that the Blair government can expect chaos if it tries to go through with a ban of the group. Nevertheless, if Blair is truly committed to rooting out the extremists in Britain's midst--which I think he is--the logical place to start is with Hizb ut-Tahrir. It may get messy, but in the end, it will strengthen Britain's hand significantly in its battle to stamp out the Islamo-fascist ideology that inspires suicide bombings.
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