Hizb ut-Tahrir, the global Islamist revolutionary group founded by an Islamo-Stalinist and famed for its incessant calls for Khilafah (Caliphate), appears to have gone public in the United States. Whereas HT had previously operated in America only from behind aliases and front groups, now it is operating openly and in its own name. As Shikwa has explained here before, this is a development which should concern all Americans.
Here is the promotional video for their inaugural event: Khilafah Conference 2009 – Fall of Capitalism & Rise of Islam
It will be held on Sunday, 19th July at Aqsa School, a private co-educational Islamic school in Bridgeview, Illinois which has only 301 students; HT America is clearly not expecting the kind of attendance HT Indonesia managed to gather in 2007. Indeed, it looks like they’re expecting an exraordinarily pitiful number of attendees. That said, the fact that HT America feels confident enough to move into the open, rather than cowering in the shadows, is a depressing development.
Madeleine Gruen writes at Counter Terrorism Blog that the video appears to have been made by a member of HT Australia, suggesting some coordination between HT’s American and Australian franchises. This impression is reinforced by the American conference’s (rather bare) website featuring flyers for annual conferences in Britain and Australia, although this coincidence could just be explained by the shared language.
Gruen has written about HT America before; she pointed out that Naveed Butt, the Pakistani spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, was first recruited whilst residing in America and that HT America’s online operations means that it has a global influence out of all proportion with its American membership. Whilst this new public status could be related more to bravado than reality, if HT America’s confidence is growing it would suggest that its membership and influence is too. Bad luck America.
20 Comments
The thing about HuT is the way they have poisoned the concept of a pan-global Muslim community, which is in itself a noble aim.
A global caliphate under the command of a sayyid (poor little Bengalis descended from Shah Jalal won’t get a look in) is the worst sort of idealism: there’s nothing pragmatic about it and neither is there any concrete scriptural justification.
We must all remain extra vigilant amongst our relatives and friends and try to counter this toxic ideology wherever it rears its ugly head.
HT in America must be feeling the tide turning against them and so they have decided to go public…….. ‘the best form of defense is offense’.
HTs post-colonial, violent and separatist message will not resonate with Americans and it won’t be long before they are exposed and isolated (like they have been in the UK).
HT and it’s bankrupt ideology has failed, the sooner they realise that the better.
Funny how the brave, Khalifa warriors of Hiz have registered their domain using an anonymizing service.
Never mind – there is an almost identically designed site on the same server with the domain name http://www.globalcrossover.com/ which is registered to Imran Siddiqui.
Dave
“Funny how the brave, Khalifa warriors of Hiz have registered their domain using an anonymizing service.”
Crazy. Can you imagine the armchair warriors of spitton writing articles using pen names like Yossarian, Houriya, Ibn Khaldun and Shikwa rather than their real names?
me. That was not the cleverest thing you ever wrote. I suggest you google Houriya. She is a very real (and wonderful) person. I, however, am neither of those things. Night night.
Crazy. Can you imagine the armchair warriors of spitton writing articles using pen names like Yossarian, Houriya, Ibn Khaldun and Shikwa rather than their real names?
Not as “Crazy” as hearing this from someone who posts under the name “me”.
Yes why didn’t I think of that ‘me’ of course makes so much sense.
Inshallah all goes well for them, i would like to see the people on this forum having a debate with hizb ut tahrir they would rip you intellectually. i think you guys should go to the conference and debate with them.
Abu Jibrael – we have been doing so for many years and are getting tired of ripping them to shreds. If you know any invite them to come and debate here since they don’t allow posters to comment on their own site – so scared of free speech.
If HT (zalloumis) really want to debate then why don’t they allow comments on their website? why do they have no discussion forum?
Why do they instruct their members not to speak to ex-HT members?
Any HT guys want to debate this post:
http://www.spittoon.org/archives/513
Please answer
The reality is HT is a group of munafiqs – a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals scared of debate. They already walk around the UK trying to intimidate and bully their opponents. They don’t allow critical comments on their website. What a paranoid little group.
Can you imagine what they would do if they had a state?
Thank God its only a pipe dream and will never happen.
What do you mean ‘critical comments’ they don’t allow any comments unless they are from certified HT supporters who are indulging in a bit of brown nosing in order to progress their rise up the ranks of the cult.
I along will 95% of the Muslim population of the world look forward to the return of the Khilafah, Secular Democracy is dying, Capitalism and Globalism have had their run and failed badly.
Its time for for that ‘Ideological Update’ (c)2009, time for something bigger and better, get use to it.
Of course there will always be those who fear change.
No matter how much you try to fight it and demonise it, it is inevitable.
95% of the Muslim population? I’d love to know where you got that figure from (thin air perhaps?) considering that people throughout the Muslim world have regularly voted against so-called “Islamic” parties, most recently in Iraq, Pakistan (NWFP) and Bangladesh. Everywhere you go the people hound you out and reject you.
95%? I think it’s more like 0.1%
It’s funny how people are still getting fooled by HT statistics. I remember in 1992 they were saying Khilafah was coming anyday now! Then in 1996 they were saying Uzbekistan will become a Khilafah within a month!
Taqiuddin al-Nabhani thought the Khilafah would be established in 13 years. When that didn’t happen he predicted 30 years and when that didn’t happen he stopped giving time frames. I think HT should stop giving deluded statistics as well now.
It is a necessary delusion as far as Islamists are concerned. They need to believe this in order to keep morale high. The truth is there was a little bit a surge of support for Islamists after the Iraq war when many polls were done. However, when only needs to look at the recent elections in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco and Iraq in which Islamist parties lost what little support they had.
Strange how most supporters of Islamism choose to live in the evil Capitalist West.
Hizb ut-Tahrir America invites you to a live webinar to be held on Monday August 10th 8:30 PM (CTD) to discuss the media coverage of the “Fallof Captialism & Rise of Islam” conference along with other related topics.
This will be live Question and Answer session.
Check http://www.khilafahconference2009.com for details.
Think Islam and abu jibraeel. You guys seem to be confident and able to stateyour views. You also seem to with the hizb. Why not respond? Let’s organize a neutral venue and have a debate? You should take your method of articulating the thought and method of your ideology axiomatically and let us challenge it. After all your idea is what gives you life and movement right? Give yourselves the opportunity to discuss and carry your call. Be open, with courage, coney your idea with depth and strength. Let us see which idea is the strongest? Or are you not to be conspicuous about your call? Lack frankness, courage, strength and thought? I pray God manifests the truth in your Tongue or mine.
‘think’ is not a word i would associate with HT.
Oh my God, Bengali wants to have a debate, he must be Majid Nawaz!
Game’s up!