By Mark Andresen
15th Jan. 2024: Home Secretary James Cleverly proscribes Hizb ut-Tahrir as a ‘terrorist group’; a move last considered but never implemented by David Cameron, copying Tony Blair who also tried and failed to do this. The first question is, who are they? The second is, what does the Government’s choice expose about their own long-term motives?
What Hizb ut-Tahrir are not are either of the Zionist MSM’s favourite racist buzzwords, whenever the Middle-East is discussed; ‘terrorist’ or ‘fundamentalist.’ The Conversation website outlines their history and raison d’etre as follows:
“Hizb ut-Tahrir, which means ‘Party of Liberation,’ was established in 1953 in Jerusalem by Muslim cleric and jurist Taqiuddin al-Nabhani. The party and its ideology was a reaction to the establishment of an Israeli state, which led to a massive expulsion of Palestinians from their cities and villages to other parts of the country or outside it.
The party adopted a strong anti-colonial approach mixed with a fundamentalist Islamic inclination. Turning towards religious fundamentalism was a response to the failure of a series of reformist projects introduced by contemporary Muslim thinkers such as Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi and Ali Abdel Raziq. They and others criticised the despotism in the Ottoman Caliphate. They called for a civil, semi-secular state.
Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects democracy, secularism and all Western models of state. It calls for the establishment of an “Islamic state” based on the early Islamic model of caliphate. It views:
Western civilisation and Islam as dichotomous entities with mutually exclusive ideological underpinnings, both of which competed to dominate Muslim societies.
Unlike jihadi groups such as al-Qaeda and IS, Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects the adoption of violence. It has not been involved with terrorist operations in either the Muslim world or worldwide.
In his book The Islamic State, al-Nabhani described the process of establishing an Islamic caliphate in three steps: the formation of a group of elites who carry the da’wah (invitation) to Muslim societies to support an Islamic state; the idea spreading among societies until it becomes supported by the majority; and the government responding to the majority’s demand.
Although Hizb ut-Tahrir is not a terrorist organisation, its radical doctrines have been adopted by jihadi groups such as IS. However, Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders deny IS’s legitimacy, as it is not established in the correct Islamic way.
Also, the more extreme groups such as IS consider Hizb ut-Tahrir a barrier to the Islamic project and oppose it strongly. Hizb ut-Tahrir has supporters in the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and some Western countries. Nonetheless, it does not have a serious influence on prevailing events in the Middle-East or on the West’s Muslim communities.”
Explainer: what is Hizb ut-Tahrir? https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-hizb-ut-tahrir-37963
Returning to my second question; the obvious answer, based upon that already mentioned, is that they – along with every other proscribed group – are deemed a threat, both to Western Imperialist dominance and capitalist economies elsewhere that, in terms of the Military Industrial Complex, rely upon its continuation. Therefore, the covert reality isn’t religious at all, but solely political.
It’s telling that no objective, evidential reason as to why a group is proscribed as ‘terrorist’ is required in law and, thus, not published on the Government website. With such a compliant populace, it is the entirely subjective view of the sitting Government and that is deemed enough justification.
As an example of their political, rather than religious, perspective, blogger and Hizb ut-Tahrir member Mazin Abdul-Adhim, honed in upon what the group face from Western Governments, on a livestream from last November:
“(Western Governments) protect Zionists this much because they know that if the Zionists fall, the mirage of the weakness of Moslems falls with it. The Moslems will immediately turn their attention to the Capitalists – instantly. The second that the Moslems liberate Palestine, you’ll see the whole Moslem world unite and will realise it was America, Britain, France and Russia who have been controlling us the whole time . . . Imagine if Moslems defeated Zionism and removed the Zionists from power, and Moslems became powerful in the region . . . what’s the next step? Moslems are going to look at their lands and ask, why are our lands filled with all these American bases? Why is our economy controlled by American, British and European companies?” .
‘TikTok Livestream #1: Gaza, the History of the Zionists, and the Importance of Collective Work’)
This was streamed around the time the US House of Representatives passed a near unanimous, and ludicrous, resolution equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. The eight-year-old Zionist smear campaign, conceived by the Middle-Class to even further enable the Ruling Class, had now been legislated as a means to legitimise international Capitalist crimes.
Parking their religion for a moment, it is clear that Hizb ut-Tahrir’s world view appears far closer to communism, since they are anti-Imperialist, anti-Zionist and prioritise mass struggle over self-centred individualism. In the light of capitalists’ blind servility to Zionism, where working-class civilians are deemed expendable chattel, religious differences are their last consideration, and merely cover; otherwise, Hizb ut-Tahrir could murder as many voters as they wished with impunity.
The pushback has been notable, as far as it goes; The Hague’s interim decision; Yemen’s Government placing the US and UK Governments’ on their own ‘terrorist’ list. (Particularly pleasing). Even Pete Gregson’s petition to have Hamas removed from the UK’s ‘terror’ list affords a positive wedge, in light of Israel’s subsequently discredited litany of lies. (Including around the true source of the 7th October trigger). Ultimately, of course, the only real leverage to corporate power remains an internationally co-ordinated working-class revolution; the seeds for which have, perhaps, already been sown. It’s vital they are propagated. Meanwhile, the ruling class’s march to making the whole of the West a fascist homeland safe for billionaire Zio-Nazis continues apace.
