HIZB UT-TAHRIR IDEOLOGY AND STRATEGY “The fierce struggle… between the Muslims and the Kuffar, has been intense ever since the dawn of Islam... It will continue in this way – a bloody struggle alongside the intellectual struggle – until the Hour comes and Allah inherits the Earth...” Hizb ut-Tahrir The Centre for Social Cohesion Houriya Ahmed & Hannah Stuart HIZB UT-TAHRIR IDEOLOGY AND STRATEGY “The fierce struggle… between the Muslims and the Kuffar, has been intense ever since the dawn of Islam... It will continue in this way – a bloody struggle alongside the intellectual struggle – until the Hour comes and Allah inherits the Earth...” Hizb ut-Tahrir The Centre for Social Cohesion Houriya Ahmed & Hannah Stuart Hizb ut-Tahrir Ideology and Strategy Houriya Ahmed and Hannah Stuart 2009 The Centre for Social Cohesion Clutha House, 10 Storey’s Gate London SW1P 3AY Tel: +44 (0)20 7222 8909 Fax: +44 (0)5 601527476 Email: [email protected] www.socialcohesion.co.uk The Centre for Social Cohesion Limited by guarantee Registered in England and Wales: No. 06609071 © The Centre for Social Cohesion, November 2009 All the Institute’s publications seek to further its objective of promoting human rights for the benefit of the public. The views expressed are those of the author, not of the Institute. Hizb ut-Tahrir: Ideology and Strategy By Houriya Ahmed and Hannah Stuart ISBN 978-0-9560013-4-4 All rights reserved The map on the front cover depicts Hizb ut-Tahrir’s vision for its Caliphate in ‘Islamic Lands’ ABOUT THE AUTHORS Houriya Ahmed is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC). She holds a BA in Anthropology and Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Hannah Stuart is a Research Fellow at the CSC, author of Beth Din: Jewish Law in the UK and co-author of Islam on Campus: a Survey of UK Student Opinions. She holds a BA in English Lit- erature from the University of Bristol and an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies. ABOUT THE CSC The CSC is a non-partisan think-tank that studies issues related to community cohesion in the UK. Committed to the promotion of human rights, it is the first think-tank in the UK to specialise in studying radicalisation and extremism within the UK. The CSC is headquartered in London, and was founded in 2007 to promote human rights, tolerance and greater cohe- sion among the UK’s ethnic and religious communities and within wider British society. CSC PUBLIcatIONS Hate on the State: How British libraries encourage Islamic extremism (2007) Crimes of the Community: Honour-based violence in the UK (2008) Virtual Caliphate: Islamic extremists and their websites (2008) Islam on Campus: A survey of UK student opinions (2008) Victims of Intimidation: Freedom of speech within Europe’s Muslim communities (2008) The West and the Future of Islam: A debate between Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Ed Husain (2009) The Beth Din: Jewish law in the UK (2009) A Degree of Influence: The funding of strategically important subjects in UK universities (2009) The BNP and the Online Fascist Network (2009) CONTENTS Executive Summary 3 Introduction 7 Methodology 9 PART I: IDEOLOGY Aim 13 Early Ideological Influences 14 Islamist Ideology 17 Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Methodology for Political Change 17 Economic Policy 18 Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb: an Ideological Conflict 19 Jihadist Philosophy of Expansionism 20 Sanctioning Non-State Actors’ Engagement in Jihadism 21 Clash of Civilisations Worldview 24 Problematic Ideological Positions 26 Permissibility of Killing Civilians in Dar al-Harb 26 Occupation of ‘Islamic Lands’ 27 Permissibility of Killing Israeli Jews 27 Support for Suicide Bombings 29 Hijacking Planes 31 Support for Terrorism and Terrorist Organisations 32 Western Conspiracy against Islam and Muslims 33 Encouraging Armies of Muslim-majority Countries to Revolt 35 Rejection of Modernity and Man-made Institutions 36 Rejection of Democratic Values 38 Apostasy for Believing in Democratic Values 39 Imposing Medieval Interpretations of Shariah 40 Forceful Imposition of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Ideology 43 Ideological Influence: al-Qaeda 45 PART II: ACTIVITY IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES Nussrah 49 Global Activity 50 Middle East 50 North Africa 52 Central Asia 54 South/Southeast Asia 55 PART III: STRATEGY IN THE WEST Perspective on the West 61 Non-acceptance of Western States 61 Opposing Western Civilisation 62 Disengagement from Mainstream Politics 63 Sole Identification with the “Ummah” 63 A UK Case Study [1986 – 2009] 65 ‘Strategies for Action in the West’, Hizb ut-Tahrir Strategy Communiqué, 16 February 2005 68 The Vanguard of Islam – Activism within British Muslim Communities 72 Recruitment, Study Circles, and Membership 72 The War on Terror/‘War on Islam’ Paradigm 73 Defending Women’s Rights 81 Championing “Islamic” Education and Identity 83 Promoting Disengagement with the UK’s Social Systems 86 Establishing Forums to Propagate Hizb ut-Tahrir Ideology in Local Communities 87 Establishing Forums to Propagate Hizb ut-Tahrir Ideology on UK Campuses 93 Gaining the Support of Islamist Groups and Muslim Organisations in the UK 97 Mainstreaming Islamism – Activism within wider British Society 103 Engaging with Politicians, Civic Institutions, Local Councils and the Media 104 Downplaying Intolerant Hizb ut-Tahrir Ideology 109 PART IV: POLICY CONSIDERATIONS Current Positions 117 Scenario One: Proscription of Hizb ut-Tahrir 120 Legislation 120 Anticipated Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain Response 122 Issues for Government 124 The Viability of Proscription 126 Alternative Arguments for Proscription – Propagation of Antisemitism 127 Overall Effectiveness 128 Scenario Two: Encourage Civic & Civil Intolerance of Hizb ut-Tahrir 129 Background: Current Counter-Terrorism Strategy 129 Recommendations 130 Issues for Government 138 Repercussions within wider Civil Society 140 Conclusion 143 APPENDICES Appendix A: Omar Bakri Mohammed and Al-Muhajiroun 147 Appendix B: Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Edict on Hijacking Planes 151 Appendix C: ‘Communiqué from Hizb ut-Tahrir – America and Britain declare war against Islam and the Muslims’ 153 References 157 Glossary 164 Abbreviations 165 Hizb ut-Tahrir Members Mentioned 166 Acknowledgements 167 Hizb ut-Tahrir Ideology and Strategy Executive Summary Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) is a revolutionary Islamist party that works to establish an expansionist super-state in Muslim-majority countries, unifying Muslims worldwide as one political bloc, or “ummah”. PART I: IDEOLOGY All states are regarded as ‘lands of war’ because the party’s specific type of governance is presently not implemented. HT’s state, on the other hand, would be considered the ‘land of Islam’. HT’s conception of jihad, or warfare, is based on these classifications. The party believes that its state can wage war in order to annex all Muslim-majority countries and colonise all non-Muslim majority countries. HT believes that Muslims should engage in this war to con- vert all ‘lands of war’ into the ‘land of Islam’, and killing civilians to achieve this is permitted. HT’s state would be governed by autocratic rule and enforce an intolerant strand of shariah as state law. The party’s draft constitution discriminates against minorities and women. In the absence of HT’s state, Muslims are sanctioned to engage in jihad in ‘occupied Islamic lands’, defined as any country that is Muslim-majority or was once ‘ruled by Muslims under the authority of Islam.’ HT believes that “terrorising” the “enemy” is a religious duty against those committing ‘aggression against the sanctities of the Muslims.’ HT defines Israel as an “enemy” state: killing Israeli Jews is sanctioned through tactics such as suicide bombings as well as hijacking and bombing Israeli planes. Inherent to HT’s worldview is a clash between “Western” and “Islamic” civilisations. The party believes the United Kingdom and United States of America are leading a campaign against Islam and Muslims worldwide. HT considers the influence of Western thought and physical presence in Muslim-majority countries as a threat to Islam, which it wishes to “uproot”. Lib- eral values – secularism, human rights and pluralism – are rejected as “un-Islamic” because they differ from HT’s Islamist doctrine. Promoting democracy, for example, is seen as part of a Western conspiracy to weaken Islam. Communism and socialism are also rejected despite HT’s founder and ideologue heavily borrowing from socialist concepts to formulate party ideology. While HT is not a terrorist organisation, its revolutionary Islamism belongs to the same po- litical spectrum as entry-level Islamists (the Muslim Brotherhood) and militant Islamists (al- Qaeda). While they differ in methodology, the end goal of all three organisations is to create an “Islamic state”. A number of militant Islamist groups emerged in the Middle East as a result of being radicalised by HT’s sectarian ideology, and former members have since participated in terrorism. 3 HIZB ut-Tahrir: Ideology and Strategy PART II: ACTIVITY IN MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES Operating in over 40 countries worldwide, HT is widely banned in the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. The party’s method for gaining power is to infiltrate military factions in Muslim-majority countries in order to facilitate a coup. The party has already staged failed coups in the Middle East in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and is currently attempting to do so in Pakistan because the country possesses nuclear weapons. PART III: STRATEGY IN THE WEST HT actively seeks mass support for its Islamist revolution among Western Muslims. Party ideology commands them to oppose Western civilisation and to subvert their societies. All Western states are considered “enemies” of Islam and potential land for HT’s expansionist Islamist state via jihad. HT targets Muslim communities in an attempt to create a monolithic bloc sympathetic to its brand of Islamism and to promote sole identification with HT’s “ummah”.