Hizb Ut-Tahrir Britain
Other names: HT Britain/Hizbul Tahir (HT) Britain/The Party of Liberation/حزب التحرير
Type: Political party
Country: Britain
Organisation Ideology: Political Islamism/Islamic supremacism
Founded: 1986
Online Resources
Official website: Hizb Ut-Tahrir Britain
28.3k followers
4.7k subscribers
6.7k followers
21k followers
Overview
HT Britain occupies a significant role within the overall Hizb ut-Tahrir global organisation due to its ability to penetrate circles prone to Islamist thought, which are prevalent in the UK, and the well-structured media outreach, online content and social media profiles operated by HT Britain. HT Global’s fundamental philosophy since its founding is the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate ruled by Shari’a law. HT Britain’s outreach in the English-speaking world is significant due to the history of radicalisation of vulnerable elements amongst Muslim Britons, and the potential that HT sees in future recruitment efforts. HT Britain’s website is mainly focused on providing analysis from an Islamic perspective on global political events. On its website, it openly states its aim to bring about change in Muslim countries through non-violent means, stating:
“The Hizb works to create a public opinion in the Muslim countries in favour of the Islamic political system, the Khilafah, through emulating the example of Prophet Muhammad”.
“This involves presenting the Islamic solutions to address contemporary problems, political activism and ultimately working for political change in the Muslim countries in a non-violent way.”
Ties to Extremism
Like other HT outfits in the western world, particularly in the U.S and Australia, HT Britain has avoided being banned by the British government. These calls mainly stem from concerns by the British government and intelligence agencies that despite being a radical Islamist movement, there is no hard evidence to link HT Britain to terrorism. Even after the July 2005 bombings in London - and despite HT Britain playing no part in the attacks, British security organisations called on the government to block legislation aimed at banning the group to prevent it from going underground, which could backfire. A well-known book written on the organisation stated that following the July 7 bombings in London, HT Britain worked to improve its public image by deleting extremist content on its website, including anti-semitic content, and claims that the U.S. was complicit in the September 11 attacks. Following the tactical change to maintain its reputation, HT Britain claimed that it did not alter its worldview.
HT Britain, along with its other Islamist rival in the UK - the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) have both been accused of stirring up anti-western sentiment and promoting radical Islamist thought amongst some elements within the UK Muslim community, particularly on social issues such as female presence in mosques, Muslim children attending drama classes in school and calling Al Qaeda members “brethren”.