Since the Chicago press has been largely silent on the upcoming Hizb ut-Tahrir conference in Oak Lawn (their first major meeting in the U.S.), citizens who may be concerned that an Islamic supremacist/indoctrination group is meeting in their backyard are forced to research this group ourselves.
They may want to start here. The Heritage Foundation issued a report on Hizb ut-Tahrir in 2003, calling it “an emerging threat to US interests in Central Asia.” An excerpt:
Hizb has called for a jihad against the U.S., its allies, and moderate Muslim states. The purpose of the jihad is “to find and kill the Kufar (non-believers),” in fact rejecting the Islamic notion of Greater Jihad against one’s own as a sin.19
In documents drafted before 9/11, Hizb leaders accused the United States of imposing hegemony on the world. After 9/11, Hizb claimed that the U.S. had declared war against the global Muslim community (Umma), had established an international alliance under the “pretext” of fighting terrorism, and was reinforcing its grip on the countries of Central Asia. Hizb further claimed that the U.S. accused Osama bin Laden of being responsible for the 9/11 attacks “without any evidence or proof.”
The party attempted to use its influence by calling upon all Muslim governments to reject the U.S. appeal for cooperation in the war against terrorism.20 It called for expulsion of U.S. and Western citizens, including Western diplomats, from countries in which it will take power and shredding diplomatic treaties and agreements with Western governments. It further declared:
Muslims! You are religiously obliged to reject this American question which takes you lightly and despises you. America does not have the sublime values that entitle it to tell you what to support and whom to fight against. You possess a divine mission. You are the ones to bring guidance and light to mankind. God described you with the following words: “You are the best people brought forth for the benefit of mankind. You enjoin good and forbid evil. And you believe in God.”
As for Jihad…it is legal, in fact it is an obligation, it is the apex of Islamic ethics, as Almighty God says, “Keep in store for them whatever you are capable of, force and equipment with which you can frighten those who are enemies of God and enemies of yourselves….” God’s Messenger (Mohammed) said, “Islam is the head, prayer is the backbone and Jihad is the perfection.”
Muslims! The law of religion does not allow you to give to America what it is trying to impose upon you. You are not allowed to follow its orders or to provide it with any assistance whatsoever, no matter whether it be intelligence or facilities of using your territory, your air space or your territorial waters. It is not permissible to cede military bases to the Americans, nor it is allowed to coordinate any military activities with them or to collaborate with them. It is not allowed to enter into an alliance with them or to be loyal to them, because they are enemies of Islam and Muslims. God said, “Believers, Do not befriend my enemy and your enemy…. They have rejected the truth that has come to you.”21
In a June 2001 article published in the party’s journal, Hizb ideologists claim that all methods are justified in the struggle against the unbelievers, including murder. They specifically mention that a pilot’s diving a plane hit by enemy fire into a crowd of unbelievers without bailing out with a parachute is a legitimate form of armed struggle. Hizb also demands that Muslims come to the support of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Read the whole thing, if you can bear it. Happy weekend, Chicago!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post has been amended since its initial posting.