Dr Abdul Wahid’s Weblog

1. Because Hizb ut-Tahrir is a radical Islamic group that stresses non-violence (at least in Britain) many people are shocked at the suggestion that you might be banned. But there are two serious problems with HT. First, you seem to play a “transmission belt” role for many young British Muslims who get their first taste of the fundamentalist world view from you and then move on to more violent groups. Second, you have openly opposed the idea of co-operating in the handing over of terror suspects to the authorities. How can you reassure politicians and the public on those two points?

It certainly should shock people that we may be proscribed. Not even Sinn Fein was banned, with declared links to a terrorist organisation at the height of the ‘troubles’. I totally reject the ‘transmission belt’ role you assert. It is built upon many false premises and I can explain why I am confident it is not true. Our political culture does not only stress non-violence, but stresses the importance of finding intellectual and political solutions to our problems. We say this because we consider that the problems of the Muslim world are due to declined thinking leading to political ineptitude. Hence, our mantra is that all our various problems in the Muslim world, including occupation, are symptoms of a deeper one that needs a political solution. That is something that people who hear us speak and read our literature are very clear on. Our objective is political and intellectual and so too are our means. Indeed, in some parts of the Muslim world we are accused of being too political in our solutions. We deal with a population politicised by world events, and channel their emotion into this non-violent political work. It is, in fact, foreign policy and the rhetoric of politicians that makes Muslims, young and old, angry. We replace anger with hope by providing a convincing political solution and invitation to work with us for that solution. That has been our position for over fifty years, even in the face of severe repression in some parts of the world. The assertion that we act as a “conveyor belt” for terrorism was first put by Zeyno Baran of the Nixon Center in America and was soundly refuted at the time by one of our members, Dr Abdullah Robin. (See http://www.1924.org/comment/index.php?id=1240_0_13_10_M )

On your second point, we have never said we oppose the handing over of terror suspects to the authorities. We have said that if an individual Muslim was faced with someone who was unwavering about committing harm to others, one would have no choice but to tell the authorities in order to prevent the harm to others. What we advise people to be careful of is to beware the climate of paranoia that exists at sensitive times. The lives of many innocent people have been ruined by over suspicion. Indeed many arrests in the UK and some detainees in Guantanamo bay were innocent people maliciously reported to the police.

2. You reject the “conveyor-belt” tag but what did you feel when you heard that the two British Pakistanis who blew themselves up in Tel-Aviv had passed through the study group of one of the HT founders in Britain?

I think you are alluding to Omar Bakri in your question, who incidentally was not a founder of our group in Britain, and who was expelled from it over nine years ago. I feel people need to look at HT for what we stand for, and not make assumptions based on anecdotal situations where many confounding factors are ignored.

3. You used to openly support suicide bombings in Israel on the grounds that Palestinians feels that they have no other means of being heard, have you changed your mind on that?

Look, there is a fundamental question you have to answer first. Do people who have suffered the occupation of their land, expulsion, homelessness and the loss of self-determination have the right to resist? If it is accepted that an occupied people have a right to choose when to fight and when to make peace, only then can we discuss whether means they use are valid or invalid. Certainly, the means any people use will be dependent upon their resources. So people with tanks, plans and guns would undoubtedly use these and people without these would use whatever means they do have. To deny this principle would be to say to the weak that it is illegitimate to defend themselves by the only means they have at their disposal.

4. You talk about the importance of political solutions and yet in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries you reject both violent overthrow of the system and political participation in the system – so how will you prevail?

With respect to the way we want to see change occur in the Muslim world there are many examples of how such changes occurred in recent history. Fundamentally, a pillar of our methodology is to change public opinion at a grassroots level. If you work on thoughts and opinions in society you create a ground swell of support for those ideas in society. When that support is sufficiently strong then systems can change.

South Africa’s example was one where public opinion changed, the system changed and then a new political system was established.

5. The more successful you are in Britain the worse it is for integration. A friend of mine said that at his school in Hounslow in the late 1980s the main role of HT members was to stop Muslims going out with non-Muslims. That may seem a trivial example (although a similar action by white Christians would be dubbed racist) but your general stance is one of Muslim chauvinism. You accept a duty of care towards your fellow citizens but hold yourself apart from British society (rejecting participation in the political system etc) encouraging an enclave mentality and openly opposing the vast majority of Muslims who try to accommodate their faith to living in western nation states.

Contrary to what you may believe we do not want to see social disharmony in the UK. Where we differ from the majority is that we would like to see this on terms where Muslims hold on to distinct values and a strong identity based on Islam. This is because we and others, including some non Muslims, genuinely think Muslims adhering to their faith have something to offer society by way of example. I concede that as a community we have not been good at engaging with the wider society, and there is huge ghetto-isation that produces problems that need to be managed.

We are against party political participation, but accept that many Muslims disagree with us and we discuss these disagreements with each other. However, it would be narrow minded for any one to think, would it not, that political life in the UK is restricted to party political involvement. We see our role within the sphere of civil society to be far more important than voting for career politicians once every few years in the hope that they fulfil their promises.

6. What would you say to a Muslim who wanted to leave the faith?

I would try to convince them not to, basically because there are rational proofs to belief in God and the authenticity of the Quran that many don’t realise. That is one reason why historically very few people have left this faith, and why increasing numbers return and turn to it.

7. Would you support the introduction of Shariah law for Muslims in areas of high Muslim population in Britain, as is now happening in parts of Canada?

No. Fundamentally it will not work, and we have always said this. Shariah needs comprehensive implementation, and that is why, despite being in the UK, we wish to see a Caliphate in the Muslim world.

8. How will you continue your work if HT is banned?

We are working hard to avert a ban, and if it comes our way we plan to fight it legally all the way.

9. Finally, back to the possible ban. You sound very reasonable – yet many organisations not known for their illiberalism – like the National Union of Students – have banned you. Could it be that there is quite a big gap between what you say and what your over-enthusiastic members actually do on the ground?

Approximately 10 years ago we were new to campuses and some were over enthusiastic with their first taste of political activism. Unfortunately, despite maturing in our work, old impressions have stuck. The NUS ban was passed in that era, but when it was proposed for renewal last year, the college that was first asked to propose maintaining the ban, UCL, voted not to do this. The proposal was then passed by Leo Baeck College in London and passed on to the NUS. Within days of the proposed proscription one University Student Union has condemned the proposal as well as individual members of the NUS.

The point is that in places where there is a recent and significant first hand experience of our ideas there has been weakening zeal for both the NUS ban, and no appetite for proscription.

I would add one final point, that illiberalism is often over looked when applied to more socially conservative ideas, in particular religious beliefs. This is in no way unique to Muslims. Many people who carry a strong faith will often find themselves facing illiberal attitudes.

Dr Abdul Wahid
Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain
Prospect
September 2005