Why is the UK government proscribing Hizb ut-Tahrir?

The UK Home Office moved to ban the British branch of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir this week, claiming the group is antisemitic and should be designated a terrorist organisation.

The UK parliament is expected to approve of the ban, meaning that Hizb ut-Tahrir could eventually be, in the eyes of British law, akin to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda.

The New Arab takes a closer look into what Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) is and why the UK government is moving now to ban the organisation.

What is Hizb ut-Tahrir?

The group is headquartered in Beirut and was founded in 1953 as a pan-Sunni Islamist organisation that calls for a single Islamic caliphate to rule over all Muslim-majority countries via peaceful means.

While it has contested elections in a number of Muslim-majority countries in the past, it now disavows democracy and hopes to gain power and fulfill its goals through a global grassroots, non-violent revolution among Muslims.

The group has branches in at least 40 countries. Despite its non-violent methods, it has been formally banned in Bangladesh, China, Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Germany, and most of the Arab world, bar Lebanon, the UAE, and Yemen. 

Has the UK government tried to ban it before?

UK governments have a history of trying to ban the group. Tony Blair vowed to ban the group in 2005 under the auspices of it promoting "extremism" following the 7 July London attacks.

Such a ban failed to materialise due to Blair being unable to get around the legal obstacles of the group’s non-violent advocacy.

The same was true of David Cameron who before becoming PM in 2010 pledged to ban the group in the Conservative Party manifesto. Again, despite Cameron gaining power twice in 2010 and again in 2015, the group remained legal.

In 2011, an independent watchdog on terrorism legislation warned parliament that any attempt to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir would effectively entail wholesale changes to the system for proscription, giving the government powers to proscribe non-violent groups and organisations. For these reasons, Cameron quietly dropped his attempt to proscribe the group.

Why is the UK government banning and proscribing them now?

The UK government’s case for banning the group relates entirely to Israel and, in particular, Hizb ut-Tahrir’s reaction to the surprise 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

Home Secretary James Cleverly claimed in a statement on Monday said: "Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organization that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks."

The evidence the government could be using to proscribe the group as a "terrorist organisation" appears to have come from videos of demonstrations held or attended by the group as Israel began its war on Gaza. In one of the videos, members or supporters of the group called on "Muslim armies" to attack "the Zionist entity".

The group itself has made no such call, though members consider Hamas to be a legitimate resistance movement within the context of the violent Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In December, the chief spokesperson of the group Dr Wahid Asif Shaida – known as Abdul Wahid – was interviewed by Piers Morgan on the right-wing British TV channel TalkTV. In the interview, the  NHS doctor was asked about the video in question and said that its speakers were calling for a legitimate military intervention by Muslim-majority countries to stop a genocide being committed in Gaza.

Morgan shifted the interview onto discussions about Islamic law, questioning whether Abdul Wahid's personal religious beliefs made him unfit to be an NHS doctor. The line of questioning was slammed by Muslim viewers as Islamophobic.

It has been speculated that Abdul Wahid's appearance on the show, as well as Morgan's questions to the NHS about their employment of the activist, brought fresh scrutiny on HT.

What does Hizb ut-Tahrir say about this?

The group flatly denies that it supports antisemitism or terrorism of any kind. In a statement, it claimed the UK government’s move to ban it was "a desperate measure to censor debate about the genocide in Palestine and to stop Islam’s just political alternative". It further stated it would challenge the ban using all legal means.

On the question of antisemitism, the group said: "We have repeatedly called for the re-establishment of the Islamic system in the Middle East that allowed Jews, Muslims and Christians to live side by side for centuries. It is Islam’s sublime values that removes oppression from society and doesn’t discriminate on colour, race, religion or gender."

What are the ramifications of the ban?

Many commentators are alarmed by the fact that the government is proscribing a non-violent group like Hizb ut-Tahrir as terrorist organisation despite its commitment to non-violence.

Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray, who was once part of a formal review that looked into banning the group, called the UK government’s decision "ridiculous".

He further pointed out that the UK has investigated the group for 25 years and "the conclusion every time was that [Hizb ut-Tahrir] has a philosophy of non-violence and therefore should not be banned".

Spent my university years arguing with members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir on theology and politics. Always in a brotherly way.

The latest announcement of HT's proscription has been the most convincing argument I've heard on why I should join them.

Not sure they'd have me though 🙃

— Dr Asim Qureshi 🏞️➡️🌊🇵🇸🕊️ (@AsimCP) January 15, 2024

Dr Asim Qureshi, director of the London-based Muslim civil rights advocacy group CAGE, called into question the veracity of the government’s claims against Hizb ut-Tahrir.

"It's important to note how a non-violent group such as HT is being targeted under terrorism laws. There is a distinct lack of causation between what they believe and violence on the streets of London, or indeed anywhere," he wrote on X. 

If the ban passes, it could come into effect as early as Friday. If the group doesn’t immediately disband, members could face terrorism charges and sentences of up to 14 years in prison.