Hizb ut-Tahrir: The Islamic extremist group in Tony Abbott’s sights
THIS extremist group has sparked controversy more than once. And now Tony Abbott has put it at the top of his agenda.
THIS extremist group has sparked controvery more than once.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is also the group that Prime Minister Tony Abbott would like to see banned in Australia.
The embattled PM, who narrowly survived a spill motion in yesterday’s Liberal party room meeting, has reaffirmed terrorism and extremist groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir are the top of his agenda as he seeks to shore up support among his party colleagues.
In a speech in parliament yesterday, Mr Abbott outlined another wave of national security laws which could ban a range of groups that “nurture extremism.”
However, the group has today issued a veiled threat to Mr Abbott, warning they will move underground if the Federal Government does succeed in its mission to ban them.
In an open letter, Muslim cleric Ismail al-Wahwah said that to succeed in banning the group “you would have to attempt that which has not been attempted before”, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Al-Wahwah also said a ban in countries including Jordan and Iraq, and a partial ban in Germany, had clearly failed and would do so in Australia.
Yesterday wasn’t the first time the group has come to the PM’s attention
Just days ago, Mr Abbott told the ABC he was planning to take action against the Islamic group within weeks.
And in his National Press Club address last week, Mr Abbott also said: “We have to tackle the people and the organisations that justify terrorism and act as its recruiting agents — such as Hizb ut-Tahrir.
“If cracking down on Hizb ut-Tahrir and others who nurture extremism in our suburbs means further legislation, we will bring it on.
“And I will demand that the Labor Party call it for Australia.”
He has also on several occasions publicly accused Hizb ut-Tahrir of being “un-Australian” and inciting terrorism.
But who exactly are Hizb ut-Tahir and why are they in the PM’s firing line?
WHO:
Hizb ut-Tahrir describes itself as a “a political party whose ideology is Islam”.
The group’s aim is to resume the Islamic way of life and to convey the Islamic da’wah to the world.”
WHAT THEY STAND FOR:
The group describes itself on its website as a political party aimed at “bringing Muslims back to living an Islamic way of life”.
This means that society is administered according to the Shari’ah rules, including that Muslims are forbidden from leaving the religion.
Two weeks ago, Hizb ut-Tahrir helped organise a peaceful rally in Sydney’s west in protest over negative coverage of Islam and treatment of the Prophet Mohammed.
In October last year, the organisation hosted an event at which the guest speaker advocated a “new world order” united under a global caliphate governed by Islamic law.
WHY THE POTENTIAL BAN?
Concerns have been raised in the past that the group promotes some of the views of extremists such as Islamic State, or ISIS.
However to date intelligence agencies have never recommended the group be banned, AAP reported.
A spokesman for Mr Abbott said two weeks ago that advice was being sought from intelligence agencies on options for taking action against Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The group has not been without controversy due to its leaders failing to condemn incidents such as the Paris terror attacks, as well as the actions of ISIS.
CRACKDOWN ‘NOT EFFECTIVE’:
Banning groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir will only serve to alienate sections of the Muslim community and make ASIO’s job harder, experts told The Australian.
Monash University terrorism expert Greg Barton said it was better than groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir were out in the open, while Australian National University security expert Clive Williams
told the paper that banning the group would “only drive it underground.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir has warned it would move underground if such a move were to take place.
CONTROVERSY:
Just last month, the leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia Ismail Alwahwah, described the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks as a “cure”.
Alwahwah claimed the deadly terror attacks as a reaction to “daily humiliation” of Muslims and “insults to their book and prophet”.
Hizb ut-Tahrir also released a statement refusing to condemn the terrorist attacks, The Daily Telegraph reported.
In October last year, the group attracted headlines again when ABC’s Lateline host Emma Alberici quizzed Wassim Doureihi, a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir over the barbarity shown by ISIS militants.
Doureihi refused to say he was outraged when asked about the images of Australian children holding up severed heads “like trophies” in Iraq or Syria.
Instead he turned the argument towards the actions of Western countries and the “innocent killing of a million lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
In refusing to condemn the actions of ISIS, Mr Abbott said of the group: “This is an organisation which is very careful to avoid advocating terrorism, but is always making excuses for terrorist organisations and I regard it as un-Australian frankly to stand up there and make excuses for terrorism, to defend terrorism, to blame everyone but the terrorists for their actions.”
HAVE THEY BEEN BANNED ELSEWHERE?
Yes.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has already been banned in some Arab countries as well as Russia while Germany has imposed a partial ban on the grounds that it promotes racial disharmony, The Australian reported.
However, other European and North American countries have not banned the group.
NEW TERROR LAWS:
Parliament has already passed laws making it an offence to advocate terrorism and making it easier to ban terrorist organisations.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the government was determined to expose terrorism and list terrorist organisations where there was evidence to do so.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said he would consider the new laws when they were finalised.
The legislation will be introduced to parliament by the end of the month and will outlaw Islamic groups that preach hatred and promote extremism.
The measures are also expected to include a crackdown on jihadists using social media.
WHAT HIZB UT-TAHRIR SAY:
In response to last week’s press club speech, a media release by the group accused the PM of talking tough to mask his own weakness.
“Tony Abbott is playing tough to score cheap and opportunistic political points,” the press release reads.
“The issue of national security is one conveniently raised only for politically expedient purposes.”
It also said it wasn’t about strengthening anti-terror laws and more to do with stifling dissent.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir’s activities are not illegal and to alter that would demonstrate that the Australian government is willing to change law to suit political agendas and stifle critical voices,”
the statement continues.
It also claims it is a party of ideas and is “exclusively intellectual and political” and existing terror laws only serve to target Muslims who already feel discriminated against.
The group has been contacted by news.com.au regarding further comment on the issue.
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