Hizbut Tahrir (HT -
Liberation Party), a global pan-Islamic movement,
was founded in Jerusalem in 1953 by Palestinian
judge Sheikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani. The party is
dedicated to the political unity of the world of
Islam through the re-establishment of the Islamic
caliphate. It regards all governments in the
Muslim world as illegitimate. Hizbut Tahrir has a
strong presence in the United Kingdom, where the
government has announced plans to proscribe it on
account of its alleged radicalizing influence on
Muslim youths.
Taji Mustafa was born in 1971 in London.
He is of Nigerian origin. Mustafa studied computer
science at university and is an
information-technology engineer by profession. He
has been a member of Hizbut Tahrir for the past 15
years and is currently the party's media
representative in the United Kingdom. Taji
Mustafa spoke with Mahan Abedin.
Mahan Abedin: British Prime
Minister Tony Blair indicated his determination to
proscribe HT in August 2005; is the British
government as determined as ever to secure
proscription?
Taji Mustafa:
A BBC report from November last year indicated
that Tony Blair was as determined as ever to
proscribe HT just before he made a trip to
Pakistan. He wanted to show [Pakistani President
General Pervez] Musharraf that he was still intent
on carrying out his wishes. But more broadly what
we find is that while there are elements within
the government who listen to the dictators of the
Muslim world, there are also others who have
looked at the reality and concluded that there is
no evidence that HT has any connections to
terrorism whatsoever. It is these realists that
are telling the government to think through their
plans carefully lest HT's proscription was shot
down by the courts.
MA: What
was the main motivation behind Blair's declaration
on August 5, 2005, of government plans to
proscribe HT? Was it just a knee-jerk reaction to
the July 7 bombings or was it the culmination of
years of pressure by the Americans and the regimes
in the Muslim world?
TM: We
find that it is a combination of both. Tony Blair
clearly wanted to be seen to be doing something,
and that is why he announced his 12-point plan.
But in recent leaks from the New Statesman
magazine and the BBC report subsequent to that, it
was made clear that people like Musharraf and
[President Islam] Karimov of Uzbekistan have
lobbied very hard over the years for HT to be
proscribed in the UK. The events of July 7
provided Tony Blair with the excuse to carry out
the wishes of the dictators in the Muslim world.
MA: Many governments in the
Muslim world - in particular the Karimov regime in
Uzbekistan - have alleged that the UK is central
to worldwide HT activities. Is this true?
TM: The leadership of HT is
in the Muslim world. Right now we have a global
campaign against Karimov, which essentially
consists of raising awareness of the oppression of
Muslims in Uzbekistan. This campaign is led by HT
activists the world over, including HT members in
the West. Hizbut Tahrir is a global movement.
MA: But how central is the
UK to global HT activities?
TM: We have a longer history
in the UK than many other Western countries.
MA: But you have a longer
history in Germany, but your activities there are
nowhere near as intense as your UK-based activism.
TM: We are active in the UK
but the contention that this country is central to
our activities is very wrong. HT originated in the
Muslim world and the bulk of its activism is found
there.
MA: Where is your
leadership based? Many people claim it is based
either in the West Bank or Jordan.
TM: Our leadership is based in the
Muslim world. I can't be more specific than that,
because as you can appreciate our leaders are
pursued by despotic regimes. But our leaders
communicate regularly with our members and
supporters and the broader Muslim community on a
regular basis. Our current leader, Ata Abu Rishta,
communicates regularly and participates in online
debates and conferences. He is known in the Arab
world as he used to be HT's spokesman in Jordan
and has given numerous interviews over the years.
But obviously, because of concerns over his safety
and security, we do not discuss his location.
Awaiting a ban MA:
How close are you to proscription in the United
Kingdom?
TM: This is a
question which the British government should
answer. We have made it very clear that we would
challenge proscription through the courts. There
is no precedent in the UK for banning a party
simply on account of its ideology. We should see
potential proscription in the wider context of the
many measures this government has taken since 9/11
[September 11, 2001] to silence dissenting Muslim
voices. We have had many travesties of justice in
this period, including 28 days' detention without
charge and the fiasco over holding foreign terror
suspects indefinitely without charge.
MA: There have been reports
that the professionals in the Special Branch and
[the UK Security Service] MI5 object to the
proscription on account of the party's peaceful
nature. Do you think they have influence over the
Blair government?
TM: I
think their position is just a statement of the
obvious. Anybody who is familiar with HT knows
that throughout our 54-year history we have had
nothing to do with violence.
MA: But my question was
whether the security establishment in this country
can pressure the Blair government into relenting
over this issue.
TM: What is
clear is that there is a divide in the government
over this issue. I leave it at that.
MA: What are the legal
obstacles to proscription?
TM: In terms of legal
obstacles, there is simply no case to link HT to
violence. Moreover, should the government ban HT,
we would challenge that in the courts, and there
is a very good chance that we would succeed. I
think many people have grudgingly accepted this.
This is what is deterring Tony Blair, not advice
from the security establishment.
MA: But can HT be proscribed
tomorrow?
TM: Yes!
MA: So the government does
not have to prove its case to the
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