Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; , ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ummah) and implement sharia globally.
Hizb ut-Tahrir was founded in 1953 as a political organization in then-Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem by Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani, a Palestinian Islamic scholar from Haifa who was educated in Egypt and served as a qadi (religious court judge) in Mandatory Palestine. He formulated a program and a "draft constitution" for the establishment of a Caliphate.Draft Constitution of the Khilafah State, 2011: Article 26an-Nabhani, The Islamic State, 1998: pp. 240–276 The organization sees world history as an eternal conflict between Islam and non-believers, with the state system considered a historical assault on Islam. The group views Jihad as an essential aspect of its vision and considers it an imperative duty aimed at combating disbelief until all submit to Islamic rule, making no distinction between the violent and spiritual dimensions of Jihad. As an initial step, HT directs attention to the 'near enemy', advocating the removal of rulers "pretending to be Muslims", a step they consider a prerequisite for the global spread of Islam.
Since 1953, Hizb ut-Tahrir has spread to more than 50 countries, and has a membership estimated to be between "tens of thousands" to "about one million". Hizb ut-Tahrir is active in Western countries, including the UK, and also in several Arab and Central Asian countries despite being banned by some governments. Members typically meet in small private study circles, but in countries where the group is not illegal, it also engages with the media and organizes rallies and conferences. The organization's leadership is centered in Jordan, with additional headquarters in London. This dual presence leverages the relative freedom in Europe to oversee activities in Muslim nations where HT faces more stringent restrictions.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in Bangladesh, China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Germany, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan and "across Central Asia", Indonesia, Australia, and all Arab countries except Lebanon, Yemen and the UAE. In July 2017, the Indonesian government revoked Hizb ut-Tahrir's legal status, citing incompatibility with government regulations on extremism and national ideology.
Goals, methods, and organization Time Timeline of significant events 1953 Founding by Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani in Jerusalem. 1960 HT begins "Interaction Stage" in Jordan. Society is unresponsive. Party revises its method.Hizb ut-Tahrir leaflet: 'Caesarean Section', 27 January 1972 1961 HT adopts the method of seeking support from the influential faction(s) to assume power,Hizb ut-Tahrir leaflet, *A Style to Win the Ummah and to Take Its Leadership", 14 December 1980 specifically by gaining sympathy and protection from within the army to conduct a coup or nussrah.Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest, 1996: pp.25 The party also sends experienced members to seek support in Syria and Iraq. 1964 forcing it to attempt to take power in that country.Hizb ut-Tahrir, Answer to a Question about Force, 20 March 1970 1968/69 HT allegedly involved in two failed coup attempts in Jordan and Syria.Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest, 1996: pp.27–29 1970 Several coup attempts having failed, HT Party efforts "come to a standstill" until 1980.Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest, 1996: pp.30, 191 1974 HT are allegedly involved in a failed coup attempt in Egypt. 1977 Founder and leader Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani dies in Lebanon. He is succeeded by Abdul Qadeem Zallum, also a Palestinian cleric. 1978 HT declares that the Muslims had reached a state of total surrender and despair and are not responding to its call. The party acknowledges that this has caused activity to decline almost to a standstill, mainly due to misconceptions.Hizb ut-Tahrir leaflet, "A Letter to the Shebab", 20 July 1978 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, was asked to reestablish the caliphate, but Khomeini ignored HT's request. (The party later denounced him as an American agent.)Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest, pp.31Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest, 1996: p.31 1980 Party leadership states that although seeking nussrah is vital, members should remember that the attainment of power also depends upon gaining popular support. 1989December Start of party moving away from a strict non-violence stance, 22 December 1989 conference report discusses the theological foundations of "armed insurrection against any 'unfaithful' government".Baran, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam's Political Insurgency, 2004:50–52 1996–97 Internal dispute known as "the Redress". Dissident members accuse the leadership of Abdul Qadeem Zallum of deviating from party principles. Dissenters are led by Abu Rami, a veteran member from the party inner circle. Four different "camps" develop.Omar Bakri, in a March 2004 interview with Jamestown Foundation Terrorism MonitorKaragiannis, Political Islam in Central Asia , 2010: p.50 1998 HT declares that the Caliphate is now the wish of all the Muslims.Hizb ut-Tahrir Progress Dossier, 1998 2001June Moving in a more confident and radical direction (according to Zeyno Baran), HT states in its Al-Waie journal that it is "permissible" to carry out suicide attacks with explosive belts. 2003March 79-year-old leader Abdul Qadeem Zallum retires as leader, succeeded by Ata Khalil Abu-Rashta, a Palestinian civil engineer, who leads HT on a more aggressive course.Baran, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam's Political Insurgency, 2004:17 The US-led invasion of Iraq begins. The invasion and subsequent occupation helps HT by raising consciousness among Muslims of a "global umma" and by lowering Muslims' opinion of the United States – the leader of the invasion and (according to HT) the "head of Kufr".Baran, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam's Political Insurgency, 2004:9 2010–2016 The party works to ignite the Syrian Revolution and heavily invests in it, hoping that the revolutionary fighters would unite under HT's Islamic umbrella and agree upon an Islamic Caliphate.Al Sabeel (489), p. 9, 6–12, May 2003 .Al Waie (197), p. 3, August 2003 Hizb ut-Tahrir states its aim as unification of all Muslim countries (or as it calls them "Islamic lands") over time in a unitaryDraft Constitution of the Khilafah State, 2011: Article 16 Islamic state or caliphate, headed by a caliph elected by Muslims. This, it holds, is an obligation decreed by God, warning that Allah will punish those Muslims "who neglect this duty".an-Nabhani, The Islamic State, 1998: p.3 Once established, the caliphate will expand into non-Muslim areas, through "invitation" and through military jihad,Ahmed & Stuart, Hizb Ut-Tahrir, 2009: p.3, 20–25 so as to expand the land of Islam and diminish the land of unbelief. To "achieve its objective" HT seeks "to gain the leadership of the Islamic community" so that the community will "accept it as her [the community's] leader, to implement Islam upon her and proceed with it in her struggle against the Kuffar (unbelievers) and in the work towards the return of the Islamic State".
The nature of the "Islamic state"/caliphate/khilafah is spelled out in a detailed program and "draft constitution" which notes the caliphate being a unitary state,, opposing federalism in the process, run by a caliph acting as head of state elected by Muslims. Other specified features include: "The currency of the State is to be restricted to gold and silver"—article 163; "every male Muslim, fifteen years and over, is obliged to undergo military training"—article 56; "Arabic is the language of Islam and the sole language of the State"—article 8; in marriage the wife is "obliged to obey her husband" and the husband "to provide"—article 116, in schools "the weekly lessons of Islamic disciplines and Arabic language must be equal to the lessons of all other sciences in terms of number and time"—article 173. Such things as copyrights on educational materials (article 175), military treaties (article 185), and memberships by the state in secular international organizations (article 186) are forbidden by the constitution. In addition to the constitution, "many detailed books" expand on the HT ideology and "method of work", according to its 2010 Information pack.HT Britain, Hizb ut-Tahrir Media Information Pack, circa 2010: p.17
Although hizb means party in Arabic, in the countries where Hizb ut-Tahrir is active it has not registered as a political party or attempted to elect candidates to political office,Zeyno Baran (November/December 2005). "Fighting the War of Ideas". Foreign Affairs 84 (6). New York. p. 79 although it did early in its history. Hizb ut-Tahrir put forward candidates for office in Jordan in the 1950s when it was first formed and before it was banned, according to Suha Taji-Farouki.David Schenker (20 June 2006). "One Year after the Cedar Revolution: The Potential for Sunni-Shiite Conflict in Lebanon". Policy #1114. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Kyrgyz Hizb ut-Tahrir members campaigned unsuccessfully for an affiliated candidate in Kyrgyzstan's national presidential election in July 2005, and have participated in municipal elections where their followers have won in a number of regions. Olivier Roy describes the strategy as a "global, grassroots revolution, culminating in a sudden, millenarian victory", as opposed to a slog through a political process "that risks debasing the Koran and perpetuating the ummah's subjugation to the West".Olivier Roy, Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 248.
The party plans its political progress in three stages, taking after the process "by which the Prophet Muhammad established the Caliphate in thirteen years".Baran, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam's Political Insurgency, 2004:20–21 According to an analyst of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Kazakhstan,Dosym Satpayev, director of a Kazakh think tank Assessment Risks Group where the group is outlawed: "First they convert new members. Secondly, they establish a network of secret cells, and finally, they try to infiltrate the government to work to legalize their party and its aims." A more sympathetic description of this strategy is that Hizb ut-Tahrir works to: Establish groups of elite citizens as a community of Hizb ut-Tahrir members who carry the da'wah to Muslim societies to support an Islamic state. Members should accept the goals and methods of the organization as their own and be ready to work to fulfill these goals."Hizb ut-Tahrir". Risala Foundation. Accessed 8 December 2015. (This process of building a party attempts to copy Muhammad's work in Mecca where he built a core of supporters.) Build public opinion among the Muslim masses for the caliphate and the other Islamic concepts that will lead to a revival of Islamic thought. (This process of what the party calls "intellectual transformation through political and cultural interaction", attempts to imitate Muhmmad's using his core of supporters to win over the population of Mecca and later Medina.) "Stage two involves penetration into government positions and military special forces", according to HT critic Zeyno Baran. For some members this will involve "drink[ing] alcohol and chang[ing] their behavior in other ways to blend in with secular elites". The government would be replaced by one that implements Islam "generally and comprehensively", carrying Islamic thought to people throughout the world.
HT has for many years made use of the Internet to propagate its message. It changes messages frequently, and uses a number of languages. As of 2004, there were at least seven websites related directly to HT.Baran, Hizb ut-Tahrir: Islam's Political Insurgency, 2004:29