Furious Londoners are demanding to know why a Muslim extremist organisation they say is ‘peddling divisive hatred’ was allowed to hold a conference for 2,000 people in London’s East End.
Residents of Tower Hamlets, a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames in East London, have contacted their local councillors about Hizb ut-Tahrir taking over Stepney’s Troxy theatre for the conference on Sunday, 26 July 2009, with police being deployed outside.
Tim Archer, a council Tory Opposition deputy leader, said:
‘It is extremely dangerous that this organisation is coming to the East End. Hizb ut-Tahrir is known for peddling hatred and violence that can be divisive in the community.’
(See the East London Advertiser report)
Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international pan-Islamist Sunni political group whose goal is to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, have conducted its conference The Struggle for Islam and the call for Khilafah in London. The group addressed:
‘the issue of terrorism and extremism Western governments have embarked on a campaign to prevent the Muslim world establishing an Islamic government, the Caliphate that will free the Muslim world from the terror and hegemony that has been brought upon it by the West.’
Voices at the conference stated that ‘on a daily basis, Muslims are subjected to insults and attacks in the media on their Aqeeda, the hijab, Shariah and Khilafah.’
(See the Hizb ut-Tahrir press release)
The arguments at the conference were expressed at the time when a recent study by the think-tank Civitas found that there are at least 85 Islamic sharia courts operating in Britain. The number being almost 20 times as many as previously believed.
(See the CCFON report)
In addition, a large number of recent media reports state that this September will see new courses and postgraduate qualifications in Islamic finance springing up throughout the UK and elsewhere in Europe. In the UK, interest in the sector also reflects the government’s commitment to promoting Britain as an Islamic finance centre. The UK already leads Europe in the number of Islamic finance training courses it offers, from entry to postgraduate level, and in 2006 saw the launch of the Islamic Finance Qualification, a joint initiative between a Lebanese business school and the Securities and Investment Institute, The Guardian reports.
Last week, Dudley Council lost its appeal at the High Court against building a new £18m mosque and community centre in the West Midlands. The council originally turned down the application to build the mosque on the grounds that the land had been designated for employment purposes. The case cost taxpayers around £16,000. The mosque is now set to be built in the centre of a Black Country town after the High Court threw out the council’s challenge.
(See the BBC News report)
Yesterday, female police officers were ordered to dress up as Muslim women for the day in order to ‘see what it felt like.’ They wore traditional burkhas as part of a scheme designed to help police interact better with the Islamic community.
(See the Daily Telegraph report)
Avon and Somerset Constabulary has begun to equip its female officers with a uniform issue hijab to wear when they enter a mosque.
(See The Times report)
In 2003 and 2006, the BBC and The Guardian have cited the extremist activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Denmark as evidence that its members view Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel as legitimate acts of resistance.
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