Hizb ut-Tahrir
|
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic: حزب التحرير) (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, pan-Islamist political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Islamic ways of life in the Muslim world. The caliphate would unite the Muslim community (Ummah) upon their Islamic creed and implement the Shariah, so as to then carry the proselytizing of Islam to the rest of the world.
The party was founded in 1953 as a political organization in then Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, an Islamic scholar and appeals court judge (Qadi) from Haifa. Since then, Hizb ut-Tahrir has spread to more than 50 countries, and grown to a membership estimated to be between "tens of thousands" to "about one million". Hizb ut-Tahrir is also very active in Western countries, particularly in England, and also in several Arab and Central Asian countries despite being banned by a number of 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 basis of the party's ideological structure has been "meticulously thought out and published in many detailed books" that are readily available. Al-Nabhani also developed a program and "draft constitution" for the caliphate, which would be run by a Caliph (head of state elected by Muslims). Articles of the constitution detail canons fundamentally related to the economy, society, judiciary, military and more.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in countries such as (Germany), Russia, China, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and all Arab countries except Lebanon, Yemen, and the UAE. In July 2017, the Indonesian government formally revoked Hizbut ut-Tahrir's charter, citing incompatibility with government regulations on extremism and national ideology.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, two former high-ranking members of Al-Qaeda, allegedly were former members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.