Tuesday, 11 Safar 1447 | 2025/08/05
Time now: (M.M.T)
Menu
Main menu
Main menu

Rise Of Islamist Group Stokes Unease In West Bank

  • Published in Media Coverage
  •   |  

Rise Of Islamist Group Stokes Unease In West Bank

by Peter Kenyon/NPR

 

All Things Considered, July 7, 2009 · Residents of the West Bank city of Ramallah say life these days is relatively good for a city surrounded by Israeli troops. With Israeli checkpoints relaxed, the drive from Jerusalem can take as little as 15 minutes, as opposed to the hours it often took just a few years ago.

But last Saturday, downtown Ramallah regained some of the air of tension that marked the Israeli-Palestinian violence of the recent past - only this time, Israeli soldiers had nothing to do with it.

In the West Bank and Gaza Strip, most people are familiar with the Palestinian Authority, led by the Fatah movement and President Mahmoud Abbas, and with Hamas, the fundamentalist Islamic movement that controls Gaza. But in the past two years a third movement has been making appearances: a shadowy group that officially rejects violence but whose Islamist ideology makes Hamas' pale in comparison.

Hizb ut Tahrir, a pan-Islamist movement founded in the 1950s in Jerusalem, has since spread to dozens of countries, with significant outposts in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.

The group had planned a rally in Ramallah on Saturday to celebrate the movement's message that neither Fatah nor Hamas holds the answer for Palestinians. The group believes in restoring the Islamic caliphate, the religious government that dates back to the early years of the Muslim faith, and thereby spreading the influence of Islamic law around the world.

A Radical Ideology

Hustling through the crowded downtown streets Saturday, a nervous, well-dressed young man ducked into the Palestine Cafe to avoid being arrested by Palestinian security forces loyal to Abbas. He gave his name as Osama al-Ansari, a supporter of Hizb ut Tahrir from the West Bank city of Hebron.

Ansari, in town for the rally, said he was not surprised that the Palestinian Authority security forces turned out in force to derail it.

"The coming of the caliphate threatens the Palestinian Authority regime," he says, "and threatens the American interests in the area, and therefore they are harassing us because a caliphate will not provide for the existence of the Palestinian Authority."

In short, Hizb ut Tahrir does not recognize the authority of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. The group also does not accept democracy or the very concept of the modern nation-state. In contrast to al-Qaida, the group officially rejects violence, and it condemned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But various counterterrorism agencies have argued that Hizb ut Tahrir's radical ideology can be linked to a number of coup attempts and terrorist attacks.

Analysts note that while Hizb ut Tahrir is tolerated in Western countries, it has been banned by several Mideast regimes, and they wonder what the group's future is in the Palestinian territories.

Khalil Shaheen, senior editor at Al-Ayyam newspaper in Ramallah, says the Palestinian Authority originally ignored the growth of Hizb ut Tahrir because it wanted to divide the support of religious Palestinians who were flocking to Hamas. But now, he says, the Palestinian Authority is suffering a case of unintended consequences.

"It seems that everything is going out of control for the Palestinian Authority," he says. "The Tahrir party is getting more popular in the West Bank and is trying to fill the vacuum that took place after the weakness of Fatah itself."

Security Crackdown

At the schoolyard where Hizb ut Tahrir's celebration was supposed to take place, curious Palestinians lined the sidewalks, watching the show of force put on by the Palestinian Authority. Row after row of men in full riot gear stood at attention, while senior officers posed for pictures in front of them.

Akram Rijoub, head of preventive security for Ramallah, said the rally was prevented because Hizb ut Tahrir refused to hold it indoors. "The people that are holding such a celebration might not control their members, and might face confrontations from the other side," he said.

But Hizb ut Tahrir supporter al-Ansari said security crackdowns can't stop his movement's momentum.

"We are huge and we are found everywhere. We are an international party that ... spreads all the way to Malaysia and Jakarta. Banning of a celebration like today will only make us even more powerful," he said before slipping out of the cafe and back to Hebron.

Source

Read more...

Pinak Ranjan's Arrogant Comments is a Result of the Current Rulers' Subservient Mentality

Chief Coordinator and Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh Mohiuddin Ahmed in a press release issued today said that our rulers have always served imperialist disbelieving and polytheist states for the past 38 years. As a result foreign imperialist countries and their ambassadors have dictated us in each and every issue.

Read more...

Palestinian Authority prevents HT's Conference and arrests hundreds in servitude to Islam's enemies

  • Published in Palestine
  •   |  

The Palestinian Authority (PA) prevented the Khilafah "Caliphate" conference organised by Hizb-ut-Tahrir Palestine on the 04/07/2009 in Ramallah and arrests hundreds of activists of the hizb in servitude to the enemies of Islam.

From dawn, the security services started to set up check points around the city and occupied the school where the conference was due to take place. Hundreds of people were arrested, and some beaten up randomly and the city was effectively turned into a military base.
A young man Bassam Yassin is in hospital with serious injuries and we hold the PA responsible for his safety.

 

Video: Al-Jazeera interviews Hizb ut-Tahrir's Dr Maher Al-Jabari on the Palestinian Authorities prevention of Hizb ut-Tahrir's conference in Ramallah

 

Read more...

Government of Bangladesh has Joined Hands with Britain in the War Against Islam

Chief Coordinator and Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh Mohiuddin Ahmed in a press release issued today condemned the official meeting of Bangladesh-Britain joint working group on counter terrorism. He said that historically Britain is well known for its conspiracy against the Muslim Ummah. In 1757, Britain first established its foothold in the Indian subcontinent by taking control of the then Bengal through a conspiracy.

Read more...

The Sunday Times should focus on the UK and US governments' plots against Pakistan 

Contrary to claims in today's Sunday Times [British Islamists plot against Pakistan], it is the British and American governments that are plotting against Pakistan. Their disastrous intervention - in Afghanistan and then in Pakistan - has spread terror and killed many through continuous missile strikes and they have propped up the corrupt and despised Zardari regime in the name of democracy.

Read more...

Views on the News 25/6/09

  • Published in News & Comment
  •   |  

UN call to reform IMF and WB will fall on deaf ears

"The world institutions created generations ago must be made more accountable, more representative and more effective," UN Secretary General Ban said at the opening of a three-day meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on the global financial crisis and its impact on the developing world. "I regret that financial institutional reform has divided (U.N.) member states," he said. The question of reforming the IMF, World Bank and other international financial bodies was one of the issues that the 126 nations participating in this week's financial crisis had struggled to agree on during months of negotiations on a set of proposals for reforming the global financial system. A 15-page draft obtained by Reuters, said nations "recognize that it is imperative to undertake, as a matter of priority, a comprehensive and fast tracked reform of the IMF ... to increase its credibility and accountability, its legitimacy and effectiveness." However, it is more than likely that the UN will fail to produce a set of concrete steps to redress the financial crisis. This is because the wealthy countries are too busy keeping their financial systems afloat by plundering third world. A point emphasized by Ban, "Surely if the world can mobilize more than $18 trillion to keep the financial sector afloat, it can find more than $18 billion to keep commitments to Africa," Ban said.

 

Sarkozy attacks Islamic dress for women

This week President Sarkozy of France said that the head-to-toe Islamic garment for women was not a symbol of religion but a sign of subservience for women. "The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience," he told members of both parliamentary houses gathered for his speech. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic." His comments follow an appeal last week by 65 French MPs for a parliamentary commission to examine whether Muslim women who cover themselves fully in public undermine the secular tradition in France as well as women's rights. The MPs represent parties ranging from the Communists to Mr Sarkozy's UMP. The call won instant support from members of Mr Sarkozy's centre-Right government but was opposed by the Socialists, the main opposition party. This is not the first time the French government has lamented over the dress code for Muslim women. In 2004, the country passed a controversial law forbidding wearing of veils from state schools and government offices. It is ironic that France claims to be the harbinger of religious freedom and tolerance, and yet this very notion is conspicuously forgotten when applied to Muslims living in France and the Muslim world.

 

Somalia: America makes last ditch attempt to rescue Sharif's government

In the wake of the continued pressure from Islamists on the weakening Sharif's regime in Somalia , the US has decided to send weapons to thwart a takeover the nation by Islamist Washington Post reported on Thursday. "A decision was made at the highest level to ensure the government does not fall and that everything is done to strengthen government security forces to counter the rebels," an unnamed U.S. official told the newspaper. The shipment of weapons and ammunition arrived this month in the Somali capital, Mogadishu , the official said. U.S. and Somali officials say that possibly hundreds of fighters from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other nations are fighting alongside the Islamist group known as al Shabab, which Washington has designated a terrorist group, the Post said. For the past 6 years or so, America has struggled to fashion a stable governments in Iraq , Afghanistan , Pakistan and Somalia . Rather then scaling back the Islamic revival in these countries, the continued US aggression against these countries is having the opposite effect.  More and more people are now yearning for the re-establishment of the Caliphate.

 

Russia attacks Kyrgyzstan's u-turn over US military base

Russia accused Kyrgyzstan of treachery on Wednesday after the central Asian state revoked a Kremlin-backed order to close down a US military base considered vital for the war effort in Afghanistan. The Kyrgyz government agreed to expel US troops after receiving £1.3 billion in aid and soft loans from Moscow in February. But after the United States agreed to triple its rent for Manas, an important re-fuelling and re-supply base for US forces across the border in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan changed its mind - to the fury of Russian officials. "The Kyrgyz leadership has repeatedly stated that the decision to close the base was final and not subject to revision," said Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry. "The fact that the US military retains a presence in central Asia runs counter both to Russia's interests and to our agreements with the Kyrgyz leadership." Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, last year unilaterally declared the former Soviet Union to be part of Russia's sphere of influence. Russian fury over Kyrgyzstan's decision is likely to sour US-Russian relations further.

 

Iran plans stern action against the UK for fomenting unrest

This week, Britain reacted cautiously to a warning by Iran that it was considering downgrading diplomatic ties in the wake of continuing unrest over disputed presidential elections. Iran has accused two British officials of "activities inconsistent with their diplomatic status" - diplomatic language for spying - a charge flatly rejected by the Foreign Office.

The Iranian leadership, including the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly targeted Britain in recent days. The attacks appear to reflect long-standing Iranian suspicions of Britain dating back to the UK's role in engineering a coup against the popular Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953.The Tehran regime has also complained about the reporting of the elections by the BBC's new Persian language service. Interestingly, Iran has not taken similar steps against the America - it's so called arch enemy. Oddly enough, the US has been careful to harshly criticize the Iranian regime-suggesting that despite the fiery rhetoric between the two countries both governments are working in tandem to safeguard US interests stretching from Palestine to Afghanistan.

Read more...

Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah Pakistan holds Lahore Seminar

  • Published in Asia
  •   |  

On 28 June 2009, Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah Pakistan organized a public lecture to mobilize the masses for stopping America's war in the tribal areas. At a time the government has announced an expansion of operations and even more army casualties, Deputy Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Pakistan, Imran Yousafzai, demanded that our sons in the Pakistan Army are no longer used as fuel for America's war to dominate the region.

http://www.hizb-pakistan.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/pkevent090528-lhr-lecture-5.jpg

 

http://www.hizb-pakistan.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/pkevent090528-lhr-lecture-2.jpg

 

http://www.hizb-pakistan.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/pkevent090528-lhr-lecture-1.jpg

Read more...
Subscribe to this RSS feed

Site Categories

Links

West

Muslim Lands

Muslim Lands