Hizb ut-Tahrir will be banned from organising in the UK following claims that the group is antisemitic, the home secretary has said.
The Islamist group, which is already banned in several countries including Germany and Indonesia, will no longer be allowed to recruit or hold protests and meetings across the UK.
It follows criticisms of the group by ministers in the wake of demonstrations held against Israeli strikes on Gaza.
If agreed by parliament, a draft order that was laid on Monday will come into force on 19 January. This means that belonging to, inviting support for and displaying articles in a public place in a way that arouses suspicion of membership or support for the group will be a criminal offence.
James Cleverly, the home secretary, said: “Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks.
“Proscribing this terrorist group will ensure that anyone who belongs to and invites support for them will face consequences. It will curb Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ability to operate as it currently does.”
Certain proscription offences can be punishable by up to 14 years in prison, which can be handed down by a court alongside, or in place of, a fine. The resources of a proscribed organisation are terrorist property and may be seized.
Since the 7 October attacks by Hamas and the subsequent military response by Israel, Hizb ut-Tahrir has not condemned Hamas, a group already proscribed in the UK, rather hailing the attacks on Israeli citizens by saying “if this can be done by a resistance group, imagine what a unified response from the Muslim world could achieve”. It has called on Muslim countries to “get your armies and go and remove the Zionist occupiers”.
Previously Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Tony Blair and David Cameron tried to ban when they were in Downing Street, has made calls to “wipe out that Zionist entity” and referred to “the monstrous Jews”.
In October, the group’s members attended a rally outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies in London and called for “Muslim armies” to attack Israel.
The head of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK, Abdul Wahid, has spent more than 20 years practising as a family doctor under his real name, Dr Wahid Asif Shaida.
After a Mail on Sunday report, Shaida confirmed he was also known as Abdul Wahid but denied Hizb ut-Tahrir was “extremist”, saying the word was “pejorative” and did not have an agreed meaning. He added: “For reasons of professional probity I keep a very clear line between my professional and political life.”
As an international organisation, Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks the establishment of a caliphate in the Middle East. Critics, including former members of the group, have claimed it is a gateway to violent extremism.
Blair vowed to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir as part of a counter-extremism plan after the 7 July 2005 bombings, but the proposal was dropped. Cameron also said he would ban the group but did not do so.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has been approached for a comment. Last year, the group denied it was antisemitic, saying: “We do not support the Hamas group, but support the people of Palestine.
“We do not encourage people to do similar actions but instead want a political change so that the resources of Muslim countries are used to liberate and rescue the beleaguered people of Palestine. To say that Palestinians should be free of this brutal occupation is not a divisive statement.”
More details soon …
