This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/230
"Soldiers of Allah" in California: Islamist 'rap' is all the "intellectual rage"
August 1, 2004
MIM:Yesterday's suicide attacks on the American and Israeli embassies in Uzbekistan were blamed on the group known as Hizb ut Tahrir :Although the group does not seek the kind of publicity which it's counterpart Al Muhajiroun seeks they do have a small but growing following among young Muslims in the United States in ideology if not in name.
Although both HT and AM have a main base in London, Hizb ut Tahrir does not have a designated leader and is a much older organisation which has it's roots in the Middle East.(see article by Ariel Cohen below)
Two of Hizb ut Tahrir's founders in the UK are Omar Bakri Mohammed and Abu Hamza al Masri. An ideological splilt led to the formation of Al Muhajiroun. Hizb ut Tahrir's base of operations is primarily in Asia and Europe while Al Muhajiroun has a large following in the UK and the U.S. Some of the 9/11 hijackers were linked to Hizb ut Tahrir while they were students in Germany.
Omar Bakri Mohammed, is now regarded as the 'spiritual' head of Al Muhajiroun, Abu Hamza Al Masri, who was also affilitated with both groups, was jailed last month on terrorism charges and his extradition has been requested by the United States.
Adherents of Hizb ut Tahrir in California formed a music group called "Soldiers of Allah" and changed their name to "Muslim Studio" in 2003. The name change and removal of the 'black flag' from their website might have been due in part to an article which came out which named some of the group's members and revealed the groups Islamist affiliations.
One of the group's albums is called 1924 and a second which was renamed "No Compromise" used to have the black flag of Islam on the cover. The groups old website reveals a picture of one of the group's members standing atop a globe waving a black flag leaving no doubt as to their Hizb ut Tahrir /Al Muhajiroun affiliations .
The group' songs 'Bring Islam Back"," Muslim 4 Ever", and 'Sleeping Giant',epitomize the Hizb ut Tahrir / Al Muhajirioun credo.(see below).
One of their manifestations is under the names of 1924 which refers to the end of Muslim rule (the Khalifate) which must be reestablished in the world.
There is a group of 'yuppie' academics in the UK who run a website called www.1924.org.
Their magazine is called 'Khalifate' and can be seen on their site .
Below are several websites from Hizb ut Tahrir, which openly recruit people for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and global Jihad.
http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org/
Hizb ut Tahrir stresses that they are "non violent" while advocating the forced Islamisation of the Western World. It was reported that several of the 9/11 hijackers were connected to the group in Germany . HT was banned due to it's virulent anti semitic rhetoric .
One of the most alarming aspects of both Al Muhajiroun and Hizb ut Tahrir is the attraction which both groups hold for Western converts. MIM will attempt to explore this phenomenon by presenting articles about both groups .their ideologies, and their followers . Most of these groups adherents are young and the emergence of music group in the US which espouses the HT credo and has international followers shows that the movement is gaining in popularity with Muslim youth.
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MIM: Abu Hamza Al Masri rabble rousing in front of Finsbury Park mosque before his arrest in 2004.
After the mosque was closed by the government last year Hamza's followers met on the street under the watchful eye of the British police. British taxpayers footed the bill for the police who essentially protected Hamza and his followers.The mosque was reopened and Hamza was jailed. He was subsequently dearrested and is fighting an extradition request from the United States. In the meantime the British government is reluctant to brand Hamza as a terrorist and there is even talk of having him released. Whatever the outcome, the cost to British taxpayers will run run into millions of pounds. Hamza, a naturalized British citizen had been living on British government benefits for years as do many practioners of militant Islam in the UK.
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Essex Boys Sign Up for Holy War
Terrorism crisis - Observer special
Burhan Wazir
Sunday February 24, 2002
The Observer
Khalid Akhtar sounds like a typical fanatic. Standing outside a community centre in southern England last week, he branded Jews as 'devils' and called for a war on the enemies of Islam.
But Akhtar is different in one crucial respect from most of the extremists who gather at certain mosques around Britain and talk of revolution.
Once known as John, 29-year-old Akhtar is one of a new generation of white converts being recruited into British Islamic organisations with links to al-Qaeda. His home, the suburban town of Ilford on the London-Essex border, has become a flashpoint for extremist activity.
On Friday nights members of al-Muhajiroun, a UK-based militant group, gather in Ilford's Eton Road Community Centre to hear the charismatic spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Bakri, denounce the West. On average, about 70 young British men - including 20 whites - attend.
Not far away, followers of the rival Hizbut-Tahrir meet at Ilford Library. The group rose to notoriety in 1996 when its leaders managed to attract enough support to book a religious demonstration at Wembley Arena. Their weekly sermon attracts a similar number of whites.
Since 11 September, al-Muhajiroun has proved itself to be the most rebellious section of the British Muslim community. The British shoe bomber Richard Reid, 28, was seen at several al-Muhajiroun meetings in Ilford in the months before his failed attempt to bomb American Airlines Flight 63 over Miami.
Several al-Muhajiroun members are prisoners at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and in Kandahar after being captured while fighting for the Taliban. Groups like al-Muhajiroun and Hizb ut-Tahrir can count on a following of several thousand in places like Ilford and their founders are expanding the ranks by converting non-Asians to Islam. The borough of Redbridge - which includes Ilford and has 230,000 people - is a fertile recruiting ground.
'Al-Muhajiroun has one goal,' said Anjam Choudry, its UK chairman. 'We would like to see the implementation of the sharia law in the UK. Under our rule this country would be known as the Islamic Republic of Great Britain. To do that, attracting young Asians is not enough. So we are making a conscious effort to recruit large numbers of non-Muslims.
'Whites, Chinese, Japanese and Indians in this country are all bored with the capitalist system. It's a bankrupt ideal. We have found that young non-Muslims, like our Asian followers, want something new. You can tell that from the anti-globalisation movement. So we're offering them something pure: a religious mission, the values of sharia law and jihad.'
'I never felt like I belonged anywhere,' said Mohamed Khan, 24, formerly known as Alan and a white convert in al-Muhajiroun. He said he was disillusioned with Christianity. 'It didn't give me any sense of respect. No one goes to church any more. At least the mosques are full, so Islam obviously has something.'
His friend, Salim Yunus, 20, also a former Christian, said that in al-Muhajiroun they were led by example. 'You look at your average church priest, and what does he do? Who would he go to war with? No one. So how can Christianity claim to be a religion when its followers don't believe in spreading the word? The fact that Western politicians like Bush and Blair are scared of Islam means that it is a great religion. Sheikh Bakri knows that: he would die for it.'
Last week an Islamic cleric in Ilford, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal, 38, was arrested in a dawn raid at his home and charged with making race-hate speeches under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. El-Faisal, whose taped speeches have titles such as 'No Peace With The Jews', appeared at Bow Street magistrates court in London on Thursday. As he left the courtroom, one supporter called out: 'Allah is the final judge.'
The white Muslims don't see themselves as having converted. They think they have reverted to their original faith. Salim Yunus, Mohamed Khan and Khalid Akhtar have their own Islamic role models - Osama bin Laden, Richard Reid and the followers of al-Qaeda.
'There is a clear rise in the politics of identity,' said Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious studies at Derby University. 'Young white men who join Islam might be feeling out of place from modern life. So you find that when they join a religion like Islam they have an unbending view. Their views on jihad, for example, might be less compromising than the views of people who were born Muslims.'
One white convert, Suleyman, a former drug addict from London's East End, said that a holy war was an obligation, not a debatable option. 'Richard Reid tried it and he was right to,' he said. 'Islam has enemies everywhere. It's up to Allah's soldiers to secure a victory.'
Observer special reports
Islam and the West
Observer Worldview
Terrorism crisis
Investigating Britain's terror connections
24.02.2002: Al-Qaeda trained hundreds from UK
24.02.2002: Essex boys sign up for 'holy war'
17.02.2002: AK-47 training held at London mosque
27.01.2002: Terror video used to lure UK Muslims
20.01.2002: Focus: How bin Laden network spread its tentacles
04.11.2001: Focus: 'We will replace the Bible with the Koran in Britain'
Islam in Britain: Comment highlights
21.10.2001: Ziauddin Sardar: Islam has become its own enemy
04.11.2001: Faisal Bodi: Why Brits fought for the Taliban
21.10.2001: The view from the mosque: they're demonising Islam
30.09.2001: Tariq Modood: Muslims in the West
16.09.2001: Zia Sardar: Islam can not explain such immense evil
07.10.2001: Britain's defiant minority
30.09.2001: Muslims refuse to be victims of racism
23.09.2001: Zia Sardar: My fatwa on the fanatics
16.09.2001: Edward Said: Islam and the West are inadequate banners
Islam and the west
07.10.2001: Kanan Makiya: Fighting Islam's Ku Klux Klan
07.10.2001: Leader: Mr Blair must listen to Muslims
Observer special reports
Observer Worldview
Islam and the West: special report
Terrorism crisis
Terrorism Crisis - Observer Comment archive
War in Afghanistan
Observer International news
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3539535.stm
Fears as young Muslims 'opt out' Navid Akhtar is a practising Muslim deeply concerned about a growing trend among his contemporaries toward a separatist ideology that turns its back on Britain. He wrote this personal account for Sunday's Five Live Report.Young Muslims are opting out.
They've renounced the Islam of their immigrant parents and feel disillusioned with a society that they perceive as racist.
Many are turning their backs on democracy and Britain.
And they are finding a new identity in a brand of Islam that is radical and intolerant.
Out of 1.8 million Muslims living in Britain today, the highest proportion have their roots in Bangladesh and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pure Islam
Both these groups came to Britain as economic migrants from rural villages.
Settling into Britain has not been an easy experience and many feel excluded from the mainstream.
The worst hit are the young, who find themselves at odds with their parents' insular Asian culture and a Britain they believe is hostile towards them.
Many young Muslims, confused about their identity, have turned to their faith to provide answers and stumbled upon what they call "pure Islam".
| The quality of education provided in our mosques has not been very adequate Khurshid Ahmed Chair of Dudley Muslim Association |
When the Saudis were flush with money from oil revenues, their government exported the Wahhabi version of Islam.
Mosques were financed, books, videos and cassettes supplied, scholars and imams trained at theological universities. Extremist adherents have propagated a message of violent jihad.
Pure Islam has claimed the mantle of being the only real Islam as practised at the time of the Prophet Mohammed and his companions.
It regards the Islam that came from the Indian subcontinent as corrupted and polluted by "cultural" values such as music.
In particular, pure Islam rejects any new developments in Islamic thinking, and refuses to understand that Muslims living in the West face a unique set of challenges.
Challenges ahead
This has led to a split within the British Muslim community, creating a belief amongst many young people that there is no compromise between Islam and life in the West.
Privately some within the community acknowledge a failure of leadership. However, moderate Muslims leaders have remained largely silent and have yet to provide a credible alternative.
Most mosques in the UK are run along the old tribal lines. The all powerful Mosque committee retains an iron grip on what is taught, how it is taught and who teaches it.
The major failure has been the inability to produce imams and scholars who speak English and understand the issues and problems that the second generation are going through.
Chair of the Dudley Muslim Association Khurshid Ahmed told the programme: "I'm quite ashamed to admit that the leadership within the Muslim community - not just in Dudley, but nationally - have let our young people down.
"The quality of education provided in our mosques has not been very adequate. We have not been able to connect sufficiently with our young people and that has led them to being a lot more alienated from their own families and from the community. "
'Let down'
The failure of elders to connect with young Muslims and the impact the ideology of pure Islam has had run like a generational fault line through the British Muslim community.
Without effective leadership and guidance, young Muslims feel marginalised not just by lack of opportunity, or Islamaphobia, but a real sense of being let down by their elders.
In such a climate, pure Islam will continue to thrive, attracting young Muslims to a separatist ideology that rejects the values of a modern secular and democratic Britain.
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MIM: Note that Mohammed Naseem, director of the Birmingham mosque is described as "an elder statesman" in the article below. Naseem publicly criticises groups such as Hizb ut Tahrir in order to maintain a facade of moderation.
Two members of the Birmingham mosque were gunned down as the result of an internal dispute.
It is also worth noting that the premises have been the constant source of a spate of leaflets and posters praising Osama Bin Laden which Naseem blames on what he calls "ourcasts" some of whom are certainly clients of the Birmingham mosque.
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This is not a war against Muslims on a religious level - but the only opposition to the dominance of western capitalism is not a nation, but a people http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2914121.stm
Listening for a voice of Muslim youth
| By Dominic Casciani BBC News Online community affairs reporter |
Somewhere in the US's Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, there are a number of young British men.
The men, including a trio dubbed the 'Tipton Taleban' remain incarcerated after being seized by US forces in Afghanistan.
Why would men such as Asif Iqbal, Shafiq Rasul and Rahul Ahmed leave their West Midlands homes to allegedly fight abroad?
Paradise, a new play in Birmingham, home to the second largest Muslim community in Britain, explores these ideas.
The play, by British-born Kashmiri Amber Lone, charts how a frustrated young man with limited prospects, Umar, falls in with an old friend-turned-radical, Younis.
Umar soon finds himself in a Muslim country, fighting for an Islamic cause that ultimately leads to his own death, shattering his family and friends.
Fashion or faith?
Imran Ali, who plays Umar, researched the part by looking at the rise of a more radical Islamic voice among his contemporaries in the midst of the current war and the fallout of 11 September.
| LIVING BY THE RULES Many of these lads go to Mosque and pray five times - they then use the F-word to slag off other Muslims for not being as good Muslims as they are Imran Ali, actor |
He says many in his generation are worried that a dangerous mix of disillusionment, low self-esteem and peer pressure is making "radical Islam" more attractive.
"You see these guys wearing traditional Islamic dress - they would not have been seen dead in it five years ago," he says.
"It's got nothing to do with religion. It's got everything to do with fashion. Many of these lads I know who claim they are good Muslims are more fanatical than Younis. It's the in-thing.
"They go to mosque and pray five times. They then use the F-word to slag off other Muslims for not being as good Muslims as they are.
"I don't think that's particularly Islamic."
Dangerous mixture
What is really worrying, says Imran, is how identity politics is mixing with religion, race and social conditions.
"We all need to know who we are - but don't then say you can't get a job because the white man doesn't like Muslims. That's just bollocks.
"If you can't get a job that's probably got more to do with what you have failed to do for yourself."
Despite the furore over the so-called Tipton Taleban, the West Midlands has largely escaped the tensions of the northern towns such as Bradford and Oldham.
However, the far right is increasingly active in the area and Birmingham Perry Bar MP Khalid Mahmood has warned young men may take to the streets over Iraq.
Hearts and minds
At the heart of this is whether or not Britain's young Muslims have found a voice in political life. Is it a voice based on personal conviction or drawn solely from the Koran?
One of the radical groups involved in this is the British branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The international Islamic party says its faith is a system that can challenge capitalism. Its members work to establish an Islamic regime across the Muslim world. Its long-term aim is for an Islamic state in Britain.
Three of its British members are on trial in Egypt accused of attempting to destabilise the state. It is vehemently opposed by Jewish groups who accuse it of anti-semitism and it has been banned in the past from various university campuses.
Birmingham-based party leader Dr Imran Waheed refuses to say how many members it has in Britain. But it is now regularly targeting students and mosques.
Last September some 9,000 people attended its London conference, though Dr Waheed freely admits he can't say whether or not they were all supporters.
In the UK, it argues the war in Iraq is one against Islam. It says Muslims should reject lobbying through our political system because it is incompatible with their faith.
"Britain is looking after its own interests in this war," says Dr Waheed.
"It fears Islam in its fullest political form because an Islamic state re-established in the Muslim world would be a threat to the western world."
"This is not a war against Muslims on a religious level - but against Islam offering the only political alternative to capitalism.
"The only opposition to the dominance of western capitalism is not a nation, but a people."
Radicalising youth?
Dr Waheed is convinced that those who have recently turned to Islam include many who had been "intoxicated in western culture - drugs, drink and promiscuity". They had embraced Islam and rejected the West.
So how far does the party's rejection of the West go in relation to the war in Iraq?
"We would urge the Muslim nations to send their armies to help Iraq."
| HIZB UT-TAHRIR This is not a war against Muslims on a religious level - but the only opposition to the dominance of western capitalism is not a nation, but a people Dr Imran Waheed (c) with supporters Zhagum Arshad and Mohammed Rashid |
"I would sit down and discuss with him whether that is the best method to effect change.
Is it the best method to effect change? "I would expect people to go and fight. I don't believe it's the way forward but I can understand why they are going. I understand the sentiment but would not say it's the correct sentiment."
What concerns many mainstream Muslims is that Hizb ut-Tahrir and others vehemently oppose the war, but tell young supporters there is no point in seeking a voice in British political life.
Isn't the case of the Egypt three proof that it only serves to radicalise young British Muslims?
"Words like extremism, terrorist and fundamentalist are overused," says Dr Waheed. "Anyone who seeks to bring about Islam in its political form is branded as such."
War against Islam?
Elder statesmen in Birmingham, including Dr Mohammed Naseem of Birmingham Central Mosque, dismiss the group. "There's a perception that it's a war against Islam. And I think there are powers in the world that see Islam as a threat," says Dr Naseem.
"But there is always a danger in an emotive situation that a small group of people with little knowledge and heightened sensitivities will be attracted to extreme ideas.
"These groups have not developed to a considerable extent. Groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir are outcasts."
In essence, says Dr Naseem, if you believe in the Koran, then you believe the words were for all mankind. You cannot withdraw from the West and argue among yourselves.
"The message of this war is one for all. Look to your faith and the power of reason, not the rise of emotions. Your obligations are to convey, converse and promote understanding for the common good. The us-and-them attitude is unislamic."
Paradise continues at Birmingham Rep Theatre until 12 April. See internet links for details.
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MIM: The article below gives a backgound of Hizb ut Tahrir
Three Groups Take Aim at Uzbekistan's Secular Regime
From DEBKA-Net-Weekly Updated by DEBKAfile
July 31, 2004, 10:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the IMU, whose suicide bombers struck the US and Israeli embassies and the Uzbek prosecutor-general's office in Tashkent Friday, July 30, – killing three Uzbek guards and injuring 9 - is a multifaceted fundamentalist terror group affiliated to al Qaeda and sharing its philosophy. Friday, its bombers failed to break into the embassies, but many counter-terror authorities see this attack as the opening shot in their next major confrontation. President Islam Karimov, evidently sharing this view, cut short his Crimean vacation to return home and secure the capital with roadblocks at strategic points and searches of vehicles.
The embassy attacks were themselves the sequel to the wave of terrorist unrest that swept Uzbekistan last March and April, for which 15 suspects are now on trial in Tashkent – hence the attack on the prosecutor-general's offices.
The IMU, under its leader, Tahir Yuldashev, dreams of establishing an Islamic state in the broad Ferghana Valley which straddles Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and maintains training camp and bases in the valley not far from the Afghan and Chinese borders. Yuldashev, who spent the 1990s with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, returned to Tashkent at the beginning of this year, in flight from the massive US-backed Pakistan military hunt for top al Qaeda men in the mountains of southern Waziristan. His return sparked the March-April unrest and the first suicide attacks seen in the former Soviet Central Asian republic. They were followed by street battles with Uzbek security forces. Of the 47 killed in this round of violence, 33 were IMU-al Qaeda adherents, 15 of them suicide bombers.
Now as then, the IMF and even al Qaeda tacticians will not be the only ones to decide what happens next. Neither, according to DEBKAfile's Central Asian sources, is President Islam Karimov, who has been battling the Islamic group for seven years.
His ambitious daughter, Gulnara Karimova-Maqsudi (see photo), a power in the land with command over her own judiciary, militia, commando-trained personal guard and intelligence system, is certainly a factor. A divorcee with two children, Islam, aged 11 and Iman, 6, Gulnara is maneuvering into position to succeed her father on the premise that the greater the domestic instability, the sooner she will achieve her goal. Our sources do not rule out the possibility that from time to time her agents quietly stir the terrorist pot and are in no hurry to reduce the heat under the brew.
A third factor is the multinational Islamic group, Hizb a-Tahrir (The Liberation Party), which maintains cells in most Muslim countries. Its activists in Arab Jerusalem surfaced last year for a punch-up against the former Egyptian foreign minister Ali Maher when he visited the al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount. While radical, this movement does not believe in ongoing terrorism – certainly not of the suicidal variety – but only a sharp, sudden act of violence capable of sweeping away a targeted secular regime and replacing it with an Islamic theocracy. Nonetheless Hizb a-Tahrir cannot be counted out of any surge of violence in Uzbekistan considering the brutal persecution its followers suffer at the ends of the Karimov regime.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has been committed to the path of violence since it was founded in 1989. Its exact membership is unknown but believed to be smaller than Hizb ut Tahrir's 4,000 and 7,000 adherents. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, dozens and perhaps hundreds of eager Uzbek fundamentalists crossed south for intensive guerrilla training and Islamic religious indoctrination. Since the Taliban were ousted, IMU has declared war on the American air force and special forces based in Uzbekistan for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In two years, they have killed two US soldiers and wounded several others. They even tried to kidnap Americans from a secret base to ransom their jailed comrades. US and Uzbek authorities have kept a lid on these incidents to avoid giving the impression that a Central Asian Islamic front has opened against the United States. In neighboring Tajikistan, the IMU's agents are supplied with money and logistical support by the Iranian embassy.
The Hisb a-Tarir, founded in the Middle East in 1953, is older, larger and less virulent than Yuldashev's Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Hizb leader, Vahid Omran, stresses the objectives of his movement are to disseminate the word of Islam not spread death. Numbering an estimated 5,000 to 20,000 members around the Muslim world, Hizb ut Tahrir aspires to the establishment of a pan-Islamic caliphate rather than an Islamic republic across Central Asia, centered in the Ferghana Valley. Although not linked to al Qaeda, the group dispenses the usual Islamic fundamentalist fare of nostalgia for past Islamic glories, homophobia, anti-Semitism and more recently, anti-Americanism.
While not committed to violence, the Liberation Party will strike hard if an opportunity presents itself to overthrow the Uzbek or any other secular regime.This opportunity the Hizb a Tahrir expects an alliance between the IMU and Karimov's daughter to create by continually chipping away at the regime's stability. At some crucial point, therefore, Omran could switch tactics and make a grab for power.
Hizb ut Tahrir supporters live mainly in Samarkand and Bukhara, two important religious centers of the golden age of Islam situated along the traditional Silk Road.
Like many other parties and organizations in Central Asia, Hizb ut Tahrir maintains bases of operation in the southeastern Ferghana region near the border with Tajikistan. There, young Uzbeks are indoctrinated in Islamic fundamentalism and recruited into a "Muslim Education Corps". Their proximity to al Qaeda and other fundamentalist Islamic facilities gives rise to the charge in Tashkent that the party is not just dispensing education but building terrorist cells.
Central Asian sources assert that by labeling Hizb ut Tahrir a terrorist organization, Karimov hopes to camouflage his own corruption.
His autocratic regime views the movement as a smoldering coal, as dangerous in its way as the IMU though for the moment more as a political rival. Karimov also treats the Hizb as a political scapegoat. At least 500 of its members are in jail where human rights groups say they are being tortured and held in sub-human conditions. Some its leaders live in exile in London, whence this week they accused the government of orchestrating the terrorist attacks and clashes as a pretext for more crackdowns.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/print/98617/1/.html
Uzbek President blames Islamist group for deadly suicide blasts
Uzbek President Islam Karimov blamed followers of a banned Islamist movement for this weekend's suicide bomb attacks despite the group's public rejection of violence.
Karimov said Hizb ut-Tahrir must bear primary responsibility both for Friday's blasts at the Israeli and US embassies and the general prosecutor's office that killed at least three and a wave of violence in March that left 47 dead.
"The same group carried out the March explosions as yesterday's explosions and they base their ideas on Hizb ut-Tahrir's teaching... Hizb ut-Tahrir made the biggest contribution to that terror," Karimov told public television.
Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks the establishment of an Islamic state in Central Asia.
All three people killed in the latest attacks in the Uzbek capital were members of the Uzbek security forces who had been guarding the buildings, officials said.
Eight other people were injured in the blasts -- the first such attacks at foreign embassies in Uzbekistan since it broke from Moscow in 1991.
US officials said that none of their staff were hurt.
Many analysts and rights defenders have insisted that they see no direct link between Hizb ut-Tahrir and recent violence in Uzbekistan, as the group has publicly rejected the use of violence.
They say that Karimov's leadership -- widely criticised for stamping on all opposition, secular or religious -- wants the West to take a tougher line on Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is legal in most Western countries although Germany has imposed a ban due to the group's anti-Semitism.
Earlier a prominent Uzbek human rights defender expressed doubts about an Islamic internet site -- www.islamic-minbar.com -- that had published claims of responsibility by both Hizb ut-Tahrir and another group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), that has launched incursions across the region in the past.
"I suspect the claim by Hizb ut-Tahrir... might be a provocation. I have never seen any proof that Hizb ut-Tahrir used violent means, this is not their ideology," said Surat Ikramov, head of the Independent Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan.
Russian news agencies said that a number of arrests had been made.
Police were stopping and searching cars across Tashkent and the embassies -- smoke-damaged but otherwise intact -- had been reinforced by dozens of Uzbek troops.
On Saturday US Secretary of State Colin Powell condemned the latest attacks.
"We cannot in any way excuse this kind of action -- (Uzbekistan has been) a very good partner with the United States in the global war against terrorism," Powell told journalists during a visit to Bosnia.
Analysts have said Friday's explosions appeared timed to highlight the ongoing trial of 15 people over the March attacks, a hearing that has prompted rights defenders to allege that the defendants had been tortured into pleading guilty.
In 2002 Uzbekistan's authorities were accused by a United Nations rapporteur of countenancing "systematic" torture. Rights defenders estimate the number of religious and political prisoners in the country at around 6,500.
This former Soviet republic is a key Central Asian ally in Washington's anti-terrorism campaign, hosting a major airbase used for US-led operations in neighbouring Afghanistan.
- AFP
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Hizb ut Tahrir in the UK confounding both their friends and their enemies ...
MIM: Below :Hizb ut Tahrir critised in Britain for opposing anti war movement : The group's extremist Islamist stance appears to have alienated even those who would have been expected to be their allies. The inability to 'pin down' the HT ideology makes it difficult to access their influence and analyse their membership base . Recent conferences called by the group have drawn hundreds of participants They have a large following at Oxford University and HT members are involved in student organisations .Qasim Khawaja, a member of the HT 'executive' committee, has a job as the technical architect for the administration website of Oxford university .http://www.geocities.com/inuk_NoWar/hizb_ut_tahrir.htm
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MIM: Note the professions of the members of the HT executive board. HT is considered the 'elite' branch of Al Muhajiroun. The seemingly hypocrisy for HT members who do not recognize the legitimacy of a non Muslim country, yet appear to be part of the 'establishment' is rationalised by their stated intention to use their positions to bring about the Islamisation of the world by working within the system.
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/58
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http://www.1924.org/text/1141/0/28/M
Hizb ut-Tahrir - Britain, announces results of UK Executive Committee elections
March 17, 2004 - www.1924.org
Press Statement
London, UK, 14th March - Following elections for the UK Wilayah (Executive) Committee on the evening of Saturday 13th March 2004, corresponding to the night of the 23rd of Muharram 1425 Hijri, Hizb ut-Tahrir - Britain, wishes to announce the results to the Muslim community.
The UK Executive Committee is the leadership circle of the Party in Britain and is responsible for directing and supervising the work of the Party. Elections are held on a regular basis and members of the Party nominate and elect fellow members into the UK Executive Committee. This year there were a total of 16 nominees for the 9 available positions in the UK and the following were elected:
At election centres up and down the country, members of Hizb ut-Tahrir cast their votes for the Executive Committee. In the week preceding the election, those who were standing for election campaigned amongst members of the party in an atmosphere of brotherhood and competition in good deeds. At each election centre a co-ordinator, and 2 independent witnesses counted the votes. The votes from all election centres were then compiled under the auspices of the overall co-ordinator, Dr Imran Waheed, and 2 further witnesses. The final count took place at a Central London hotel, and the results were announced by Dr Imran Waheed shortly after 1 am on the morning of Sunday 14th March 2004.
Commenting on the elections, Dr Imran Waheed, Representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "At this criticical juncture in time, the Muslim Ummah is in need of a strong, wise and aware leadership. We ask Allah (swt) to allow goodness to come from these elections and to help those who have been elected to shoulder the burden of this leadership."
Massoud Shadjareh, Chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, who was one of the invited guests, said after the ballot in the West London voting centre: "It is encouraging that Muslim organisations are developing their infrastructure and are being accountable to the community and I hope that this will be a beginning for other Muslim institutions to rally this level of accountability."
All media enquiries should be made to Dr Imran Waheed, Media Representative UK on +44-(0)7074-192400 / Email: [email protected]
Hizb ut-Tahrir - Britain
Photos of Elections:
Please click on image to see a larger version
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| Technical Architect |
Qasim Khawaja |
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MIM: For more on the Hizb ut Tahrir connection to the Islamic Society and School of Islamic Studies at Oxford see:
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/63
" Oxford University becomes Mosqueford University"
The discussion below on being "British or Muslim" is rhetorical one for Hizb ut Tahrir and Al Muhajiroun adherents.
Both groups eschew all compromise with non Muslims and advocate the establishment of an Islamic state by any means necessary.
Note the irony that Hizb ut Tahrir member Qasim Khawaja is listed as "an Islamic advocate" who will be discussing"The Impact of September 11th on Muslims.
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Oxford University Islamic Society invites you to a discussion on:
ISLAMIC IN BRITAIN: British or Muslim? Or is it possible to be both?
Religious observance in a secular society, the roles of women and men,
the question of political sympathies, the clash of generations,
reconciling different cultural identities – these are just some of the
issues which confront the Muslim communities of Britain today.
Join us as we discuss these crucial issues.
Date: Thursday 6th March
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Place: Saskatchewan Room, Exeter College, Turl Street, Oxford, OX1 3DP
FORMAT:
1. Five short presentations
2. Panel discussion based on questions and comments from the audience
PRESENTATIONS:
* The Britannic Crescent, British Muslims 1960-2003 – Yahya Birt,
University of Oxford
* Muslim Community? Issues that pull us together or drive us apart –
Isla Rosser-Owen, Association for British Muslims
* Islam and Social Cohesion – Humera Khan, Adviser on Muslim Affairs,
An-Nisa Society, London
* Muslims in the British Education System – Mohammed Evans,
Educationist, Cardiff
* The Impact of September 11 on Muslims in the UK – Qasim Khawaja,
Islamic Advocate, Oxford
For more information contact: [email protected]
This is a public discussion and everyone is welcome to participate.
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What on earth are they playing at?
Radical group attacks anti-war Peace movement
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Hizb-ut-Tahrir, known commonly as HT, is a Muslim organisation based in London but active in Birmingham and other cities. In the last few weeks, while everyone has been displaying anti-war posters preparing for the Feb 15th demo, HT have been fly-posting stickers and posters stating 'Don't Stop the War' with 'Except through Islamic Politics' stated in small writing underneath. They are entitled to their views but to have such a slogan stuck all over inner-city Birmingham lampposts and walls makes a mockery of the anti-war peace movement. Anyone walking or driving passed the stickers will only see the large 'DON'T STOP THE WAR' and assume the organisation want to go ahead with a US-led war. Most would think that it was the work of some pro-American nationalists.
HT has written an article justifying their actions claiming that Muslims should not be marching 'behind' non-Muslims, especially Socialists and the left. They claim that all sorts of agendas and beliefs are being promoted by organisations taking advantage of the marches. Well, Muslim organisations have also every right to promote Islamic causes on these marches and to invite others to the faith. HT themselves have so far turned up at every anti-war march in London with banners and megaphones in hand accusing the US and UK of being the real 'Axis of Evil', so who are HT to write-off the demonstrations? HT promote their organisation at the demonstrations, hand out flyers and wave their banners - they just refuse to march alongside or 'behind' the "non-Muslims". As for the organisers, have not MAB organised and co-organised a few of the marches and is not the STWC made up of Muslim individuals and organisations too? Of course, HT are now making it even more difficult for the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition by removing their posters and replacing them with their own. They have even started to turn up at BSTWC events trying to forcefully deter Muslims from entering the venue.
HT never used to carry out their 'invitation' (daw'ah) in such a manner. They would usually stick their posters in shops but fly-posting posters and stickers all over roads and removing other's posters was a trademark of their rival organisation, Al-Muhajiroun. It seems the difference is now minimal. In many areas, people have removed HT's 'Don't Stop the War' material because they know only too well of how such slogans work against us, not with us. Our message to HT is simple, we are all against this war and the governments involved so do not make us your enemy. That is exactly what the Bush administration and the UK government would love, for there to be a split in an amazing and historically unique anti-war movement that has so far caused the likes of Bush and Blair to think about their irresponsible actions. |
Hizb ut Tahrir in the USA in symbolism and rhetoric but not in name...
December 28, 2003
Going out for a bomb
"Sabih Kahn, 18, founder of a Muslim football league, right, prepares to throw the ball as teammate Muhammad Akhtar, 18, heads down field for a pass during a training session at Heritage Park in Irvine, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003. Critics say names of some of the teams such as Intifada, which is used by Palestinian fighters, and Mujahideen glorify terrorism. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)"
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/000353.php
The LA Times reports on a group of Muslim football teams with some provocative names: "Monikers for the flag-football teams include Mujahideen, Intifada and Soldiers of Allah and are accompanied on the league's Web site, http://muslimfootball.com, by logos of masked men, some with daggers or swords.
"An organizer of the Jan. 4 event, geared for American Muslims in their teens and 20s, said the names are a sign of football bravado and a show of support for Muslims in the Middle East.
"'A lot of the kids on our team are from Palestinian origin,' said Tarek Shawky, Intifada's 29-year-old captain and quarterback. 'We are in solidarity with people in the uprising. It's about human rights and basic freedoms.'
"'I think they should be more sensitive and show respect to other people's sensitivities,' said Muzammil Siddiqi, director of the Islamic Society of Orange County and a national Muslim leader. 'The words themselves do not have bad meanings, but people associate them with what's going on in the world around them.'
"But others say Palestinian fighters in the Intifada are terrorists and shouldn't be glorified. Another provocative name, Mujahideen, means 'holy warrior,' and is associated with a variety of Islamic resistance movements, including two on the U.S. government's list of terrorist groups.
"'What exactly are they honoring here?' asked Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. 'The continued targeting of innocent women and children by homicide bombers deserves to be condemned across the board. It's deeply, deeply disturbing.' . . .
But one Islamic scholar said she wonders why the team names should be controversial.
"'Who cares? Why are people so sensitive?' said Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, a professor at Georgetown University. 'Intifada is something that Muslims and Palestinians all approve of. It means "just get off my back." Is the only way we accept [Muslims] is if we devalue their faith?'
Like Osama bin Laden, these Mujahedin won't be able to put Crusaders on their schedule, much as they may desire to do so. Teams with that name have long been falling to PC sensibilities: "In 2000, Wheaton College replaced its Crusader label after 70 years, with the more politically correct Thunder. Twenty miles down Interstate 5 from Irvine, where the football tournament will be held, a new Catholic high school in San Juan Capistrano changed its name before it opened last year, from the Crusaders to the Lions, a move applauded by local Muslim leaders.
"Some of those same officials say they oppose the controversial names for the Muslim football teams, but emphasize that they reflect youthful hyperbole more than any dark meaning." Yet self-proclaimed (and well-armed) mujahedin are much easier to find in the world today than crusaders are.
Also, don't these names suggest that the radical Muslims who take the same names for more sinister purposes may have more support among the general Muslim population than we are usually led to believe? (Thanks to LGF.)
Posted at December 7, 2003 06:3
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MIM:The Medium is the Militant Islamist message: Below a link to Muslim Studio which produces the albums made by Soldiers of Allah.
http://www.muslimstudio.com/faqs.html
Lyrics from the California based group "Soldiers of Allah" from their album "1924" reflect Hizb ut Tahrir's 'mission statement' is a textbook study of Islamist intentions in rhyme.
The deceptively simple 'songs' call upon Muslim youth to "bring Islam back", restore the 'Kaliphate', and defeat the 'kuffars' by any means necessary.
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Soldiers of Allah in their own words:
Q: What are your comments about the sucess of Muslim Studio?
A: The sucess of Muslim Studio is only because of Allah (swt). All we did is put in the effort.
Q: Why does it sound like you guys are screaming in your songs?
A: Our style is very different from other artists. We call it "intellectual rage," Our emotions which are linked to our thinking and based in Islam.
Q: What is the objective of Muslim Studio?
A: " Muslim Studio is a reminder for all those who have forgotten." Our objective is to motivate Muslims towards Islam and remind them to be focused on Islam. Because we are Muslim youth ourselves, we understand the trials and tests that other Muslim youths go through. Thus we have sucessfully been able to relate to our audience because of the style of our lyrics.
Q :Did you brothers convert to Islam ?
A: Of course we are all born Muslim. Many of us did convert to Islam.
Q: Which country are you brothers from?
A: The countries we are from vary. Of course we are closer then blood brothers because our bond is thicker then blood, our bond is Islam.
(Click here to see the 'black flag' of Islam symbol being waved by one of the 'Soldiers of Allah' standing atop a globe.This picture used to be on the SOA album cover which was renamed "No Compromise" after the article "Soldiers of a New Islamist World Order" drew attention to their website and extremist agenda )
http://web.archive.org/web/20030213050125/http://muslimstudio.com/
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LYRICS: |
"I PLEDGE THE ALLEGIANCE" http://www.google-lyrics.com/lyrics/lyrics_soldiers_of_allah_lyrics/soldiers_of_allah_i_pledge_the_allegiance_lyrics.html (School bell rings) Teacher: All right...settle down...settle down.... I want everyone to stand up for the american flag....especially you Mozlims back there.... La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah!!!!! La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah!!!!! La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah!!!!! La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah!!!! I'll TELL YOU WHY WE DON'T STAND! In 1924, our state was demolished! Hundreds of years of planning And their plans were accomplished Kafirs broke our bond! Contaminated our knowledg Better listen up.. Cuz you won't learn this in college! Millions of victim A genocide of statisti And these are just symptom From the lack of existen From the one & only solution The Islamic system One way One method It must be implemented System of Islam Cuz the creator has sent it Our minds are infested Our words are neglected Hated and disrespected Degraded and rejected Nationalism divided Slowly injected.... Wake up Muslim Ummah Our unity has been infected! Ready to die! And fight for the cau Spitting on their Constitutions, flags, and their laws! And no I shall not stand up and applaud Don't want to gain the anger of Allah Instead I live and di For the pleasure of Allah And Yes I pledge my allegian And I pledge my allegiance for Islam!! La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah No sell out, so put away the loot Straight out of the Quran & Sunnah comes the proof We don't stand up for their flag cuz we know the truth Instead we sit down with our brother Mahmud-Abdul-Rau'ff They want us to stand up and pledge to their allegian That's the way the kafirs want to see u Trying to keep us out of the political aren Polluting young Muslim minds with tequil Attempting to steer u So one will believe u Painting the White House whit Cuz they're the real drug dealer They broke us into pi So they can cease u Telling us to give to Caesar What is Caesar' La - Ilaha - Ilallah They'll never cease u They won't show Muslims as achiever Cowards!! Cuz they're non-believer No Khilafah Because they fear u Twisting our tongu So no one will hear u They fear u Everything they hear u Victory is promised to the believer This is where I pledge my allegian I see depression From man-made flaw I see oppression Under man-made law Won't bend over for the u.s. Like stupid sadam Or sell out Islam like mustafa kamall United we stand Divided we fall Surrounded our land By imaginary wall Replaced Islam With a system that stall Run by a president That can't keep on his draw And when he admit People will applaud Wipe that stupid smile off your f Cuz you still have to answer to Allah!!! La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah La - Ilaha - Ilallah Mohammedun Rasul-lu-llah They want me to stand up for their flag And pretend nothing's wrong Destroy our Deen That's what they want They want to kill m But they can't kill Islam True meaning of democracy Throwing bomb after bomb Brothers in Milwauk I hope you can hear u Much pro With those ANP lyri Soldiers of Allah in effect Spread this Deen until my death Won't give up Islam Until you separate my head from my neck Islam will take over the world like risk Try to destroy Islam and you'll mi Dividing us into region Let the masses resist I PLEDGE MY ALLEGIAN Class is dismissed! (School bell rings) --------------------- http://www.muslimstudio.com/store.html---------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=9411 The director of MIM assisted with the research of this article : Soldiers of an Islamist New World Order
"We Muslims do not recognize any law or system but the Islamic one. Any system other than Islam is null and void." - Soldiers of Allah Soldiers of Allah (SOA), a Los Angeles-based rap group that now goes under the name Muslim Studio, was the brainchild of Ali Ardekani. Ardekani got the idea about Muslim rap, when he was attending an Islamic camp and a "brother from [sic] east coast" showed him a song he had written. He liked it so much, he wrote and recorded his own. It became an instant hit, as, according to Ardekani, "over 100 copies were sold in the two days of its release at a local Islamic conference." The song was entitled, ‘Staring into the Enmies's [sic] Eyes.' They also use an alternative title for it: ‘Staring into Kafir's Eyes.' Kafir is a very important word in the Soldiers of Allah (or Muslim Studio) vernacular. It means infidel or denier of the truth. It separates the world into two groups, those who believe (Islam) and those who don't. They fashion their songs and their various writings on the recreation of the Ummah (universal knowledge of Islam), which encompasses a Khilafah (unified Islamic nation) with its Khaleefah (single leader) ruling over all by Allah's law. SOA sites the year 1924 (which is the title of one of their albums and songs) as being the year when the Khilafah was abolished by the Turks and the one and only Ummah – "from the time of the Prophet (Mohammed)" – was destroyed. They sing: "In 1924, our state was demolished. Hundred years of planning, and their plans were accomplished. Kafirs broke our bond, contaminated our knowledge. Better listen up, because you won't learn this in college. Beginning of the end and the divisions began. Step by step, they divided our lands." And they conclude: "It's year 2000, and nothing has changed. Past generation has aged, let us write the next page. It's time for us to change. It's up to you and me. Either we make history, or we become history…" To get to this greater Muslim dominion, the masses must be joined under the banner of Allah and rise up in jihad against their "oppressors" and "occupiers," eventually to celebrate a one world Islam." It's a grandiose dream that could only be trumped by that of Adolph Hitler. In ‘Staring into Kafir's Eyes,' they sing: "We fear Allah and only Allah. Let us be the generation who puts Islam back on the map. We will never compromise Islam. Islam will rule the world." And: "From Turkey to Afghanistan, from Palestine to Iran, implement Islamic laws. Take a stand!! It's Allah's demand. Implement global Jihad!! Take back our Muslim lands!!! They conclude: "Kafir!!! You're a loser! In this life……and in the hereafter……" One web source has termed the SOA's style "Islamofascist rap." Where do they get all of this rage from? If the above wasn't hint enough, the entrance of the Soldiers of Allah website should tell the tale. There, you will be treated to a Flash presentation which centers around a man standing atop the Earth, waving a flag. The flag is black with white Arabic letters. It represents the Islamic flag of war or Ar-Raya. According to Muslim lore, a jihad is to be launched with it, and when the Ummah comes to fruition, it's white counterpart or Al-Liwaa is to be hoisted. The said ideologies are shared and disseminated by select groups. They include the radical fundamentalist Al-Muhajiroun and its affiliate, Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organization that Ariel Cohen from the Heritage Foundation states is establishing ties with neo-Nazis and "is an emerging threat to American interests in Central and South Asia and the Middle East." You will notice that on the homepage of each of these groups' websites they proudly display the same black flag. In addition, the SOA have a kinship for another website which espouses the same beliefs, www.islamic-state.org. In fact, they share some of the exact same material, word for word, picture for picture. And the SOA even offer downloads of their songs on this site. Also on this site, you can see exclusive communiqués and press releases from Hizb ut-Tahrir. The Soldiers of Allah website was created by Ardekani, who is, as it happens, a web developer by profession. You can check out much of his work – whilst staring into his empty, soulless eyes – on his personal website, www.flashimage.com. From there, you'll be able to see the site he developed for Manatt, Phelps & Philips, a law and consulting firm that has been described as a "political powerhouse." Headed by former ambassador to the Dominican Republic and former Democratic National Committee chairman, Charles T. Manatt, in 1991, the firm found itself representing the number two man for the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), Swaleh Naqvi. At the time, BCCI was "at the center of a worldwide scandal involving alleged drug money laundering, arms trafficking and support of terrorists." "Internal BCCI documents are said to show that the bank used the Manatt firm to lobby the National Security Council in 1992 in an attempt to close down [District Attorney Robert] Morgenthau's Manhattan investigation." You'll also be able to connect to the site Ardekani did for the Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley, a venue that not too long ago featured a lecture by Maulana Tariq Jamil. Jamil is a senior leader in the Tablighi Jama'at, an organization of Muslim Missionaries that has been found to be a recruitment center for al Qaeda. One writer reported on another lecture Jamil once gave, where he allegedly appealed to then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, "to enforce an Islamic system similar to that in neighboring Afghanistan under the Taliban." And of course, on Ardekani's website, you'll be able to link up to SOA's latest incarnation, www.muslimstudio.com. The website for Muslim Studio – as I stated, the new name of Ardekani's rap group – has basically the same characteristics as the one for the SOA. One thing you'll notice, when you go there, is that it contains a full blown message board… which is actually done through the same exact message board company as the one used by the Islamic-State website. Surprise, surprise! In the message board, you'll view some pretty outrageous material. A prime example of this was when one person posted an article entitled, ‘Three More American Troops Die in the Killing Fields of Iraq.' The first reply it received was "DIE DOGS DIE." But that was only from a poster. Now, let's see what one of the administrators of the site, Saeed, has to say [I did not want to fix any of the grammar]: *On the question of whether suicide bombers are good (halal) or not (haram), he stated, "it all matters on what intention the individual has in mind. if it's nationalism then it's haram. but if it's truly for islam then it is halal. There are many examples in the past of great warriors of islam doing likewise." *On the question of suicide bombing being against the Islamic religion, noticeably upset, he stated the following, "hmmm… that's a very bold statement, this would imply that all those muslims are going to hell. are you sure?" *He had a better term for suicide bombers. He said, "lets call it martyrdom operations." *On the question of civilians being murdered, he said the following, "from my understanding, the rules change when we are faced with an alien presence within our land. all occupiers are in fact combatants due to there mere presence there. so all of them effectively must be fought until they leave or die in the process." *Concerning the khilafah, he stated, "but yes, the boarders of the khilafah are not stagnated. but rather they will seek to expand, and in tern remove any obstacle in it's way, including the so called muslim rulers. *About musical instruments, he had this to say, "ps it's haram to play string instruments, and play in front of mixed gender audiences. they promote ideas alien to Islam. they should be banned." This is what Administrator Kareem has to say about the creation of a future unified Islamic nation: *"Similarly, Israel and India have occupied Muslim lands and have had a history of oppressing Muslims; therefore, the Islamic State would (assuming things have not changed) be in a state of war with these two countries when it is established." *"Nor does it mean that the Islamic State will rampage through the world, killing everyone left and right. Anyone who has this mentality needs a reality check. The Islamic State is a tool that is designated to implement the Deen of Allah and carry the Message of Islam to the world. By killing everyone, who are you going to rule and who will you convey the Message of Islam to?" *"The Islamic State must formally declare a war, and it must specify the time and place of the fighting. In this manner, the people will know beforehand where and when the fighting will take place." *And concerning his own views, "We should refrain from any history that is replete with gross exaggerations, fairy tales, and twisted facts that leave the reader disgusted with Islamic history and culture." And who could forget about our friend, Ali Ardekani? Administrator Ali had his own gory material: *When Ali had in his possession a picture depicting President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as monkeys, he couldn't help but post it to the World Wide Web. He stated, "I don't usually post pictures, but this one is funny." *With respect to the Taliban, because they "enforce some Islamic rulings but they neglect other rulings," he refers to them (the Taliban) as "the lesser of two evils." *About Americans and Christians, he stated, "Out of all the countries I have been able to travel, I am sorry to say that Americans (Northern) seem to be the less intelligent when it comes to politics or current events. Now don't get me wrong, I am not referring to ALL Americans but rather the majority of them. Of course, there are the few rare exceptions that understand what is really going on. But [as] for the rest of them, they are treated like cattle and they react like sheep… Could it be because of their Christian mindset (follow blindly) that they have been conditioned so easily?" *And when a fellow poster said that Muslims should raise money like "the YAHOOD" (i.e. Jews), except not "be greedy like or act like them," Ali had this to say, "JazakAllah kair. May Allah (swt) reward you for your intentions." The above was not the first time Ardekani responded positively to someone posting antisemitic material on the internet. On a website that states, "The Jews are killing our Muslim children." And "The Jews are torturing our brothers," Ali wrote to the web owner, "I like your site. It is vivid and real." He goes on to say, "It's sad to see the situation of the Muslims today. What we see are only symptoms of living without an amir. Without a state. Without a generation who loves death more than life." Ardekani loves death more than he does life. This jibes with the fact that, according to a poem he had written, he once contemplated suicide. On the Muslim Studio message board, Ali gets asked, on numerous occasions, what the names of his band mates are. And every time, he refuses, saying he will not give out their identities. He says it's better to listen to the message in the music than to know who's playing it. But still, why is it such a big deal? What is he worried that people will find out? The only other group member that can be found on the net [as far as I can tell] is Daniel Hashimi. Hashimi, aside from being affiliated with Soldiers of Allah, is the Vice President of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) of California State University Northridge (CSUN). Just months prior to the attacks on September 11, 2001, the MSA of CSUN "participated in a fundraiser held by Islamic Relief to raise money and awareness for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan…" Islamic Relief is reported to have raised millions of dollars for terrorists in Chechnya and is "a charity whose British office received $50,000 in 1999 from a Canadian group that the Treasury Department says is a Bin Laden front." According to the MSA of CSUN website, at the fundraiser they brought in $53,000 for the cause. On their website this bit of information was followed by a link to "Learn some background information on Afghanistan and the Taliban." Around the same time as the fundraiser was taking place, another MSA (at the University of Southern California) brought a Taliban Ambassador, who happens to have the same last name as Daniel Hashimi (Sayyid Rahmatullah Hashimi), to speak at the University. In a press release put out by the MSA concerning this event, it is stated, "Many people have questions about Afghanistan and the Taliban. Most of these questions stem from the portrayls [sic] in the media. The truth is that many of the stories in the media are inaccurate." Again, this was just prior to 9/11. Ali Ardekani also developed the website for Muslim Basketball, a series of organized basketball tournaments for Muslims. As a matter of fact, Ardekani is a "lead organizer." One of the tournaments was held at the Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC). Muzammil Siddiqui, the Director of the ISOC, "has made statements supporting the violent ideology of radical Islam and shunning the West… glorifying the jihad in Afghanistan and its spread to other places in the world…" (Steven Emerson, American Jihad, 2002) Siddiqui was also the President of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which "publishes a bi-monthly magazine, Islamic Horizons, which often champions militant Islamist doctrine, and it convenes annual conferences where Islamist militants have been given a platform to incite violence and promote hatred." (ibid) Soldiers of Allah sells its tapes and CDs at ISNA Conferences. What is interesting about Muslim Basketball is that one of the graphic images for it contains a character playing basketball that looks identical to the person waving the flag in the Soldiers of Allah site. And what's even more interesting is that, on another personal website of Ardekani's, there is the same character… which, incidentally, looks exactly like Ardekani's picture. So it seems the person waving the black Islamic flag of war is none other than Ardekani himself. On the homepage of soldiersofallah.com, you'll read the following: "Assalammu' Aliakum, welcome to the new Soldiers of Allah website. Anything we say incorrect is from us. Anything we say correct is by the mercy of Allah (swt)." When analyzing the above quote, one is posed with a dilemma: How does a novice reader of the site make sense of the "correct" from the "incorrect?" The passage is deceiving. But so is the cast for which the passage was written. By Joe Kaufman- Front Page Magazine ------------------------------------------
------------------------------- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25307
----------------------------- There are Muslims who view Hizb ut Tahrir as a heretical sect which according to them refuses to adhere to core religious tenets of Islam.For more on this view see : http://forums.gawaher.com/index.php?showtopic=7465& What is Hizb-ut-Tahrir? that was lost by the Muslims in 1924 when the Ottoman Khilafah was destroyed. the Muslims are agreed that it is one of the most important obligations of Islam today to re-establish the Khilaafah, since the religion can never properly be established without it. The issue is that the Khilaafah will be re-established by Muslims on the Aqeedah (belief) of the Prophet (SAWS) a nd his Companions (Quraan 24:55). The Aqeedah of Hizb-ut-Tahrir is nowhere near the Aqeedah of the Prophet (SAWS) and his Companions nor is it the Aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jama'ah, the mainstream body of Muslims all over the World. ----------------- Information on Hizb ut Tahrir and their websites: http://haganah.us/jihadi/HuT.html http://www.heritage.org/Research/RussiaandEurasia/BG1656es.cfm Hizb ut-Tahrir: An Emerging Threat to U.S. Interests in Central Asia -------------------- The two flags of Islam explained by Islamists www.angelfire.com/ nd/SoldiersOfAllah/101.html It has been confirmed in many narrations that there are two flags in Islam; the first is called Al-Liwaa and serves as the sign for the leader of the Muslim army and as the flag of the Islamic State. While the other is termed Ar-Raya and is used by the Muslim army. The Liwaa of the Messenger (saaw) was a piece of white cloth with the words "La Illaha Illa Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah" written across it. "There is no god but Allah and Muhammed is his Messenger" The Raya of the Messenger (saaw) was a piece of black wool with the words "La Illaha Illah Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah" written across it. Therefore, the Liwaa is a white flag with black inscriptipn, and the Raya is a black flag with white inscription. Ibn Abbas (ra) narrated that the Raya of the Messenger (saaw) was black and his Liwaa was white. During the battle of Mu'atah the Messenger (saaw) was delivering a Khutbah in Medinah. The Messenger (saaw) was telling the Muslims about what was happening in the battlefield. He (saaw) informed them Zayd (ra) was killed and Ja'far took over the Raya (black flag) from him, then Ja'far (ra) himself was killed, so Abdullah Ibn Ruwahah (ra) took over the Raya (black flag the sign for the leader of the Muslim army and as the flag of the Islamic State. While the other is termed Ar-Raya and is used by the Muslim army. The Liwaa of the Messenger (saaw) was a piece of white cloth with the words "La Illaha Illa Allah Muhammadur Rasul Allah" written across it. Therefore, the Liwaa is a white flag with black inscriptipn, and the Raya is a black flag with white inscription.
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This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/230
