The first week of March marked the centennial of the abolition of the Islamic Caliphate following World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Several branches of the Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami), scheduled their annual conferences during that week, including the US branch, whose conference was held in Illinois under the title “Gaza: Crisis and Solution—The Role of Muslims in the United States.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a leading global political-radical Islamist organization. Founded in the 1950s, it mainly targets an educated audience and operates in at least 32 countries. The organization seeks to reinstate the Islamic Caliphate as a solution to the challenges facing the "Islamic nation" [umma]. It rejects Western democracy, perceived as an ideology of the faithlessness (kufr), and has even carried out campaigns in various countries calling on Muslims not to vote. It presents Western founding values as hypocritical and designed to serve only the interests of the West. Although claiming to be “non-violent,” it has had links to terrorist operatives in the past and bans on the entry of its spokespeople into various countries. In Germany, it has been banned altogether, and in the wake of the “Swords of Iron” war, Britain has also imposed a ban, with the British interior minister citing that it’s an antisemitic body that actively encourages and promotes terrorism.
Although the “red-green alliance” between radical left activists and political Islam has been active in key civil and public arenas in the West for over two decades, many still wonder what these two groups, who seemingly believe in conflicting values, have in common. The conference of the Islamic Liberation Party revealed that its messaging closely aligns with that promoted by radical left activists, reflecting a convergence of narratives to some degree:
• The past century is depicted as being conducted according to colonialist interests, marked by artificial borders and the appointment of Arab and Muslim puppet rulers appointed by virtue of the “curse” of Western nationalism; International law is only applied selectively in places that benefit colonialist interests.
• The non-believing Western world continues the crusades and commits “genocide” against Muslims around the world—in Bosnia, Kashmir, the Uyghurs in China, and in Gaza—while its other goal is to destroy the Muslim way of life.
• Israel (presented as a Zionist or Jewish colony) was established because of European racism, and Europe’s inability to deal with the issue without violence. A call has been made to the “armies of Islam,” especially in the countries neighboring Israel, to work for the liberation of all Palestinian territories. In distant countries, such as the US, Muslims should concentrate on activism and should work toward establishing the Caliphate state, while preserving the identity of Muslim youth.
Alongside the military campaign, the current battle for Israel’s existence specifically and the fight to curb antisemitism in general are primarily against extreme ideologies that are spreading in various “civilian” spaces, sometimes with state support. Recognizing this is crucial for developing effective coping strategies to address these challenges.
The first week of March marked the centennial of the abolition of the Islamic Caliphate following World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Several branches of the Islamic Liberation Party (Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami), scheduled their annual conferences during that week, including the US branch, whose conference was held in Illinois under the title “Gaza: Crisis and Solution—The Role of Muslims in the United States.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir is a leading global political-radical Islamist organization. Founded in the 1950s, it mainly targets an educated audience and operates in at least 32 countries. The organization seeks to reinstate the Islamic Caliphate as a solution to the challenges facing the "Islamic nation" [umma]. It rejects Western democracy, perceived as an ideology of the faithlessness (kufr), and has even carried out campaigns in various countries calling on Muslims not to vote. It presents Western founding values as hypocritical and designed to serve only the interests of the West. Although claiming to be “non-violent,” it has had links to terrorist operatives in the past and bans on the entry of its spokespeople into various countries. In Germany, it has been banned altogether, and in the wake of the “Swords of Iron” war, Britain has also imposed a ban, with the British interior minister citing that it’s an antisemitic body that actively encourages and promotes terrorism.
Although the “red-green alliance” between radical left activists and political Islam has been active in key civil and public arenas in the West for over two decades, many still wonder what these two groups, who seemingly believe in conflicting values, have in common. The conference of the Islamic Liberation Party revealed that its messaging closely aligns with that promoted by radical left activists, reflecting a convergence of narratives to some degree:
• The past century is depicted as being conducted according to colonialist interests, marked by artificial borders and the appointment of Arab and Muslim puppet rulers appointed by virtue of the “curse” of Western nationalism; International law is only applied selectively in places that benefit colonialist interests.
• The non-believing Western world continues the crusades and commits “genocide” against Muslims around the world—in Bosnia, Kashmir, the Uyghurs in China, and in Gaza—while its other goal is to destroy the Muslim way of life.
• Israel (presented as a Zionist or Jewish colony) was established because of European racism, and Europe’s inability to deal with the issue without violence. A call has been made to the “armies of Islam,” especially in the countries neighboring Israel, to work for the liberation of all Palestinian territories. In distant countries, such as the US, Muslims should concentrate on activism and should work toward establishing the Caliphate state, while preserving the identity of Muslim youth.
Alongside the military campaign, the current battle for Israel’s existence specifically and the fight to curb antisemitism in general are primarily against extreme ideologies that are spreading in various “civilian” spaces, sometimes with state support. Recognizing this is crucial for developing effective coping strategies to address these challenges.