— Austrian Times and other media report:
— “A banned radical Islamic organisation has sent a threatening letter to Social Democratic (SPÖ) Women’s Minister Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek after she called for a ban on burkas, according to the Österreich newspaper.”
— “The newspaper reported today (Weds) that the Hizb ut-Tahrir organisation based in Lebanon had sent it a three-page email after Christmas in which it condemned the minister’s remarks last week and threatened her using the sentence from the Koran: ‘And know that Allah is strong in punishment.’ ”
— “Hizb ut-Tahrir – which experts say is the first transnational organisation dominated by Palestinians calling for a caliphate or world-wide Islamic state – is considered dangerous and was banned in 2003 in Germany for its support of violence.”
— “A spokesperson for Heinisch-Hosek said her ministry had been in contact with the Office for Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism and was taking the matter very seriously.”
Image from Hizb ut-Tahrir America's Web Site Promoting a Chicago Suburb Event on Pakistan on December 20
Three days before the HTA Lombard event, Hizb ut-Tahrir published an “open letter to the Ulema of Pakistan” calling for the Pakistan people to overthrow their government, and “uprooting the agent government,” and stating “the Ulema should issue a Fatwa for the expulsion of America from the region.” In this December 17 press release, Hizb ut-Tahrir further claimed that “America has planned to shift the blame of her crimes towards the Muslims…”
This message was conveyed to new American recruits in the Chicago area by Hizb ut-Tahrir America in a “lecture given by Abu Baseer.” Baseer spoke to a group of approximately 40 individuals, with women once again segregated in the back of the Lombard community building facility.
Anti-Democracy Hizb ut-Tahrir America December 20, 2009 Meeting at Govt-Managed Facility in Lombard, Illinois -- Women Segregated and Only Permitted to Sit in the Back of the Room
In the Lombard government-managed facility, Abu Baseer told new Hizb ut-Tahrir America recruits not to trust Christians and Jews as “allies,” stating that it was against Allah’s will. Abu Baseer also denounced “the Kafir” (“infidel”) stating that the “sanctity of Muslim blood is greater… than the sanctity of the Kafir.” (The next day, December 21, Hizb ut-Tahrir America posted an article stating that schools for other religions, such as Jews, would only be permitted for “Dhimmis” accepting a state of servitude.)
Hizb ut-Tahrir America December 20, 2009 Speakers in Lombard - Abu Baseer Denounces Kafirs and Denounces Pakistan Government as un-Islamic
Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s Abu Baseer described the circumstances in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as one where that nation has suffered from a Pakistan government that is “bombing Muslims and burning innocent females and children alive.” He used this as the emotional centerpiece of his argument as to why extremism was necessary to end the “corruption” in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Nor did Abu Baseer tell new Hizb ut-America recruits that it was in fact a Lal Masjid Violent Extremist who spilled “Muslim blood” as reported in the London Times that “transformed from a seat of religious learning to an inferno by the suicide bomber who detonated his charge as the Pakistani commandos stormed the Red Mosque compound.” All the new American recruits for the extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir were told is that it was the Pakistan government “burning innocent females and children alive,” inciting hatred against the Pakistan government as “un-Islamic.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir America's Graphic Images of Suffering - Blamed on America at Chicago Suburban Meeting
Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s Abu Baseer used a showman’s countdown of a litany of “symptoms” of Pakistan’s problems, war, violence, poverty, describing “the Pakistani government bombing Muslims,” claims that Pakistani people were “bombed indiscriminately from the air,” describing the “Pakistan economy in shackles,” stating that “to get billions of dollars of aid, Pakistan has to agree to draconian measures… to increase poverty in the country,” Abu Baseer kept stating that all these were merely “symptoms,” not the “cause” of Pakistan’s problems. Abu Baseer got at least one audible “wow” from his audience when describing the suffering of the Pakistan people, which he blamed on the Pakistan government not being sufficiently “Islamic,” and described myriad imagined “plots” by America to take over Pakistan, including blaming President Barack Obama.
Abu Baseer claimed that “America wants to invade and occupy Pakistan for itself,” imagining a U.S. plot “to control the gateway to Southeast Asia” and “immense energy resources” and an imagined U.S. plot to create a “major front against America’s competitors like China and Russia,” viewing the “war on terror” as a “proxy war” intended to “partition Pakistan.” Never criticizing the Taliban, Abu Baseer claimed that the violence in Pakistan was not the result of terrorists, but was coordinated by the Pakistan government and U.S. contractor Blackwater. Abu Baseer claimed that U.S. contractor Blackwater is planning activities for inside Pakistan to “destabilize the country,” with Blackwater agents working to “make others look bad” using the “same devious practices used to create chaos in Iraq.” Abu Baseer claimed that “Pakistan rulers are providing all support to U.S. in this bloodbath” and that “the government is declaring every bomb blast a suicide blast to exonerate the [Pakistan] secret service and secret agencies like Blackwater…”
Abu Baseer continued to attack democracy at the Lombard event as well, claiming that democracy was part of “British colonial law” designed to subjugate the Pakistan Muslim population, and stating that democracy is something “other than what Allah” demands, which will result in continued “injustices towards the people.” Abu Baseer denounced the current “system of ruling” in Pakistan, stating that “a fair system can only come from Allah” – and that “system of Islam… an Islamic state” is required. Regarding democracy in Pakistan, Abu Baseer stated that Muslims must “replace [such] systems altogether” and that with its population and nuclear weapons that Pakistan would be more powerful if it became a true “Islamic state.”
Abu Baseer stated that there would be “great punishment” against the Pakistan army, and claimed that the rulers of Pakistan “have violated the command of Allah.” Their greatest crime, in Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s views, was Abu Baseer’s view on “security alliances.” Abu Baseer told the Lombard event audience “all you who believe, do not take the Jews and Christians for your allies, they are but allies to one another, and whoever allies themselves with them becomes one of them” and that “Allah does not prize such evil doers.”
The crowd concluded the event with a chant of “Allahu Akbar.”
Concluding Hizb ut-Tahrir America's Calls for Extremism in Pakistan and the World
The anti-democracy international Hizb ut-Tahrir organization has a long history of making death threats both in the U.S. and aroundthe world. In Bangladesh in November 2009, Hizb ut-Tahrir was reported as having threatened to murder a university vice chancellor who sought to prevent professors who promoted hate at a Bangladesh university. At the beginning of December 2009, Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia called for stonings and whippings as the answer to addressing the AIDS disease.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamist network that is committed to creating an Islamic Caliphate that spans the globe. The organization is banned in Germany and Russia as well as several Arab countries and targets Muslim children between the ages of 9 and 18. Many compare their efforts to organizations like the Hitler Youth. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is counted among their alumnus.”
Dr. Jasser stated that “Hizb ut-Tahrir preaches an ideology that calls for the destruction of the principles that America is founded on.”
BBC television broadcast on its Panorama television show on the Hizb ut-Tahrir, interviewing a British “influential Muslim figure” who stated about Hizb ut-Tahrir to BBC: “I believe that if Hizb ut-Tahrir are not stopped at this stage and we continue to let them to politicize and pollute the youngsters’ minds and other gullible peoples minds, that what will happen in effect is that these terrorism acts and these suicide bombings that we hear going on around us in foreign countries, we will actually start seeing these incidents happening right outside our doorsteps.”
We support our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters to drop the burden of the hate of extremism from their hearts, and to rejoin the family of humanity in support of our universal human rights.
Extremist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir has been promoting its anti-democracy message at a public event sponsored by the Indonesian government in Jakarta, receiving an award for their public booth:
— “Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia stands at the Muharram commemorations weeks – 1431 H in Jakarta Islamic Center. This event took place during for a week and beginning on 14-20 December 2009. The event was organized by the Jakarta provincial government, and followed by the booths of various Islamic organizations in Indonesia. At the end of the show, stand Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia received an award as the best stand during the event. And stand HTI became a favorite booth for the visitors who visited the Islamic center in Jakarta.”
The extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir message in Indonesia is summarized as “Save Indonesia with Sharia” (Selamatkan Indonesia Dengan Syariah).
The well-organized, glossy booth and materials by the extremist, anti-democracy Hizb ut-Tahrir organization apparently got the attention of Indonesians attending the event.
Anti-Democracy Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) Booth at Indonesian Government-Sponsored Event
Religious extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir America allows that “Dhimmi” Jews are permitted to have schools, but “it has nothing to do with schools as we know them today.” The term “Dhimmi” is a term of a non-Muslim group living in willing servitude under religious extremist masters, known as “Dhimmitude.”
“Q4. It is recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari, in The Book of Al-Jizyah, in the chapter of expelling the Jews from the Arabian Peninsula, narrated by Abu Hurairah (ra) who said: ‘While we were in the Masjid, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came out and said: ‘Set forth to the Jews,’ so we set out until we reached Bayt Al-Madraas (a building where the Jews taught the Torah), then he صلى الله عليه وسلم said to them, ‘Become Muslim, and you are safe, and know that this land belongs to Allah and His Messenger. I wish to expel you from this land, so whoever (wants to sell some of their precious belongings), then he should do so, otherwise know that this land belongs to Allah and His Messenger’. ”
“This Hadith has confused us. We see from the Hadith that the Jews had their own schools, so some of us understood that this is only related to the Jews that were isolated, such as Bani Quraydha or Khaybar, where it is not a problem that they have their own schools. But some of us derived that it is more accurate that these were Dhimmi’s (Ahl Al-dhimma) from those left over after the events of Bani Quraydha and Khaybar, which means that it is permitted to allow private schools for Dhimmi’s and this is the problem! Please clarify this matter.”
Answer:
“The subject of Al-Madraas”
“You strayed into the topic of whether this is related to Dhimmi’s or the Jews, which led you to become confused about the Hukum of whether or not they were Dhimmi’s, linking this to the permissibility of allowing private schools for Dhimmi’s.”
“The matter is simpler than that. The matter is not related to schools, but rather is related to permitting Dhimmi’s to teach their religions. The word “Al-Madraas” is an attachment to their place of worship, where they teach their Torah and scriptures, and it is permitted for the Dhimmi’s to teach their religions amongst themselves. This is different from schools as we know them today.”
“To clarify the matter, it was stated in Al-Qamoos Al-Muheet that the word “Madraas” has two meanings: The first meaning is a place where Jews read their Torah. The second meaning is a place where they gather for their celebrations to eat and drink.”
“It was also stated in Lisaan Al-Arab that the word has two meanings: The first meaning is a place where they gather for their celebrations to pray in. The second meaning is a day where they eat and drink.”
“So you can see that a Madraas is no more than an attachment to their places of worship, where they teach their religion amongst themselves, or it is a day on which they eat and drink (such as celebration for them) or something similar. In either case, it has nothing to do with schools as we know them today.”
In the Chicago suburbs on December 20, 2009, a group that has conspired to deny Americans their Constitutional and civil rights will be using a government-managed facility to recruit new members to their extremist cause. In this case it will be the extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir America organization, which will be using the Lombard Park District community building in the Village of Lombard.
Hizb ut-Tahrir America has sought to intimidate those who would exercise their Constitutionally-protected religious freedom by stating that in the global “Khilafah” of Muslims those who “publicly abandon Islam” should know “that they will be killed for it.” According to Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s handouts in the Chicago suburbs, those who choose such religious freedom are committing “an open attack on the basis of the state which is Islam, essentially it is viewed as treason and a political attack on the Khilafah in order to undermine it”… which according to Hizb ut-Tahrir America deserves “the death penalty.” On July 19, 2009, in full view of local law enforcement (and reportedly federal law enforcement) in Oak Lawn, Illinois, Hizb ut-Tahrir handed out this brochure calling for “the death penalty” against “apostates” from Islam to a reported 700 attendees at this conference.
Emboldened, Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s latest recruitment activity on December 20 will now be using a government-managed community building in the village of Lombard. There is no public denunciation by government officials. There is no public condemnation of this anti-democracy international Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, with a long history of making death threats both in the U.S. and aroundthe world. There is no public call for Hizb ut-Tahrir to retract its continuing promotion in the United States of a document calling for “the death penalty” against “apostates.”
Wouldn’t we be outraged if white supremacists were using a government-managedcommunity building to hold meetings? Wouldn’t we be more than outraged if such a white supremacist group had been calling for the “death penalty” for white Americans who disagreed with their supremacist views? Wouldn’t we be demanding legal and law enforcement action to end such a conspiracy to violate others’ civil rights through intimidation?
At what point are open and public death threats (in writing no less) by extremist roups to specific identity groups recognized by our government and law enforcement as nothing less than conspiracies to violate protected American civil rights? At what point is the use of public facilities to call for the “death” of identity groups recognized as a hate crime?
In America and around the world, we have seen the consequences of failing to take action against extremist groups inciting hatred against others with death threats. Hizb ut-Tahrir and similar groups’ calls for “death” against others is considered a call to action for those who share this philosophy of hate. Just last month, on November 2, in Arizona, a 20 year old girl Noor Almaleki died from an attack by her father for not adhering to what his family told the Arizona Republic were “Muslim values.” We are certain that the majority of Muslim Americans would reject such views, but we have also seen similar killings in Ohio, Indianapolis, Texas, and Georgia. Who is next to die as a result because of such jate?
Death threats by extremist organizations have very real, very deadly consequences. It is past time for Illinois and the federal government to act on the conspiracy by Hizb ut-Tahrir America to deny Americans’ freedom of religion, by its publicly calling for the death of those who seek such freedoms. It is not only an outrage; it is also a growing conspiracy to use intimidation tactics of death threats to violate our rights as American citizens.
The logo of the Hizb ut-Tahrir extremistt organization with its Black Flag of Extremism
“Leave aside that what should be ‘taught in the classroom’ was, in fact, the exact topic of the pamphlet. Leave aside that Mrs Ahmed has never repudiated her views. Leave aside even the absurdity of Mr Balls’ position (if supporters of the BNP — Hizb’s white equivalent – were running schools at public expense, I think we would be able to cut its funding without needing to prove that the children sing the Horst Wessel Song in class.)”
“Yet even without any of that, there is separate, and very compelling, evidence, of what is being taught at these schools – evidence which even the Minister for Hizb ut Tahrir might accept. It is the school’s curriculum (also, by the way, written by Farah Ahmed.) It’s been obtained and analysed by the think-tank, the Centre for Social Cohesion. And as their analysis shows, there are stiking parallels between what Hizb teaches its recruits – and Mrs Ahmed teaches her pupils.”
— Andrew Gilligan for The Spectator reports that:
— “The main evidence that Mr Balls has made a massive blunder is a chapter in a Hizb ut Tahrir pamphlet, ‘Education and Identity’, written by one Farah Ahmed. Mrs Ahmed is the head teacher of one of the two schools, and also a trustee of the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation (ISF), which runs them both. If I were a Muslim parent, I would not let my child within 20 miles of her.”
— “In her chapter ‘The Western Education System and the British National Curriculum’, Mrs Ahmed attacks the religious studies elements of the national curriculum for ‘primarily push[ing] …the idea of ‘religious tolerance’.’’This, she says, ‘’further aids distancing the Muslim child from the concept of Islam being the only reference point.’ ”
— “In another chapter, co-authored with Hizb ut Tahrir’s women’s spokesman, Dr Nazreen Nawaz, Mrs Ahmed goes into great detail about how the education system would work in Hizb ‘caliphate’, the global Islamic superstate that is the party’s ultimate goal. (By extraordinary coincidence, some of the same themes are found in the ISF schools’ own curriculum document.)”
— “But it is Hizb ut Tahrir which is the avowed enemy of multiculturalism — and is just as loathed by most British Muslims as the far right is loathed by most white people.”
Image from Hizb ut-Tahrir America's Web Site Promoting a Chicago Suburb Event on Pakistan on December 20
In July, the London Times reported on British members of Hizb ut-Tahrir that had been incited to go to Pakistan to seek to influence Pakistan military members and others to instigate a “coup” against the current Pakistan government. The London Times report described how Hizb ut-Tahrir members’ “aim was to subject Muslim and western countries to Islamic rule under sharia law, ‘by force’ if necessary”… where ” ‘every woman would have to cover up’ and stoning to death for adultery and the chopping off of thieves’ hands would be the law, he said.” The London Times report added that Hizb ut-Tahrir aims of “Islamic rule would be spread through ‘indoctrination’ and by ‘military means’ if non-Muslim countries refused to bow to it. ‘Waging war’ would be part of the caliphate’s foreign policy.”
Hizb ut-Tahrir America has rented the Lombard Community Building at 433 East St. Charles Road for their December 20, 2009 event from 5:00 to 6:30 PM Central Time. We are certain that the Village of Lombard Parks District and Lombard Government has no idea who and what Hizb ut-Tahrir is, nor would they even think to inquire. We urge readers to contact the Lombard government and media to make them aware of this.
Chicago suburb - Lombard, IL Govt-Managed Community Center -- where Hizb ut-Tahrir plans to meet on December 20
Like Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada’s use of a government facility for their event in July, Hizb ut-Tahrir America is counting on use of such government facilities to spread anti-democratic views and opposition to religious freedom by using smaller cities’ parks and recreation facilities, anticipating that there will be limited scrutiny to their applications for use of government facilities.
In recent weeks, a major United Kingdom university stopped the Hizb ut-Tahrir from using public university facilities for a debate. On December 10, BBC reported that attempts by the Hizb ut-Tahrir to hold a public event at Queen Mary College was canceled once the media reported about them. In their report BBC stated about Hizb ut-Tahrir that “A leaflet displayed on its website once urged Muslims to ‘kill [Jews] wherever you find them’.” A spokesman for Student Rights told BBC that “Hizb ut-Tahrir speakers have been known to condone suicide bombings and support Islamist movements which undertake terrorist acts such as Islamic Violent Extemism.”
“Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamist network that is committed to creating an Islamic Caliphate that spans the globe. The organization is banned in Germany and Russia as well as several Arab countries and targets Muslim children between the ages of 9 and 18. Many compare their efforts to organizations like the Hitler Youth. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, is counted among their alumnus.”
Dr. Jasser stated that “Hizb ut-Tahrir preaches an ideology that calls for the destruction of the principles that America is founded on.”
BBC television broadcast on its Panorama television show on the Hizb ut-Tahrir, interviewing a British “influential Muslim figure” who stated about Hizb ut-Tahrir to BBC: “I believe that if Hizb ut-Tahrir are not stopped at this stage and we continue to let them to politicize and pollute the youngsters’ minds and other gullible peoples minds, that what will happen in effect is that these terrorism acts and these suicide bombings that we hear going on around us in foreign countries, we will actually start seeing these incidents happening right outside our doorsteps.”
Clip from BBC Panorama TV Show on Hizb ut-TahrirAnother Clip from BBC Panorama TV Show on Hizb ut-Tahrir
We support our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters to drop the burden of the hate of supremacism from their hearts, and to rejoin the family of humanity in support of our universal human rights.
Resources for Additional Action and Research:
R.E.A.L.'s Jeffrey Imm Leads Protestors to Challenge Hizb ut-Tahrir
The Lombardian, which publishes Wednesday, 1-630-627-7010 , Email: lombardian@sbcglobal.net
E.A.MacKay Enterprises, 116 S. Main Street, Lombard, IL 60148, Speak Out!: 1-630-629-TALK
— July 4, 2009 – London Times: “British Islamists plot against Pakistan”
— Hizb ut-Tahrir calls for “the creation of the caliphate in which strict Islamic laws would be rigorously enforced”
— “Tayyib Muqeem, an English teacher from Stoke-on-Trent, said he had moved to Lahore to convert Pakistanis to the movement.”
— “At Lahore’s Superior College, where Muqeem has set up a Hizb ut-Tahrir student group, he said the organisation’s aim was to subject Muslim and western countries to Islamic rule under sharia law, ‘by force’ if necessary”
— “In a caliphate, ‘every woman would have to cover up’ and stoning to death for adultery and the chopping off of thieves’ hands would be the law, he said”
— “He added that Islamic rule would be spread through ‘indoctrination’ and by ‘military means’ if non-Muslim countries refused to bow to it. ‘Waging war’ would be part of the caliphate’s foreign policy.”
— BBC: Hizb ut Tahrir
— “Hizb Ut Tahrir or HT is an Islamic splinter group, which is banned in many countries around the world. It operates freely in Britain.”
— “But Newsnight has discovered that its website promotes racism and anti-Semitic hatred, calls suicide bombers martyrs, and urges Muslims to kill Jewish people.”
— “The party has expressed support of suicide bombings in Israel. It denounces Western governments and what it sees as their lackey regimes in the Middle East.”
— “In Denmark, HT’s spokesman has been found guilty of distributing racist propaganda.”
— April 2008 – Daily Telegraph: “Islamists ‘urge young Muslims to use violence'”
— “Hizb ut Tahrir, which wants to overthrow democracy and establish a worldwide Islamic theocracy, distributed leaflets to young Muslims inciting them to resist the occupation of Islamic lands, according to a TV documentary by a former group member.”
— “One leaflet read: ‘Your forefathers destroyed the first crusader campaigns. Should you not proceed like them and destroy the new crusaders?'”
— “‘Let the armies move to help the Muslims in Iraq, for they seek your help.’ Another leaflet, handed out last August, pours scorn on the UN and tells followers to embark on a Violent Extemism, or ‘holy war’.”
— “The Panorama documentary contains the first testimony indicating it has advocated the use of force. The group has been accused of fuelling terrorism in the past, but has always denied involvement in any form of violent activity.”
— “Omar Shariff, the first UK suicide bomber, who blew himself up in a Tel Aviv bar in 2003, is alleged to have been radicalised by Hizb ut Tahrir.”
— “Panorama has also uncovered a speech made in August last year by Ata Abu-Rishta, the global leader of Hizb ut Tahrir, when he called for the “destruction” of Hindus living in Kashmir, Russians in Chechnya and Jews in Israel.”
— “‘The Caliphate (global Islamic government) will liberate the countries and the people from the influence of the Kafer (non-believer) and its allies and the tyranny of its men and followers,’ he said.”
— “Rishta also spoke recently at its annual conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, where, as video footage in the Panorama expose shows, he whipped the 100,000-strong crowd into a frenzy by calling for a war on Jews. Saleem Atchia, a senior member of Hizb ut Tahrir UK, later made a firebrand speech from the same platform.”
— “Maher, a former friend of the bombers who tried to blow up Glasgow Airport in June and the organisation’s north-east ‘director’ until he left in 2005, claims its aims are the same the world over.”
— “He says its British disciples believe they will eventually fight on these shores.”
— “‘Hizb ut Tahrir despises democracy and believes Shariah law must be imposed over the whole world, by force if necessary,’ he said.”
— “‘I think unless we challenge this we are sleepwalking into a very dangerous future.'”
— UK Guardian: “leaflets handed out by Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters in Copenhagen which claimed suicide bombings in Israel were ‘legitimate’ acts of ‘martyrdom'”
On December 1, 2009, as groups concerned about the AIDS disease sought public awareness and prevention, the anti-freedom, extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir held its own protests in Indonesia rejecting condoms and AIDS prevention measures and demanding the creation of an extremist caliphate . AFP reports that “700 members from the Muslim Women of Hizbut Tahrir” were involved in the Indonesia protests. As AIDS continues to grow in Indonesia, Hizb ut-Tahrir is promoting an anti-condom campaign as part of its efforts to promote religious extremism in Indonesia and globally.
Hizb ut-Tahrir’s goals including ending democracy and freedom, and the promotion of an extremist caliphate, including calling for the “death penalty” for those “traitors” who leave Islam. U.S. President Obama’s adviser on Muslim affairs Dalia Mogahed has joined Hizb ut-Tahrir in a public interview conducted by a supporter of the British Hizb ut-Tahrir organization.
World AIDS Day: Hizb ut-Tahrir Demonstrates Against Homosexuals, Calls for Global Supremacist Caliphate (AFP/File/Bay Ismoyo)
While AFP, MySinChew/AFP, and the Jakarta Globe have focused on Hizb ut-Tahrir’s (HT) rallies and comments regarding ending the use of condoms and enforcing Sharia law as a way to control AIDS risks, none of the mainstream media have noticed Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia’s web site report quoting Dr. Muhammad Usman and others at a Hizb ut-Tahrir event calling for “stoning to death” and “whip a hundred times” individuals as part of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s answers to the AIDS problems. The HT report also states condoms are ineffective because “whereas the pores of condoms was only able to hold the sperm, not the size of the HIV virus is much smaller.”
The Jakarta Globe reported that “Ahead of World AIDS Day on Tuesday, members of the group Hizbut Tahrir took to the streets in several major cities, including Jakarta, Solo, Yogyakarta and Makassar in South Sulawesi. ‘We urge everybody to support the application of Shariah in an Islamic caliphate so that, God willing, all of us will be free from the threat of HIV/AIDS,’ Hizbut Tahrir spokeswoman Febrianti Abassuni said in a statement.” Calling “homosexuals the agents of immorality,” Hizb ut-Tahrir called for an end to programs providing condoms in Indonesia.
BBC reports that “AIDS activists say promoting condom use is a huge challenge in Indonesia as there is strong resistance from religious and conservative groups.” While AIDS in Indonesia grew predominantly from drug use, increasing growth is reportedly sexual based. BBC reports that “[r]ecent data shows over 18,000 people have the disease – and that number has jumped from last year.”
While Hizb ut-Tahrir and other groups seek to prevent condom distribution and use, AIDS has spread dramatically throughout Indonesia. AFP reports that “around 270,000 Indonesians are estimated to be infected with HIV, and AIDS has claimed about 8,700 lives in the Muslim-majority nation of 228 million people, according to the UNAIDS agency.”
In a separate report, BBC reports that in the United Kingdom, 60 percent of new AIDS cases are appearing among Muslims. In the BBC report, “According to Dr Shima Tariq, who has studied the transmission of HIV, more than half of newly diagnosed patients caught HIV through heterosexual sex, and two-thirds of them are of black African origin or descent. But most of this group are not Christian: six out of 10 are Muslim.”
A woman walks past by a sign advising people to wear Muslim attire at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh. A local lawmaker says a controverisial bill allowing Shariah-style stoning and caning has gone into effect in the province. (Photo: Heri Juanda, AP)
