Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain has slammed Prime Minister Tony Blair’s pledge to ban the Islamic group in the country as a part of anti-terror measures that also drew immediate criticism from rights groups and individual lawyers.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir is a non-violent political party,” spokesman Imran Waheed told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Friday, August 5.

“Our members are all for political expression, not for violence,” he said, calling Blair’s remarks “most unjust” and pledged the group would battle any ban via the courts.

Islam Online, 6 August 2005

IHRC notes with great concern the first anniversary of the imprisonment without charge of British political prisoner Babar Ahmad. Babar has spent 365 days in prison now while he awaits the British government to decide whether to extradite him to the US where he is likely to face torture or even death. To date, not a single shred of evidence has been produced in court to indicate his guilt. Furthermore to date, not a single police officer has been held responsible for the brutal life-threatening assault on Babar during his initial arrest in December 2003.

IHRC press release, 5 August 2005

The Hizb ut Tahrir organisation and Al-Muhajiroun – or its successor group – are to be banned, Tony Blair has announced. “We will also examine the grounds for proscription to widen them and put forward proposals in the new legislation,” he said.

Imran Waheed of Hizb ut Tahrir said his group would fight any ban and insisted they were “non-violent”. The Muslim Council of Britain said the ban would be “counter productive”.

BBC News, 5 August 2005

The Muslim Council of Britain regards the Prime Minister’s statement today in which he announced a number of measures, including seeking to proscribe the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, with concern and alarm.

“The MCB holds no brief for Hizb ut-Tahrir –– they are a group with whom the mainstream Muslim community has strong and well known disagreements concerning participation in our political process. However, banning Hizb ut-Tahrir is certainly not the solution and may well prove to be counterproductive. We understand that Hizb ut-Tahrir in the United Kingdom are an avowedly non-violent group. If there are groups that are thought to be contravening our laws, then they ought to be prosecuted in courts of law, not driven underground. Our democratic values need to be upheld, not undermined,” said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

“In addition, we are seeking clarification from the government to ensure that expressions of support for people who are living under brutal military occupation is not to be outlawed. That would be completely unacceptable. Our faith of Islam commands us to speak out against injustice wherever it occurs. To prohibit support for oppressed peoples would make us complicit in the injustice and would have dire consequences for the upholding of international legality,” said Sir Iqbal.

The MCB recalls the admonition given by the Chief Justice Lord Woolf who stated that: “In defending democracy, we must not forget the need to observe the values which make democracy worth defending.”

MCB press release, 5 August 2005

“Terrorist organisations can kill and maim but they cannot alter our laws or deny us our civil liberties, only our own government can do that. Tony Blair says that he is concerned to ‘defend our way of life’ but his new raft of police powers takes away more practical freedom than any terrorist organisation has yet managed.”

Respect news article, 5 August 2005

“This is so annoying – last week I was condemning Hizb ut-Tahrir, now I’m forced to defend them with the government ban. Today’s announcement has exposed serious flaws in the way Labour deals with Muslim and non-Muslim groups. I am no fan of HT as it has always been clear on these pages, but there needs to be a sense of perspective and equal rights for everyone.”

Sunny Hundal at Asians in Media, 5 August 2005

“Hizb ut-Tahrir has a record of over 50 years of following a method of non-violent political activity against imperialism and dictators and despots who rule the Muslim world with the West’s approval. In its work to establish the Islamic Caliphate, Hizb ut-Tahrir has never resorted to any sort of armed struggle and nor has it ever incited people to kill innocent civilians. It has throughout its history worked through intellectual and political means while its members have been tortured and killed in the thousands. Hizb ut-Tahrir has in explicit terms stated that Islam forbids the killing of innocent civilians and expressed its denunciation of the killing of 58 innocent individuals on 7th July 2005 in London.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir press release, 5 August 2005

Politicians, police, campaigners and community leaders give their responses to Tony Blair’s plans to deport foreign nationals who encourage terrorism and ban the Islamic organisations Hizb ut Tahrir and Al-Muhajiroun.

BBC News, 5 August 2005