Protect Pakistan from Hizb ut-Tahrir

Their manifesto says one thing but their actions another. I cannot bear to think of them gaining support in Pakistan.

Sahar Aman July 05, 2011
This past week I’ve seen all sorts of groups offering advice to Pakistan. After the events of June 22, when the Pakistani army stated that they would be investigating four majors because of certain accusations, the Hizb ut-Tahrir decided to put their two cents in.

They suggested Pakistanis take to the streets for Islamic rule. I suppose it was their finest moment when they were linked to the Pakistan Army, as the Hizb is being given some of the international spot light it has always craved and needed to validate its existence.

As a Pakistani who has lived in Britain and knows what the Hizb has done here, it is my duty to tell my fellow Pakistanis to protect our beloved Pakistan from yet another monstrosity.

Founded in 1953, in Jeruselum by Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, the Hizb came to the United Kingdom (UK) in 1986 via the hands of Syrian Omar Bakri Muhammad and it now dominates the British radical scene. While the Hizb claims to be non-violent, according to author Ed Hussain (an ex-member of the party), the Hizb derives many of its fundamental principles from Sayyid Qutb’s famous publication “The Milestones,” which is best explained as a manifesto of political Islam full of anti-secular sentiment.

This group is not banned in the UK.

Devastated that they have been allowed to flourish in the UK, I cannot bear to think of them gaining major support in Pakistan. Hearing about their supposed links with the Pakistan army is just as disturbing as the military being linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda. What the Hizb has done in various universities and mosques in the UK, at the start of the new millennium in their quest to restore the caliphate, is no secret thanks to Hussain’s book “The Islamist.”

People’s faiths should not be politically manipulated.

If we cannot stop that from happening, we can stop it from happening to ourselves at least, that is one less person they’ve gotten to. If the Hizb has infiltrated our institutions, let it not infiltrate our hearts and minds. We cannot allow yet another ruthless Islamic political party to gain support in Pakistan or flourish any more than it already has, just because they are pointing out what many Pakistanis are thinking.

The Hizb’s main focus is to unite the ummah and restore the caliphate, which is something a lot of people in Pakistan and the world will want to get on board with. As the Hizb has demonstrated in the past, they will use Sharia law to serve their own interpretations of Islam that are not always in the interest of humanity. Their manifesto says one thing but their actions say another – but do not take my word for it, look into it.

Restoring Pakistan, above everything will require us to be human and we must dispel all else but compassion from our hearts and minds. If we are to take to the streets let it be for peace and love in our country.
WRITTEN BY:
Sahar Aman The author is the editor-in-chief of an online travel magazine, Days to Come. She tweets as @sahar_aman (twitter.com/sahar_aman). Follow her on Instagram: sahar_aman (www.instagram.com/sahar_aman/)
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (86)

fusesense | 12 years ago | Reply Why all the Jihaddi outfits choose pakistan?
gill | 12 years ago | Reply I appreciate your effort to write on HT and ur concerns for pakistan. Just like u, we are citizens of the country n we think as much as you about the welfare of our brothers n sisters, but we derive solutions for the problems of Pakistan from quran n sunnat as opposed to solution carved by limited human intellect. And I hope u believe in the supremacy if quran over anything else n wouldn't be biased against Islamic system as best guidance for Pakistan n the rest of the world....
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