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Hizb ut-Tahrir: A Rising Force among West Bank Palestinians

[Ha'aretz] Jonathan Spyer - Last week's demonstrations across the West Bank in protest of the Annapolis conference showcased the entry into the public eye of a new force in Palestinian politics - the pan-Islamic Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation). The party held a demonstration numbering 2,500 in Hebron, and one of its members was killed in subsequent clashes with PA police. Hizb ut-Tahrir was established in 1952 in Jerusalem by Sharia court judge Taqi al-Din al Nabhani. The party's goal is the reestablishment of an Islamic caliphate to govern the whole Muslim world under Islamic law - and eventually to bring the entire world under Islamic rule. Hizb ut-Tahrir has developed into an international Islamist organization active in 45 countries. It has particularly active branches in Indonesia and Uzbekistan, and has made inroads into the Pakistani community in the UK. Its branches do not maintain an armed, insurgent wing and the movement does not stand in elections. The intention is to leave violent action - such as the destruction of Israel, which the party supports - to the conventional armed forces of the restored caliphate. Yet even if Hizb ut-Tahrir itself does not maintain an insurgent wing, recent experience in Europe shows that it has acted as an exemplary hothouse for the nurturing and education of future terrorists, who then go on to ply their trade in different frameworks. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.
2007-12-07 01:00:00
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