Israel Matzav

Oh joy! Hizb ut Tahrir has come to Judea and Samaria

The Islamic fundamentalist movement Hizb ut Tahrir has come to the 'Palestinian territories' Judea and Samaria.

Hizb ut Tahrir, a pan-Islamist movement founded in the 1950s in Jerusalem, has since spread to dozens of countries, with significant outposts in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.

The group had planned a rally in Ramallah on Saturday to celebrate the movement's message that neither Fatah nor Hamas holds the answer for Palestinians. The group believes in restoring the Islamic caliphate, the religious government that dates back to the early years of the Muslim faith, and thereby spreading the influence of Islamic law around the world.

Hustling through the crowded downtown streets Saturday, a nervous, well-dressed young man ducked into the Palestine Cafe to avoid being arrested by Palestinian security forces loyal to Abbas. He gave his name as Osama al-Ansari, a supporter of Hizb ut Tahrir from the West Bank city of Hebron.

Ansari, in town for the rally, said he was not surprised that the Palestinian Authority security forces turned out in force to derail it.

"The coming of the caliphate threatens the Palestinian Authority regime," he says, "and threatens the American interests in the area, and therefore they are harassing us because a caliphate will not provide for the existence of the Palestinian Authority."

In short, Hizb ut Tahrir does not recognize the authority of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. The group also does not accept democracy or the very concept of the modern nation-state. In contrast to al-Qaida, the group officially rejects violence, and it condemned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But various counterterrorism agencies have argued that Hizb ut Tahrir's radical ideology can be linked to a number of coup attempts and terrorist attacks.

Analysts note that while Hizb ut Tahrir is tolerated in Western countries, it has been banned by several Mideast regimes, and they wonder what the group's future is in the Palestinian territories.

Khalil Shaheen, senior editor at Al-Ayyam newspaper in Ramallah, says the Palestinian Authority originally ignored the growth of Hizb ut Tahrir because it wanted to divide the support of religious Palestinians who were flocking to Hamas. But now, he says, the Palestinian Authority is suffering a case of unintended consequences.

"It seems that everything is going out of control for the Palestinian Authority," he says. "The Tahrir party is getting more popular in the West Bank and is trying to fill the vacuum that took place after the weakness of Fatah itself."

Sounds like the 'Dayton forces' have everything under control, eh?

Another day, another 'revolution.'

By the way, Hizb ut Tahrir held a 'conference' in Ramallah in 2007. That's their logo at the top of this post. Something tells me they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:22 PM