[Observer-UK] Peter Beaumont - One of the most senior members of the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir movement, the group which Tony Blair pledged to ban after the 7 July bombings, has dramatically defected. Maajid Nawaz, a Briton who was jailed in Egypt for four years in 2002, says that he no longer agrees with the movement's attempts to transform Islam into a narrow political ideology. Despite being only 29, he was recognized globally for his work in founding new groups abroad. His reasons for quitting have been posted on Hizb ut-Tahrir's British website. They include a rejection of the argument by Islamists - including al-Qaeda - that Arab governments operating under non-Islamic law should be removed.
2007-09-11 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive