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Hizb ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party) Wants a Caliphate
(Israel Hayom) Nadav Shragai - Hizb ut-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party) was founded in Jerusalem in 1952 and operates in 50 countries. It preaches the establishment of an Islamic caliphate as it existed under Muhammad. The term tahrir (liberation) refers to a total liberation from any Western cultural influence. Members aspire to replace every national government with a global Muslim rule. Dr. David Koren, a researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, explains that "in the Palestinian context, Hizb ut-Tahrir promotes two main issues: laying the groundwork to make Al-Aqsa Mosque a future platform on which the world caliphate will eventually be declared, and challenging Jordan's position as guardian of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem." In eastern Jerusalem, Hizb ut-Tahrir has tens of thousands of supporters. It brought 15,000 Muslims to the Temple Mount mosques for an anti-France protest. The Israel Security Agency has opposed outlawing the group, arguing that in Israel, the group was not making the move toward violence and terrorism, and it should be allowed to operate openly to avoid it going underground. Dr. Shaul Bartal of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University notes, "Zionism isn't mentioned in the writings of the Islamic Liberation Party. The conflict is between Islam and the Jews. Israel is mentioned as a state of the Jews or as a Jewish entity. They view Palestine as...an inseparable part of Dar al-Islam (the abode of Islam) and no Jew has the right to live there." The writer, a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, has documented Jerusalem for Ha'aretz and Israel Hayom for over 30 years.