You refer to the murder of an African student in Newham College in 1995 as Britain’s first Islamist murder — but Hizb ut-Tahrir members claim it was to do with gangs and drugs. What is your evidence?
I was rather hoping that Hizb ut-Tahrir would confess to their arrogance of the Nineties and apologise to Muslims for dragging the good name of Islam and Muslims through the gutter. Sadly, that apology and confession does not seem to be forthcoming. They continue to be in denial of the role they played in bringing about terrorism on Britain’s streets. Worse, Hizb ut-Tahrir still insist on establishing a totalitarian, expansionist state in Muslim countries dedicated to relentless jihad and killing of Muslims who oppose their state. If the founder of the Hizb had been around today, he probably would have disbanded Hizb ut-Tahrir for their reduction of Islam to an empty, bankrupt faithless ideology.
After all, it was Shaikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (r.h.) who repeatedly chastised the Hizb in the 1970s for their distance from God and hence failure to reach their goals. What would he say if he heard their lies and denial today?
I detail the background to Ayotunde Obunabi’s murder in The Islamist (pp149-153). It was not about drugs and gangs, it was about Muslim supremacist tendencies over the meagre kuffar. Islamism-influenced Muslims also physically attacked the Sikh students on campus. Maajid and I did not get directly involved in any of this, but we raised the ante and turned a blind eye when it happened. Before publication, I discussed with my friend and brother-in-faith Maajid the passages in the book that detail the murder in Newham to ensure I had accurately recalled the events of 1995. We agreed that the Hizb had created an atmosphere that led to the murder. More than anybody else, Maajid and I were closely involved with developments on campus during those months.
Finally, in the immediate aftermath of the murder, the college management expelled several Islamist activists, not drug addicts or gang members. Why? The police interrogated Maajid and me, among others, not drug addicts. Why? And convicted and jailed a jihadist that had asked for Hizb ut-Tahrir on his visits to campus. Why?
The Hizb must accept their part in radicalising young Muslims in Britain, starting with the murder in Newham to the carnage of 7/7 and the 2,000 cases that the secret services are monitoring now. What started as rhetoric from Hizb ut-Tahrir, ended as action in the hands of al-Muhajiroun.
A better understanding of this mindset can be attained by reading Hizb ut-Tahrir member Showkat Ali’s death threats against me at: http://www.newstatesman.com/200706180016
