The Editor
The Hindu
Chennai, India
6th Jan 2008
Dear Sir,
I write in reference to an article published on Sunday, Dec 30, 2007 entitled ‘Islamists within ISI may have aided Benazir assassination, analysts fear’ which maliciously tries to link Hizb ut-Tahrir with the assassination of Ms. Benazir Bhutto.
The writer quotes in length one of Hizb’s leaflets which was distributed in Islamabad and across all major cities of Pakistan. The article attempts to goad the reader to a baseless hypothesis whereby the reader is forced into thinking that there may exist a link between Hizb ut-Tahrir and Ms. Bhutto’s assassination. The quoted leaflet has absolutely no assertion for violence or any call for militancy, neither implicit nor explicit; rather it only urges the people to boycott the upcoming elections to show their discontent with the current Kufr system and work for the reestablishment of the Islamic system - the Khilafah. Hence quoting this leaflet under the sub-title of ‘Islamist threats’ and in the context of Ms. Bhutto’s killing shows writers malicious intent of accusing Hizb of being involved in Ms. Bhutto’s murder in any shape or form. This attempt of defamation and misrepresentation of Hizb ut-Tahrir is condemnable and is completely unacceptable.
It is a well-known fact that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a political party whose ideology is Islam and it works with the Ummah to bring back the Islamic way of life by establishing the Khilafah. It does this by engaging in an intellectual and political struggle, emulating the method of the Messenger of Allah (sallAllaho alayhi wa sallam) which he (sallAllaho alayhi wa sallam) adopted during his 13 years of Mecca. Hizb considers the use of weapons and violence in achieving its goal, a contravention of Shari’ah as the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllaho alayhi wa sallam) refrained from militancy during his struggle in Mecca.
Hizb ut-Tahrir believes that replacing the Capitalist system with the Khilafah requires a fundamental change of concepts carried by the society, through employing reasoning and intellectual struggle, thereby convincing the people that Islam as an ideology is a superior alternative to the existing Capitalist system. Apart from this intellectual struggle; Hizb undertakes political struggle, involving the exposure of the colonialist’s plans and the treachery of the Muslim rulers, and motivating all cross-sections of the society to involve in political struggle for the Islamic rule, the Khilafah. Hence by killing few individuals or initiating violent chaos will never further the goal of a comprehensive political change. It is for this reason, for the past 54 years, Hizb has never been involved in any political assassination even though she suffered great hardships from Muslim rulers such as Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad of Syria who brutally tortured and savagely killed many of our members.
Hizb ut-Tahrir ’s non-violent approach is so well established globally that even the flag-bearers of the so-called ‘War on Terror’ i.e. America and Britain, had to officially confess that they have no evidence of militancy or violence against Hizb ut-Tahrir to declare it a terrorist organization. Moreover many renowned think-tanks such as the Brookings Institute, International Crisis Group, and Jane’s Intelligence had no option but to confirm Hizb’s peaceful struggle. Similarly numerous human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also acknowledged our non-violent method in their reports.
As per your claim that “Glasgow suicide-bomber Kafeel Ahmed is among those believed to have passed through its mill”. It is not only misleading but also absurd. Mr. Kafeel Ahmed had never been a member of the party nor has he ever held any responsibility in the party.
To redress the matter we request that you print an apology as well as publish this letter for the benefit of your readership.
Yours truly,
Naveed Butt
The Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Pakistan
Source
The Hindu
Chennai, India
6th Jan 2008
Dear Sir,
I write in reference to an article published on Sunday, Dec 30, 2007 entitled ‘Islamists within ISI may have aided Benazir assassination, analysts fear’ which maliciously tries to link Hizb ut-Tahrir with the assassination of Ms. Benazir Bhutto.
The writer quotes in length one of Hizb’s leaflets which was distributed in Islamabad and across all major cities of Pakistan. The article attempts to goad the reader to a baseless hypothesis whereby the reader is forced into thinking that there may exist a link between Hizb ut-Tahrir and Ms. Bhutto’s assassination. The quoted leaflet has absolutely no assertion for violence or any call for militancy, neither implicit nor explicit; rather it only urges the people to boycott the upcoming elections to show their discontent with the current Kufr system and work for the reestablishment of the Islamic system - the Khilafah. Hence quoting this leaflet under the sub-title of ‘Islamist threats’ and in the context of Ms. Bhutto’s killing shows writers malicious intent of accusing Hizb of being involved in Ms. Bhutto’s murder in any shape or form. This attempt of defamation and misrepresentation of Hizb ut-Tahrir is condemnable and is completely unacceptable.
It is a well-known fact that Hizb ut-Tahrir is a political party whose ideology is Islam and it works with the Ummah to bring back the Islamic way of life by establishing the Khilafah. It does this by engaging in an intellectual and political struggle, emulating the method of the Messenger of Allah (sallAllaho alayhi wa sallam) which he (sallAllaho alayhi wa sallam) adopted during his 13 years of Mecca. Hizb considers the use of weapons and violence in achieving its goal, a contravention of Shari’ah as the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllaho alayhi wa sallam) refrained from militancy during his struggle in Mecca.
Hizb ut-Tahrir believes that replacing the Capitalist system with the Khilafah requires a fundamental change of concepts carried by the society, through employing reasoning and intellectual struggle, thereby convincing the people that Islam as an ideology is a superior alternative to the existing Capitalist system. Apart from this intellectual struggle; Hizb undertakes political struggle, involving the exposure of the colonialist’s plans and the treachery of the Muslim rulers, and motivating all cross-sections of the society to involve in political struggle for the Islamic rule, the Khilafah. Hence by killing few individuals or initiating violent chaos will never further the goal of a comprehensive political change. It is for this reason, for the past 54 years, Hizb has never been involved in any political assassination even though she suffered great hardships from Muslim rulers such as Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad of Syria who brutally tortured and savagely killed many of our members.
Hizb ut-Tahrir ’s non-violent approach is so well established globally that even the flag-bearers of the so-called ‘War on Terror’ i.e. America and Britain, had to officially confess that they have no evidence of militancy or violence against Hizb ut-Tahrir to declare it a terrorist organization. Moreover many renowned think-tanks such as the Brookings Institute, International Crisis Group, and Jane’s Intelligence had no option but to confirm Hizb’s peaceful struggle. Similarly numerous human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also acknowledged our non-violent method in their reports.
As per your claim that “Glasgow suicide-bomber Kafeel Ahmed is among those believed to have passed through its mill”. It is not only misleading but also absurd. Mr. Kafeel Ahmed had never been a member of the party nor has he ever held any responsibility in the party.
To redress the matter we request that you print an apology as well as publish this letter for the benefit of your readership.
Yours truly,
Naveed Butt
The Official Spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Pakistan
Source
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