The Appeal of Vocal Islamism in the West: The Case of Hizb ut-Tahrir vis-à-vis Its Competitors

Authors: Elisa Orofino

Abstract:

Islamism is a very debated topic in the West but almost exclusively explored in its violent forms. Nevertheless, a number of “vocal radical Islamist” groups exist in the West and legally operate because of their non-violent nature. Vocal radicals continually inspire individuals and lead them towards specific goals and priorities, sometimes even towards violence. This paper uses the long-living group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) to explore the elements that make the organization appealing to segments of Muslim community in the West. This paper uses three agency variables - reflexive monitoring, the rationalization of action and the motivations for actions – to analyze HT’s appeal vis-à-vis two other Islamist groups, Ikhwan al-Muslimun and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), having similar goals and the same high international profile. This paper concludes that HT’s uniqueness is given by its method, detailed vision of the caliphate, consistency over time and the emphasis placed on the caliphate as the leading force of HT’s unchanged motivation for action.

Keywords: Agency, Caliphate, Radicalization, Vocal Radicals.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3346726

References:

[1] 5 Pillars. 2013. Indonesia hosts biggest Khilafah Conference in History (Press release). Retrieved 5 May 2018 (http://5pillarsuk.com/ 2013/06/02/biggest-khilafah-conference-in-islamic-history/).
[2] Z. Al-Abdin, The Political Thought of Hasan Al-Banna. Islamic Studies, 1989, 28(3), pp. 219-234.
[3] H. Al-Banna, Between Yesterday and Today 1978. (C. Wendell, Trans.) Five tracts of Ḥasan Al-Bannāʼ (1906-1949): a Selection from the Majmūʻat rasāʼil al-Imām al-shahīd Ḥasan al-Bannāʼ / translated from the Arabic and annotated by Charles Wendell. (pp. 13-39). Berkeley: University of California Press.B. Smith, “An approach to graphs of linear forms (Unpublished work style),” unpublished.
[4] T. An-Nabhani,. The Islamic State. London: Al-Khilafah Publications, 1998.
[5] Ansar – Sisters for Revival Official Facebook Page. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/ansarforrevival/.
[6] T. An-Nabhani, Structuring of a Party. London: Al-Khilafah Publications, 2001.
[7] K. Ataman, Forerunners of "Political Islam": An Inquiry into the Ideologies of Al-Banna and Al-Mawdudi. Review of the Faculty of Theology of Uludag University, 2015, 24(2), pp. 45-69.
[8] L. Binder, Religion and Politics in Pakistan. Berkley: University of California Press, 1963.
[9] S. Cagaptay, "Islamist" or "Islamic"? The Difference is Huge. (Video): Washington Institute, 2016.
[10] A.N. Celso, Al Qaeda's Post - 9/11 Organizational Structure and Strategy: The Role of Islamist Regional Affiliates. Mediterranean Quarterly, 2012, 23(2), 30.
[11] N. L. Cole, Agency: A Social Definition ThoughtCo. Social Sciences, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/agency-definition-3026036.
[12] A. Chassman, Islamic State, Identity, and the Global Jihadist Movement: How is Islamic State successful at recruiting “ordinary” People? Journal for Deradicalization, 2016, Winter (9), pp. 205-259. R. W. Lucky, “Automatic equalization for digital communication,” Bell Syst. Tech. J., Apr. 1965, 44 (4), pp. 547–588.
[13] I. J. Cohen, Structuration Theory: Anthony Giddens and the Constitution of Social Life (A. Giddens Ed.). London: MacMillan, 1989.
[14] N. L. Cole, Agency: A Social Definition ThoughtCo, Social Sciences, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.thoughtco.com/ website: https://www.thoughtco.com/ agency-definition-3026036.
[15] E. Friedland, The Muslim Brotherhood Special Report. Clarion Project: Challenging Extremism, Promoting Dialogue, 2015.
[16] A. Giddens, The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
[17] E. Giorgi, (2006, 31 January). Palestinian Election raises varying Opinions within U. Minnesota Daily. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20080609032324/http:/www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/01/31/66888.
[18] I. Gul. Transnational Islamic Networks. International Review of the Red Cross, 2010, 92(880), pp.899-923.
[19] S. Hamid, Sufis, Salafis and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism. London, New York: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, 2016.
[20] N. Hanif, Hizb ut Tahrir: Islam's Ideological Vanguard. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2012, 39(2), pp. 201-225.
[21] Hizb ut-Tahrir. The American Campaign to Suppress Islam. London: Al-Khilafah Publications, 1996.
[22] Hizb ut-Tahrir. (2001, October 14). America and Britain Declare War Against Islam and the Muslims, Communiqué. Retrieved from http://www.khalifah.com/home/category.php?DocumentID=2428&TagID=3.
[23] Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia FAQs about Hizb ut-Tahrir, 2016. Retrieved from http://www.hizb-australia.org/2016/02/faqs-hizb-ut-tahrir/.
[24] Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia. The Activities required of those Who carry the Da’wah, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.hizb-australia.org/2017/03/the-activities-of-carrying-the-dawah/.
[25] Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain. Another Celebrity dies after a chaotic Life, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.hizb.org.uk/news-comment/another-celebrity-dies- after-a-chaotic-life/.
[26] Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain (2017, September 12), Sultan Abdul Hamid II - The Last Great Khalifah, Video. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/ htbritain/videos/990435431058010/.
[27] Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain (2017, March 5) The Will of the Ummah for Khilafah Cannot be Broken (Press release). Retrieved from http://www.hizb.org.uk/viewpoint/the-will-of-the-ummah-for-khilafah-cannot-be-broken/.
[28] Hizb ut-Tahrir Central Media Office (2017, April 5), Disrespectful Government Serving the Enemy has to be Changed to Implement the Islamic Rule (Extract from HT Sudan). Retrieved from http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.info/en/index.php/leaflet/sudan/13003.html.
[29] Hizb ut-Tahrir Central Media Office Website. Retrieved from http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.info/en/index.php/leaflet/hizb-ut-tahrir.html
[30] J. Høigilt, Prophets in their own Country? Hizb al-Tahrir in the Palestinian Context. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 2014, 15(4), pp. 504-520.
[31] S. Huq (2017, June 7). The Ideological Workings of Capitalist Society. Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia Official Website. Retrieved from http://www.hizb-australia.org/2017/04/the-ideological-workings-of-capitalist-society/.
[32] A. M. Iqbal, & Z. Zulkifli.. Islamic Fundamentalism, Nation- State and Global Citizenship: The Case of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies, 2016, 6(1), 35-61.
[33] H. Iqtidar, Secularism Beyond the State: the ‘State’ and the ‘Market’ in Islamist Imagination. Modern Asian Studies, 2011, 45(3), pp. 535-564.
[34] T. Jacoby, Culturalism and the Rise of the Islamic State: Faith, Sectarianism and Violence. Third World Quarterly, 2017, pp. 1-19.
[35] G.R. Jones, Organizational Theory, Design and Change (fifth ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007.
[36] M. Juergensmeyer, Thinking Sociologically about Religion and Violence: The Case of ISIS. Sociology of Religion: A Quarterly Review, 2018, 79(1), pp. 20-34.
[37] M. Kenney, J. Horgan, C. Horne, P. Vining, K. M. Carley, M. W. Bigrigg, K. Braddock, Organisational Adaptation in an Activist Network: Social Networks, Leadership, and Change in Al-Muhajiroun. Applied Ergonomics, 2013, 44(5), pp. 739-747.
[38] J. Khalil, The Three Pathways (3P) Model of Violent Extremism. The RUSI Journal, 2017, 162(4), pp. 40-48.
[39] S. Maher, Change and Continuity: Hizb ut Tahrir's Strategy and Ideology in Britain. In E. Barker (Ed.), Revisionism and Diversification in New Religious Movements (pp. 155-170). London: London School of Economics and Inform, 2013.
[40] A. Mawdudi, Let us be Muslims (K. Murad Ed.). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: International Islamic Publishing House, 1985.
[41] A. Mura, A Genealogical Inquiry into Early Islamism: The Discourse of Hasan al-Banna. Journal of Political Ideologies, 2012, 17(1), pp. 61-85.
[42] N. Nawaz, (2017, February 24) Arguments for the Re-establishment of the Caliphate (interview on BBC). Nahda Productions. Retrieved from https://wn.com/dr_nazreen_hizb_ut-tahrir_interview_on_bbc.
[43] N. Nawaz (2015, November 25). Facebook Communiqué after Paris Attacks (Press release). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/nazreen.nawaz/posts/926110894142246.
[44] M. Nazar, Pakistan’s Frontline Status, War on Terror and the Jama’at-E-Islami Response. South Asia Research, 2016, 36(2), pp.143-166.
[45] E. Orofino, Intellectual Radicals challenging the State: The Case of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the West. Contemporary Social Science, 2015, 10(4), pp. 401-412.
[46] M. Peucker & R. Ceylan, Muslim Community Organizations – Sites of Active Citizenship or Self-segregation? Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2017, 40(14), pp. 2405-2425.
[47] S. Qutb, Milestones (Ma’âlim Fi Al-Tariq) Salimah. Kuwait: International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations, 1978.
[48] S. Rahnema, Radical Islamism and Failed Developmentalism. Third World Quarterly, 29(3), pp. 483-496.
[49] M. A. Raja, Ahu'l-A'la Mawdudi: British India and the Politics of Popular Islamic Texts. In S. Towheed (Ed.), New Readings in the Literature of British India c. 1780-1947 (Vol. 9, pp. 173-191). Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag, 2007.
[50] O. Roy,The Failure of Political Islam. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 1994.
[51] A. Suarez-Murias, Jihad is the Way and the Death for the sake of Allah is our highest Aspiration: A Narrative Analysis of Sayyid Qutb's Milestones. (Master of Arts), Wake Forest University Winston-Salem: North Carolina, 2013.
[52] S. Taji-Farouki, A Fundamental Quest: Hizb al-Tahrir and the Search for the Islamic Caliphate. London: Grey Seal, 1996.
[53] The Muslim Brotherhood (2012, November 4). Muslim Brotherhood Statement on Islamic Law and National Identity, MB statement. Retrieved from https://ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=30353.
[54] L. Vidino, Countering Radicalization in America: Lessons from Europe. Institute for Peace: Washington DC, 2010.
[55] A. Wahid (2017, May 3) ‘Islamophobia’ – Understanding and dealing with it (Press release). Retrieved from http://www.hizb.org.uk/viewpoint/islamophobia-understanding-and-dealing-with-it/.
[56] F. Wali, Radicalism Unveiled. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2013.
[57] Women and Shariah (2017, June 7) Al-Khilafah and Education: Reviving the Golden Age. (Video) Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/ WomenandShariah/videos/1133174823476205/.
[58] Nuha, HT Australia, personal communication, March 13, 2016.
[59] Uthman Badar, HT Australia, personal communication, March 12, 2016.
[60] Farah, HT Australia, personal communication, March 6, 2016.
[61] Karyme, HT Australia, personal communication May 20, 2016.
[62] Sadiqa, HT Australia, personal communication, Mach 6, 2016.
[63] Mariam, HT Australia, personal communication, March 12, 2016.
[64] Farah, Sadiqa and Mahmoud, HT Australia, personal communication, April, 2016.
[65] Mahmoud, HT Australia, personal communication, April 14, 2016.
[66] Khalida, HT Australia, personal communication, April 6, 2016.
[67] Mohammad, HT Australia, personal communication, March 19, 2016.
[68] Interviews with the author, Sydney 2016.