Following a wave of public outcry and fearing being listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, Hizb ut-Tahrir, a notorious international pan-Salafist movement, has canceled its annual Khilafah conference which was to be held at an undisclosed location in Ontario this weekend. The group, whose stated aim is the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate, had also canceled the event in Canada last year, a day after the U.K. government had designated it as a terrorist entity.
Unacceptable.
The theme of this year’s event, “The Khilafah: Eliminating the Obstacles that Are Delaying Its Return” was the same as last year’s. While the January 18, 2025, event was free, attendees were required to register online.
Although Hizb ut-Tahrir had kept the location a secret, it was likely to be held in Mississauga or Hamilton since the group had previously held similar events in these cities. Moreover, both cities have sizable Muslim populations and have regularly witnessed antisemitic acts and pro-terror protests following the October 7 attacks in Israel. However, city officials had stressed that they would not allow the controversial event to proceed.
Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish assured that she would not permit “groups exhibiting ‘contempt or hatred’ in any form” in the city. Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath declared she would “unequivocally refuse access to any group that engages in or promotes hatred or any form of divisive behavior,” adding, “Hamilton is a city that stands firmly against intolerance.”
Responding to an email inquiry from Focus on Western Islamism (FWI), the City of Mississauga said, “The City of Mississauga condemns hate in all forms and does not have a role in approving events which aren’t taking place on City property. At no time was this event to be held at a city-owned/managed facility. The City has a strong Use of City Facility policy, which includes direction about not renting space to groups that promote hate. The City has prohibited this group in particular from booking space in City facilities since 2019.”
The now-deleted conference material included posters and promotional videos that broadly depicted the West and its Middle Eastern allies as enemies of Muslims and barriers to the creation of an Islamic caliphate. They also explained why a caliphate is the “sole solution” to liberate Palestine. A Hizb ut-Tahrir follower idealizes the glory of former caliphates, asserting that the Muslim world will rise again to reestablish the caliphate. The group did not respond to an email inquiry about the event.
One of the promotional videos featured on the event’s Facebook page claimed that “the Ummah (Arabic for “global Muslim community”)” was suffering from “the tyranny of secular regimes backed by the colonial powers in the Muslim lands.” The “colonial powers” in question are the United States and other Western countries. “Secular regimes” refer to Arab monarchies and republics, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, which Hizb ut-Tahrir views as illegitimate governments delaying the restoration of an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East and North Africa. Members of the group have previously been involved in multiple failed coups in the Middle East and Pakistan.
Another video portrayed world leaders such as U.S. President Joe Biden, incoming President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as “tyrants who hate” and “actively work to oppress” Muslims across the globe.
The promotional videos featured military-aged men and references to “liberating Palestine” from “Zionists,” indicating that Hizb ut-Tahrir was likely targeting disenchanted and impressionable Canadian Muslims by exploiting their grievances about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to drive recruitment and radicalization.
Two of the four advertised speakers—Bilal Khan and Malik Abu Luqman—who were scheduled to speak at the event were also slated to speak at last year’s canceled event.
A Facebook page associated with Malik Abu Luqman has posted favorably about the Khilafah (caliphate). A ‘Freshonomics’ blog associated with Luqman, who claims to be a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and appears to reside in Canada, advocates for “the Islamic economic system of distributive economics as a solution to the current Capitalist system.”
Canadian Jewish organizations had criticized the controversial event and urged Ottawa to outlaw Hizb ut-Tahrir in Canada.
“On January 18, a Canadian city will be the site of a gathering of an organization so dangerous that two of Canada’s closest allies – Britain and Germany – have banned it as an illegal terrorist group,” Noah Shack, interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a Canadian Jewish advocacy group, had told Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) last week before the event was canceled. “Hizb ut-Tahrir is not only a threat to Canada’s Jewish community for its glorification of the Hamas October 7 massacre and its antisemitic rhetoric, but it threatens the safety, well-being, and values of all Canadians,” he said. “Time is running short. That is why we ask all Canadians and people everywhere from all backgrounds and religions to join us in calling on the Government of Canada to take two concrete actions to stop Hizb ut-Tahrir from spreading its hateful ideology within Canada’s borders and communities.”
The event had also received global attention, with American tennis legend Martina Navratilova and the Global Imams Council calling on the Canadian government to stop it. Navratilova declared that the event was “unacceptable” and that “Sharia law must be unacceptable everywhere that is at all evolved.”
Unacceptable. Sharia law must be unacceptable everywhere that is at all evolved…. https://t.co/LqnnzmKeJf
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 8, 2025
In response to the outrage, Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada issued a statement calling the allegations “false” and “baseless.” With the event now officially canceled, the group has completely sanitized its Facebook and Instagram pages by deleting old posts, including those related to the event.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Opposed to Democracy
Headquartered in Lebanon, Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic for “Party of Liberation”) was founded in 1953 by Palestinian jurist Sheikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani after he and his fellow Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood disapproved of the Brotherhood collaborating with Egyptian secularists. Despite being banned in at least 13 countries, including many Muslim-majority nations, the group has a presence in more than 40 countries with millions of followers worldwide. At one point, it was believed to be one of Europe’s most powerful and fastest-growing Islamist organizations. Before its ban in the U.K. last year, the group used London as its “European headquarters” to benefit from the comparative freedoms offered in the continent to supervise activities in Muslim countries where it faced more rigid restrictions.
In Canada, Hizb ut-Tahrir states that it “works to preserve the Islamic identity and values within the Muslim community, refute the corrupt foundation of liberal democracy and the erroneous thoughts that emanate from it, explain and promote the Islamic concepts and solutions, defend the interests of the community and the Ummah, and gather support for the project of reviving the Khilafah in the Muslim lands.” The group considers all Canadian soldiers “war criminals”.
The Caliphate No Innocent Institution
The Khilafah, or caliphate, is a political-religious state dating back to the seventh century, when all Muslim lands were governed by an elected caliph and subjected to Sharia law. The goal of Hizb ut-Tahrir is to recreate a similar empire comprising North Africa, the Middle East, and most of Central and South Asia.
A screenshot of the map of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s aspirational ‘Khilafah’ state
from one of the event’s promotional videos
Although Hizb ut-Tahrir publicly disavows “the use of violence or material means” to fulfill its goals of a caliphate, it affirms jihad as a vehicle to convey “Islam as a message to the world.” The group has celebrated attacks on U.S. forces and endorsed suicide bombings.
Referred to as a “conveyor belt for terrorism” and a “breeding ground for Al-Qaida recruitment,” the group’s ideology has radicalized many individuals who have joined violent extremist groups and commit acts of terror. The now-deceased infamous ISIS militant and propagandist Mohammed “Jihadi John” Emwazi was in contact with Hizb ut-Tahrir while studying at a U.K. university. The group is also known to have had links to 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the onetime leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
In January 2024, the U.K. became the latest country to outlaw Hizb ut-Tahrir, noting that the group “is an antisemitic organization that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks.”
Will Canada Address the Threat of Islamism?
Recent arrests indicate that Canada confronts problems of Islamist extremism and youth radicalization. According to a report released last week, the terrorist threat in Canada “has rarely been higher” and mostly relates to jihadist groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida.
In an official statement released Monday evening, Canada’s Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said Hizb ut-Tahrir has a history of “glorifying violence and promoting antisemitism and extremist ideology,” celebrated the October 7 attacks, and supported banned terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, all of which “are entirely contrary to Canadian values”.
Considering the Trudeau government has often been accused of its lax attitude toward Islamist threats and penchant for playing appeasement politics when it comes to the Muslim community, the decision to authorize Canadian security and intelligence agencies to assess whether Hizb ut-Tahrir should be listed as a terrorist entity in Canada is a welcome move.
For decades, Hizb ut-Tahrir has chiefly succeeded in pushing its hateful and disruptive agenda under the shadow of the flamboyant exploits of its more vicious Salafist ideologue, the Islamic State. Regardless, its sinister ideology, beliefs, goals, and track record as an incubator of violent extremism pose an existential threat to Canada and its allies, and only a ban would put an end to the group’s caliphate aspirations in the country.
The city of Mississauga, Ontario, was one of two cities rumored to host an Islamist conference organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group banned in the United Kingdom, where attendees were expected to advocate for establishing a Caliphate and imposing Sharia law. Hamilton, Ontario, was also considered a possible location, as organizers kept the venue secret. The conference has since been canceled.
