On 3rd January, the international pan-Islamist terrorist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) announced that it will host the ‘Khilafah Conference 2025’ in Mississauga, Canada. The mayor of Mississauga, Carolyn Parrish, has, however, vowed to oppose the conference. Interestingly, HuT has not mentioned the exact location of the so-called conference and stated on the event page that it will be sent via email to those who register for the event.
According to social media posts on HuT’s Canada chapter’s Instagram account, the conference was first announced on 19th December 2024.
A week later, the group announced the details of the event, excluding information about the location. According to a 24th December post, the event will take place in Mississauga on 18th January 2025 at 12 PM. Abu Omar, Malik Abu Luqman, Bilal Khan, and Dr Gelani have been listed as the speakers of the conference.
According to the post, the conference is called “The Khilafah: Eliminating the Obstacles That Are Delaying Its Return”. The event seeks to rally support for the restoration of an Islamic Caliphate. The aim is to act against global institutions like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, which, according to HuT, are being used as tools of colonial powers. The organisers of the conference claimed that the Khilafah is essential for addressing challenges faced by Muslims. The event page on Event Brite mentions that the conference will run for 5 hours and 30 minutes.
HuT’s posts suggest that the topics of the conference include speakers Abu Omar discussing ‘Nationalism & the regimes: Frontline enemies of Islam’, Malik Abu Luqman addressing ‘The colonialist powers: Busting myths & erasing our fears’, Bilal Khan speaking on ‘Only the Khilafah will liberate Palestine: Everything else is a distraction’ and Dr Gelani concluding the event with ‘Despairing in the victory of Allah (SWT) is forbidden: Trusting in Him is an obligation, inspiring faith in divine victory’.
In a post from a day ago, the group also mentioned the Indian state of Kashmir and claimed that the “so-called” Islamic powers have not done anything for Muslims suffering worldwide, including in Palestine, Kashmir, and other places. In the video attached to the post, the group noted, “Since losing the Khilafah, which was our shield, the Ummah has witnessed nothing short of bloodshed, foreign occupation, invasions, and oppression over these last 100 years. Despite this, the colonialist powers are still afraid of the Ummah’s latent strength.”
Mississauga mayor vowed action against the group
On 3rd January, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish responded to a user on the social media platform X, stating that the city was aware of the event and noting that the group had been banned from using city facilities a decade ago. However, she clarified that the city has no control over who private facilities, such as hotels or banquet halls, choose to rent to. Speaking to Toronto Sun, she said, “our staff is attempting to track down which private facility is hosting the conference so we can share what we know about the Hizb ut-Tahrir with the management” and “we have also alerted Pearson Airport authorities to carefully monitor passports to deny entry to those on Canada’s banned lists.”
Amid mounting pressure, the mayor said in another post that the police had been alerted to check the passports of those arriving for the event. Furthermore, she mentioned that the police were tracking the venue within the city, and Peel Regional Police had been notified.
In a post on 4th January, Mayor Parrish listed the conditions required to rent city facilities, noting, “The city will refuse access to groups exhibiting ‘contempt or hatred’ in any form and can revoke permits should such behaviour be reported.”
Interestingly, on 6th January, she claimed in another post that the conference had been moved to Hamilton, citing screenshots from a recent video published by the group.
However, when OpIndia checked to confirm, it found that the group might have used an old video, as all the conference details still pointed to Mississauga. The following screenshots have been taken from the same video mentioning both Hamilton and Mississauga.
A similar video was earlier published for Mississauga but was deleted. It is still unclear if the group has moved the venue or not. The deleted video has been shared on X by Western Standard journalist Jarryd Jager.
It appears as though Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada has hidden or deleted this video from its Facebook page.
— Jarryd Jäger (@JarrydJaeger) January 3, 2025
Watch it here 👇 pic.twitter.com/DcoZi43bPD
Notably, the group had planned a conference in Mississauga in 2024 as well but it was cancelled a day after United Kingdom listed it as a designated terrorist organisation. At that time, the website, that was active since 2012, YouTube channel, Facebook, Instagram and X accounts of the group were deleted or deactivated.
Elon Musk has also raised concern over the conference and tagged community noted to verify it.
Is this accurate? @CommunityNotes https://t.co/M2XsgY6UDP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2025
About Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in several countries including Bangladesh, China, Russia, Pakistan, Germany, Turkey, Indonesia, and others. Among Arab countries, it is banned in all except Lebanon, Yemen and the UAE. In recent times, HuT has started expanding its feet in India as well. It was declared a terrorist outfit by the Indian government in October 2024. “Pursuing PM Narendra Modi Ji’s policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, the MHA today declared ‘Hizb-Ut-Tahrir’ as a Terrorist Organisation,’ MHA Amit Shah said. “The outfit is involved in various acts of terror, including radicalizing the gullible youths to join terrorist organizations and raise funds for terror activities, posing a serious threat to the national security and sovereignty of India. The Modi government is committed to securing Bharat by dealing with the forces of terror with an iron fist,” the minister added.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir, established in Jerusalem in 1953 by Taqiuddin al-Nabhan is a global pan-Islamic terrorist organization. Over the decades, the terrorist organization evolved from its initial non-violent methods that were chosen to gain influence within Muslim communities, to a more complex approach that involves gathering support from military factions and influential leaders that have the capacity to stage coups. The group is headquartered in Lebanon and operates in at least 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
It advocates for the formation of a universal Islamic caliphate under Sharia rule. The HuT has a history of encouraging and glorifying attacks on Israel and Jews more broadly. Notably, HuT has been banned in several countries including Bangladesh, China, Russia, Pakistan, Germany, Turkey, Indonesia, and others. Among Arab countries, it is banned in all except Lebanon, Yemen, and the UAE. In recent times, HuT had started expanding its feet in India as well.
Presence of HuT in different countries
In Great Britain, HuT has actively organised political campaigns and protests. In 2015, it called for Muslims to not participate in the parliamentary elections. Furthermore, they organised a protest against the killings of civilians in Aleppo outside the Syrian embassy in London.
In March 2019 in Denmark, they organised significant prayer and rallies outside the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen in response to a shooting at a mosque in New Zealand. Several hundred Muslims participated in the rally making it evident that HuT has the potential to mobilise people.
In the US, HuT has used the Syrian conflict to hold protests against the government. Two significant events were organised by HuT that were focused on the siege of Aleppo by Syrian regime forces and pro-Iranian militias.
In Australia, their activity has increased over the past decade. In March 2015, a video of Islamic Australian leader Ismail Alwahwah emerged calling for jihad against Jews during a rally in New South Wales. Later, in November 2015, HuT organised a conference to oppose forced assimilation. In 2017, they released a video supporting domestic violence against “disobedient wives”. The video faced a lot of criticism. Furthermore, HuT publicly blamed the West for a terror attack in Melbourne in June 2017.
In Russia, HuT was banned by the Supreme Court for its terrorist activities. However, the HuT members continued their operations leading to their arrests. In August 2012, HuT members were arrested in Muslim-dominating areas for their involvement in terror activities. In 2017, the Russian FSB detained six Crimean locals on accusations of being members of HuT. Later, in June 2019, a Russian court sentenced five Crimean Tatars to hard labour for their membership in the group.
In Belgium, they openly demonstrated against the visit of Islam Karimov to the European Union and NATO in 2011 outside the Uzbek embassy in Brussels.
In Kyrgyzstan, authorities closed down hundreds of HuT websites for promoting terrorism including its regional web pages. In December 2017, Kyrgyz authorities arrested eleven alleged HuT members, including a local leader of the organisation, indicating the government’s ongoing efforts to curb the group’s influence.
In Tunisia after the Arab Spring revolutions, HuT tried to capitalise on the renewed quest for religious identity in the region. In March 2012, HuT organised a much-publicised female conference in Tunisia. However, in September 2016, the Tunisian government asked a military court to outlaw the group. In 2017, it was banned for one month for inciting hatred. Though the ban was lifted, its activities remained under close watch.
In Jordan, it faced action by the government on several occasions. In April 2013, HuT organised a press conference in Amman that attracted hundreds of women including journalists etc and discussed the establishment of a caliphate. In 2016, the Jordanian government arrested 15 senior members of HuT for campaigning against changes to the school curriculum.
In Turkey, the government banned its annual conference after the authorities conflated the group with the Gülen movement. 58 of its members were imprisoned.
In Indonesia, it protested against Jakarta’s former Christian governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, accusing him of blasphemy and facing setbacks. The Indonesian government subsequently banned HuT for opposing the state’s secular ideology and “causing friction in society.” The group’s organised campaign against Ahok played a role in the former governor being sentenced to two years in prison on blasphemy charges. In response to the ban, HuT allegedly rebranded itself as the Islamic Royatul Community (KARIM) and continued its activities.
Hizb ut-Tahrir’s plans to expand Islamic and anti-India ideology in India
On June 30th, OpIndia reported that the National Investigating Agency conducted multiple searches at various places in relation to the terrorist organization. Two of its members, Abdul Rehman and Mujibur Rehman, were arrested by the NIA for indoctrinating young people.
The trainees were tasked with transforming India from Darul Kufr (Land of Non-believers) to Darul Islam (House/abode of Islam). The agency seized digital devices (cell phones, computers, SIM cards, memory cards) as well as many incriminating materials, including printouts and books containing the philosophies of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Khilafa, Islamic State, and the proposed Khilafa administration and financial systems.
