Practicing what they preach?

Controversy erupted last week when Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT), the decades-old Islamic political organization dedicated to the re-establishment of the Khilafa, or Caliphate, held its first ever convention on American soil in suburban Chicago, right in my backyard.

.... One wonders why, after so many years of simply distributing leaflets and their newsletter ("Khalifornia"), they decided to have a conference in America, where they have heretofore had a minimal impact at best. This contrasts sharply with their relative success in other countries across the world, such as the U.K., Denmark, Australia, and even Indonesia, where they attracted 100,000 supporters to a rally in Jakarta.

In their American debut, they could not even attract 1,000 people. This may have to do with their identity politics: they are all about "us vs them," and this may resonate more with Muslim minority communities in Europe and elsewhere, where the Muslim minority - especially after 9/11 and with the rise of the right - has lately been under siege. [altmuslim] Read more