FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain response to PMQs
 
London, UK, 4 July 2007 – Following discussions at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons today, Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain issued the following statement:

 
1.     Hizb ut-Tahrir works for the return of the Caliphate in the Muslim world – an Islamic system of government with an accountable leadership, chosen through the authority of the people, in which the rule of law would replace the tyranny that currently exists. A recent study by the University of Maryland found that there was over 70 per cent support for this political vision in the Muslim world.
 
2.     For over fifty years, Hizb ut-Tahrir has been at the forefront of the political work in the Muslim world to end tyranny and dictatorship. Tony Blair's proposal in August 2005 was intended to stop our non-violent political work to replace western backed dictators in the Muslim world. We accept that it is undoubtedly true that our organisation causes the government considerable political and diplomatic discomfort, in that our campaigning against dictators in the Muslim world, many of whom are allies of the government – such as General Musharraf and Presidents Karimov and Mubarak – exposes its hypocrisy.
 
3.     The former Home Secretary, John Reid, today confirmed in Parliament, what for some time has been an open secret – that despite the pressure on the UK government to ban our organisation from dictators in the Muslim world, like President Musharraf and President Karimov, there has been no evidence whatsoever to link Hizb ut-Tahrir to terrorism or violence.
 
4.     We completely reject David Cameron's playing of politics with security and his baseless accusation that our organisation calls for the killing of Jews. His accusations are not surprising given that Hizb ut-Tahrir has been an ardent critic of the Zionist state, while Cameron has described himself as a Zionist. Perhaps Mr Cameron has not, this time, jumped onto a bandwagon, but onto a sinking ship.
 
[Ends]
 
Notes to Editors:
 
At PMQs today former home secretary John Reid pointed to two recent reviews of Hizb ut-Tahrir which concluded there was "not sufficient evidence" for it to be banned. He called on Brown to "stay absolutely on the course he set today and to stick by the law and the evidence and not by any arbitrary political advantage". Reid added: "Can I tell him that nothing would be more politically disadvantageous than taking a case without evidence and then losing it…It would confirm all of the accusations made against us." Brown thanked Reid – who stepped down from the cabinet at the same time as Tony Blair – for "the work he did as home secretary", particularly in setting up new arrangements for dealing with terrorism.

The prime minister agreed that "however distasteful remarks that are made by organisations are, we must proceed on the basis of evidence and we must work within the law".