London, UK, November 15 – The allegations made by BBC Newsnight and BBC
File on 4 concerning Hizb ut-Tahrir's activities in Croydon have been
proven to be completely false. Although the BBC said that they would be
passing evidence of Hizb ut-Tahrir's involvement in criminality to the
authorities, Hizb ut-Tahrir has learnt that no material has been passed
on.

 
The BBC chose to interview a single trustee of Croydon Mosque who made vague allegations about Hizb ut-Tahrir's work in the local community. Other trustees and community leaders were not interviewed by the BBC in a highly one sided 'investigation'.
 
After hearing of the allegations, Mr Mahfooz Rajah, ex-Chairman of Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre, said, "I should like to state my amazement at accusations that people form Hizb ut-Tahrir were involved with gangs, violence or criminality. Although I may not agree with all of their views I can state that the opposite is true, they have never shown any violent character even when provoked by others and have been working for a few years to get our youth out of crime and violence. With regards to gang disturbances people from Hizb ut-Tahrir were central to stopping the two parties from fighting in September and 2 years ago while other responsible people just watched! Any accusation against them is motivated by other reasons and is wholly false, inaccurate and fictitious."
 
A prominent Muslim community activist and lawyer from South London, Saghir Hussain, said, "I know that Hizb ut-Tahrir has been keen to engage with the non-Muslim community and has promoted the idea of local Muslims being active participants in local affairs. I have been most impressed in your willingness to get involved in trying to calm tensions that exist amongst various groups of youngsters."
 
Dr Imran Waheed, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "The BBC's allegations about our work in Croydon are not supported by even a shred of evidence. We have a whole dossier of evidence from community members and leaders that refute the BBC's claims."
 
"It does not surprise me to learn that the BBC has not passed on any material whatsoever to the authorities. If the BBC have anything credible to pass on to the police then they should do so. We are certain that none of their lies will lead to our door."
 
[Ends]

Note: In the interest of fairness and balance – Peter Baron, Editor from Newsnight emailed us informing us that the evidence material from the programme has been delivered to the authorities.