Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • Abortion isn’t about Roe v Wade but Truth v Hypocrisy

      June 27, 2022
      0
    • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic ...

      June 24, 2022
      0
    • The Sectarian Card – Shia and Sunni divisions under the spotlight

      June 5, 2022
      0
    • Making Sense of Pakistan

      April 16, 2022
      0
    • How Should We View the War in Ukraine?

      March 30, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • DEEP DIVE: The Weaponisation and Politicisation of British Citizenship Laws

      March 12, 2022
      0
    • Our Role in the Ukraine war is to Expose the Propaganda

      March 2, 2022
      0
    • Muslims Should Rejoice Over the Islamic Ruling System

      January 21, 2022
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • Reading Quran

      The story of the man who was told to “Enter Paradise” and ...

      January 24, 2022
      0
    • Significance of Rabi’ul-Awwal

      October 10, 2021
      0
    • Virtues of the Month of Muharram

      August 10, 2021
      0
    • The significance of first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

      July 10, 2021
      0
    • The Honour of the Prophets

      April 30, 2021
      0
    • A to Z of Ramadan

      April 19, 2021
      0
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
  • Da’wah
    • Call to action against Hindutva and Zionist aggression

      July 16, 2022
      0
    • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | ...

      June 18, 2022
      0
    • Public Demonstration - Independence Not Intervention

      April 22, 2022
      0
    • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

      April 20, 2022
      0
    • Ramadan Message: The World Needs Islam - We Must Work for the ...

      April 1, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • Ramadhan event: Kyiv to Kabul: The World Needs Islam

      March 20, 2022
      0
    • Obituary of a Dawah Carrier Dr. Youssef Haj Youssef

      December 30, 2021
      0
    • Open Letter to Imams and Muslim Leaders

      September 28, 2021
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›British Muslims’ right to fight in Syria backed by ex-adviser on radicalisation

British Muslims’ right to fight in Syria backed by ex-adviser on radicalisation

By Editor
June 30, 2014
1407
0
Share:

Ex-Prevent adviser Farooq Siddiqui says young jihadis who ‘walk the walk’ against Assad should not face arrest on return.

A former senior government adviser on tackling radicalisation and extremism has defended the right of British Muslims to travel to Syria and fight.

Farooq Siddiqui, a former regional manager for the government’s controversial Prevent strategy, said it was acceptable for Britons to “walk the walk” and travel to Syria to fight the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

As part of a Facebook conversation Siddiqui, 45, defended the right of an individual to be called a martyr if he took up arms against Assad, and questioned whether those who fought against the Syrian president should face arrest upon return to the UK.

Former senior intelligence officials consider jihadists battling Assad’s government forces in Syria to be a potential threat. They estimate that up to 300 fighters have already returned to the UK from Syria. Scotland Yard has warned that Britain will live with the terror legacy of the Syrian conflict for years to come.

The foreign secretary, William Hague, believes as many as 400 British citizens may be fighting in Syria, recently confirming that security measures are in place such as the option of withdrawing leave to remain, cancelling passports and arresting UK jihadists who have been fighting in Syria or for terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis), which has seized control of swaths of northern Iraq.

Siddiqui, who ran Prevent in the south-west until 2012, pointed out that Britons were free to join the Israeli Defence Force and return to the UK without censure, while those taking up arms against what they viewed as a tyrannical dictator, Assad, faced arrest. He says he knew “nothing about” Isis at the time of the online conversation in February. He does not support the group.

Before generating headlines after sweeping into Iraq, Isis had been operating independently of other jihadist groups in Syria, including the al-Nusra Front, the official al-Qaida affiliate in the country, and has been involved in widespread infighting with other rebel groups.

Some Syrian rebels opposed to Isis point to instances of apparent hesitation by Assad’s forces about attacking the group as evidence of tacit co-operation with the regime to undermine other rebel groups.

Writing on Facebook, in reference to the situation inside Syria, Siddiqui said: “If a man describes himself as wanting to help the oppressed and dies, in that case he is a martyr.”

Referring to an individual prepared to travel and stand up for his beliefs, Siddiqui adds: “I’d rather take his word for it because he walked the walk and isn’t sat behind a keyboard like me.”

An Isis recruitment video showing three Britons – Reyaad Khan with school friend Nasser Muthana, from Cardiff, and a third man named as Abdul Raqib Amin, from Aberdeen – has fuelled anxieties over the radicalisation of Muslim youths in Britain as a result of the Syrian civil war.

Siddiqui told the Observer that he would be happy to endorse security measures on combatants if they applied to others returning from fighting abroad, not just Muslims. “As for people fighting in Syria, if they go with the intention to defend the civilian population from a dictator – a population we have abandoned – I accept their conviction until proven otherwise.”

The Guardian

TagsSyria
Previous Article

Muslim women targeted in a rising wave ...

Next Article

Media Statement Regarding ISIS’s Declaration in Iraq

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +

National Conferences

Join US on Telegram

Podcast

Latest Posts

Press Releases

From Al-Hind to Al-Quds – Establish the Khilafah – End the Oppression

Both conferences organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain this weekend were successfully convened in sold out auditoria. The central message and call to action is for Muslims to reject all normalisation ...
  • Call to action against Hindutva and Zionist aggression

    By Editor
    July 16, 2022
  • From Al-Hind to Al-Quds Conference – Speak Out – Act – Liberate

    By Yahya Nisbet
    July 14, 2022
  • Abortion isn’t about Roe v Wade but Truth v Hypocrisy

    By Taji Mustafa
    June 27, 2022
  • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic protection

    By Editor
    June 24, 2022
  • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | Liberate

    By Editor
    June 18, 2022
  • The Champions of Free Speech Haven’t a Leg to Stand on

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 13, 2022
  • Two July Conferences on Indian and Zionist Oppression Organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 10, 2022
  • Press Centre