Britain - Muslims On the March

But marching for what and against whom?

A march by members of Britain's Muslim community against what they see as oppression resulting from the 'war on terror' passed off peacefully, police said.

Up to 2,000 people from more than 50 Islamic organisations from across the country took part in the demonstration across central London.

One of the organisers, Dr Imran Waheed, said the aim of the protest was to show British Muslims would stand up against the climate of fear that had been created since the start of the war on terror.

He said: 'The basic message is that the Muslim community wants to voice its opposition to what it views as the oppression of the war on terror.'

Sounds ok, doesn't it? Sounds like Dr. Waheed just wants to protect his Muslim brothers, doesn't it? It does until you do a little research and find out just who Dr. Waheed is and who he represents. Note he is listed as "one of the organizers" of the march.

One of the great things about the internet is you can now read a story like this, then do your own research and come up with a much deeper and better understanding of the issues involved. Kind of like what the press and journalists used to do.

Turns out Dr. Waheed is the leader of Hizb ut Tahrir.

Hizb ut Tahrir is the precursor of Al Muhajiroun.

They have the same ideology but a different following .

Members of the Hizb ut Tahrir in the U.K. are often British born and educated while Al Muhajiroun attract the blue collar and unemployed.

The group who runs 1924.org can be regarded as the yuppie contingent of Al Muhajiroun.

In 1996 Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed split with HT to form AM.

Hizb ut Tahrir has been implicated in recent terrorist attacks in the former Soviet Union and was connected to the 9/11 hijackers in Germany. http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4260687-110340,00.html

In fact, Tahrir has been banned in Germany.

Germany banned on Wednesday the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir organization, accusing it of promoting anti-Semitism in universities and elsewhere, as police raided more than 25 buildings linked to the group.

The 50-year-old organization, which says it aims to transform a "corrupt society" into an "Islamic society", is the third to be banned in Germany under anti-terror legislation adopted after the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities.

"This organization denies the right of Israel to exist and spreads anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate propaganda," Interior Minister Otto Schily told a news conference.

"This organization promotes the use of violence to achieve political goals and also wants to provoke violence," he said. "It pursues the political goal of destroying Israel and calls for the expulsion and killing of Jews."

So what is Tahrir and Dr. Waheed's real message and goals?

The group - also known as the Islamic Party of Liberation - believes it can achieve its utopian Islamic state in three steps. The first involves educating Muslims about its philosophies and goals. In the second step, the Muslims would then spread these views among others in their countries, especially members of government, the military and other power centers. In the third and final step, Hizb ut-Tahrir believes its faithful will cause secular governments to crumble because loyalties will then lie solely with Islam - not nationalities, politics or ethnic identifications. At that point the group says a supreme Islamic leader, a Caliph like those of past centuries would rule all Muslims with both political and religious authority.

No you know the real reason Dr. Waheed and these Muslims are marching - to turn Britain into an Islamic state using violence if necessary.

UPDATE

It's easy to see whose side the Observer is on. First they fail to note the terrorist connection to the organisers of the march. Second they use the attendance figures provided by the organizers themselves.

The BBC notes:

Organisers estimated up to 2,000 attended the rally, while police put the figure at 800.

More from The BBC.

Weathermen predicted sunshine and 20C temperatures for Saturday's Muslim protest in London against anti-terror legislation. Organisers predicted thousands of people would join in.

Hundreds of people gathered at Marble Arch

In the end an overcast and, at best, mild day attracted hundreds of placard-waving demonstrators to Marble Arch in central London. But the lower than expected turnout did nothing to dampen the spirits of the organisers.

But, like the Observer, the BBC fail to mention the terrorist connection to the march.
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