The Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir, feared and in some cases banned by governments from Britain to Central Asia, recently took a body blow: the defection of senior member Maajid Nawaz, whose story will be featured Tuesday night on BBC2's "Newsnight" programme.
Nawaz went public late last month with his departure two months ago from Hizb ut-Tahrir, saying that a 2002 - 2006 stretch in an Egyptian prison on the group's behalf had given him time to reconsider their ideology.
On his blog, Nawaz described Hizb ut-Tahrir as distracted from Islam's true essence by grandiose political projects.
"I spent much of my time as a political prisoner evaluating and studying Islam," Nawaz wrote. "It became clear to me that rather than being the sole vanguard that represents an Islam that even Muslim jurists have misunderstood, Hizb ut-Tahrir is inspired by a political ideology."
The movement is active in dozens of countries and seeks ultimately to establish a world-wide Islamic state.
Nawaz's blog comments are part of a hefty refutation of Hizb ut-Tahrir's political theory.
Comments (1)
Do you not think that people like this should be given a platform to be heard?
Is it possble for the him to address a meeting or something?
Thanks
Posted by W Bernard | October 8, 2007 12:13 AM
Posted on October 8, 2007 00:13