Hizb ut-Tahrir

Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic: حزب التحرير; English: Party of Liberation) is an international, Sunni, pan-Islamist vanguard political party whose goal is to unite all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, ruled by Islamic law and headed by an elected head of state (caliph).

Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, a Sufi Islamic scholar and appeals court judge (Qadi) from Jerusalem, founded the organization in 1953.

The party promotes "an elaborate and detailed program for instituting an Islamist state" which will "establish the laws of the Islamic Shariah and to carry the Da'wah of Islam to the world." It believes this "comprehensive solution" will provide "sincere leadership that cares for and protects its citizens from the colonial foreign policies of Bush and Blair" and bring an end to "US interventions, energy inspired wars, puppet (Muslim) governments and western values forced by the barrel of a gun." HT is strongly anti-Zionist and calls for "the dismantling of the illegal entity of Israel," whose leadership "has never concealed its hatred of Muslims and have been calling for the destruction of Muslims since the very beginning." HT believes a caliphate "will provide stability and security to all the people of the region, Muslims and Non-Muslims".

Hizb ut-Tahrir has spread its message to more than 40 countries, and is estimated to have about one million members. Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned, but still active in, several Arab and Central Asian countries, is very active in the west, particularly in the United Kingdom where a ban has been proposed due to its alleged anti-semitism which the group denies and a former home secretary said was reviewed twice with insufficient evidence to substantiate a ban.