Did Hizb ut-Tahrir enjoy impunity?

International Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir is in the spotlight this week because of a number of firsts in its history of operations in Bangladesh. The first recorded involvement in violence by the group in Bangladesh was the attempt on the life of a Hindu college teacher in Madaripur on June 15. Hizb previously limited its operations to instigating others to take up arms to create a Caliphate while criticising democratic governments. Secondly, the man arrested for the attempted murder, Golam Faizullah Fahim, was killed while on remand in a “gunfight with police,” the first time a Hizb operative in Bangladesh has died in custody. Despite a decade of extremist politics in Bangladesh, including routine incitements to violence and regime change, Hizb ut-Tahrir operatives have rarely faced severe treatment from law enforcers. Repeated warmongering On Friday, operatives of the group distributed leaflets in at least three districts, including Dhaka, calling upon Muslims to wage all-out war against the government. Detectives last year described Hizb ut-Tahrir as the leader platform of banned militant groups that hope to establish Islamic rule in Bangladesh. They were singled out for mention because of their technological expertise and reported links to high-ups in the administration, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, courts, mosques and madrasas. The group has traditionally claimed to be non-violent and distanced itself from violent Islamist outfits, but has espoused a programme of regime change that is impossible to imagine without violence on a large scale. In Bangladesh, Hizb ut-Tahrir has repeatedly called on the country’s military personnel to oust the government and hand over power for the establishment of a Caliphate. On December 20, 2011, Hizb ut-Tahrir attempted to spearhead a military coup but failed. The operation was led by Maj (sacked) Syed Md Ziaul Haque, who now lives in Pakistan. Zia now leads outlawed militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team. At least 15 officers took part in the attempted coup, according to the army. Lt Col Ehsan Yusuf and Maj Zakir were arrested for their roles in the attempt. Last year, several members of the group were arrested for training militants and attempting to go to Syria and Iraq to join the so-called Islamic State. Bellicose but bailed Even though some 650 of Hizb’s top leaders and members were arrested since a ban was slapped on the group in 2009, more than 450 have since been let out on bail and have disappeared after getting out of jail. Moreover, many senior leaders of the group who were identified by law enforcement agencies have not been arrested yet. The group was banned on October 22, 2009 but remains active, silently picketing in front of mosques and maintaining a well-managed online presence. Last September, the Detective Branch of police said they had identified three of the six top leaders who spoke at an online conference of the group. They have not been arrested. In 2009, detectives said Hizb had links to Jama’atul Mujiheedin Bangladesh, Harkat ul-Jihad and Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. In September 2008, Rajshahi police arrested 10 Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders including its coordinator Dr Syed Golam Maula, a Dhaka University teacher. They were released within two weeks after the group threatened to oust the army-backed caretaker government in power at the time. In March 2006, Hizb chief and DU teacher Mohiuddin Ahmed said the group had held meetings with small local Islamic parties including Khelafat Majlish, Islami Constitutional Movement (ICM), Jamiatul Ulama and Khelafat Andolan and agreed to work together to build a Caliphate. In a report in 2005, a Bangladesh intelligence agency expressed fear that Hizb ut-Tahrir might turn into an extremist organisation and suggested closely monitoring its activities. In 1993, Dr Syed Golam Maula went to London for his PhD and was introduced to Nasimul Gani and Kawsar Shahnewaz, who were holding an open discussion on Hizb ut-Tahrir at Regent’s Park. After returning to Bangladesh in 2000, Nasimul and Shahnewaz set up an office to house the organisation’s Bangladesh chapter under Golam Maula’s leadership at a coaching centre in Road 6A, Dhanmondi. Islamic thinker Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani formed Hizb ut-Tahrir in 1953 in Jerusalem, five years after the creation of Israel.