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The U.S. wing of Hizb Ut Tahrir, an international Islamist organization that seeks to establish an Islamic theocracy, held their annual conference on March 2, 2024, in Villa Park, Illinois.
The group, which is banned in the United Kingdom, Germany and several other countries, featured speakers who called for an army to invade and destroy Israel, justified the October 7 Hamas terror attack, suggested men should travel to Gaza to fight Israel, implored followers to “resist“ the “LGBT genderism...agenda driven by the UN” and, in several cases, espoused overt antisemitic rhetoric.
The event was livestreamed on Rumble, a streaming platform favored by extremists for its self-professed “free speech” values and lack of content moderation.
Antisemitism and anti-Zionism
In a segment called “Gaza: The Role of Muslims in America,” speaker Samer Abu Omar evoked several antisemitic tropes around Jews, “Zionists” or Israel controlling money, media and/or politics. Though he claimed his issues are not with Jews — but instead with Israel or “Zionists” — he failed to acknowledge how both are inherently tied to Jewish identity.
When discussing President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, Abu Omar asked the audience to “expose” the “Jewish... Israeli... Zionist narrative of Palestine.”
Abu Omar questioned the roots of America’s support for Israel, suggesting it is underpinned by profit motive and corporate greed:
“Stop the puppet politicians from dragging your sons and daughters into the battle for nothing but for dollar signs. ... What's in for America to keep supporting the genocide in Gaza? There is nothing but dollar signs for the corporate greed.”
He then addressed “the Jewish community,” declaring that Jews should reject “the Zionist illusion,” warning that it would “bring you nothing but destruction.”
Calls for an army to invade and eradicate Israel
In a video clip shared during the conference, a small crowd of women can be seen protesting in an unknown location with two banners, one of which read “Calling the Muslim Armies to Liberate Palestine.” Between chants, one of the women called for a "brave army" of Muslims from around the world to eradicate Israel:
“United in one voice, one call for our brothers, fathers, sons in the Muslim armies to rise to the Islamic duty...of liberating every inch of the entire blessed land of Palestine from this murderous occupation.”
“The only thing that could confront a genocidal force and seven decades of terror suffered by the Muslims of Palestine is a brave army with soldiers...”
“What can stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by this racist Zionist entity and return them to their homeland except the uprooting of every inch of this brutal occupation by an Islamic army that understands its Islamic duty to liberate the entire land of Palestine?”
During his speech, Abu Omar also strongly suggested listeners use their “power...and abilities” to physically fight against Israel, and, barring that, should use their voices.
Downplaying and distorting October 7
At multiple points during the conference, speaker Osman Bakhach, the former head of Hizb Ut Tahrir’s international media office, alleged infants were not murdered on October 7 and blamed America and Europe for the Hamas attack.
“The pro-genocide people — the pro-Zionist people — to them history began on October 7: ‘Oh look, Hamas attacked us. Look, they killed, they murdered, they raped, they beheaded babies’... Well, how about October 6th or 5? ... They don't want to talk about that. This is the tip of the iceberg. This issue of October 7th is no more than the tip of the iceberg."
“Europe created the problem, but they don't want you to talk about it. They want to deceive you by blaming: ‘Oh Hamas attacked us. Look at what Hamas did. Look, look, look October 7th! They murdered babies, they beheaded babies.’ All of these lies, lies, lies related and relayed by MSM [mainstream media] media, New York Times, Washington Post, what have you, CNN, etc.”
Queerphobia and misogyny
Bakhach also employed homophobia in a call to “resist and fight” Muslim leaders who are “slaves” to the West, alleging that leaders of Muslim-majority countries are “working day and night to speed up the westernization and secularization of the Muslim societies, including lately recently the issue of LGBT and genderism.… We have to be fully aware of it, and we have to resist it and fight it.”
Sheik Muhammed Shirazi, the director of an Islamic center in Chicago, spoke mockingly and dismissively of “Western ideas” like feminism, arguing that “no one today in their right mind can stand up for any of these ideas,” and alleging that the values of “freedom, human rights, democracy, feminism, idealism, liberalism... died in Gaza.”