Jakarta, London, Central Asia: HuT Update

Jakarta:
Approximately two weeks ago, I mentioned the Hizb-ut-Tahrir World Conference 2007 that was to take place in Jakarta on August 12th.  Well, BBC's Lucy Williamson covered the conference, which was well-attended: it filled the 100,000-capacity stadium that had been booked.  Several speakers who had previously committed did not show, however.

London:
On August 9, previous to the Jakarta “happening” , 2000 British Hizb-ut-Tahrir members met at Alexandra Palace.  From the description of the event, it seems that it was like many conferences: in celebration of identity, a venue for idea exchanges and book sales, et cetera.  The British government almost banned the group last year, as contributory to Islamic extremism, in the wake of last year's terrorist attacks.   British officials ultimately concluded there was not significant proof of mal-intent.

However, two things seem clear: First, the group is not transparent, resisting public inquiries and, according to Dominic Casciani at BBC, accusing him of “trick questions” at the conference.  Second, it seems that HuT members are being admonished not to participate in British civic life, eschewing elections and other kinds of representation.  This sets up a gap between government and members which can only exacerbate tensions and obstruct compromises. In pursuit of  “Khilafah” (The Caliphate), there are apparently no half-measures. 

Central Asia:
Today, Gulnoza Saidazimova at RFE/RL wrote a fact-filled article on the rise of Hizb-ut-Tahrir in Central Asia, including an interview with a Hizb-ut-Tahrir member.  The article noted that Kyrgyzstan alone has 10,000 members, about 0.2% of population (population: 5.264 million, 2.016 million under the age of 18 ).  The youth population in Central Asia contributes to the attractiveness of organizations with idealistic intentions such as Khilafa (the Caliphate world order). 

Another theory held by Central Asia-watchers is that Hizb-ut-Tahrir flourishes due to its legal repression, which is significant. However, this cannot be the entire story. 

After noting its secrecy within the Central Asian Republics which have banned it, the article points to the flexible and changing strategies of media proselytization that Hizb-ut-Tahrir has developed and continues to extend forward:

“Hizb ut-Tahrir has existed [since 1953],” Sabirov said. “It uses the Internet wherever there is access to it. If there is no Internet, we distribute leaflets, for example. You know, there are gatherings in villages, when people get together and eat rice pilaf, for example. We distribute ideas there. The means of distribution are not important. Ideas are important. For different places, we have different ways to disseminate them.”
Lately, audio and video equipment have been added to HT's arsenal. Shavkat Kochkorov of the Kyrgyz National Security Service addressed journalists in the southern Kyrgyz city of Jalal-Abad earlier this month.
“They have means of transportation [and] the best video and audio equipment,” Kochkorov said. “They come to places where Muslims — elders and imams — gather and propagate their ideology among the people. They openly say: 'there's little time left until we will have a caliphate, and then in the caliphate you all live very well, your life will improve and you will have freedoms.'”
Sabirov says that HT distributes audio and DVDs in the cities as well as in villages.
Nowadays, a simple DVD player is affordable for many Kyrgyz or Uzbek families at the price of $30-$50.

Most institutions cannot match this personal approach, which in itself makes it worth investigating.  

Further Reading:
BBC Q & A on Hizb-ut-Tahrir, updated August 10th
Another great article on Jakarta conference at the Christian Science Monitor
Thanks to Laurence Jarvik for pointing out Zeyno Baran's monograph on Hizb-ut-Tahrir, 144 pages, pdf: pp. 6-11, Executive Summary.