The group promoted a revolutionary ideology calling on governments to be overthrown and replaced with a unitary, authoritarian Muslim Caliphate
A planned conference by a radical Islamic group that caused outrage and security concern has been cancelled a day after the federal government said it was considering declaring the organization a terrorist group.
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Late on Monday, federal minister of Public Safety David McGuinty issued a statement saying Hizb ut-Tahrir’s history of “glorifying violence and promoting antisemitism and extremist ideology” and supporting terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah “are entirely contrary to Canadian values,” and asked them to scrap their conference, scheduled for this coming weekend, while security and intelligence agencies assessed whether the group should be listed as an official terrorist entity.
About eight hours later, a message was posted to the conference Facebook page: “Hizb ut Tahrir Canada hereby announces, with regret, the cancellation of the Khilafah Conference 2025. This decision was necessitated by circumstances that were beyond our reasonable control.”
The group’s Khilafah Conference 2025 was promoting a revolutionary ideology calling on governments to be overthrown and replaced with a unitary, authoritarian Muslim Caliphate where everyone lives under strict Islamic Shariah law.
The conference attracted condemnation from civic leaders as well as both Jewish and Islamic groups.
The Global Imams Council, an independent charity and NGO that says it adheres to mainstream Islamic teachings, had sent a letter to Public Safety warning of the conference and the organizing group, calling it “extremist” and “radical” and “jeopardize decades of progress made by Canadian Muslims in promoting inclusivity and dialogue.”
“Its ideology not only threatens national unity but also isolates Muslim communities and endangers vulnerable youth.”
News of the cancelation was welcomed by the council, saying ina statement to National Post: “We appreciate the attention given to our concerns and the responsible actions taken by the Canadian authorities.”
Many major Jewish advocacy and antisemitism groups had also called for the conference to be shut down and the group declared a terrorist entity.
Hizb ut Tahrir Canada has not responded to requests for comment. The organization previously denied it was a public danger and said it was not involved in terrorist violence.
“Hizb ut Tahrir categorically rejects the use of violence or material means in its methodology. The accusations linking the party to terrorism, extremism and violent activities are fabrications aimed at tarnishing its reputation,” the group’s previous statement said.
Hizb ut Tahrir Canada is a branch of a larger of a strict international organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir, that is already banned in several countries, including Britain and Germany.
The international organization’s detailed manifesto, obtained by National Post, bluntly outlines a starkly anti-democratic, totalitarian, misogynistic, intractably monotheistic, militantly antisemitic worldview, where unprovoked jihad is a routine duty, Islamic law is paramount, and Israel must be exterminated — not even “a square inch” of the Jewish state can exist without constant war.
Their Khilafah Conference was abruptly cancelled last year after its sister organization was declared a terrorist entity in Britain. The plan to bring it back in 2025 brought strong opposition.
It was originally planned for Mississauga, just outside Toronto, but relocated after the city’s mayor was vocal in opposition to it. The new location was announced to be in Hamilton — although specifically where was kept secret. Hamilton officials have similarly decried the conference.
The most recent online promotions for the conference, however, continued to list its location as being at a secret facility in Mississauga.
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