British authorities seem most concerned with keeping the peace between Hizb ut-Tahrir and the “far right.” That’s fine; I hope they succeed. Meanwhile, they don’t seem at all preoccupied with the long-term consequences of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s ideas spreading.
“Asylum seekers in hotels ‘could be recruited by extremist groups,’” by Neil Johnston, Telegraph, December 11, 2022:
Radical groups could target hotels housing asylum-seekers in an attempt to recruit people, counter-extremism officials fear.
Officials in the Midlands city of Stoke-on-Trent have become increasingly concerned about the resurgence of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group that promotes the creation of an Islamic state. It is banned in more than a dozen countries but not in the UK.
The group has been holding sessions in a converted warehouse a short walk from two hotels housing asylum seekers, and sources said they feared the proximity would provide individuals with extreme but not illegal views “easy access” to vulnerable migrants.
It is understood that at meetings with police and council officials working on Prevent, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy, the group’s activites [sic] were discussed and concerns raised about whether asylum-seekers could be exploited.
“There have been informed conversations with Prevent teams about the issue”, said a source. “There is a fear when they are operating that close they have easy access and vice-versa. We want to avoid the risk of a tinderbox between extremists and the far-Right, who are also operating in the city”.
Another community source said Hizb ut-Tahrir had been active a number of years ago before going under the radar, expressing alarm at the way in which it had recently re-emerged in the city.
‘Changing recruitment tactics’
Farak Mohammed, the organiser of the events, also runs a gym and martial arts centre within a few hundred metres of one of the hotels, which The Telegraph is choosing not to name.
Mr Mohammed urged those who disagreed with the group’s views to “come down and talk to us”, adding: “We will sit down and explain our views. Hizb ut-Tahrir is not an extremist organisation.”
The group’s purpose is to re-establish the caliphate in the Middle East with Sharia law, and experts have claimed it is a gateway to violent extremism. It is shunned by most Muslims and has been banned in Germany, China, Russia and many Arab states….Jonathan Gullis, the MP for Stoke North, said: “I’ve engaged previously with the Home Office and the council regarding extremism on the far-Right and Islamic extremist groups, and that is causing a major concern about public safety.
“This city already has 800 migrants, and the hotels will take the figure to over 1,000. That is a lot of vulnerable people primed to be taken advantage of by extremists such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, criminality by county lines gangs and a target for the far-Right.”…
Ade Fegan says
“Worried” that someone might say they want something done about it
Jayell1 says
Strange that the UK ‘authorities’ don’t seem to have noticed that they’ve already provoked pretty well the entire UK indigenous population with their appallingly extravagant shenanigans apropos these illegal migrants, squandering unauthorised £millions of taxpayers’ money on foreign criminal trespassers who have no right to be in the UK in the first place let alone being accommodated in luxury hotels…. when the so-called ‘British’ Government claims it ‘can’t afford’ to look after its own citizens properly. The ‘right wing’ (whatever that’s supposed to be) is the least of the authorities’ problem – the first being that they’re clearly not fit to be in ‘authority’.
Alkflaeda says
So move the migrants to another hotel – sorted! Much easier to terminate a contract with an hotelier, than for a man who has taken a lease on a gym and martial arts centre to relocate. Provided that the authorities honour whatever arrangement they have entered upon, they don’t have to give a reason for sending the migrants elsewhere. (Or they could give the reason, and let the hotelier explore options with the landlord of the gym…)
Alkflaeda says
(Later) Have just emailed my MP to suggest that the authorities seek tenders from organisations with experience in the field of hostel provision, to provide migrant accommodation. In the case of the YMCA, this might result in provision of sports facilities that would undercut private ones (and they can’t complain about the Y’s Christian antecedents without highlighting the Islamic nature of current migration).