Hizb ut Tahrir Canada, a controversial Islamic activist group, says it will cancel its upcoming Khilafah 2025 Conference, which was due to be held in Hamilton on January 18.
“This decision was necessitated by circumstances that were beyond our reasonable control,” the group said on its website.
The group faced backlash earlier this month from Hamilton’s mayor and local and national organizations after announcing its plan to host the conference in the Ontario city.
The event was originally supposed to take place in Mississauga, but was later relocated after a strong response from Mayor Carolyn Parrish.
According to the event’s website, the goal of the conference was to discuss “the removal of obstacles delaying” the return of the caliphate, or leader of the Muslim world.
The group is not listed as a terrorist entity by the Canadian government, but Assistant Public Safety Minister Rachel Bendayan said in a statement Monday that the government is now evaluating whether to add it to the group.
In his statement, on behalf of the Canadian government, he said reports of the conference being held were “deeply concerning.”
“Hizb ut-Tahrir has a documented history of glorifying violence and promoting anti-Semitism and extremist ideology,” Bendayan said.
He said the group supports “banned terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah” and has welcomed “attacks against innocent civilians, including the one on October 7.”
“We unequivocally condemn their activities and the holding of such a conference,” the statement read.
On Tuesday, the group had announced that the event was being cancelled.
The group said in a Jan. 6 statement that it “categorically rejects the use of violence,” following backlash from local groups.
He also said that he has only one goal: to establish “the resumption of the Islamic way of life through the reestablishment of the khilafah (caliphate).”
To this end, he said he promotes Islamic values within the Muslim community and rejects “the corrupt foundations of liberal democracy and the erroneous thoughts that emanate from it.”
Hamilton groups and mayor respond to cancellation
In online posts, Hizb ut Tahrir Canada described Israel as a “criminal Zionist entity” that needs to be defeated. One of the topics of the conference was supposed to be how only the caliphate will “liberate Palestine” and that “everything else is a distraction.”
The Hamilton Jewish Federation (HJF) on Tuesday shared a statement from the Center for Israeli and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) that it was “relieved” the conference was cancelled.
“We will continue to urge the Government of Canada to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir as an illegal terrorist organization,” read the statement, signed by CIJA’s Michelle Stock.
The HJF said earlier this month that it “quickly informed the mayor’s office and urged them to respond decisively and quickly” when it learned of the event.
#HamOnt – Together we stopped this divisive and hateful conference. Thank you to all Hamiltonians who reached out by phone, email, or social media to share their concerns with me and my office.
We will continue to oppose hate in all its forms. As mayor, I continue… https://t.co/l3A0SD3L2a
On Tuesday, Mayor Andrea Horwath thanked those who reached out to voice their concerns about the “divisive and hateful conference.”
He expressed “significant concerns” about the group and their conference and said he had been in direct contact with Hamilton police, who were “closely monitoring the situation”.
“There is absolutely no place in our city for individuals or groups spreading messages of division or intolerance,” Horwath said in a statement on Jan. 6.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada then said the criticism was “baseless.”
Group banned in the UK
The UK government has banned the group from operating within its borders, describing it as an “anti-Semitic organisation” that “actively promotes and encourages terrorism”.
The ban came into effect months after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, 100 of whom remain in Gaza, according to the Israeli government. In response, Israel launched a war in Gaza, killing about 55,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Hizb ut Tahrir is based in Lebanon and operates in at least 32 countries, according to the UK statement.
The Netherlands-based International Center for Counterterrorism called the ban “highly problematic” and a “political act.” They said the group is “demonstrably non-violent,” in an article posted on their website in January 2024.
