'They're like the Ku Klux Klan': Liberal MP calls on his own side of politics to ban Islamic extremist group that advocates domestic violence - and they're already outlawed in Egypt

  • NSW Liberal MP Gareth Ward wants Islamic extremists Hizb ut-Tahrir banned
  • He has flagged a parliamentary motion for the federal government to act on this
  • Sharia law group voices death for ex-Muslims, beatings for disobedient wives 
  • Federal Home Affairs Department is resisting call to ban this group in Australia 

By Stephen Johnson For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:53 EDT, 25 October 2018 | Updated: 02:14 EDT, 25 October 2018

A Liberal Party MP has called on the federal government to ban an Islamic extremist group that advocates death for ex-Muslims and domestic violence for disobedient wives.

Former attorney-general George Brandis last year declined to outlaw Hizb ut-Tahrir which is banned in a series of Muslim-majority nations, including Indonesia, Egypt and Jordan.

NSW MP Gareth Ward told Daily Mail Australia the Islamic extremist group pushing for Sharia law was like the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group.

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A Liberal Party MP has called on the federal government to ban an Islamic extremist group which advocates death for ex-Muslims (Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar pictured)

A Liberal Party MP has called on the federal government to ban an Islamic extremist group which advocates death for ex-Muslims (Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar pictured)

'The KKK is to Christianity what Hizb ut-Tahrir is to Islam,' he said on Thursday, ahead of his motion being added to the parliamentary notice paper. 

'This is a group that challenges the fundamental freedoms, liberties that every Australian has the right to enjoy and they are seeking to impose things like Sharia law which challenges our legal system.'

Mr Ward is calling on the federal government to add Hizb ut-Tahrir to the Australian National Security list of 26 banned terror groups.

'These people are extremists,' he said.

Gareth Ward, a member of the New South Wales Parliament, told Daily Mail Australia the Islamic extremist group pushing for Sharia law was like the Ku Klux Klan white supremacists

Gareth Ward, a member of the New South Wales Parliament, told Daily Mail Australia the Islamic extremist group pushing for Sharia law was like the Ku Klux Klan white supremacists

'They advocate for the right of men to beat their wives, the separation of women so much so they were successfully sued for doing so at their meetings.

'They have statements in their constitution that those guilty of apostasy (leaving the religion) should be executed. 

'These are statements that are beyond free speech. They cross that line.' 

Unlike One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and former Katter's Australian Party senator Fraser Anning, Mr Ward is a political centrist who supports multiculturalism and Muslim immigration.

'I believe in a multicultural Australia, one that is welcoming of everyone who comes here to make this country greater but I also believe it's important for politicians to be tough to call these statements out where they see them,' he said.

Journalist Alison Bevege (pictured), who now works for Daily Mail Australia, asked Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar about their policy of killing ex-Muslims 

Journalist Alison Bevege (pictured), who now works for Daily Mail Australia, asked Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar about their policy of killing ex-Muslims 

In March last year Daily Mail Australia caught on camera Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar confirming his group supported the death penalty for ex-Muslims, also known as apostates.

'The ruling for apostates as such in Islam is clear, that apostates attract capital punishment and we don't shy away from that,' Badar said in the presence of children at Bankstown in Sydney's south-west.

In 2016 freelance journalist Alison Bevege, who now works at Daily Mail Australia, successfully sued the group for gender discrimination, after they had forced her to sit in a gender-segregated area.

Less than a year later, she asked Mr Badar about its draft constitution of the khilafah state which states, in section 7c, that ex-Muslims needed to be 'executed according the rule of apostasy'.

Weeks later, Hizb ut-Tahrir Women made a video justifying domestic violence, with Sydney primary school teacher Reem Allouche demonstrating how husbands could beat their wives

Weeks later, Hizb ut-Tahrir Women made a video justifying domestic violence, with Sydney primary school teacher Reem Allouche demonstrating how husbands could beat their wives

Gareth Ward's motion

Today I give notice that I shall move that this House:

1. Notes with great concern the statements made by the organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir which include 'those who are guilty of apostasy should be executed';

2. Notes that Hizb ut-Tahrir derides people of Jewish faith and encourages the segregation of women;

3. Requests the Commonwealth government reconsider any options available under the Commonwealth Criminal Code and the Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) in relation to Hizb ut-Tahrir;

4. Notes that Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in countries around the world including Indonesia, Egypt and Jordan;

5. Rejects any quest for the implementation of Sharia Law; and

6. Reaffirms its commitment to free speech but its opposition to hate speech and inciting violence. 

Weeks later, Hizb ut-Tahrir Women made a video justifying domestic violence, with Sydney primary school teacher Reem Allouche demonstrating how husbands could beat their wives with a stick.

During the 30-minute discussion at a meeting in Sydney's west, Ms Allouche and fellow panellist Atika Latifi - both wearing headscarves - described how assaulting women was a 'symbolic act'.

Mr Ward, the member for Kiama on the South Coast, said Hizb ut-Tahrir was not a reflection on all Muslims.

'There is a difference to being politically correct and being politically appropriate and I believe I'm being politically appropriate,' he said.

The Department of Home Affairs, which now has oversight on national security, said Hizb ut-Tahrir did not fit the threshold to be listed as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code.

'This is consistent with the approach taken by the United Nations Security Council, and other western nations, including the UK, US and New Zealand,' it said in a statement.

'The issue of which organisations should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation remains under active review by relevant security and intelligence agencies.' 

Daily Mail Australia contacted Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia for a right-of-reply. 

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Liberal MP Gareth Ward calls on federal government to ban Islamic extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir

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