London’s Wembley Arena erupted in cries of “Allahu Akbar” recently as thousands of Muslims cheered a call for the liberation of “all Muslim lands.”
The call, meaning “God is Great” in Arabic, came in a stage-managed finale to the International Muslim Khalifah Conference, billed as the Western world’s largest gathering of fundamentalist Muslims.
Farid Kassim, spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, a radical Muslim organization that has been banned in Arab countries, told the 8,000 people filling the arena:
“All negotiations — and let the media hear this – conducted between Muslim countries and validity in Islam.
“This means there is no — read my lips — no peace with the State of Israel.
“All Muslim lands must be liberated, reunified with the Muslim world. Not one inch of land should be left!” he said.
The conference, held Aug. 7, was organized by the Muslim Unity Organization, a group that was established last year. But the driving force behind the conference was Hizb ut-Tahrir, which accuses Muslim regimes of despotism.
Word that the conference was to be held had sparked protests from members of Parliament and the leadership of the Jewish community.
And members of Britain’s Muslim community of 1.5 million, the vast majority of whom oppose radical fundamentalism, also expressed concern.
There was speculation that some of the costs of the rally were picked up by Iran.
Omar Bakri Mohammed, the leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir, said Israel’s existence was “illegitimate” in Muslim eyes, but that the status quo should be changed through “thought” rather than violence. He condemned “all types of terrorism” and dissociated Hizb ut-Tahrir from a leaflet carrying its name that quoted an Islamic saying calling for the killing of Jews.
“It was a fabrication,” he said in an interview. “I deny any link at all.”
After the conference, Martin Corrie, speaking on behalf of Wembley Stadium Ltd., defended the decision to hold the conference in the face of widespread protests urging the company — which is headed by Jewish businessman Brian Wolfson–to ban the event.
Corrie, who is also Jewish, said: “We do live in a democratic society, and it wasn’t for us to ban Muslims who want to hold an event here. If they want to hate Israel, that’s their prerogative. But there is no way we would have hosted an event for bombers and terrorists.”
In the wake of massive media publicity surrounding the event, the conference was held under tight security.
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