A radical Islamic group's Canadian conference for the establishment of a caliphate across much of Europe, Africa and the Middle East will be held online Sunday, after restrictions and pressure from local politicians led to the physical event's cancellation.
Hizb ut Tahrir Canada announced on Instagram Saturday that it would hold the 2025 Khilafah Conference online with the opportunity to engage with speakers through a question and answer period.
Bnai Brith Canada responded to the move on Wednesday, demanding that Canada join 13 other states in banning them by listing them as a terrorist entity.
"Hizb ut-Tahrir openly rejects democracy, calls for the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate under Sharia law, glorifies terrorism, promotes hate, vilifies the LGBTQ+ community, and seeks to dismantle Canada's national sovereignty. It has been outlawed in countries across the world because of its dangerous and radical worldview," Bnai Brith Canada said on X. "Despite widespread opposition, Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada refuses to adhere to Canadian morals and values, proving that it believes it is above the law and beyond accountability."
"The Khilafah: Eliminating the Obstacles that are Delaying its Return" conference was set to be held in Mississauga on January 18, and then was moved to Hamilton. The mayors of both cities condemned the event, and threatened to remove permits for renting municipal facilities.
Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said ahead of the physical event that law enforcement agencies would monitor the event for violations of the law, and that his ministry was assessing if the group should be proscribed as a terrorist entity.
HT Canada announced the cancellation of the event on January 14, saying that the decision "was necessitated by circumstances that were beyond our reasonable control."
Advertisements and registration restored
Advertisements and registration links were removed from the Hizb ut Tahrir Canada website and social media, but new ones have since been published.
The original advertisements for the Khilafah conference highlighted the territory that HT wished to replace to establish the caliphate, including Spain, Greece, India, much of the Balkans, and the upper half of Africa. The new advertisements show a map, globe, but don't highlight the proposed caliphate.
In a draft constitution on its HT Canada's website, which explains how a Jizya tax will be leveled on non-Muslim Caliphate residents, it is also detailed that a caliphate would be obligated to continue a war against Israel until it would be destroyed, as all "Muslim land" had to be reclaimed.
"Islam requires that all of the Muslims fight against it, and so their armies must be sent to fight, and all those capable of fighting be gathered in the army, and for this to continue until the Jewish State is finished," read the proposed constitution.