Founder hailed 7/7 gang

HIZB ut-Tahrir, which means ‘party of liberation’, was established in Jerusalem in 1953 with the aim of turning countries with a majority Muslim population into an Islamic state.

In the West it urges followers to follow the word of the Koran literally, but claims not to wish to overthrow the Government or commit violence in nations such as Britain.

The UK branch was founded in 1986 with the help of Omar Bakri Muhammad, later known as the ‘Tottenham Ayatollah’, who called the London 7/7 bombers the ‘fantastic four’. He was later expelled.

Asif Hanif and Omar Sharif, considered Britain’s first suicide bombers after a 2003 attack in Tel Aviv, are said to have contact with the group.

Last year the National Union of Students banned Hizb utTahrir from university campuses, saying it sought ‘to threaten, demonise and attack the lives of students’.