Press Release
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain Response to Times Newspaper Questions about LGBT

A Times newspaper journalist, Mr Neil Johnston, contacted the media representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain before publishing an article about how Muslims view LGBT. Among the many questions asked was the assertion that “Hizb ut-Tahrir are calling on parents to withdraw their children from curriculum where LGBT values are promoted.”

In fact, Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain widely distributed a leaflet after Friday Jummah prayers today, in which we state: “However, simply withdrawing children from a class does not counter the effect of values in society – values that encourage more fahisha and munkar and have harmful effects across society.

Muslim community organisations, leaders, activists – and parents – have a duty to counter these corrupt ideas through:

● Debunking the false arguments that are used to justify liberal sexual behaviour. This will encourage children to think more critically about the material they are force-fed in schools.

● Illustrating some of the many societal harms that stem from these values – such as those cited above.

● Upholding, explaining and offering Islam’s approach to family, intimate relationships and society’s values, such that all people can see there is a better alternative – which requires educating our community on how the Islamic social system functions at both the government and personal level.”
http://www.hizb.org.uk/viewpoint/lgbt-lessons-sexualisation-can-only-harm-children-not-help-them/

Mr Johnston also asked, “Many would say some of the language used is homophobic or offensive. Are you not concerned that your lecturers could be regarded as inflammatory and potentially encourage children not to tolerate others from different communities?”

We do not support vigilante violence or abuse of any people who engage in acts that go against the Islamic values. Our response to those who promote the LGBT agenda is to question its intellectual basis. We call upon people to debate with the Muslim community the foundation and the fruits of the secular liberal beliefs and values that are being forced upon us today. Furthermore, we encourage all people to use appropriate intellectual language and arguments, not resorting to crass insults which do not further the debate.

When schools take it upon themselves to actively promote the LGBT lifestyle among children and label any opposing views as intolerance, then clearly no debate is happening. In fact one has to question, are such young children capable of evaluating the arguments presented, or are they simply having liberalism forced upon them without any real informed choice? This is naturally of great concern to Muslim parents who do not view the increasing hyper-sexualisation of children as being healthy, as we would hope it is of concern to most parents, were they are given the choice to actually debate such issues and the values upon which they are founded. It has become painfully obvious that the British government, ardent liberalists and the mainstream media cannot tolerate debate about secular liberal beliefs and values. Islam on the other hand, encourages honest questioning and mature debate, even about its most core beliefs and values.

Mr Johnston, your own questions and your newspaper’s track record seriously bring into question whether you are interested in evaluating the secular liberal way of life and its fruits; desirable and undesirable, or whether you are part of a propaganda machine that only cares to shutdown any potential debate, lest the Islamic values win some support due to their solid intellectual basis. It is our contention that secularism has no intellectual foundation, so its ardent defenders have to rely upon deliberately avoiding debate, lest this reality become exposed.

We feel that much of the government comment and mainstream journalistic output today about Muslims is akin to bullying the Muslim community into adopting more and more secular liberal values, especially as they have no intellectual manner to convince us to resort to bullying!

Yahya Nisbet
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain