Counter-terrorism and the repression of Islamic activism : Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain and Denmark

Abstract

This paper examines how practices of counter-terrorism (CT) have been perceived by legally-operating groups labelled ‘extremist’. Taking the cases of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain (HTB) and Hizb ut-Tahrir Scandinavia (HTS), the paper explores how two branches of the same Islamic activist organisation have experienced CT through interviews with party members and activists. Using existing models of repression, the paper maps how counter-terrorism is perceived by activist groups, revealing new information on Hizb ut-Tahrir and providing a framework for understanding the interaction of security with groups problematised as ‘extremist’ within a widening ‘securitised lens’. The paper finds that, whilst there are similarities in how CT has been articulated in Britain and Denmark, it has impacted on HTB and HTS differently, creating different strategies of response. In tracking these, we highlight the prominent role played by civil society actors in the UK in creating a hostile environment for Islamic activist groups. By using mechanistic models of repression, we conceptualise the impact of counter-terrorism and newer patterns of countering violent extremism (CVE) on contentious activist organisations at a moment when the so-called ‘risk’ of extremism is increasingly being conceptualised and responded to throughout Europe.