California Islamic Leader Under FBI Scrutiny

(Garden Grove, California) A grocer, who leads a lesser-known radical Islamic group, is being seriously looked at by the FBI. He is Iyad K. Hilal, Islamic author, philosopher, and leader of the extreme group Hizb ut-Tahrir in the U.S.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Hizb ut-Tahrir, which means Party of Liberation, has been banned in parts of Europe and the Middle East. After the July 7 bombings in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair proposed banning the group there.

It advocates a return to the days when all Muslims were governed by a religious leader known as the caliph.

The Orange County businessman is apparently not suspected of any terrorist acts, but local FBI terrorism investigators have launched an inquiry into the activities of him and his group. An FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, Cathy Viray, declined to call it an investigation but confirmed that "we're looking into the matter." She declined to comment further.

Southern California Muslims who know Hilal, 56, said he was an Islamic scholar whose writings argued that the religion was incompatible with democracy.

Hilal seeks a caliphate state and he directs his anti-democratic teachings primarily to university students. While claiming to be non-violent, Hizb ut-Tahrir has strong ties to former leader Bakri Mohammed, the Syrian who praised the terrorists responsible for the 9-11 and London attacks. It's also believed that the members of Hizb ut-Tahrir are a politically-sensitized pool of individuals from which al-Qaeda frequently recruits.

FBI agents seem to have adequate justification to be checking on Iyad K. Hilal and Hizb ut-Tahrir. I would be troubled if they didn't.