Press Release

Countering Violent Extremism: A Campaign to Push Muslims to Endorse Secular Liberal Values

The Government has launched a task force to counter violent extremism. The team including all Principal Secretaries and the Office of the Inspector General is aimed at using its different mandates and capabilities to prevent and counter violent extremism as part of a cohesive national campaign for the sake of peace, development and national cohesion. Government spokesman Eric Kiraithe said Kenya has initiated a cross-cutting multi-agency national campaign to protect Democracy, cohesion and development from the dangerous threats of ideologically-driven extremist radicalization, recruitment and attack.

In this regard we Hizb ut Tahrir / Kenya wish to highlight the following:-

This task force is taking place under the National Strategy to Counter Violent Extremism, which was launched by the President September 2016. It is indeed a part of a global massive campaign led by the US to attack Islam intellectually and politically. On February this year, the Trump administration has put it frankly that the program which is known as "Countering Violent Extremism," or CVE, "Countering Islamic Extremism" or "Countering Radical Islamic Extremism," is solely focusing on Islam. Since the US is hardly imposing its liberal new world order it declared after the collapse of communism in 1991, it is not strange for Kenya and other third world countries to endorse such conspiracy narration.

The campaign is geared to challenge Islam and Islamic practice within the Muslim community in Kenya and the world at large. The narration is to continue radicalization of the Non-Muslim against Islam and at the same time to instigate fear amongst Muslim community of not upholding Islamic values as revealed to the noble Prophet (saw); instead they adopt secular liberal values.

It is worth mentioning the term ‘extremism’ or ‘radicalism’ is defined so broadly it can be used arbitrarily; creating hysteria that allows a Government to pursue almost unpopular policy they wish like instituting police-state measures against Muslims and force them to change their beliefs and views.

Since it is now open to the whole world the failure of Capitalism economically, politically and socially, the US is now working hardly to prevent a profound alternative that is Islam which is highly capable to solve political and socio-economic problems facing the world today. Muslim Community should raise and call for Islam in a profound method of intellectual and political non–violent to illustrate that Islam is a comprehensive guide to humanity.

Shabani Mwalimu

Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Kenya