Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia has criticized a recent lecture, claiming it was more about pushing specific agendas than presenting factual information. “This lecture was never about presenting facts but about advancing agendas,” the group stated.

The organization further asserted, “Staying within the law is not circumventing the law, it is the law,” emphasizing their commitment to legal boundaries.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is a controversial political group with aspirations of establishing a global Islamic caliphate. The organization, which has its headquarters in Lebanon, operates branches worldwide.

Notably, Hizb ut-Tahrir has faced bans in several countries, including Germany, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and various nations in Central Asia and the Arab world.

A proposed bill aims to redefine what constitutes a hate organization, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke indicating that both Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network would fall under this new classification.

“For a while, they have created a pathway for others to engage in violence, but have been careful to not explicitly call for it themselves,” he said on Monday.

“They’ve kept themselves just below that threshold.”

Parliament will debate the bill on Monday and Tuesday, with the Coalition poised to oppose the laws. 

He said there was no way to avoid being banned if what he described as “some of the most draconian laws the West has ever seen” passed. 

Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia said it would review the final legislation and may challenge any listing in court, signalling it would not disband ahead of the proposed rules.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir is based on an Islamic political worldview,” lawyer Zaid Hamdan El Madi, who is acting on the group’s behalf, told The Guardian.

“Unless the government is proposing to ban Islamic ideas, it cannot ban the ideas of Hizb ut-Tahrir.”