JAKARTA, Aug 12 (Reuters) About 80,000 people gathered in the Indonesian capital today for a conference hosted by a radical international Muslim group, Hizbut Tahrir.
Hizbut Tahrir said the gathering was aimed at strengthening Muslims' commitment to revive the Caliphate, a single Muslim government across the Islamic world, through peaceful means.
The group hired the 80,000-capacity Bung Karno Stadium in the heart of Jakarta for the International Caliphate Conference.
''After the destruction of the Caliphate, tragedy after tragedy has descended on the Muslim world,'' said Ismail Yusanto, the spokesman of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, at the meeting opening.
''Our nation has been divided into 50 and the infidel colonialists picked rulers in each of these countries,'' he said.
Hizbut Tahrir, founded in Jerusalem in 1953, is banned in several Arab and Central Asian countries but its Indonesian branch has grown rapidly in recent years.
It has denied allegations of anti-semitism and links to violent Islamic militants, which have been cited by some in Britain as reasons why the group should be banned.
Several mainstream Indonesian Muslim leaders were invited to speak at the conference, including popular and moderate preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar.
But Hizbut Tahrir said two of its foreign activists asked to speak had been barred from entering the country by the Indonesian government.
They are Imran Waheed, a spokesman for Hizbut Tahrir Britain, and Ismail Al Wahwah of the group's Australian branch.
''Hizb ut-Tahrir has spearheaded a crucial debate on the future for the Muslim world -- an alternative to corruption and dictatorship,'' Abdul Wahid, Hizbut Tahrir chairman in Britain, said in a statement.
''We hear endless rhetoric about a battle of ideas but the only actions we see are bans, smears and an attempt to silence debate,'' he said.
REUTERS SW KP1254
Hizbut Tahrir said the gathering was aimed at strengthening Muslims' commitment to revive the Caliphate, a single Muslim government across the Islamic world, through peaceful means.
The group hired the 80,000-capacity Bung Karno Stadium in the heart of Jakarta for the International Caliphate Conference.
''After the destruction of the Caliphate, tragedy after tragedy has descended on the Muslim world,'' said Ismail Yusanto, the spokesman of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, at the meeting opening.
''Our nation has been divided into 50 and the infidel colonialists picked rulers in each of these countries,'' he said.
Hizbut Tahrir, founded in Jerusalem in 1953, is banned in several Arab and Central Asian countries but its Indonesian branch has grown rapidly in recent years.
It has denied allegations of anti-semitism and links to violent Islamic militants, which have been cited by some in Britain as reasons why the group should be banned.
Several mainstream Indonesian Muslim leaders were invited to speak at the conference, including popular and moderate preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar.
But Hizbut Tahrir said two of its foreign activists asked to speak had been barred from entering the country by the Indonesian government.
They are Imran Waheed, a spokesman for Hizbut Tahrir Britain, and Ismail Al Wahwah of the group's Australian branch.
''Hizb ut-Tahrir has spearheaded a crucial debate on the future for the Muslim world -- an alternative to corruption and dictatorship,'' Abdul Wahid, Hizbut Tahrir chairman in Britain, said in a statement.
''We hear endless rhetoric about a battle of ideas but the only actions we see are bans, smears and an attempt to silence debate,'' he said.
REUTERS SW KP1254
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