Radical Islamist Group Goes Offline After Australia Passes New Hate Speech Laws

The Australian wing of fundamentalist Pan-Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir has gone offline in the wake of the federal government’s recently passed hate speech laws.

Hizb ut-Tehrir’s website—which had included videos, media statements and general information—now displays a, “This website is not available,” message.

The group advocates for a global Islamic government, and is banned in several Muslim-majority nations like Indonesia and Pakistan, as well as in Germany and the UK.

Hate Laws Targeting Extremist Organisations

Speaking in a recalled federal parliament on Jan. 20, Attorney-General Michelle said the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026 would crack down on groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the neo-Nazi organisation the National Socialist Network.

Part 4 of the legislation establishes a new regime for listing prohibited hate groups who engage in, prepare for, assist or advocate for hate crimes relating to race or ethnic origin.

Ministers say the previous difficulty with restricting hate groups was earlier laws only allowed action against those that directly engaged in terror activities.

“This regime is designed to address a real gap in Australia’s national security framework,” Rowland stated.

“Groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir glorify terrorism and act as incubators for Islamic extremist radicalisation yet have not met the threshold required for terrorist listing.

“That gap has also been exploited by neo-Nazi organisations, allowing them to operate openly, to recruit and fundraise and to radicalise supporters, while remaining technically lawful.”

Rowland says the new section of the law would address this issue.

“While Hizb ut-Tahrir has sought to portray itself as a non-violent ideological movement, its record demonstrates a very different reality,” she said.

“That includes consistent promotion of anti-Semitic hatred, public praise for the October 7 attacks, and a well-documented role in acting as a conveyor belt to terrorism worldwide, with former adherents or supporters progressing into terrorist organisations.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned or restricted in multiple jurisdictions, including being terrorist-listed in the UK.”

Liberal MP Leon Rebello also criticised the group’s actions.

“Radical Islamic extremist groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir have long operated as conveyor belts to extremism, and internationally they’re banned or restricted,” he said.

“In Australia they’ve operated without consequence and have fuelled anti-Semitism.”

Group Penned Open Letter

The remarks and subsequent disappearance of Hizb ut-Tahrir online comes after it penned an open letter to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess.

The group claimed he was engaging in “propaganda pandering” against Muslims and denied it had made comments that could endanger Jewish people.

Burgess publicly named Hizb ut-Tahrir as a security threat and likened it to the National Socialist Network—which has now disbanded and likely gone underground in the wake of the new hate speech laws.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir wants to test and stretch the boundaries of legality without breaking them,” Burgess said.

About Hizb ut-Tahrir

Hizb ut‑Tahrir is a splinter group from the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1953 by Taqiuddin al‑Nabhani, who considered the Brotherhood too moderate and accommodating of the West.

Like the Brotherhood, it seeks a borderless global Islamic caliphate, and is staunchly against Western concepts like democracy, human rights, and national borders.

Its ideology is influenced by Marxist theorist Sayyid Qutb, who reframed “jihad” to justify violent actions, diverging from mainstream Islamic interpretations of the term as spiritual or moral struggle.

The Australian chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir became active around the early 1990s.