An Islamic extremist conference organized by a group banned as a terrorist entity in several countries outside of Canada has relocated its event from Mississauga to Hamilton, Ont.
Hizb ut-Tahrir Canada has announced its conference on “eliminating the obstacles” to uniting a universal Islamic caliphate and overthrowing all other governments around the world said the event will now take place at an undisclosed Hamilton location.
The group, banned in the UK, Germany, India and China but not Canada, announced the location swap on social media following a hard stance against the event by Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish.
The intended location of the event is undisclosed at this time.
The conference caught the eye of tech CEO Elon Musk, who expressed disbelief that the event could occur in Canada.
The original video promoting the event scheduled for Jan. 18 was rife with a glorification of historical Islamic rule and domination, calling for a return to a theocratic caliphate. Other extremist and designated terrorist groups like ISIS have also declared the establishment of a worldwide caliphate as their ultimate goal.
Parrish released a statement saying the citizens of Mississauga were relieved that the extremist conference would not occur in her city.
“I’m pleased that the peaceful and respectful residents of Mississauga will not have to endure the fallout,” she said in a statement on X. “This very extreme group are moving on to another City for their Jan 18th conference. On behalf of all the peaceful and respectful residents of Mississauga, we are relieved.”
Hamilton’s mayor and former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath released a statement condemning the conference and pledging to refuse access to public spaces to “any group that engages in or promotes hatred.”
“if such actions are reported or reasonably suspected, permits will be denied or immediately revoked, and appropriate measures will be taken to address the situation,” she said. “There is absolutely no place in our city for individuals or groups spreading messages of division or intolerance.”
#HamOnt STATEMENT FROM MAYOR HORWATH – January 6, 2025
— Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) January 6, 2025
It has come to my attention that there is a planned event in Hamilton, which has raised significant concerns for me and our community.
Since learning of this event, I have been in direct communication with Hamilton Police… pic.twitter.com/BLRDBkh7rl
One of the members of the group posted a video to social media where he called on Muslims around the world to “overthrow” their governments globally to install a global Islamic caliphate.
Salman Sima, a refugee and survivor of torture from the Islamic Regime in Iran, told True North in an interview that it’s not enough for Hamilton to stop the conference from taking place on public property.
He said the conference represents a foreign interference and national security threat and is calling for a police investigation of those in the videos promoting a caliphate rule and their potential ties to terrorism.
“The organizer of this conference should be investigated, and if they are the agent of foreign interference in our democracy, they should be in jail,” he told True North. “This is a misogynistic, sexist conference. The idea of Khalifa is of Shariah. It’s really dangerous and has an anti-human rights agenda.”
Sima took to X to warn Canadians about what he views to be the stakes of allowing such a group to promote an Islamist caliphate in Canada.
“Want to know what Khilafah truly means? Look at ISIS, al-Qaeda and the Taliban,” he said on X. “The Islamists are bringing Khilafah to Canada. No one in the Canadian government cares, and any criticism is labelled as ‘Islamophobia.”’
“Wake up, Canada!”
