The great first century scholar, Ayub as-Sakhtiyani (died 131H) said:

“Verily, the kharijites differ in their names, but are agreed upon the use of the sword.”¹

So by now it should be clear that these extremists are feigning to be the voice of mainstream Islam. In another sinister move, the al-Muhajiroun cult now claims (since 2008) to be Salafi. No doubt, this step is being used for two goals: Firstly, to malign the Salafi methodology and cause confusion amongst Muslims and non-Muslims who are reasonably well-informed that it is orthodox Salafism that has led the barrage of refutations against extremist Jihadist-Kharijite ideologies over the last few decades. Secondly, once they have caused sufficient discord and spread false information, they will simply abandon the Salafi label and take on another one as is their usual habit. So one should not be deceived by them for indeed changing the label of something does not change its reality as Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله (died 752H) stated, “Changing the names does not mean that the reality is changed.”² So something abhorrent does not become palatable just because we re-name it.

Since the nineties the cult of ‘Umar Bakri, Anjem Choudhury, Abu Izzadin Brooks and their followers have had numerous titles: Hizb ut-Tahrir, al-Muhajiroun, The Saved Sect (or, The Saviour Sect), al-Ghuraba, The London School of Shariah³, Shariah Court of the UK⁴, Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah (as of 2005), Islamic Thinkers Society (New York), and as of 2008: Salafi Youth Association, Salafi Media, Salafi Youth for Islamic Propagation and Islam4UK.

One should not be at all surprised if we see in years to come other manifestations of this deceptive methodology: maybe The Qadiyani Movement for Political Reform; or the Sufi Khilafah Party; or Jesus’ Army for the Establishment of the Islamic State, or the Khomeini Reformation Party⁵?

This affair is mentioned here to give the reader an idea of the means utilised by these sects to deceive the Muslim masses and throw confusion amongst non-Muslims; the purpose being that the extremist sect remains a ‘moving target’ that is difficult to pin down with a singular label, and that is why I have placed much emphasis in this work upon recognising their ideology rather than mere titles. Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله stated:

“And as is well-known these evils are joined with these realities, and
will not disappear through changing their names and outer forms.”⁶

The Prophets and Messengers that numbered a hundred and twenty four thousand were not sent for revolts and revolutions, nor were they deceptive and treacherous. Rather their goals were noble and pure: calling mankind to the worship of Allah alone, the Creator of the Heavens and earth.

The methodology of Ahlus-Sunnah⁷ is not and has never been cloaked with secrecy and deception; it is manifest, clear and apparent.

Footnotes
1 Al-I’tisam 1/113.
2 Miftah Daris-Sa’adah, p. 153; I’lam al-Muwaqqi’in, 3/130.
3 No address, no building and strangely, no students.
4 Location: unknown – yet Anjem Choudhury is the Judge of this unknown court.
5 When Ayatollah Khomeini gained rule in Iran by military coup, the leadership of Hizb at-Tahrir wrote him a letter lavishing praise upon him that would have even taken him aback. They sought to pledge allegiance and asked him to take on the leadership of the whole Ummah (See Nas Naqd Mashroo’ ad-Dustoor al-Iranee, p.3-4). This is the same Khomeini who cursed the Companions and specifically countersigned his approval of the supplication of invocation of curses upon the ‘two idols of Quraish’, referring to the Companions and Caliphs Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and ‘Umar bin al-Khattab and their two daughters, who were the wives of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. See Shi’ite authored book Tuhfatu ‘Awam Maqbool, p.5 and p.422.
6 Ighathatul-Luhfan of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, 1/353.
7 The term Ahlus-Sunnah is synonymous with the term Salafi.

Source: The Rise of Jihadist Extremism in the West, Salafi Publications, First Edition, pp.204-206.