Caliphate Conference Finds New Venue at Last Minute

Though our efforts compelled the Meadows Club to back out of hosting Hizb ut-Tahrir’s anti-American, anti-democracy Khilafah Conference, the group had just enough time to find another venue. On Saturday night, just hours before the event, the Chicago Daily Herald reported that the Lexington House of Hickory Hills, Illinois, had agreed to host Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Hizb ut-Tahrir tried to stream the event online from noon to 4 PM on Sunday, June 17, along with a post-event press conference. The streaming was sporadic and had very poor audio, so at about 1:30 I called the Lexington House and asked to speak to the manager. The woman who answered confirmed that it was hosting the conference and I asked if she was aware of what Hizb ut-Tahrir is. She said that the event was booked about a week ago under a person’s name and she only learned about the group yesterday. When I asked what she thought of Hizb ut-Tahrir, she said "no comment” and hung up.

I called back, thinking that my cell phone signal may have dropped. "No. I hung up on you. I don’t have anything else to say,” she said as she again hung up on me.

At around 2 PM, I sent the Lexington House an email with a link to our article about HUT, offering one more chance for a comment and, if they wanted to, an apology or explanation. I have not heard back thus far.

Another person who called the Lexington House said the same thing happened. The woman confirmed she was the one who agreed to host the extremist group and hung up after saying, "No, I am not concerned and no, I will not talk to you anymore.” (...)