A controversial pro-caliphate organization is holding another event in Ontario this weekend.

“Join us to discuss the strength of the ummah,” reads an invitation to an event hosted by Hizb-ut Tahrir Canada in Mississauga on Saturday. “Ummah” is typically used to denote Muslims around the world.

The goal of Hizb-ut Tahrir, which was founded in the 1950s, is to unify all Muslims and Muslim countries into a large caliphate. It’s banned to varying degrees in many countries around the world, ranging from Germany, France, Russia and most Arab countries. The causes of the bans range from alleged participation in terrorist activities to racism and anti-Semitism. In Canada and the United States it faces no bans or allegations of illegal behaviour. However, previous conferences in the US have been canceled due to controversy and public outcry.

The title of Saturday’s event is “Pillars of the Khilafah [caliphate] state”, with the invitation depicting those pillars as resources, population, industry and military.

The Sun reported in January that the Canadian branch of the group hosted a similar event last November at a Mohawk College facility in Hamilton.

Mazin Abdul-Adhim, a prominent figure in the organization, gave a speech describing sharia as “the best system that exists on Earth.” He argued: “We’ve been sitting and not really doing very much for the application of Islam in society ... We’re required to call for something — the full implementation of Islam — we’re not allowed to call for anything else or compromise in any other way.”

The college was unaware of the nature of the event when the space was booked but later told media the group is no longer allowed to host events there.

In a press release in January, Hizb ut-Tahrir stressed that it is a political party “that works with the global Muslim community to resume the Islamic way of life by re-establishing the Khilafah (Caliphate) in the Muslim lands, and this work is achieved through intellectual and political means alone.

“Hizb ut-Tahrir considers it impermissible (sinful/Haram) to use violence as part of this work, as the Shari’ah (Islamic Law) forbids it. Furthermore, Hizb ut-Tahrir does not promote hate speech, rather the efforts of the Hizb revolve entirely around creating awareness of the Islamic systems and how they correctly solve mankind’s problems, and disagreements are respectfully addressed through discussions and sincere debates in an intellectual manner,” the group stated.

A representative from Swagat Banquet Hall in Mississauga, where the event is taking place on Saturday, declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the Sun.