* Founded in Jerusalem in 1953 with aim of establishing the Caliphate, an Islamic superstate, by revolutionary means
* View on western life: "We should not become integrated into the corrupt western society and accept their diseased notions of democracy, freedom and capitalism"
* Banned in Germany under the country's strict laws against anti-Semitism, and in Russia, and in most of the 40 countries where it operates
* UK arm set up in 1980s by Farid Kassim, Omar Bakri and the Bin Laden-linked Saudi dissident Muhammed al-Masri
* Bakri later broke away to form the more overtly violent al-Muhajiroun
* Now led by a 28-year-old, British-born Indian and IT specialist, Jalaluddin Patel
* Organised in 2002 the largest Muslim conference in the UK, "British or Muslim", which attracted 10,000 people to Wembley Arena
* Three British members were sentenced to five years in jail in Egypt in 2004
* British members have founded the hip-hop group Blakstone and the Muslim lifestyle magazine Salam
* Members work in the education system, the NHS and firms like IBM, Reuters and Tesco
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