Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > Muslim Council of Britain finance chairman Iqbal Asaria and director Iqbal Sacranie directly linked to Al Qaeda

Muslim Council of Britain finance chairman Iqbal Asaria and director Iqbal Sacranie directly linked to Al Qaeda

July 17, 2005

MIM: Iqbal Asaria an economist with the Muslim Council of Britain,( directed by Iqbal Sacranie) published and distributed publications for the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights and MIRA - The Movement for Reform in Arabia.The US government has accused Saudi Al Fagih of providing Osama Bin Laden with a satellite phones used to perpetrate US embassy attacks in Africa .The CDLR's 'reform' means replacing the Saudi rulers with a Taliban regime. Al Fagih and the CDLR are now under investigation for their ties to the London suicide bombings. (see below)

Asaria Iqbal, the chairman of the finance and economics committee of the Muslim Council of Britain works for MIRA and the CDLR. He also runs the Webstar internet hosting service which is the UK equivalent of the now the defunct Hamas funded Infonet in the United States. Asaria hosts Al Qaeda websites called Ummah.org ,Jihad.org and Salam.org. Iqbal Asaria was instrumental in getting the HBSC banks to open a department for shari'a banking and is key player in the terrorist network in the UK .

. Which begs the question as to why the Muslim Council of Britain is being considered an ally in the war on terror when they so obviously aid and abet terrorism. The answer might lie in this report just issue by the UK secret service -which is basically a politically correct and suicidal denial of Muslim links to terrorism who declared that ;

""We need . . . to address the roots of the problem which include discrimination, disadvantage and exclusion."

The plan included giving Muslims a greater role in public life, new legal rights and schemes targeted to help them out of poverty. Religious anti-discrimination laws have since been introduced, as have special Islamic mortgages and government-backed accreditation schemes for imams.

However, when the bombs exploded last Thursday the first pillar of the government's terrorism plan collapsed. Officials are now wondering whether Operation Contest can be revived and what can be done to stop more young Muslims becoming the enemy within."

MIM: The answer to terrorism is to incarcerate terrorists and their supports - not knight them as was the case of Iqbal Sacranie. In 1996 Sacranie advocated the entry of Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists into Britain on to participate in a rally for Al Muhajiroun, whose leader Omar Bakri Mohammed who recently told his followers that "The convenant of security with the UK was ended and exhorted Muslims in Britain to join Al Qaeda and perpetrate suicide bombings 'on their own doorstep'.

Yesterday, Saad al-Fagih, a Saudi exile who has been implicated in the 1998 East African embassy bombings, denied a report that he ran the Al-Qalah website.

"It has nothing to do with me," he said from his home in Willesden, northwest London. "I condemn these attacks."

Al-Fagih, however, said he was in no doubt that Al-Qaeda was behind the bombings and claimed the perpetrators were either "indigenous" Muslims or foreigners who had been settled in Britain for some time.

"Thanks to the American invasion of Iraq, Al-Qaeda has no shortage of manpower," he said. "My sources tell me that 3,000 Saudis have joined the jihad in Iraq and are prepared to become suicide bombers anywhere in the world."

Al-Fagih, who runs an organisation called the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, has been accused by American prosecutors of providing Osama Bin Laden with a satellite phone to help co-ordinate the 1998 attacks on Kenya and Tanzania.

MIM: According to Al Fagih (who still has not been arrested) the terrorists should have targetted Italy instead.

"... targeting Italy would have generated a bigger impact because of the outpouring of emotion caused by the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence agent by U.S. soldiers in Iraq as he escorted a freed Italian hostage.

An attack on Italy would have put pressure on the government to withdraw troops from Iraq, much as last year's Madrid bombings led to the fall of Spain's conservative government and the departure of Spanish troops, Fagih said.

Fagih, who is under U.N. sanctions for alleged links to al-Qaida — links he denies — said he believed bin Laden knew that an attack on Britain would turn Muslims in Britain against al-Qaida. That's something he says bin Laden would have wanted to avoid..." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8545556/page/2/

MIM: Recently Al Fagih admitted that his website could 'inspire' people to fight in Iraq.

Last week the when Blair was on a visit to Saudi Arabia:

" Prince Turki said they touched on "cooperation in the fight against terrorism", but declined to say whether Saudi Arabia had sought the extradition of a dissident it accuses of involvement in an alleged Libyan plot to kill Abdullah.

London-based Saad al-Fagih denies any connection to militant groups, but his name was added in December -- at U.S. and British requests -- to a U.N. list of people suspected of links to Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef publicly questioned Britain's commitment to fighting terrorism in March as long as it gives "sanctuary" to Fagih.

The row could hurt trade relations just as Saudi Arabia, flush with record oil revenues, is unveiling billion dollar power and water projects and showing interest in potentially lucrative jet fighter purchases..."http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050702/325/fmjkf.html

MIM: The CDLR website has been shut down doubtless because of recent investigations into their connections to terrorism. The information below was taken from the site and shows that Muslim Council of Britain finance chairman Iqbal Asaria was actively involved with the activties of Saad Al Fagih's Movement Islamic Reform in Arabia and the CDLR. A few days before the terrorist attacks in London the Saudis directly protested to British Prime Minister Blair about what they called 'the British governments aiding of a terrorist'.

" Islamic cleric declared war on Britain six months ago"

"Officers may re-examine the activities of Mohammed al-Massari, a Saudi dissident, who has also lived in London since the 1990s. Dr al-Massari legally hosts a number of websites which, he admitted in a BBC Panorama interview on Sunday, could inspire young British Muslims to fight in Iraq. The sites included details on how to use a range of weaponry.

A third figure said to be promoting hardline views from Britain is Dr Saad al-Fagih, an Iraqi, who runs a series of websites used by Islamist groups around the world.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1690461,00.html

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www.cdlr.net/English/cdlrboard/index.php?s=15ddef57019e1505575fddaf69f9817a

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CDLR
The Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights
in Saudia Arabia
BM.Box : CDLR
London, WC1N 3XX
Tel : (+44)7 973-226-470
Fax :(+44) 20-8908-3164
E-Mail : [email protected]
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http://www.cdlr.net/English/cdlrboard/index.php?s

For further information please email us or contact us by post or telephone.

email: [email protected]

Address: BM Box: MIRA, London WC1N 3XX, UK.
Tel: (0181) 451 3244 Fax: (0181) 451

http://www.yaislah.org/englishnew.htm

MIM Iqbal Asaria as Al Qaeda webmaster of webstar - the UK equivalent of the brothers terror webprovider Infocom.

Title The Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA)

Publisher Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), London, GB

Distributor Asaria, Iqbal, [email protected], Harrow, Middlesex HA1 4LB, GB

Language English, Arabic

Country (Server) United Kingdom

Format of data text/html

Keywords MIRA; Saudi Arabia; politics; online articles; online publications; online documents; CDLR; opposition; organizations

Description The homepage of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), "MIRA seeks major reforms in Arabia; in particular, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the abolition of the Secret Police units subverting political movements and activity." The pages contain the information about aims, objectives and history of the movement, general information about Saudi Arabia, links to Saudi Arabia related online publications and web sites.

URL
http://www.miraserve.com

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Less then 6 weeks after 9/11 Iqbal Asaria met James Wolfensohn and the Archbishop of Canterbury for breakfast at the HM Treasury to discuss globalist concerns. Iqbal expressed concern that post 9/11 security priorities might conflict with aid programs.

Meeting at HM Treasury

http://www.mcb.org.uk/mcbnewsletter3.html

Iqbal Asaria, Chair of the Business and Economics Committee attended a Breakfast Seminar at 11 Downing Street on Tuesday November 13th. Other parties invited to the seminar were non-governmental organisations, faith groups, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey and the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn.

The seminar, called by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for International Development, Rt. Hon. Clare Short, was organised to discuss the need to revive 2015 targets of reducing world poverty and the need to increase aid budgets with a renewal of the commitment of 0.7% of GDP. The participation of faith and other groups in the developmental process was also discussed and approved

Iqbal Asaria raised his concerns over the credibility of achieving the 2015 targets given current practices. He argued that reducing poverty was contingent on good governance a factor that may be overridden by security concerns in an anxious post-September 11th world.

Other matters discussed included Chancellor Gordon Brown raising the possibility of the MCB Business and Economics committee taking some initiative on social exclusion and the postponed launch of the MCB/ DFID booklet being reinvigorated; tentative date is after Ramadhan.

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/248

Iqbal Sacranie - slated speaker who is head of the UK's 'CAIR' championed Al Muhajiroun rally & Bin Laden entry into Britain
April 27, 2005

Islamophobia in Action

MIM: Slated Islamophobia conference speaker Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain and his lackey Inayat Bungawala are confronted by a gang of fellow radical Islamists at the Regents Park Mosque .

MIM:The fear Sacranie showed when he was assailed by his disgruntled 'brothers in arms' from Al Muhajiroun was in sharp contrast to the bravado he displayed in hailing Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa ordering the murder of fellow Muslim Salman Rushdie, declaring that ; "death perhaps is too easy for him...his mind must be tormented for the rest of his life unless he begs forgiveness from the Almighty Allah ". ( Guardian 1998)

MIM:In 1996 Iqbal Sacranie who was then a spokesman for the U.K. Committee on Islamic Affairs pushed for the entry of Bin Laden and other terrorists into the UK on the grounds that "they were Muslim scholars". He also threatened leaders of the UK Jewish Community who were attempting to get Al Muhajiroun's Rally for Revival cancelled.

"Muslim News (30.08.96) saw the Jewish Board of Deputies' representations to the government demanding that it stop the rally as being part of a wider context of anti-Muslim actions. This article quotes Iqbal Sacranie, spokesman for the UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs: "The Board of Deputies of British Jews should seriously consider what action they take on this matter because of the detrimental effect on community relations which could result. Taking a hostile view towards scholars who wish to come to this country to present their points of view at a conference will not serve good community relations..." The Jewish Chronicle (30.08.96)

"The Board of Deputies of British Jews asked the Home Secretary to deny entry to Britain for the rally to many of those invited, (to the AM Rally for Revival),particularly speakers from Palestine and Lebanon and all members and suspected members of Hamas and Hizbullah.

"...The Board of Deputies called for their exclusion on the grounds that their presence would be "contrary to the public good" (Jewish Chronicle, 09.08.96, Time Out, 14.08.96). Well-known speakers who were invited included: Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi national who has funded one of the groups in the Afghanistan conflict; Sheikh Muhammad Fadhlallah, of the Lebanese Hizbullah; and the Saudi dissident, Dr Al-Mas'ari. Some speakers, who would have been unable to attend in person due to reasons beyond their control, would have sent films of their speeches. These included: Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, jailed for conspiracy to bomb the World Trade Centre in New York; Sheikh Obeid, who was abducted in 1989 from Lebanon and has been held since without trial in Israel; and imprisoned members of the FIS in Algeria ..."(Q-News, 02.08.96, Sunday Times, 18.08.96)

http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/bmms/1996/08August96.html#Rally%20for%20Revival

MIM: Iqbal Sacranie director of the Muslim Council of Britain who was recently knighted by the Queen explains why Muslims cannot be expected to reject terrorism.

"...There is no such thing as an Islamic terrorist. This is deeply offensive..."
http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/000988.html

MIM: A reader in the UK expounded:

"...The logic is this: if it is a terrorist act, the perpetrator cannot be a true Muslim; if the perpetrator is a true Muslim, it cannot be a terrorist act. Thus redefined, Islam can pose as a religion of peace but support violent jihad (not "terrorism") against its opponents..." http://www.melaniephillips.com/diary/archives/000989.html

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MIM: Iqbal Sacranie's seems to have been striken with a bout of amnesia aka post Islamist Stress Disorder and wrote on July 12th that "those who carried out these attacks, and whatever faith they claim to profess are enemies of all of us".

His grandiose pronouncement last week that the Muslim community would issue a fatwa "if the perpetrators turned out to be Muslim" after Al Qaeda (a group he is linked with) has now been spun into an appeal to the authorities "to find the perpetrators".

Sacranie and the Muslim community 'lucked out' it seems, since the perpetrators are dead, there won't be any need for the Muslim community to pretend they are looking for them, and they can breathe a collective sigh of relief that the fatwa takiyaa exercise won't be needed either.

"....If these bombers are found to be Muslims, we will make it clear we utterly dissociate ourselves from them - even if they claim to be Muslims or are acting under the mantle of the Islamic faith. We reject that utterly," said the official spokesman of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB)..." 7/10/ 05 http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-07/10/article03.shtml

Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain, wrote to the imams of the country's 1,200 mosques to denounce the bombings and to urge Muslims to assist the authorities. "Let us be absolutely clear: those who planned and carried out these heartless attacks – whoever they are and whatever faith they may claim to profess – are surely the enemies of us all," Sir Iqbal wrote. July 12th 2005 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1690516,00.html

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=16852
The Dark Side of the Muslim Council of Britain By Chris Blackburn Frontpage Magazine January

On January 27, citizens of the world observed Holocaust Remembrance. In Britain, an official commemoration took place in London's Westminster Hall, bringing together religious and political leaders from around the country. Prime Minister Tony Blair attended, along with Queen Elizabeth. The only hitch was an inflammatory political statement issued by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the UK's largest Muslim organization.

MCB Secretary General Iqbal Sacranie boycotted the Westminster event, which he accused of neglecting the "ongoing genocide and human rights abuses around the world and in the occupied territories of Palestine." Sacranie's statement was swiftly condemned by the British press and its political community. Khalid Mahmood, a Muslim Labour MP, termed the boycott as "a mistake." To avert a public-relations disaster, Sacranie backtracked and called reports of the MCB's boycott "misleading and distorted."[1].

Sacranie's decision to boycott the Holocaust memorial tainted his character -- but it was not the first indication of the MCB leader's unsavory politics. Sacranie has links to Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin, an alleged war criminal and MCB associate.

Chowdhury Mueen-Uddin is believed to have been instrumental in plotting the assassinations of intellectuals, journalists and students during the 1971 Liberation War in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). A documentary aired in the UK ten years ago highlighted Mueen-Uddin's alleged role in the murder of Dr. M.H Choudhaury, a professor at the University of Dhaka, and Najmul Huq, a journalist. The program, The War Crimes File, includes eyewitness accounts linking Mueen-Uddin to the deaths of these men. Assisting in the assassinations was the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), a fundamentalist group is prominent in Southeast Asia.[2]

The JI is allied with both Saudi Wahhabism and Pakistan's fundamentalist Deobandi sect. During the 1971 Liberation War, the JI helped to form death squads with the Pakistani Army to execute those who opposed Islamist rule. Human rights groups in Bangladesh are still trying to bring the accused murderers to trial.[3]

More direct than Mueen-Uddin's ties to JI is his relationship with the Islamic Foundation. He is deputy director of the Leicester, UK-based group, which acts as the UK headquarters of the Pakistani JI.[4] In fact, the Founation's first Director General was Khurshid Ahmed, who had been a leader in the JI. In Pakistan, JI leaders government of aiding the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on America, was captured in the home of a JI leader.[5]

Sacranie's connection to Islamist radicals raises serious questions about the MCB leader's legitimacy as a spokesman for British Muslims. As the largest Muslim organization in the UK, the MCB acts as an umbrella for smaller groups. The MCB today presents itself as a credible source for human rights work; politicians consult with the group to formulate or review British government policy. To truly improve the lot of British Muslims, however, the organization must demonstrate its willingness to work with other religious and political groups. Iqbal Sacranie must be replaced with a moderate Secretary General, or the MCB will be forever tarnished as an appeaser of terrorism and genocide.

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Domain registration for Jihad an Ummah.org list Iqbal Asaria as the administrator.

Iqbal Asaria also ran an Islamic computing center.

He is also the webmaster of Yusuf Islam's Muslim Aid which was linked by Spanish police to Al Qaeda.

The Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London IIPT is also run by Asaria and it is connected to the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Virginia which is the sister organisation of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists.

The Association of Muslim Social Scientists has a sister organistion by the same name in the UK.

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