This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/958
Will UK authorities arrest followers is UK
August 11, 2005
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-------------------------------- http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,15935,1546050,00.html Radical cleric leaves, but his legacy remains Abu Uzair A civil engineering graduate who lives in north London, Abu Uzair is a former leading light of the extremist Islamic movement, al-Muhajiroun, which repeatedly praised the September 11 hijackers as "magnificent". After the disbandment of al-Muhajiroun, Abu Uzair - born Sajid Sharif - helped found the Saviour Sect, which this year staged a violent protest against the Respect party's George Galloway during hustings for the May general elections. In a Newsnight interview, Abu Uzair said the "covenant of security" which stopped British Muslims from attacking the UK because they were given safety here no longer existed. "We don't live in peace with you any more," he said. "The banner has been risen for jihad inside the UK, which means it's allowed for the bombers to attack." Asked if British citizens were targets, he said: "Yes, that's right," adding that he believed there were more cells in the UK. He refused to accept they were terrorist cells, preferring to call them "Muslim cells". He said: "I would never go to the police because I believe that spying on Muslims is never allowed. I am a British citizen but I am a Muslim first, a Muslim second and a Muslim last. Even if I am British, I don't follow the values of the UK - I follow the values of Islam." Anjem Choudray A 38-year-old solicitor from Ilford, Essex, Choudray joined al-Muhajiroun in the late 90s where he quickly established himself as Bakri's right-hand man, as well as a more media-friendly spokesman for the organisation. After the disbanding of al-Muhajiroun last year, he has frequently spoken in praise of Muslim terrorists. He called the 9/11 terrorists "magnificent martyrs" and in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme after the Tel Aviv suicide bombings in 2003 he appeared to endorse terrorist attacks by British Muslims, saying al-Muhajiroun would "encourage people to fulfil their Islamic duties and responsibilities". But he added that the group was a political movement and did not take responsibility for the actions of any individuals. Last March he said a terror attack in Britain was "just a matter of time" and after the London bombings he pointedly refused to condemn the atrocities. "Al-Qaida are not targeting people arbitrarily. There are specific targets," he said, adding: "The time for talking is over. You can't sit down and negotiate while you are murdering Muslims in Iraq." Since Bakri's departure to Lebanon, however, he has been at pains to distance himself from the cleric. But he told the Guardian yesterday that he still considered Bakri a "close friend" and "missed him already". Abu Izzadeen Abu Izzaddeen's real name is Omar Brooks. Now aged 30, he was born into a Christian family of Jamaican origin and grew up in Hackney, east London, converting to Islam when he was 17. He is believed to have become involved with Bakri in the late 90s at the Finsbury Park mosque. Abu Izzaddeen speaks fluent Arabic, although it is not known where he learned the language. He once boasted to a journalist of visiting terror camps in Pakistan, and, in 2001, he led demonstrations outside the Pakistani embassy in London supporting the 9/11 hijackers and condemning Pakistan's cooperation with the US's bombing of Aghanistan. On its website in June, his organisation, al-Ghurabaa, praised terrorism as "part of Islam", and said the responsibility for the London bombings rested not only with the perpetrators but also with the British government, the public and moderate British Muslim organisations. On Newsnight on August 2 Abu Izzaddeen said the explosions would make people "wake up and smell the coffee". Characterising suicide bombings as "martyrdom operations", he said: "I would never denounce the bombings, even if my own family was to suffer, because we always stand with the Muslims regardless of the consequences." An electrician by training, he lives in Edmonton, north London, with his wife and two young children |
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/958