This just in from the British dhimmis who are paving the way for the Islamic Republic of Britain: "Met backs off over Muslim protests," from the Telegraph,
No criminal offences were committed in a Muslim protest over the Pope outside Westminster Cathedral, police have decided.
The Metropolitan Police has also decided not to take action against the controversial Muslim figure, Anjem Choudary, who allegedly said in a television interview about the row over the Pope that anyone who insulted the Muslim faith would be "subject to capital punishment".
Police received about 25 complaints from members of the public about the protest, which was said to have left worshippers attending the cathedral on September 17 feeling "upset" and "intimidated"....
However, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, told a meeting of his force's police authority yesterday that, after reviewing the evidence, Scotland Yard officers had concluded that "no substantive offences" were committed during the cathedral demonstration.
Sir Ian said that the cathedral authorities had expressed satisfaction with the policing of the event and added: "We are in an angry time and it is our job in the Met to hold the line on free speech."
David Davies, the shadow home secretary, who called for action to be taken against Mr Choudary, said: "It is quite disgraceful. It sends out a message to Muslim extremists that we, as a country, do not have the moral courage to stand up to them."
take a look and judge yourself.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Three wives for Abu
Mystery this morning over the tabloid revelation that Abu Izzadeen, last week's extremist heckler and guest on the BBC's Today programme, is looking for more wives.
First London's Evening Standard and then The Daily Mail and The Sun have run stories based on a personal ad placed on the Muslim dating and matchmaking website, Muslim Intro, in which a man by the name of Abu Izzadeen, apparently bearded, apparently from East London, and apparently highly ideological is looking for a second, third or fourth wife.
In the profile, which was picked up last week by right wing bloggers looking for more information about Abu Izzadeen, the preacher and troublemaker (above) says he is "the life of the party", wants nine children and is a regular al-Jazeera watcher. The title of the posting? "The Best Enjoyment of This World is A Pious Woman".
If authentic, the posting seems too good to be true. The man thought to be the leader of The Saved Sect, also known as the Saviour Sect, a successor to the proscribed extremist group, al Muhajiroun, says he is "Passionate, Bold, Protective, Witty, Sensitive" and has hazel coloured eyes.
Earlier this year, The Times reported a series of lectures given by Abu Izzadeen, once known as Trevor Brooks, calling for a war to bring Britain under Sharia, Islamic law. He declared: "all Jews and Christians are going to hell fire". But in his profile, he draws attention to his muscular frame and ample facial hair — assuring prospective wives "my beard doesnt grow beyound a certian limit so its not really long" (sic).
Unfortunately it doesn't look like we are going to find out whether the posting was genuine. We note that "Abu Izzadeen" gives his date of birth as April 1st, but then it appears that the ad was created on September 10, well before the preacher's latest brush with fame.
Samson Cooper, the webmaster of Muslim Intro, told us he had no information about the account and that the posting was deleted yesterday, at around noon, to be replaced by its current coy message, which tells us "the user has chosen to make the profile unavailable (may he/she is shy!)"
Monday, September 25, 2006
Woman facing two terror charges
A woman has been charged with two terror offences, according to Greater Manchester Police.
Mehreen Haji, 25, of Elmfield Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, was held following a raid by anti-terror police in Radcliffe, Bury, on 19 September.
She has been accused of two counts of entering into funding arrangements for the purposes of terrorism.
The terror suspect will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London on Tuesday.
The woman was the fourth person to be arrested by the force's Anti-Terrorist Unit in the last month.
Her arrest is not thought to be linked to the alleged terror plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
why will the bbc not call them muslims.
Mehreen Haji, 25, of Elmfield Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, was held following a raid by anti-terror police in Radcliffe, Bury, on 19 September.
She has been accused of two counts of entering into funding arrangements for the purposes of terrorism.
The terror suspect will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London on Tuesday.
The woman was the fourth person to be arrested by the force's Anti-Terrorist Unit in the last month.
Her arrest is not thought to be linked to the alleged terror plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
why will the bbc not call them muslims.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Preachers of hate
After the July 7 attacks Tony Blair and Charles Clarke, then the Home Secretary, promised to remove extremist clerics from Britain. But more than a year later, many "preachers of hate" remain in the country with no apparent action taken against them. They include:
ANJEM CHOUDARY is the leader of al-Ghurabaa, which was formed from the remnants of al-Muhajiroun and banned along with the Saved Sect. Mr Choudary, 39, organised the protests outside the Danish Embassy against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. He was arrested during the march and, in July, fined £500 for failing to give police the required six days notice of the demonstration. He is being investigated in connection with last Sunday’s protests outside Westminster Cathedral over the Pope’s comments about Islam.
ABU UZAIR is a British-born civil engineering graduate and co-founder of the Saved Sect. He has repeatedly praised the September 11 hijackers as "brave warriors". After the July 7 bombings in London he said: "The banner has been risen for jihad in the UK which means it is allowed for [suicide bombers] to attack."
AZZAM TAMIMI, a Palestinian-born academic based in Britain, advocated martyrdom when addressing an Islamic convention in Manchester. He told the 8,000-strong audience that dying for one’s beliefs was just, adding: "Martyrs are those who stand up in defiance of George Bush and Tony Blair." He has said that he would be prepared to be a suicide bomber in Israel.
ABU MUWAHHID is said to be a disciple of Omar Bakri Mohammad. He praised Osama bin Laden and called for all sinners to be killed in video broadcasts in July: "Capture them and besiege them and prepare an ambush from every angle." He mocked the victims of 9/11 and called for a Muslim state in Britain with a "black flag" over Downing Street.
ANJEM CHOUDARY is the leader of al-Ghurabaa, which was formed from the remnants of al-Muhajiroun and banned along with the Saved Sect. Mr Choudary, 39, organised the protests outside the Danish Embassy against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. He was arrested during the march and, in July, fined £500 for failing to give police the required six days notice of the demonstration. He is being investigated in connection with last Sunday’s protests outside Westminster Cathedral over the Pope’s comments about Islam.
ABU UZAIR is a British-born civil engineering graduate and co-founder of the Saved Sect. He has repeatedly praised the September 11 hijackers as "brave warriors". After the July 7 bombings in London he said: "The banner has been risen for jihad in the UK which means it is allowed for [suicide bombers] to attack."
AZZAM TAMIMI, a Palestinian-born academic based in Britain, advocated martyrdom when addressing an Islamic convention in Manchester. He told the 8,000-strong audience that dying for one’s beliefs was just, adding: "Martyrs are those who stand up in defiance of George Bush and Tony Blair." He has said that he would be prepared to be a suicide bomber in Israel.
ABU MUWAHHID is said to be a disciple of Omar Bakri Mohammad. He praised Osama bin Laden and called for all sinners to be killed in video broadcasts in July: "Capture them and besiege them and prepare an ambush from every angle." He mocked the victims of 9/11 and called for a Muslim state in Britain with a "black flag" over Downing Street.
Police to brief Muslims before terror raids
POLICE have agreed to consult a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist raids or arrests. Members of the panel will offer their assessment of whether information police have on a suspect is too flimsy and will also consider the consequences on community relations of a raid.
Members will be security vetted and will have to promise not to reveal any intelligence they are shown. They will not have to sign the Official Secrets Act.
The first panel, expected to consist of four people, will be set up initially in London. Tomorrow representatives from police forces across England and Wales will decide whether to make the scheme national.
Muslim groups have welcomed the move, which is understood to be backed by Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner.
This week the Association of Chief Police Officers will discuss with MI5 and the Home Office whether to reveal to the panel intelligence information from the security service.
The idea came from the Metropolitan police and the Muslim Safety Forum (MSF), which works for better police-Muslim relations. It has been under discussion for two years and came to the top of the agenda after a police raid in Forest Gate, London, in June, in which a man was shot. Police were acting on a tip-off about a bomb. None was found.
Azad Ali, chairman of the MSF, said: "The major concern that came to us from Muslims was that the intelligence was flawed — the raid was on assumption and nothing else. This will allow independent scrutiny of intelligence."
The police and the Crown Prosecution Service have sometimes been criticised for being over-cautious about tackling Muslim extremism. Last week Abu Izzadeen, a radical cleric who has so far escaped prosecution despite seemingly inciting terrorism, gained entry to a closed meeting in east London and heckled John Reid, the home secretary.
It has now emerged that Izzadeen apparently urged Muslims to wage holy war in Britain in an internet video downloaded by several thousand users from websites that closed down two months ago. The sites were linked to the Saved Sect, of which Izzadeen was leader and which has now been banned and disbanded.
In the video he told his audience: "In the UK no fighting takes place yet, but don’t be fooled, the time will come to you brothers . . . fighting is so close at hand."
He adds: "You prepare yourself now and when the hard time comes you are ready to defend yourself; you are ready to die for the sake of Allah."
David Corker, a partner in the London law firm Corker Binning, which has dealt with terrorism cases, said of the video: "There is enough material there for him to be considered for prosecution."
Izzadeen, 34, did not respond to requests for comment this weekend.
Members will be security vetted and will have to promise not to reveal any intelligence they are shown. They will not have to sign the Official Secrets Act.
The first panel, expected to consist of four people, will be set up initially in London. Tomorrow representatives from police forces across England and Wales will decide whether to make the scheme national.
Muslim groups have welcomed the move, which is understood to be backed by Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner.
This week the Association of Chief Police Officers will discuss with MI5 and the Home Office whether to reveal to the panel intelligence information from the security service.
The idea came from the Metropolitan police and the Muslim Safety Forum (MSF), which works for better police-Muslim relations. It has been under discussion for two years and came to the top of the agenda after a police raid in Forest Gate, London, in June, in which a man was shot. Police were acting on a tip-off about a bomb. None was found.
Azad Ali, chairman of the MSF, said: "The major concern that came to us from Muslims was that the intelligence was flawed — the raid was on assumption and nothing else. This will allow independent scrutiny of intelligence."
The police and the Crown Prosecution Service have sometimes been criticised for being over-cautious about tackling Muslim extremism. Last week Abu Izzadeen, a radical cleric who has so far escaped prosecution despite seemingly inciting terrorism, gained entry to a closed meeting in east London and heckled John Reid, the home secretary.
It has now emerged that Izzadeen apparently urged Muslims to wage holy war in Britain in an internet video downloaded by several thousand users from websites that closed down two months ago. The sites were linked to the Saved Sect, of which Izzadeen was leader and which has now been banned and disbanded.
In the video he told his audience: "In the UK no fighting takes place yet, but don’t be fooled, the time will come to you brothers . . . fighting is so close at hand."
He adds: "You prepare yourself now and when the hard time comes you are ready to defend yourself; you are ready to die for the sake of Allah."
David Corker, a partner in the London law firm Corker Binning, which has dealt with terrorism cases, said of the video: "There is enough material there for him to be considered for prosecution."
Izzadeen, 34, did not respond to requests for comment this weekend.
WON'T SHOP A TERRORIST
TENS of thousands of British Muslims would NOT shop someone they believed took part in a terror attack.
A shock News of the World poll today reveals almost ONE IN TEN would not tell the police if they suspected a fellow Muslim was involved in an atrocity.
With a million Muslims over 16 in Britain, it suggests a staggering 90,000 would turn a blind eye.
And the figure is even worse among Muslims aged between 16 and 24, with 15 per cent saying they would not tell. Our poll also shows six per cent — or 60,000 Muslims — think attacks like the July 7 bombings are justified.
Incredibly, one in ten do not even accept the bombers were to blame.
Today's findings come after Home Secretary John Reid last week urged Muslim parents to keep an eye on their children in case fanatics were schooling them to become suicide bombers.
Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, was alarmed by our findings. He said: "It is important all of us recognise that, even if it may be painful, we must act for the greater good."
Research interviewed 502 Muslims aged 16+ by phone between Sept 8 and 20. Data is weighted to the nationwide profile of Muslims.
A shock News of the World poll today reveals almost ONE IN TEN would not tell the police if they suspected a fellow Muslim was involved in an atrocity.
With a million Muslims over 16 in Britain, it suggests a staggering 90,000 would turn a blind eye.
And the figure is even worse among Muslims aged between 16 and 24, with 15 per cent saying they would not tell. Our poll also shows six per cent — or 60,000 Muslims — think attacks like the July 7 bombings are justified.
Incredibly, one in ten do not even accept the bombers were to blame.
Today's findings come after Home Secretary John Reid last week urged Muslim parents to keep an eye on their children in case fanatics were schooling them to become suicide bombers.
Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, was alarmed by our findings. He said: "It is important all of us recognise that, even if it may be painful, we must act for the greater good."
Research interviewed 502 Muslims aged 16+ by phone between Sept 8 and 20. Data is weighted to the nationwide profile of Muslims.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
driver spends 2 nights in jail for offending Muslims by "revving his car in a racist manner"
Oh, by all that is holy -- it's racist revving now! Will it never end? Muslims continue to suffer in the racist, hateful Sceptered Isle, where even car mechanics now target them with menacing revved engines. Oh, how long, how long must that innocent, spotless lamb, the Muslim community in Britain, have to endure the virulent, violent, unholy, racist, bigoted, Islamophobic, hate-filled, senseless attacks of infidels? What will they come up with next -- racist tea? Racist bowler hats? Racist fish and chips? Oh, how long, how long will this go on?
A DRIVER spent two nights in jail after being accused of "revving his car in a racist manner".
Mechanic Ronnie Hutton, 49, yesterday described his court ordeal which finally ended when prosecutors dropped the allegation of racism.
But he was still convicted of a breach of the peace for revving the engine of his £25,000 Lotus.
Witnesses claimed he had been trying to intimidate a Libyan couple on the pavement. Ronnie, of Stirling, claims he was only revving the powerful V8 engine to avoid another £15,000 repair bill.
But off-duty Chief Inspector Eoin Jenkins thought he was targeting Muslim Isam Maigel and his wife Hana Saad.
And when Jenkins, now retired, confronted Ronnie he was told to "f*** off".
On Thursday, at Stirling Sheriff court, the Crown ditched the racist part of the charge but Sheriff Andrew Cubie convicted Ronnie of breach of the peace and fined him £150.
Last night, he said: "To be convicted for revving my car in a busy street is hard to take. Does this mean anyone driving a noisy car in Scotland is now a criminal?"
Following the row last September, police officers arrived at Ronnie's home and asked him to come with them to talk about the incident. He ended up being kept in a cell for two nights before being taken to court where he was released without charge.
He complained to the fiscal and the new charges surfaced months later. He said: "The police kept me in custody over the weekend because I made the mistake of swearing at a senior officer."
In court, Mr Maigel, 28, then a student at Stirling Uni, said: "The driver came alongside and was trying to annoy us by revving his engine very, very loudly."
Using an interpreter, Hana Saad, 23, said he had degraded them "maybe because we are Muslim".
Ronnie claims he was only trying to prevent the repeat of a engine problem had had suffered earlier with the Esprit.
He said: "I've had problems with the Lotus since I bought it. I paid £15,000 for a new engine in 2003.
"As soon as I started the car the oil pressure light wouldn't go out. I accept I revved the engine - it's a V8 twin turbo and is noisy and frightening.
"I would openly apologise to this couple. I am not a racist."
He is now considering an appeal against his conviction - and also plans to sell the Lotus. He said: "It has been nothing but trouble."
he tried to annoy us by revving his engine very loudly' Isam Maigel
A DRIVER spent two nights in jail after being accused of "revving his car in a racist manner".
Mechanic Ronnie Hutton, 49, yesterday described his court ordeal which finally ended when prosecutors dropped the allegation of racism.
But he was still convicted of a breach of the peace for revving the engine of his £25,000 Lotus.
Witnesses claimed he had been trying to intimidate a Libyan couple on the pavement. Ronnie, of Stirling, claims he was only revving the powerful V8 engine to avoid another £15,000 repair bill.
But off-duty Chief Inspector Eoin Jenkins thought he was targeting Muslim Isam Maigel and his wife Hana Saad.
And when Jenkins, now retired, confronted Ronnie he was told to "f*** off".
On Thursday, at Stirling Sheriff court, the Crown ditched the racist part of the charge but Sheriff Andrew Cubie convicted Ronnie of breach of the peace and fined him £150.
Last night, he said: "To be convicted for revving my car in a busy street is hard to take. Does this mean anyone driving a noisy car in Scotland is now a criminal?"
Following the row last September, police officers arrived at Ronnie's home and asked him to come with them to talk about the incident. He ended up being kept in a cell for two nights before being taken to court where he was released without charge.
He complained to the fiscal and the new charges surfaced months later. He said: "The police kept me in custody over the weekend because I made the mistake of swearing at a senior officer."
In court, Mr Maigel, 28, then a student at Stirling Uni, said: "The driver came alongside and was trying to annoy us by revving his engine very, very loudly."
Using an interpreter, Hana Saad, 23, said he had degraded them "maybe because we are Muslim".
Ronnie claims he was only trying to prevent the repeat of a engine problem had had suffered earlier with the Esprit.
He said: "I've had problems with the Lotus since I bought it. I paid £15,000 for a new engine in 2003.
"As soon as I started the car the oil pressure light wouldn't go out. I accept I revved the engine - it's a V8 twin turbo and is noisy and frightening.
"I would openly apologise to this couple. I am not a racist."
He is now considering an appeal against his conviction - and also plans to sell the Lotus. He said: "It has been nothing but trouble."
he tried to annoy us by revving his engine very loudly' Isam Maigel
Execution vids on lags' laptops
HATEMONGER Abu Hamza and high-risk terror inmates have had their laptops seized in jail — after bosses found pictures of EXECUTIONS.Video images of hostages being beheaded had been downloaded off the internet on to computers being used inside a maximum security nick.
Prisoners are allowed computers under an Access to Justice scheme, designed to allow them to prepare their defence for hearings such as appeals.
But the level of "abuse" sparked new fury over access to information being given to terrorists.
A furious insider said of the discovery at Belmarsh Prison, South London: "What we found was absolutely disgusting. These people must be laughing at us.
"They had somehow managed to get their hands on video images showing the moment hostages had their head cut off in front of the camera.
"It’s just another example of Britain being a soft touch. These prisoners have been granted access to computers to help them get a fair trial - not to glory in the savagery of an execution."
Under the Access to Justice scheme — agreed by law chiefs — prisoners can ask for a free computer to study documents and statements instead of being handed mountains of paperwork.
But chiefs at Belmarsh snatched back every laptop — including one being used by hook-handed Muslim cleric Hamza.
Computer experts were called in to examine them for "inappropriate use" and asked to fit new security cut-outs to prevent further abuse.
e-mail these guys your views.
j.askill@the-sun.co.uk
d.wooding@the-sun.co.uk
Fury at Beeb's slot for vile Abu
THE Muslim extremist who heckled Home Secretary John Reid was yesterday allowed 12 minutes on BBC radio to vent his spleen at Britain — and claim his people were "ready to explode".
Abu Izzadeen called Tony Blair a murderer and a terrorist, and said Our Boys fighting abroad were anti-Islam crusaders.
"Community leader" Izzadeen caused outrage when he warned Mr Reid not to come to a "Muslim area".
On Radio 4’s Today show, presented by John Humphrys, he ranted: "I’m telling you we have had enough.
"We’ve had enough of the police raids, the shootings at Forest Gate, the arrests in Walthamstow and in restaurants under the guise of a war on terror which everyone knows is a war on Muslims."
He warned the Government: "If they don’t stop this there will be a very strong reaction from the Muslim community."
The BBC was deluged by complaints from listeners that Izzadeen — a Jamaican who converted to Islam and used to be called Trevor Brooks — was given a platform for his perverted rants.
Labour MP Andrew Dismore said: "I wish the media wouldn’t give people like this the oxygen of publicity."
Shadow Attorney General Dominic Grieve said: "Abu Izzadeen is a malevolent, religious fanatic but is certainly not representative of the Muslim community."
Izzadeen is said to be an ex-spokesman of radical Islamic group al-Ghurabaa — banned in the UK.
Mr Dismore added: "Police need to take more active steps to deal with him."
hear the audio here.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Christian dead to be treated as Muslims
No one should really need reminding that British Christians and the secular alike still make up the majority of the population, but are increasingly second class citizens in our own country as the Islamic faith tightens its grip on all aspects of daily life, from halal food being served up for all pupils in schools and all inmates in prisons to police officers forcing individuals to stop flying St. George’s flags from their homes or vehicles.
Now in a new development second class treatment of kufrs (non-believers) continues in death after a Midlands council announced plans for a multi-faith cemetery in which all graves will be aligned with the Mecca.
Christian graves traditionally face east although as space in churchyards and council cemeteries diminishes many of today’s grave are dug in whatever space is available.
Facing east is a tradition dating back to the time of Christ and reflects the belief that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be first seen in the east.
But all headstones at the new £2.5m High Wood Cemetery in Bulwell, Nottingham will be plotted to face north-east, in line with Islamic faith and Christians who make a special request to have a traditional east-facing grave may be forced to pay for what the council calls "extra maintenance".
Muslims believe the dead look over their shoulder towards the Islamic holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia towards the south-east.
The controversial decision was taken after consultation with the city's Cemeteries Consultative Committee.OppositionAnd at last some senior church figures are speaking out against this ridiculous decision by the Labour controlled City of Nottingham Council
The Rev David Gray, from St John's Church, Bulwell, said: "All faiths should have their beliefs respected."It would be wrong to stipulate one over the other, especially in our climate of trying to be sensitive of other people's beliefs."It is an evolving cemetery and should be made for people of all faiths and certainly people of Christian faiths."For some people it doesn't matter, but for those who prefer that they are facing east it is important." "Perhaps as the cemetery evolves there could be some sort of alteration," said Mr Gray. "I hope that that would be the case, so those of the Christian faith, just like anybody, would not feel excluded from their faith.
"Conflicts with tradition
Rachel Farmer, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, said: "Positioning all the graves in the direction of Mecca conflicts with the long-standing Christian burial tradition of graves facing towards the east. We believe the people of Nottingham should have the opportunity to follow the Christian burial traditions if they choose to and the Christian faith should not be discriminated against in this way.
"The 2001 census showed that more than 70% of the population consider themselves Christian."This new policy will limit the choice of the majority in relation to burials at this new cemetery."We totally support an inclusive policy for graveyards, which takes into account the religious traditions of all faiths, but this should not be done to the exclusion of another.
"Council defence
Steve Dowling, services director for Environment and Public Protection, defended the council’s decision citing that many graves in Nottingham often do not follow the tradition of facing east.He said: "High Wood is a large and beautiful site with room to meet everyone's needs."In the first phase of development it has been agreed that the graves will face north east."For people of the Muslim faith this fits in with a religious requirement, but it will also ensure a tidy appearance for the site as a whole."Consultation with a wide variety of groups will continue as the cemetery evolves and there will be an opportunity to consider any suggestions and special wishes.
"It seems that in death as well as life, the British majority must give way to the demands of a vociferous, unyielding and belligerent minority.
Row erupts over 'PC' cemetery where headstones face Mecca
Now in a new development second class treatment of kufrs (non-believers) continues in death after a Midlands council announced plans for a multi-faith cemetery in which all graves will be aligned with the Mecca.
Christian graves traditionally face east although as space in churchyards and council cemeteries diminishes many of today’s grave are dug in whatever space is available.
Facing east is a tradition dating back to the time of Christ and reflects the belief that the second coming of Jesus Christ will be first seen in the east.
But all headstones at the new £2.5m High Wood Cemetery in Bulwell, Nottingham will be plotted to face north-east, in line with Islamic faith and Christians who make a special request to have a traditional east-facing grave may be forced to pay for what the council calls "extra maintenance".
Muslims believe the dead look over their shoulder towards the Islamic holy city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia towards the south-east.
The controversial decision was taken after consultation with the city's Cemeteries Consultative Committee.OppositionAnd at last some senior church figures are speaking out against this ridiculous decision by the Labour controlled City of Nottingham Council
The Rev David Gray, from St John's Church, Bulwell, said: "All faiths should have their beliefs respected."It would be wrong to stipulate one over the other, especially in our climate of trying to be sensitive of other people's beliefs."It is an evolving cemetery and should be made for people of all faiths and certainly people of Christian faiths."For some people it doesn't matter, but for those who prefer that they are facing east it is important." "Perhaps as the cemetery evolves there could be some sort of alteration," said Mr Gray. "I hope that that would be the case, so those of the Christian faith, just like anybody, would not feel excluded from their faith.
"Conflicts with tradition
Rachel Farmer, a spokeswoman for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, said: "Positioning all the graves in the direction of Mecca conflicts with the long-standing Christian burial tradition of graves facing towards the east. We believe the people of Nottingham should have the opportunity to follow the Christian burial traditions if they choose to and the Christian faith should not be discriminated against in this way.
"The 2001 census showed that more than 70% of the population consider themselves Christian."This new policy will limit the choice of the majority in relation to burials at this new cemetery."We totally support an inclusive policy for graveyards, which takes into account the religious traditions of all faiths, but this should not be done to the exclusion of another.
"Council defence
Steve Dowling, services director for Environment and Public Protection, defended the council’s decision citing that many graves in Nottingham often do not follow the tradition of facing east.He said: "High Wood is a large and beautiful site with room to meet everyone's needs."In the first phase of development it has been agreed that the graves will face north east."For people of the Muslim faith this fits in with a religious requirement, but it will also ensure a tidy appearance for the site as a whole."Consultation with a wide variety of groups will continue as the cemetery evolves and there will be an opportunity to consider any suggestions and special wishes.
"It seems that in death as well as life, the British majority must give way to the demands of a vociferous, unyielding and belligerent minority.
Row erupts over 'PC' cemetery where headstones face Mecca
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Asylum seeker jailed for male rape
A MALE student was raped when he went into a house in Hull after being asked for help by a Kurdish asylum seeker.
The 19-year-old victim was walking home alone along Beverley Road early in the morning when he saw a man outside a house.
The man, Goran Rahim, asked if he knew the time and when the student said he did not Rahim said: "Can you help me, my friend has passed out."
Mark McKone, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court yesterday the student followed Rahim inside and was pulled into a dark room where he was subjected to a series of sexual assaults by three men including being raped by Rahim, who told him: "Shut up, else I'll slit your throat."
Mr Mckone said it was only when a mobile phone went off in the room, distracting the trio, that the complainant opened a window and escaped by climbing out. He then called a friend for help .
The attack was reported to the police and after the student pointed out the house Rahim was found inside. He denied any knowledge of a rape, saying he would have been asleep at that time.
But after his DNA profile matched samples taken from the victim he changed his account.
Mr McKone said Rahim then tried to claim they had consensual sex.
He told officers he had drunk between 10 and 12 cans of Stella and smoked nine to 12 joints of cannabis and said no one else was involved.
Yesterday as he was due to stand trial Rahim, 23, changed his plea and admitted raping the student on February 22.
Judge Stephen Ashurst jailed Rahim for six years, recommended deportation, and said the events had a traumatic effect on the victim.
Judge Ashurst said since Rahim's arrival in the UK he had been in trouble for driving while disqualified and anti-social behaviour.
Tony Stevenson, for Rahim, said he had no history of previous sexual offending
The 19-year-old victim was walking home alone along Beverley Road early in the morning when he saw a man outside a house.
The man, Goran Rahim, asked if he knew the time and when the student said he did not Rahim said: "Can you help me, my friend has passed out."
Mark McKone, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court yesterday the student followed Rahim inside and was pulled into a dark room where he was subjected to a series of sexual assaults by three men including being raped by Rahim, who told him: "Shut up, else I'll slit your throat."
Mr Mckone said it was only when a mobile phone went off in the room, distracting the trio, that the complainant opened a window and escaped by climbing out. He then called a friend for help .
The attack was reported to the police and after the student pointed out the house Rahim was found inside. He denied any knowledge of a rape, saying he would have been asleep at that time.
But after his DNA profile matched samples taken from the victim he changed his account.
Mr McKone said Rahim then tried to claim they had consensual sex.
He told officers he had drunk between 10 and 12 cans of Stella and smoked nine to 12 joints of cannabis and said no one else was involved.
Yesterday as he was due to stand trial Rahim, 23, changed his plea and admitted raping the student on February 22.
Judge Stephen Ashurst jailed Rahim for six years, recommended deportation, and said the events had a traumatic effect on the victim.
Judge Ashurst said since Rahim's arrival in the UK he had been in trouble for driving while disqualified and anti-social behaviour.
Tony Stevenson, for Rahim, said he had no history of previous sexual offending
Six Year Old Girl Burned To Death For Muslim ‘Honor’.
The little girl is six-year old Alisha Begum, whose family are of Bangladeshi origin. She was the victim of an arson attack at the family home on Friday, March 10 this year. The attack took place on Bayswater Road, Perry Barr, in Birmingham. Two men had broken into the house and thrown petrol accelerant into the building, setting it alight, and had then fled. The fire was so ferocious that the rest of the family who were in the house had to jump from an upstairs window to escape. Little Alisha was trapped in her bedroom in her bunk bed, where the flames were the most intense.
Alisha suffered from 95% to 100% burns, and died the following day at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. On Friday April 7, two men were charged with her murder.
Today, the Telegraph reports from the trial of the two men at Birmingham Crown Court. A 26-year old dentist, Hussein Ahmad, and 18-year old Daryll Tuzzio are being tried for one count of murder (that of Alisha Begum), and nine counts of attempted murder (the rest of the family).
Yesterday, the court was told by prosecutor Adrian Redgrave: "One hears of so-called honour killings though one may wonder how by any stretch of the imagination there can be any honour in what happened here, resulting in the death of a six-year-old child."
"Hussain and his associates knew that at the house there was not only Abdul Hamid, and he was the one they were trying to get at, but they knew full well that there was a whole family living there."
Alisha’s brother, 21-year old Abdul Hamid, had been seeing a teenaged girl, Meherun Khanum, since the end of 2005. Meherun was the sister of Hussein Ahmad. When her family found out about the relationship, a threatening phone call was made to Abdul on Thursday, March 9, warning him to stay away from the 15-year old girl.
The following day, the arson attack took place, shortly before midnight.
Alisha suffered from 95% to 100% burns, and died the following day at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. On Friday April 7, two men were charged with her murder.
Today, the Telegraph reports from the trial of the two men at Birmingham Crown Court. A 26-year old dentist, Hussein Ahmad, and 18-year old Daryll Tuzzio are being tried for one count of murder (that of Alisha Begum), and nine counts of attempted murder (the rest of the family).
Yesterday, the court was told by prosecutor Adrian Redgrave: "One hears of so-called honour killings though one may wonder how by any stretch of the imagination there can be any honour in what happened here, resulting in the death of a six-year-old child."
"Hussain and his associates knew that at the house there was not only Abdul Hamid, and he was the one they were trying to get at, but they knew full well that there was a whole family living there."
Alisha’s brother, 21-year old Abdul Hamid, had been seeing a teenaged girl, Meherun Khanum, since the end of 2005. Meherun was the sister of Hussein Ahmad. When her family found out about the relationship, a threatening phone call was made to Abdul on Thursday, March 9, warning him to stay away from the 15-year old girl.
The following day, the arson attack took place, shortly before midnight.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
: Drunken Muslim Restrained on Plane After Osama Taunts...
A Brentford man who went berserk on a plane, shouting that he knew Osama Bin Laden, had to be restrained with hand and leg cuffs.
The drunken rampage began after Virgin airline crew refused to let 36-year-old Moustafa Moufaden buy more alcohol.
Demanding that the captain of the flight from Shanghai to London's Heathrow should call his bank to check his credit rating, 36-year-old Moufaden "shouted loudly that he had contacts with Osama Bin Laden", prosecutor Nicholas Rimmer told Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.
"This caused considerable concern among crew and passengers," he said.
Trouble started about an hour into the 15-hour flight after Moufaden from Whytestyles Road, Brentford, started moving around the passenger area talking excitedly to the crew and passengers.
"He had his complimentary drinks and then there were constant requests for more alcohol. At one stage he tried to purchase more alcohol on his credit card and when that was declined he began shouting at the cabin crew asking for the captain to contact his bank," said Mr Rimmer.
A stewardess had to summon her male colleagues for help and they asked for restraining equipment to be on hand.
"About five hours into the flight his drunkenness and behaviour had deteriorated to such an extent that the crew considered him a danger to the safety of the aircraft and he was placed in restraints - hand and leg cuffs - in a seat at the back of the plane," said counsel.
"It took the involvement of 14 members of the crew who were taken from other duties. Then they took it in turns to keep an eye on him. He continued to have aggressive and violent mood swings."
Police met the flight when it landed at Heathrow and he was arrested and denied acting in a disruptive manner.
Moufaden, admitted endangering the aircraft and being drunk on an aircraft on October 7 last year. He was remanded for assessment for alcohol treatment and possible unpaid work.
His counsel, Dominic Cox, said he had never been in trouble before and "realised that his behaviour on this occasion was disgraceful and wants to make sure it never happens again". He asked for the assessment.
Judge Stephen Powles QC warned him that "all sentencing options, including custody remain open".
The drunken rampage began after Virgin airline crew refused to let 36-year-old Moustafa Moufaden buy more alcohol.
Demanding that the captain of the flight from Shanghai to London's Heathrow should call his bank to check his credit rating, 36-year-old Moufaden "shouted loudly that he had contacts with Osama Bin Laden", prosecutor Nicholas Rimmer told Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.
"This caused considerable concern among crew and passengers," he said.
Trouble started about an hour into the 15-hour flight after Moufaden from Whytestyles Road, Brentford, started moving around the passenger area talking excitedly to the crew and passengers.
"He had his complimentary drinks and then there were constant requests for more alcohol. At one stage he tried to purchase more alcohol on his credit card and when that was declined he began shouting at the cabin crew asking for the captain to contact his bank," said Mr Rimmer.
A stewardess had to summon her male colleagues for help and they asked for restraining equipment to be on hand.
"About five hours into the flight his drunkenness and behaviour had deteriorated to such an extent that the crew considered him a danger to the safety of the aircraft and he was placed in restraints - hand and leg cuffs - in a seat at the back of the plane," said counsel.
"It took the involvement of 14 members of the crew who were taken from other duties. Then they took it in turns to keep an eye on him. He continued to have aggressive and violent mood swings."
Police met the flight when it landed at Heathrow and he was arrested and denied acting in a disruptive manner.
Moufaden, admitted endangering the aircraft and being drunk on an aircraft on October 7 last year. He was remanded for assessment for alcohol treatment and possible unpaid work.
His counsel, Dominic Cox, said he had never been in trouble before and "realised that his behaviour on this occasion was disgraceful and wants to make sure it never happens again". He asked for the assessment.
Judge Stephen Powles QC warned him that "all sentencing options, including custody remain open".
Reid heckled during Muslim speech
Home Secretary John Reid has been heckled during a speech about targeting potential Muslim extremists.
He was interrupted by activist Abu Izzadeen, who said he was "furious" about "state terrorism by British police".
In his speech, Mr Reid asked Muslim parents to keep a close eye on their children and act if they suspected they were being radicalised by extremists.
It was his first speech to a Muslim audience since becoming home secretary
The protester, also known as Omar Brooks, denies being a member of the banned al-Ghurabaa group.
He accused the minister of being an "enemy" of Islam before he was led from the building by police and stewards.
Respect MP George Galloway, in an open letter to Mr Reid written on Wednesday afternoon, asked how such a "well-known extremist... was allowed within punching distance of the British home secretary".
A Home Office spokesman said that, while Mr Izzadeen was not invited to the meeting, it was "in the nature of an open community meeting... that some people who were not invited ended up attending.
"There was no question of the home secretary's safety being compromised at any time."
A second heckler, who also interrupted Mr Reid's speech, was ejected a few minutes after Mr Izzadeen.
During his time in Leytonstone, east London, which also involved a visit to a mosque, Mr Reid said community and religious leaders could play a key role in the fight against terrorism.
One furious mother, too scared to be named, told how Izzadeen plastered the street with stickers reading, “Christians should be hung” and, “All white women are white trash”. She alleged he also told passers-by that non-Muslims should be killed.
watch the video.
He was interrupted by activist Abu Izzadeen, who said he was "furious" about "state terrorism by British police".
In his speech, Mr Reid asked Muslim parents to keep a close eye on their children and act if they suspected they were being radicalised by extremists.
It was his first speech to a Muslim audience since becoming home secretary
The protester, also known as Omar Brooks, denies being a member of the banned al-Ghurabaa group.
He accused the minister of being an "enemy" of Islam before he was led from the building by police and stewards.
Respect MP George Galloway, in an open letter to Mr Reid written on Wednesday afternoon, asked how such a "well-known extremist... was allowed within punching distance of the British home secretary".
A Home Office spokesman said that, while Mr Izzadeen was not invited to the meeting, it was "in the nature of an open community meeting... that some people who were not invited ended up attending.
"There was no question of the home secretary's safety being compromised at any time."
A second heckler, who also interrupted Mr Reid's speech, was ejected a few minutes after Mr Izzadeen.
During his time in Leytonstone, east London, which also involved a visit to a mosque, Mr Reid said community and religious leaders could play a key role in the fight against terrorism.
One furious mother, too scared to be named, told how Izzadeen plastered the street with stickers reading, “Christians should be hung” and, “All white women are white trash”. She alleged he also told passers-by that non-Muslims should be killed.
watch the video.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Anti-terror police arrest women
A woman has been arrested in Greater Manchester as part of an ongoing anti-terrorism investigation.
The 26-year-old is being held under the Terrorism Act after police officers raided a house in Radcliffe, Bury, on Tuesday afternoon.
The woman is the fourth person to be arrested by the force's Anti-Terrorist Unit in the last month.
Police say they are investigating terrorist financing, travel patterns and those going to terror camps abroad.
A man arrested on 23 August as part of the same investigation remains in custody while two men arrested on 2 September were released on Friday.
Officers are also looking at suspected links to banned radical Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun.
International investigation
Deputy Chief Constable Dave Whatton, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This is an international investigation which began many months ago and has involved co-operation between several law enforcement agencies.
"It is a very complex investigation and a team of officers are involved in reviewing around a thousand items that have been recovered.
"A significant amount of material has also been recovered from computers, and it is equivalent to nine articulated lorries full of paper."
Translators have been drafted in to help assess the content of the material found.
This latest arrest is not linked to the alleged terror plot to blow up transatlantic airliners or the July 7 bombings of 2005.
I won't answer your questions
'TERROR suspect Omar Khyam brought his bomb plot trial to a dramatic halt yesterday by refusing to answer his lawyer’s questions.
Khyam told the Old Bailey he did not want to endanger his family back in Pakistan.
He and six other British Muslims are accused of planning attacks on targets including the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent and London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub. The gang is alleged to have bought 600 kilos of ammonium nitrate fertiliser to be turned into explosives for the al-Qaeda-linked attacks.
Khyam, 24, admits attending a weapons-training camp in Pakistan where he claimed the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence, known as ISI, gave explosives instruction.
Yesterday Khyam’s barrister Joel Bennathan asked if he helped buy and store the fertiliser in November 2003.
The defendant replied: "Before I go into that topic I just want to say the ISI in Pakistan had had words with my family in Pakistan regarding what I have been saying about them, and I think they are worried about what I may end up revealing about them.
Plot suspect refuses stand again
'Treat us special' trial row
SIX men accused of the July 21 bomb plot have asked for special treatment in court during the month-long Muslim festival of Ramadan.
The trial of Hussain Osman, 27, Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, Yassin Hassan Omar, 24, Ramzi Mohammed, 23, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 32, and Adel Yahya, 23, is due to start next month — nine days into Ramadan.
Omar’s lawyer Peter Carter wants the Crown Court in Woolwich, South London, to sit for just three hours a day because the defendants would be TOO TIRED from fasting and losing sleep while they prayed.
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell branded the move, which the judge is considering, “ridiculous”.
'Jet gang' in dock
THIRTEEN British Muslims accused of plotting terrorist attacks on transatlantic flights appeared in court together for the first time yesterday.
The suspects are said to have been involved in a plan to smuggle liquid explosives on up to ten aircraft bound for the US.
All 13 appeared at the Old Bailey by video link from South London’s Belmarsh Prison.
They spoke only to confirm their names. Their trial may not take place until Easter 2008.
Eleven are charged with conspiracy to murder.
Two others are accused of preparing to smuggle explosives on board aircraft with the intention of committing acts of terrorism.
The trial of Hussain Osman, 27, Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, Yassin Hassan Omar, 24, Ramzi Mohammed, 23, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 32, and Adel Yahya, 23, is due to start next month — nine days into Ramadan.
Omar’s lawyer Peter Carter wants the Crown Court in Woolwich, South London, to sit for just three hours a day because the defendants would be TOO TIRED from fasting and losing sleep while they prayed.
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell branded the move, which the judge is considering, “ridiculous”.
'Jet gang' in dock
THIRTEEN British Muslims accused of plotting terrorist attacks on transatlantic flights appeared in court together for the first time yesterday.
The suspects are said to have been involved in a plan to smuggle liquid explosives on up to ten aircraft bound for the US.
All 13 appeared at the Old Bailey by video link from South London’s Belmarsh Prison.
They spoke only to confirm their names. Their trial may not take place until Easter 2008.
Eleven are charged with conspiracy to murder.
Two others are accused of preparing to smuggle explosives on board aircraft with the intention of committing acts of terrorism.
Monday, September 18, 2006
British Islamists Call for Pope's Execution
British Islamists call for the death of Pope Benedict XVI, outside Westminster Cathedral in London:
Worshippers coming out of services at London’s Westminster Cathedral today were greeted by a gang of Islamists, reports Joee Blogs
More threats and murder, this time in the UK. "The Pope must die, says Muslim," from the Evening Standard, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.
Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment".
His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim hardliners towards Pope Benedict XVI appeared to deepen.
The pontiff yesterday apologised for causing offence during a lecture last week. Quoting a medieval emperor, his words were taken to mean that he called the prophet Mohammed "evil and inhuman".
He insisted he was "deeply sorry" but his humbling words did not go far enough to silence all his critics or quell the violence and anger he has triggered.
A nun was shot dead in Somalia by Islamic gunmen and churches came under attack in Palestine.
Choudary's appeal for the death of Pope Benedict was the second time he has been linked with apparent incitement to murder within a year.
The 39-year-old lawyer organised demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in February in Denmark. Protesters carried placards declaring "Behead Those Who Insult Islam".
Yesterday he said: "The Muslims take their religion very seriously and non-Muslims must appreciate that and that must also understand that there may be serious consequences if you insult Islam and the prophet.
"Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment."
He added: "I am here have a peaceful demonstration. But there may be people in Italy or other parts of the world who would carry that out.
"I think that warning needs to be understood by all people who want to insult Islam and want to insult the prophet of Islam."
As well as placards attacking the Pope such as "Pope go to Hell", his followers outside the country's principal Roman Catholic church also waved slogans aimed at offending the sentiments of Christians such as "Jesus is the slave of Allah".
Worshippers coming out of services at London’s Westminster Cathedral today were greeted by a gang of Islamists, reports Joee Blogs
More threats and murder, this time in the UK. "The Pope must die, says Muslim," from the Evening Standard, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the Pope should face execution.
Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam would be "subject to capital punishment".
His remarks came during a protest outside Westminster Cathedral on a day that worldwide anger among Muslim hardliners towards Pope Benedict XVI appeared to deepen.
The pontiff yesterday apologised for causing offence during a lecture last week. Quoting a medieval emperor, his words were taken to mean that he called the prophet Mohammed "evil and inhuman".
He insisted he was "deeply sorry" but his humbling words did not go far enough to silence all his critics or quell the violence and anger he has triggered.
A nun was shot dead in Somalia by Islamic gunmen and churches came under attack in Palestine.
Choudary's appeal for the death of Pope Benedict was the second time he has been linked with apparent incitement to murder within a year.
The 39-year-old lawyer organised demonstrations against the publication of cartoons of Mohammed in February in Denmark. Protesters carried placards declaring "Behead Those Who Insult Islam".
Yesterday he said: "The Muslims take their religion very seriously and non-Muslims must appreciate that and that must also understand that there may be serious consequences if you insult Islam and the prophet.
"Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment."
He added: "I am here have a peaceful demonstration. But there may be people in Italy or other parts of the world who would carry that out.
"I think that warning needs to be understood by all people who want to insult Islam and want to insult the prophet of Islam."
As well as placards attacking the Pope such as "Pope go to Hell", his followers outside the country's principal Roman Catholic church also waved slogans aimed at offending the sentiments of Christians such as "Jesus is the slave of Allah".
Asylum road nut in 'let-off'
AN asylum seeker driving without a licence when he paralysed a grandmother in a horror smash walked free from court — without even a fine.Peshrau Mohammed, 31, overtook a car and a tanker in one crazy move, crashing his Vauxhall Corsa head-on into Vivian Sadler’s Vauxhall Tigra.
Mrs Sadler, heading home from visiting her new grandchild, was crippled from the neck down.
She is still in intensive care 11 months later and may never return home to Bedale, North Yorks.
But Mohammed, of Middlesbrough, was charged only with careless driving, which has a maximum penalty of a £2,500 fine.
He escaped even that, getting a night-time curfew for 90 days and told to pay £45 court costs.
Northallerton JPs heard Mohammed entered Britain in October 2002.
He admitted careless driving and driving without a licence.
A relative of Mrs Sadler, 65, said: "She got a life sentence. He got a slap on the wrist."
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Interpreter!!,
Muslim women are having their face veils removed so their identities can be checked before they take driving tests.
"Anyone aged 16 or over can go with you but they must not speak during the test. Alternatively you can bring an interpreter, who is over 16 and not your driving instructor. The interpreter must only repeat the instructions given by the examiner."
"Anyone aged 16 or over can go with you but they must not speak during the test. Alternatively you can bring an interpreter, who is over 16 and not your driving instructor. The interpreter must only repeat the instructions given by the examiner."
Saturday, September 16, 2006
BLIND MAN DRIVE BAN
A MAN with no eyes was banned from driving for three years yesterday - and told he'd have to "take an extended test" if he ever applied for licence.
Immigrant Iraqi Omed Aziz, 31, was blinded by a bomb in his homeland.
Police who stopped his M-reg Peugeot in Oldbury, West Midlands, were told he was "trying out his abilities" under guidance from a passenger friend who already had a ban.
Local JPs made Aziz, of Darlaston, Britain's first blind man to be convicted of dangerous driving.
But, after ordering him to change his T-shirt reading "B4D MO7H3R FU5K3R", they suspended a three-month jail term
Immigrant Iraqi Omed Aziz, 31, was blinded by a bomb in his homeland.
Police who stopped his M-reg Peugeot in Oldbury, West Midlands, were told he was "trying out his abilities" under guidance from a passenger friend who already had a ban.
Local JPs made Aziz, of Darlaston, Britain's first blind man to be convicted of dangerous driving.
But, after ordering him to change his T-shirt reading "B4D MO7H3R FU5K3R", they suspended a three-month jail term
Plot suspect 'happy' after 9/11
A British man accused of a fertiliser bomb plot has told an Old Bailey jury he was "happy" when he heard about the 11 September attacks on the US.
Omar Khyam, 24, of Crawley, West Sussex, is the first of seven Britons accused of the plot to give evidence in their trial.
read more.
Omar Khyam, 24, of Crawley, West Sussex, is the first of seven Britons accused of the plot to give evidence in their trial.
read more.
9/11 prisoners reveal British terror targets
HEATHROW, Canary Wharf and British embassies overseas were on a hitlist of terrorist targets drawn up by the architect of the 9/11 atrocities, according to intelligence gathered in secret American prisons and made public yesterday.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qaeda’s operational planner, was plotting suicide attacks on the world’s busiest international airport, the iconic London skyscraper at 1, Canada Square and the British Embassy in Cambodia before he was captured and taken to a CIA interrogation centre.
read more.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qaeda’s operational planner, was plotting suicide attacks on the world’s busiest international airport, the iconic London skyscraper at 1, Canada Square and the British Embassy in Cambodia before he was captured and taken to a CIA interrogation centre.
read more.
Friday, September 15, 2006
'Parliament bomb plot just talk'
A British muslim accused of involvement in a fertiliser bomb plot has denied to an Old Bailey jury he intended to blow up MPs in the Houses of Parliament.
Omar Khyam, 24, from West Sussex, said he had talked about dropping a bomb during prime minister's questions.
But he said it was "just talk" and that there was no plan to carry it out.
He was responding to claims by Mohammed Babar, a prosecution witness and alleged accomplice, that Mr Khyam was keen to carry out operations in the UK.
Mr Khyam is the first of the seven people on trial to give evidence.
He said while watching television in Pakistan in 2003 he had chatted about bombing the US and the UK.
But he said it was not a serious discussion, rather a response to items in the news.
He said: "I remember I was watching prime minister's questions on television. I said 'Imagine if you dropped a bomb right there and then, you would take out all the MPs'."
He said it was not a serious proposition or a plan he had been working on.
Training denials
Mr Khyam, who is from Crawley, has told the court he wanted to see foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
He denied being trained in explosives or poisons during a trip to Pakistan. But he said he had met people who could have been described as al-Qaeda.
He also denied having explosives training in Pakistan or watching experiments with bombs.
Mr Khyam said he brought 10 sachets of aluminium powder to the UK after an uncle asked him for aluminium paint.
He had placed it in a garden shed and thought his mother must have put it in a biscuit tin and in plastic bags because it was leaking.
The powder, which the prosecution say would have been used as a component of an explosive, was probably placed by her outside the shed where it was found by police, he said.
Later, Mr Khyam told the jury said he turned to fraud as a means of funding "the cause".
He had earlier described "the cause" as "the freedom of Muslim lands from occupation".
He said one practice involved the selling of building supplies and also described how he applied for a £16,000 bank loan which he did not intend to repay.
He said four other men who were accompanying him on a trip were doing similar things.
'Weapons training'
Mr Khyam and six others are accused of plotting with a Canadian to cause explosions.
Six of the defendants were arrested in March 2004 when fertiliser was found stored in a west London depot.
It is alleged they had al-Qaeda links and discussed bombing targets including pubs, nightclubs and the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent between 1 January 2001 and 31 March 2004.
Mr Khyam, his younger brother Shujah-Ud-Din Mahmood, 18, and Waheed Mahmood, 33, from Crawley, West Sussex, along with Jawad Akbar, 22, from Crawley and Uxbridge, Anthony Garcia, 27, from Ilford, east London, Nabeel Hussain, 20, from Horley, Surrey, and Salahuddin Amin, 30, from Luton, Bedfordshire, deny conspiring to cause an explosion likely to endanger life contrary to section 3 (1)(a) of the Explosive Substances Act 1883.
Mr Khyam, who has also lived in Slough, Mr Garcia and Mr Hussain deny a charge under the Terrorism Act 2000 of possessing an article for terrorism - namely 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser between 5 November, 2003 and 31 March, 2004.
Brothers Mr Khyam and Mr Mahmood deny having aluminium powder, which is an ingredient in explosives, between the said dates.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
Omar Khyam, 24, from West Sussex, said he had talked about dropping a bomb during prime minister's questions.
But he said it was "just talk" and that there was no plan to carry it out.
He was responding to claims by Mohammed Babar, a prosecution witness and alleged accomplice, that Mr Khyam was keen to carry out operations in the UK.
Mr Khyam is the first of the seven people on trial to give evidence.
He said while watching television in Pakistan in 2003 he had chatted about bombing the US and the UK.
But he said it was not a serious discussion, rather a response to items in the news.
He said: "I remember I was watching prime minister's questions on television. I said 'Imagine if you dropped a bomb right there and then, you would take out all the MPs'."
He said it was not a serious proposition or a plan he had been working on.
Training denials
Mr Khyam, who is from Crawley, has told the court he wanted to see foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
He denied being trained in explosives or poisons during a trip to Pakistan. But he said he had met people who could have been described as al-Qaeda.
He also denied having explosives training in Pakistan or watching experiments with bombs.
Mr Khyam said he brought 10 sachets of aluminium powder to the UK after an uncle asked him for aluminium paint.
He had placed it in a garden shed and thought his mother must have put it in a biscuit tin and in plastic bags because it was leaking.
The powder, which the prosecution say would have been used as a component of an explosive, was probably placed by her outside the shed where it was found by police, he said.
Later, Mr Khyam told the jury said he turned to fraud as a means of funding "the cause".
He had earlier described "the cause" as "the freedom of Muslim lands from occupation".
He said one practice involved the selling of building supplies and also described how he applied for a £16,000 bank loan which he did not intend to repay.
He said four other men who were accompanying him on a trip were doing similar things.
'Weapons training'
Mr Khyam and six others are accused of plotting with a Canadian to cause explosions.
Six of the defendants were arrested in March 2004 when fertiliser was found stored in a west London depot.
It is alleged they had al-Qaeda links and discussed bombing targets including pubs, nightclubs and the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent between 1 January 2001 and 31 March 2004.
Mr Khyam, his younger brother Shujah-Ud-Din Mahmood, 18, and Waheed Mahmood, 33, from Crawley, West Sussex, along with Jawad Akbar, 22, from Crawley and Uxbridge, Anthony Garcia, 27, from Ilford, east London, Nabeel Hussain, 20, from Horley, Surrey, and Salahuddin Amin, 30, from Luton, Bedfordshire, deny conspiring to cause an explosion likely to endanger life contrary to section 3 (1)(a) of the Explosive Substances Act 1883.
Mr Khyam, who has also lived in Slough, Mr Garcia and Mr Hussain deny a charge under the Terrorism Act 2000 of possessing an article for terrorism - namely 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertiliser between 5 November, 2003 and 31 March, 2004.
Brothers Mr Khyam and Mr Mahmood deny having aluminium powder, which is an ingredient in explosives, between the said dates.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.
Paintball imams spread militancy
THE party of youths pulled on their blue overalls, snapped shut their visors and, taking aim with their paintball guns, prepared for four hours of licensed mayhem.
But the men who pursued each other last Sunday morning through the wooded grounds of Delta Force’s paintballing park near Congleton, Cheshire, had little in common with the stag parties and company teams nearby.
Instead of listening to corporate pep talks between sessions, the young Asian men were instructed by an imam dressed in fatigues on the need to unite Muslims worldwide in an international empire.
One senior member of the group, who is a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT), which Tony Blair has proposed should be banned, insisted that devout Muslims should refuse to vote in British elections.
HT, a group that preaches against the existence of Israel, has been described as a "conveyor belt to terrorism" by critics even within the Muslim community, though it says it eschews violence. It is banned in several Arab countries, and banned by the National Union of Students from British university campuses.
The day before, in an unrelated operation, police had raided a Muslim school, set in woodland near Crowborough, East Sussex, in an investigation into alleged terrorist training camps in Britain.
There have also been fears that terrorist training camps were being held in the Lake District and north Wales, and the terrorists Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer went on a whitewater rafting "bonding" trip in Wales before the London bombings of July 2005.
Undercover Sunday Times reporters were present last Sunday to witness first-hand the early stages of the radicalisation of young Asians by Islamic militants.
The reporters watched 10 youths, in their late teens or early twenties, arrive and were invited to join the session. During a lull in the game, they were approached by an imam, Ahsraf Bader, 34, who was with the group.
Bader, wearing a fleece jacket and jeans, described Osama Bin Laden as a "Muslim brother" and said it was the "responsibility" of every Muslim to bring back the caliphate, or a pan-Islamic government.
Kasim Shafiq, a senior member of the group and who said that he was a member of HT, declared that Muslims should not vote in British elections. "Our own shahadah [creed] tells us that the authority and law do not belong to the non-Muslims, so why are we going to vote for non-Muslims?" he said.
Shafiq, 27, an IT specialist, added: "If you think that you can win power, if you look at the logistics of how this country works . . . you’ve got to change the [minds and opinions of the] whole of the cabinet towards Islam, you’ve got to change the whole of the army towards Islam, then you will gain power."
The group organising the paintballing activity, the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum, states it is a community body that works on social problems in the inner-city district of Manchester.
The 15-strong paintballing party arrived in a silver Mercedes, a dark blue VW Polo and a Vauxhall Astra at the venue in Brereton Green, Congleton, which was used by a party of Manchester United players, including Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, earlier this year. They were expecting 40 to turn up but the absentees had been delayed at an HT conference, held the previous evening in London.
The course, named Zulu Wood, was muddy and the forest was strewn with barrels and mock ancient statues, with sheds to serve as bunkers.
The Asian group paid no attention to the 300 or so other players at the six-acre site, although they kept their voices down when, at the end of a game, the winning team called "Allahu Akbar [God is great]".
During one game, a player said: "I’ve been shot." His team-mate replied: "Don’t worry, the shahid [martyr] never dies."
The leaders of the group questioned the undercover reporters about their backgrounds and, once satisfied about their credentials, appeared eager to win them over to their beliefs.
"Leave me your number and next time I am in the area [east London] I’ll call you and show you the brothers around there," said Shafiq. "They do a lot of paintballing and . . . hiking. They call themselves the East London Youth Forum."
The London forum was described this weekend by Hanif Qadir, a moderate Muslim leader linked to the Waltham Forest Islamic Association mosque, as a "front" organisation for HT. He said HT targeted "vulnerable young teenagers" with "inflammatory leaflets". He added: "They can’t see the damage they cause to the Muslim community. If you want sharia [Islamic law] , then go and ask for it in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan."
Shafiq described the activities of the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum: "It’s off our own backs. There’s me, five, six of us brothers. And we thought, just engage in something, I suppose.
"Obviously at a young age that’s the best time to speak to the Muslims, because when they get older, obviously it’s much harder to try and get them to practise Islam than when they’re younger."
He said that while he was a member of HT, the youth forum was supposed to be independent of the organisation. Blair announced after the London bombings last year that he was considering banning HT.
Shafiq said the authorities were using the fear of terrorism to pressure Muslims to integrate: "Right now there is this big integration thing going on at the moment, isn’t it. And they use this terror thing as a way to make the Muslims integrate with the western way."
Afzal Khan, a former lord mayor of Manchester, said HT’s message was damaging to Muslims: "HT’s message of not participating in voting is wrong.
"We are here [in Britain] as a small minority and we have to live with the majority. If they want to live under an Islamic caliphate, they should take this idea to Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. and go and create it over there."
Bader, who lives near the Eccles and Salford mosque in Manchester, said it was the imams’ duty to give political advice: "They have to, akhi [brother], this is their responsibility. Politics is something you can’t separate."
He was scathing about the compromises made by mainstream imams in Britain: "Imams here, they get paid to be secular. They are here to survive. Islam is not their priority. Islam is second, which means all those things we want to talk on, they will not."
One young Asian, who has taken part in past events organised by the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum, said it was a sophisticated recruitment operation. "They organised paintballing, five-a-side football and other social events to persuade parents to let their sons go off with them," he said.
"The kids’ fathers have little idea what their sons are getting up to because they work 18 hours per day as taxi drivers, and the mothers are uneducated. Many of the HT leaders have jobs in the corporate world, so they borrow bonding techniques used on management courses."
Taji Mustapha, a spokesman for HT, said the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum and the East London Youth Forum were not members of his organisation and had no links with it. "Cheetham Hill Youth Forum is not a front for HT. If HT is doing something illegal, then I’ll deal with it," he said.
But the men who pursued each other last Sunday morning through the wooded grounds of Delta Force’s paintballing park near Congleton, Cheshire, had little in common with the stag parties and company teams nearby.
Instead of listening to corporate pep talks between sessions, the young Asian men were instructed by an imam dressed in fatigues on the need to unite Muslims worldwide in an international empire.
One senior member of the group, who is a member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT), which Tony Blair has proposed should be banned, insisted that devout Muslims should refuse to vote in British elections.
HT, a group that preaches against the existence of Israel, has been described as a "conveyor belt to terrorism" by critics even within the Muslim community, though it says it eschews violence. It is banned in several Arab countries, and banned by the National Union of Students from British university campuses.
The day before, in an unrelated operation, police had raided a Muslim school, set in woodland near Crowborough, East Sussex, in an investigation into alleged terrorist training camps in Britain.
There have also been fears that terrorist training camps were being held in the Lake District and north Wales, and the terrorists Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer went on a whitewater rafting "bonding" trip in Wales before the London bombings of July 2005.
Undercover Sunday Times reporters were present last Sunday to witness first-hand the early stages of the radicalisation of young Asians by Islamic militants.
The reporters watched 10 youths, in their late teens or early twenties, arrive and were invited to join the session. During a lull in the game, they were approached by an imam, Ahsraf Bader, 34, who was with the group.
Bader, wearing a fleece jacket and jeans, described Osama Bin Laden as a "Muslim brother" and said it was the "responsibility" of every Muslim to bring back the caliphate, or a pan-Islamic government.
Kasim Shafiq, a senior member of the group and who said that he was a member of HT, declared that Muslims should not vote in British elections. "Our own shahadah [creed] tells us that the authority and law do not belong to the non-Muslims, so why are we going to vote for non-Muslims?" he said.
Shafiq, 27, an IT specialist, added: "If you think that you can win power, if you look at the logistics of how this country works . . . you’ve got to change the [minds and opinions of the] whole of the cabinet towards Islam, you’ve got to change the whole of the army towards Islam, then you will gain power."
The group organising the paintballing activity, the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum, states it is a community body that works on social problems in the inner-city district of Manchester.
The 15-strong paintballing party arrived in a silver Mercedes, a dark blue VW Polo and a Vauxhall Astra at the venue in Brereton Green, Congleton, which was used by a party of Manchester United players, including Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, earlier this year. They were expecting 40 to turn up but the absentees had been delayed at an HT conference, held the previous evening in London.
The course, named Zulu Wood, was muddy and the forest was strewn with barrels and mock ancient statues, with sheds to serve as bunkers.
The Asian group paid no attention to the 300 or so other players at the six-acre site, although they kept their voices down when, at the end of a game, the winning team called "Allahu Akbar [God is great]".
During one game, a player said: "I’ve been shot." His team-mate replied: "Don’t worry, the shahid [martyr] never dies."
The leaders of the group questioned the undercover reporters about their backgrounds and, once satisfied about their credentials, appeared eager to win them over to their beliefs.
"Leave me your number and next time I am in the area [east London] I’ll call you and show you the brothers around there," said Shafiq. "They do a lot of paintballing and . . . hiking. They call themselves the East London Youth Forum."
The London forum was described this weekend by Hanif Qadir, a moderate Muslim leader linked to the Waltham Forest Islamic Association mosque, as a "front" organisation for HT. He said HT targeted "vulnerable young teenagers" with "inflammatory leaflets". He added: "They can’t see the damage they cause to the Muslim community. If you want sharia [Islamic law] , then go and ask for it in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan."
Shafiq described the activities of the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum: "It’s off our own backs. There’s me, five, six of us brothers. And we thought, just engage in something, I suppose.
"Obviously at a young age that’s the best time to speak to the Muslims, because when they get older, obviously it’s much harder to try and get them to practise Islam than when they’re younger."
He said that while he was a member of HT, the youth forum was supposed to be independent of the organisation. Blair announced after the London bombings last year that he was considering banning HT.
Shafiq said the authorities were using the fear of terrorism to pressure Muslims to integrate: "Right now there is this big integration thing going on at the moment, isn’t it. And they use this terror thing as a way to make the Muslims integrate with the western way."
Afzal Khan, a former lord mayor of Manchester, said HT’s message was damaging to Muslims: "HT’s message of not participating in voting is wrong.
"We are here [in Britain] as a small minority and we have to live with the majority. If they want to live under an Islamic caliphate, they should take this idea to Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. and go and create it over there."
Bader, who lives near the Eccles and Salford mosque in Manchester, said it was the imams’ duty to give political advice: "They have to, akhi [brother], this is their responsibility. Politics is something you can’t separate."
He was scathing about the compromises made by mainstream imams in Britain: "Imams here, they get paid to be secular. They are here to survive. Islam is not their priority. Islam is second, which means all those things we want to talk on, they will not."
One young Asian, who has taken part in past events organised by the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum, said it was a sophisticated recruitment operation. "They organised paintballing, five-a-side football and other social events to persuade parents to let their sons go off with them," he said.
"The kids’ fathers have little idea what their sons are getting up to because they work 18 hours per day as taxi drivers, and the mothers are uneducated. Many of the HT leaders have jobs in the corporate world, so they borrow bonding techniques used on management courses."
Taji Mustapha, a spokesman for HT, said the Cheetham Hill Youth Forum and the East London Youth Forum were not members of his organisation and had no links with it. "Cheetham Hill Youth Forum is not a front for HT. If HT is doing something illegal, then I’ll deal with it," he said.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
So this is what they mean by moderate voices
The Daily Mail’s Richard Littlejohn reacts to Muslim Council of Britain leader Muhammad Abdul Bari’s outrageous threat that criticizing Islam will create two million terrorists in Britain:
With exemplary tact and exquisite timing, the ‘leader’ of Britain’s Muslims chose the eve of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 to warn that we are facing the threat of two million home-grown Islamic terrorists.
The preposterous, self-aggrandising ‘secretary-general’ of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Muhammad Abdul Bari, predicted an angry backlash against what he perceives as widespread ‘Islamophobia’ in this country.
To be honest, I did wonder whether it was worth even dignifying this garbage with a reaction, especially when it comes from a man who appears to wear a ginger wig with a grey beard. But someone’s got to do it.
gingerBari and his sidekicks are regularly wheeled out as the authentic voice of
‘moderate’ Islam. Their victimhood shtick is treated as gospel by broadcasters and they are taken seriously by government ministers and senior police officers.
They never miss an opportunity to advance their own agenda. It always the same old song. They utterly condemn terrorism, you understand, but unless we give them exactly what they want, they can’t be held responsible for the actions of the more excitable members of their community.
Criticise them and you are damned as an ‘Islamophobe’. When I described the MCB as a ‘self-appointed bunch of chancers’ a few weeks ago, Bari’s ridiculous Mr Bean-lookalike press officer Inayat Bunglawala wrote accusing me of being a bigot.
mr beanYet nothing in that column could remotely be construed as an attack on the Muslim religion, any more than taking the mickey out of trendy vicars is an assault on Christianity.
Far from being a bigot, I judge the MCB on exactly the same terms as any other bunch of spivs and opportunists. They are the ones hiding behind religion for political ends. I certainly don’t need any lessons in bigotry from someone like Bari, who invites as an honoured guest to his East London mosque a ‘radical’ cleric who describes Jews as ‘monkeys and pigs’.
Perhaps while the Muslim Council is accusing others of bigotry it would like to share with us its enlightened views on homosexuality and arranged marriages.
‘Islamophobia’ is just another of those catch-all, smear-the-messenger fantasies dreamed up to close down debate and stifle free speech.
When you examine closely Bari’s latest outburst, it is nothing short of monstrous. What he is saying is that every Muslim in this country is a potential terrorist.
If anything is guaranteed to increase suspicion of Muslims it is incendiary statements like that.
The anniversary of the attacks on America should be an occasion for sober reflection and remembrance. But the MCB has never met an atrocity it didn’t try to exploit. Their tactic is always the same.
After their perfunctory condemnation of terrorism, there’s always the caveat about British foreign policy in the Middle East and the assertion that the real victims are not those who have actually been blown to smithereens but Muslims themselves.
While they could never condone what has happened, we are invited to understand the anger and alienation which cause young men to turn themselves into human bombs.
The fact is that this jihad started long before 9/11, years before Iraq and Afghanistan. The first attack on the World Trade Centre was in 1993.
And I still fail to understand how the mass murder of thousands of people, among them many Muslims, could inspire anyone to become ‘radicalised’. You’d expect it to have precisely the opposite effect.
Young British Muslims are being poisoned by fanatical elements within their own faith — by the kind of maniac Muhammad Abdul Bari thinks is a suitable person to preach at his mosque.
There is undoubtedly alienation and anger out there. And not just among young Muslims. Poverty, discrimination and unemployment is not the exclusive preserve of any one religion or racial background.
Reader comments
Monday, September 11, 2006
BBC Staff in Trouble for Potentially Offending Muslims
A sign of the impending apocalypse: BBC staff members are in trouble for offending Muslims.
Members of the BBC London news team today face a grilling from senior bosses after they filmed a spoof video making light of the conflict in the Middle East.
The film, a skit on Peter Kay’s (Is This The Way To) Amarillo? was made to mark the departure of assistant editor Simon Torkington who is going to the news channel Al-Jazeera International in Qatar with his wife, former ITV news anchor Shiulie Ghosh.
The joke video was shown at a private leaving party for Torkington "Storky" - last week. But a copy has been leaked to the Standard by a BBC insider angry that licence fee payers’ cash was used to make a "tasteless" skit that could cause offence to Muslims.
BBC London journalists, including transport correspondent Andrew Winstanley and reporter Sarah Harris, are seen singing a spoof version of the hit song in tea towel head dresses and fake Arabstyle beards, to a video backdrop featuring real-life news footage of missile launchers, tanks and soldiers in gas masks.
BBC London special correspondent Kurt Barling - who has reported extensively on the issues facing Britain’s Muslim community - appears bare-chested and dancing in a Muslim prayer hat. The re-jigged lyrics feature jokes about Osama bin Laden, the traditional Islamic jilbab dress and the Palestinian Intifada. Fronting the video in the Peter Kay role is Ian Wade, a member of BBC London management staff who hit the headlines last summer when he was caught up in the devastating Piccadilly line bombing.
Others said to feature in the video, which sees the group dancing in a stairwell at the BBC’s Marylebone headquarters, in a lift and leaping out of a BBC London van outside the offices, include news anchor Matt Barbet, arts correspondent Brenda Emmanus and reporter Karthi Gnanasegaram, along with half a dozen others who join the dancing at the end.
And notice: these BBC reporters are being preemptively condemned, apparently before any Muslims have complained.
Although the video was never intended to be broadcast outside the BBC, sources say it calls into question the judgment of those involved at a time of heightened sensitivity among Muslim communities.
One insider said: "At a time of great community sensitivities [Not to mention all those terror plots... —ed], is it right for the BBC’s reporting team in London to be seen dressing up as stereotypical Arabs or Muslims, singing and dancing?"
Here’s the incredibly awful video.
Members of the BBC London news team today face a grilling from senior bosses after they filmed a spoof video making light of the conflict in the Middle East.
The film, a skit on Peter Kay’s (Is This The Way To) Amarillo? was made to mark the departure of assistant editor Simon Torkington who is going to the news channel Al-Jazeera International in Qatar with his wife, former ITV news anchor Shiulie Ghosh.
The joke video was shown at a private leaving party for Torkington "Storky" - last week. But a copy has been leaked to the Standard by a BBC insider angry that licence fee payers’ cash was used to make a "tasteless" skit that could cause offence to Muslims.
BBC London journalists, including transport correspondent Andrew Winstanley and reporter Sarah Harris, are seen singing a spoof version of the hit song in tea towel head dresses and fake Arabstyle beards, to a video backdrop featuring real-life news footage of missile launchers, tanks and soldiers in gas masks.
BBC London special correspondent Kurt Barling - who has reported extensively on the issues facing Britain’s Muslim community - appears bare-chested and dancing in a Muslim prayer hat. The re-jigged lyrics feature jokes about Osama bin Laden, the traditional Islamic jilbab dress and the Palestinian Intifada. Fronting the video in the Peter Kay role is Ian Wade, a member of BBC London management staff who hit the headlines last summer when he was caught up in the devastating Piccadilly line bombing.
Others said to feature in the video, which sees the group dancing in a stairwell at the BBC’s Marylebone headquarters, in a lift and leaping out of a BBC London van outside the offices, include news anchor Matt Barbet, arts correspondent Brenda Emmanus and reporter Karthi Gnanasegaram, along with half a dozen others who join the dancing at the end.
And notice: these BBC reporters are being preemptively condemned, apparently before any Muslims have complained.
Although the video was never intended to be broadcast outside the BBC, sources say it calls into question the judgment of those involved at a time of heightened sensitivity among Muslim communities.
One insider said: "At a time of great community sensitivities [Not to mention all those terror plots... —ed], is it right for the BBC’s reporting team in London to be seen dressing up as stereotypical Arabs or Muslims, singing and dancing?"
Here’s the incredibly awful video.
Two brothers face terror charges
Two brothers have been charged following a series of anti-terror raids in south-east England.
Yassin Mutegombwa, 22, of Upper Norwood, London, is charged with three counts of receiving terrorism training.
Police allege he was trained in the use of weapons in woodland near a caravan and campsite in Hampshire, and at another location in Berkshire.
Hassan Mutegombwa, 20, also of Upper Norwood, is charged with one count of procuring funds for terrorism.
Islamic school
The overnight raids staged on 1 September, which saw arrests at a Chinese restaurant in the Borough area of south London, were targeted at alleged terrorist recruiters, Scotland Yard has said.
Anti-terrorism officers also swooped on the Jameah Islamiyah Secondary School in Mark Cross, near Crowborough, East Sussex, which they continue to search.
Sussex Police said investigations at the school could take weeks but that no arrests had been made there.
The school was set up in 2003 as an Islamic teaching facility for boys aged between 11 and 16, according to Ofsted inspectors.
Legal history
BBC home affairs correspondent Margaret Gilmore says the charging of one of the men has made legal history.
"One of the men has been accused of funding terrorism under a law which has been used before but the second man is accused for the first time under a specific part of the Terrorism Act 2006 with receiving training for the purposes of terrorism."
The two men were charged at Paddington Green high security police station in London and will appear in court on Tuesday.
A total of 14 arrests were made in the operation, 12 of them at the restaurant, and two people have since been released.
Among those being held is Abu Abdullah who is a former associate of the radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza.
Police said the arrests were not connected to the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners or the Tube and bus attacks in London on 7 July last year.
Yassin Mutegombwa, 22, of Upper Norwood, London, is charged with three counts of receiving terrorism training.
Police allege he was trained in the use of weapons in woodland near a caravan and campsite in Hampshire, and at another location in Berkshire.
Hassan Mutegombwa, 20, also of Upper Norwood, is charged with one count of procuring funds for terrorism.
Islamic school
The overnight raids staged on 1 September, which saw arrests at a Chinese restaurant in the Borough area of south London, were targeted at alleged terrorist recruiters, Scotland Yard has said.
Anti-terrorism officers also swooped on the Jameah Islamiyah Secondary School in Mark Cross, near Crowborough, East Sussex, which they continue to search.
Sussex Police said investigations at the school could take weeks but that no arrests had been made there.
The school was set up in 2003 as an Islamic teaching facility for boys aged between 11 and 16, according to Ofsted inspectors.
Legal history
BBC home affairs correspondent Margaret Gilmore says the charging of one of the men has made legal history.
"One of the men has been accused of funding terrorism under a law which has been used before but the second man is accused for the first time under a specific part of the Terrorism Act 2006 with receiving training for the purposes of terrorism."
The two men were charged at Paddington Green high security police station in London and will appear in court on Tuesday.
A total of 14 arrests were made in the operation, 12 of them at the restaurant, and two people have since been released.
Among those being held is Abu Abdullah who is a former associate of the radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza.
Police said the arrests were not connected to the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners or the Tube and bus attacks in London on 7 July last year.
Bakri gloats over RAF deaths
HATE preacher Omar Bakri claimed 14 British servicemen died in revenge for 14 terror arrests in London.The sick exiled cleric gloated to followers that he was "so happy" at the RAF Nimrod crash in Afghanistan on September 2 which killed everyone on board.
The jet was brought down by an on-board fire just a day after anti-terror cops swooped to round up 14 suspects in raids across the capital.
In an hour-long internet rant, evil Bakri — currently hiding in Lebanon — crowed: "After those 14 brothers had been arrested, Allah allowed us to have 14 kuffars (non-believers) killed in Afghanistan.
"You see from the British, they say it’s not Taliban who put down the Nimrod. We say it doesn’t matter. It is for the use of almighty Allah that they are in the heaven or the earth.
"Allah has his own soldiers and I was so happy. I was just thanking Allah."
Bakri, 48, launched the hate-filled outburst on a website where dozens of extremists meet each night to hear him preach.
During the sermon, Bakri revealed he had visited Jameah Islamiyah Islamic school in East Sussex, which is being searched by anti-terrorism officers.
He said: "I remember when I heard about it (being raided). I was remembering the visits we paid there — for the Koran and for all those issues. I couldn’t believe it."
Bakri said he felt sorry for Abu Hamza’s No 2, Abu Abdullah, who was held in the raids.
He claimed the arrest had been sparked by a recent interview Abdullah gave to US news network CNN, in which he claimed every "sincere Muslim" had been "pleased" by 9/11.
Bakri added: "I heard about the arrest of Abu Abdullah. It hurt me bad. I was speaking about his case last week and his interview on CNN.
"Those kuffars were so angry they couldn’t swallow it. They attack what they like to call extremists, radicals and terrorists."
Bakri, who begged to be let back into Britain to escape the recent fighting in Lebanon, said he had been quizzed by authorities there. He revealed he had been shown pictures of 24 unnamed terror suspects — but said he did not co-operate with police.
He claimed to know the men — but not by name — and told extremists to follow his example. He said: "I don’t ask questions about names or their family or their background. This is the best security — not to ask people their names."
Bakri ended his sermon with a dark warning to radicals thinking of hatching terror plots. He said; "Keep clean behind you. Do not leave any trace if you have anything to hide."
Muslim leader: don't resist terrorism, or you'll get 2 million more terrorists
Anti-terror efforts breed terrorists, says Bari. In other words, please lie down and die. "Threat of up to two million Muslim terrorists, warns community leader," from the Daily Mail,
Britain will face have to deal with up to two million Islamic terrorists unless there is an end to 'demonising' of Muslims, the leader of the most influential Muslim organisation has said.
Treating all Muslims as if they were terrorists will encourage large numbers to become terrorists, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari said.
The warning from the chief of the Muslim Council of Britain - the grouping that Tony Blair's Government has considered the leading voice for Muslims - came amid rising tensions over the increasingly suspicious attitude to Muslims in the rest of society.
Dr Bari declared: "Some police officers and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they are all terrorists, and that encourages other people to do the same.
"If that demonisation continues, then Britain will have to deal with two million Muslim terrorists, 700,000 of them in London. "If you attack a whole community, it becomes despondent and aggressive," he added.
The message from Dr Bari appeared to be aimed at muting criticism from police officers and broadcasters and newspapers who have questioned widely-held Muslim attitudes and at police officers who have called for greater surveillance of Muslims.
It appeared to contain a measure of exaggeration - according to the last national census, there are fewer than 1.6 million Muslims in the country.
But by suggesting that a majority of British Muslims may be prepared to support or engage in terrorism the Muslim Council chief may undermine figures who have tried to ward off attacks on Muslims.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
the lions of islam.
POSING menacingly under a banner that proclaims ‘The Lions of Islam', these devoted terror recruits are in training to target coalition forces in Iraq.
But this is no Pakistani madrassa or Middle Eastern fanatics' boot camp.
Look closer and it's apparant these mad-eyed soldiers preparing for Jihad are WESTERNERS. And that their training is taking place in EUROPE—possibly even in southern ENGLAND.
Our pictures were taken from a chilling recruitment video posted on a secret website used by UK al-Qaeda supporters. Terror expert Neil Doyle told the News of the World: "You can see that these guys are white. It shows that terrorist training camps could already be here among us."
It also shows the net of Islamic extremism has widened, bringing new headaches to already over-stretched police and security services trying to avert attacks against targets here and in Iraq.
The Lions of Islam group claims in the video to have already struck against coalition forces in Iraq and urges other Muslims in the West to join forces with them to "weaken and beat" the "unbelievers".
Mr Doyle, author of Terror Base UK, said: "The scariest part is that these people, already recruited, are not from Pakistan or Iraq. They've got jeans and T-shirts that you would see in any high street in Britain."
He added: "The landscape is just like the Home Counties."
Targets
The video—on a password protected site—surfaced as police continued to question 14 men suspected of being involved in the first British-based school for Islamic terrorists.
Their arrests followed a nine-month surveillance operation centred on the Jameah Islamiyah Islamic school in Catt's Hill, near Crowborough, Sussex.
The Lions of Islam video shows an unrelated group of men, along with their leader Abu Omar al-Chechani, training on a remote hilltop bounded by wooded areas.
The terror trainees are seen firing live rounds at targets in bushes as a Jihad anthem wails in the background.
Spent casings can be seen streaming from the side of one of the weapons.
Four men then practise storming a wrecked bus and the recruits are taught how to conceal roadside bombs, of a type which have already killed scores of coalition troops in Iraq.
As the film ends, it makes this menacing threat to Westerners in English: "We will deal with the worshippers of the cross and those who align with them from the disbelievers and hypocrites and make them a bounty in the hands of the Mujahideen.
"We call upon all Muslims who reside in the land of the infidels to join us and not to rely on the fact that the war is far away from their homelands.
"We ask for all possible aid and support for this movement so that Allah becomes a thorn in the throat of the kuffar (unbeliever)."
Invaders
Mr Doyle said: "The standard of English on the slogans seems to suggest more than a passing British involvement.
"I obviously can't say for certain that these guys are British, but the fact that al-Qaeda's been as active here as almost anywhere else in the world makes it impossible to rule out British involvement."
A statement in Arabic on the video says: "Good news to the brothers in the land of the non-believers. A new group named The Lions of Islam has been created.
"The group has caused numerous damages to the invaders of the land of the two rivers (Iraq).
"God-willing and with the help of the Mujahideen our forces against the unbelievers— the insidious—will increase and it will weaken and beat them."
Last week we revealed that British fundamentalists had been circulating a document describing how to set up Jihad training camps in remote areas.
It is believed new-style "foundation camps" are needed to cope with an influx of new recruits. Mr Doyle said: "Al-Qaeda leaders have ordered groups in the West to step up training and prepare more attacks against Western targets. This latest video might provide a insight into a pipeline also supplying recruits to groups fighting coalition troops in Iraq and elsewhere.
Combat
"The close quarter combat scenes could have come from an advert for our own Armed Forces.
"They're made to attract young people into fighting for their country...
"These clips are made for just the same reason."
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Disastrous Coddling of Radical Islam
The Daily Mail reports that four Muslim organizations connected to the 7/7 bombers received large sums of money from the British government.
Government grants totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds were handed out to Muslim organisations infiltrated by the July 7 suicide bombers.
Huge chunks of taxpayers’ money were given to four Leeds-based institutions that were the haunts of ring-leader Mohammed Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. Grants ranging from a few hundred pounds to £200,000 were made in Beeston, the bombers’ home territory where three of the four 7/7 bombers lived.
The money came from funds intended to regenerate the area but suspicions persist that some of the cash may have been diverted to recruit and train the home-grown terrorists who killed 52 people in last year’s attacks.
The Iqra Islamic bookshop - where hate-filled DVDs glorifying suicide bombers were produced - was one recipient.
Leeds Community School, which shared the same building with the radical bookstore, obtained a grant of over £106,000 for ‘staffing and construction costs.’
The ‘al-Qaeda gym’ in the basement of a nearby mosque used by Edgware Road bomber Khan,30, was also equipped with money provided by Leeds City Council.
The Hamara youth centre, raided by police after the four men blew themselves and where Khan’s inner circle met, received two £200,000 grants for building costs and an £189,000 EU building grant.
Details of the government financing emerged during research for a Channel 4 documentary, Cult of the Suicide Bomber.
Government grants totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds were handed out to Muslim organisations infiltrated by the July 7 suicide bombers.
Huge chunks of taxpayers’ money were given to four Leeds-based institutions that were the haunts of ring-leader Mohammed Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. Grants ranging from a few hundred pounds to £200,000 were made in Beeston, the bombers’ home territory where three of the four 7/7 bombers lived.
The money came from funds intended to regenerate the area but suspicions persist that some of the cash may have been diverted to recruit and train the home-grown terrorists who killed 52 people in last year’s attacks.
The Iqra Islamic bookshop - where hate-filled DVDs glorifying suicide bombers were produced - was one recipient.
Leeds Community School, which shared the same building with the radical bookstore, obtained a grant of over £106,000 for ‘staffing and construction costs.’
The ‘al-Qaeda gym’ in the basement of a nearby mosque used by Edgware Road bomber Khan,30, was also equipped with money provided by Leeds City Council.
The Hamara youth centre, raided by police after the four men blew themselves and where Khan’s inner circle met, received two £200,000 grants for building costs and an £189,000 EU building grant.
Details of the government financing emerged during research for a Channel 4 documentary, Cult of the Suicide Bomber.
Muslims Are Not Trusted By British Public
The Muslim community's so-called "leaders" have failed in their propaganda campaigns to persuade British citizens that Muslims are normal members of society. Perhaps because those same "leaders" have tried hard to foist their own agenda onto Britain's political life, such as their suggestion made in a letter of August 12 that Muslim extremism would stop if Britain changed its foreign policy. Recently, a poll showed that 80% of the UK public thought Britain's largest "representative" Muslim body, the MCB, had "not done enough" to counter extremism. The MCB has been at the forefront of criticising the police and the government in their anti-terror measures, even though they receive large donations, funded by the tax-payer.
On Tuesday September 5, a survey conducted by pollsters YouGov for the London Evening Standard showed that one in six Londoners avoided sitting near Muslims on buses and trains. 35% of travellers said they felt nervous when someone of south Asian or African appearance got onto their bus or Tube train. Half of those who felt nervous had actually moved seats or sat at a distance from the "suspicious" individuals.
Only 5% of respondents supported special checks at airports on men who appeared to be "Asian or north African origin", but 45% approved random checks on all passengers with special attention to those who appeared Asian or African. 46% said that no-one should be singled out on account of their background or appearance.
In practice, with numerous converts now being suspected of being involved in supporting or plotting terrorism, it would be wiser to treat all travellers as suspects.
Yesterday, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph reported on a new survey, which compared the change in people's attitudes from before the 7/7 bombings of last year and now.
Again, the poll was carried out by YouGov, and involved 2,895 people who were questioned in June last year, and 1,100 who were polled in the month after last year's attacks upon London Transport.
Before 7/7, 35% of respondents thought Muslims made security worse. After 7/7, 53% agreed that Muslims worsened security.
Before 7/7, 37% of people said they would feel comfortable if they had a Muslim boss. This dropped to 20% in the aftermath of the London bombs. With the situation of having a Muslim in-law, 32% people had initially felt comfortable, but that dropped to 27%.
Before 7/7, 59% of respondents supported stiffer measures to expel illegal immigrants. After 7/7, that rose to 75%.
On the question of having a Muslim neighbour, 34% of people asked before the London attacks said they would feel comfortable, (one in three) but only 21% of subsequent respondents (one in five) said they would feel happy with a Muslim neighbour.
But most people believed in Britain being an equal society with a common set of values.
The results were analysed by Professor Dominic Abrams from the University of Kent, who said: "Not surprisingly feelings of suspicion and threat elevated after the bombings, but these feelings can be contrasted strongly with people's commitment to a society that broadly shares a set of values and principles."
His findings were presented yesterday to the social psychology conference of the British Psychological Society, which was held in Birmingham.
On Tuesday September 5, a survey conducted by pollsters YouGov for the London Evening Standard showed that one in six Londoners avoided sitting near Muslims on buses and trains. 35% of travellers said they felt nervous when someone of south Asian or African appearance got onto their bus or Tube train. Half of those who felt nervous had actually moved seats or sat at a distance from the "suspicious" individuals.
Only 5% of respondents supported special checks at airports on men who appeared to be "Asian or north African origin", but 45% approved random checks on all passengers with special attention to those who appeared Asian or African. 46% said that no-one should be singled out on account of their background or appearance.
In practice, with numerous converts now being suspected of being involved in supporting or plotting terrorism, it would be wiser to treat all travellers as suspects.
Yesterday, the Daily Mail and the Telegraph reported on a new survey, which compared the change in people's attitudes from before the 7/7 bombings of last year and now.
Again, the poll was carried out by YouGov, and involved 2,895 people who were questioned in June last year, and 1,100 who were polled in the month after last year's attacks upon London Transport.
Before 7/7, 35% of respondents thought Muslims made security worse. After 7/7, 53% agreed that Muslims worsened security.
Before 7/7, 37% of people said they would feel comfortable if they had a Muslim boss. This dropped to 20% in the aftermath of the London bombs. With the situation of having a Muslim in-law, 32% people had initially felt comfortable, but that dropped to 27%.
Before 7/7, 59% of respondents supported stiffer measures to expel illegal immigrants. After 7/7, that rose to 75%.
On the question of having a Muslim neighbour, 34% of people asked before the London attacks said they would feel comfortable, (one in three) but only 21% of subsequent respondents (one in five) said they would feel happy with a Muslim neighbour.
But most people believed in Britain being an equal society with a common set of values.
The results were analysed by Professor Dominic Abrams from the University of Kent, who said: "Not surprisingly feelings of suspicion and threat elevated after the bombings, but these feelings can be contrasted strongly with people's commitment to a society that broadly shares a set of values and principles."
His findings were presented yesterday to the social psychology conference of the British Psychological Society, which was held in Birmingham.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Britain discovers secret army of well-trained jihadi terrorists
A massive MI5 anti-terrorism operation discovers Britain's first Islamic "school for terror."
Al-Qaida has supplied its estimated 2,000 sleeper agents in Britain with what MI5 Director Eliza Manningham-Buller tells Home Secretary John Reid is "the most sophisticated terror manual ever found in this country."
MI5 is checking all Britain's universities and technical schools for Middle East students with a qualification in thermochemistry – the science that includes creating liquid explosives.
MI6, Britain's secret intelligence service, has established that Continuity-IRA, the extreme Irish terror group, is providing Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard with expertise on how to make ultra-sophisticated roadside bombs
read more
Al-Qaida has supplied its estimated 2,000 sleeper agents in Britain with what MI5 Director Eliza Manningham-Buller tells Home Secretary John Reid is "the most sophisticated terror manual ever found in this country."
MI5 is checking all Britain's universities and technical schools for Middle East students with a qualification in thermochemistry – the science that includes creating liquid explosives.
MI6, Britain's secret intelligence service, has established that Continuity-IRA, the extreme Irish terror group, is providing Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard with expertise on how to make ultra-sophisticated roadside bombs
read more
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
One in 10 'backs honour killings'
One in 10 young British Asians believes so-called honour killings can be justified, according to a poll for the BBC's Asian Network.
Of 500 Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims questioned, a 10th said they would condone the murder of someone who disrespected their family's honour.
Figures show 13 people die every year in honour killings, but police and support groups believe it is many more.
Religious leaders said they would hold a national conference on the issue.
Honour killing is a brutal reaction within a family - predominantly Asian and Middle Eastern - to someone perceived to have brought "shame" upon relatives.
What constitutes dishonour can range from wearing clothes thought unsuitable or choosing a career which the family disapprove of, to marrying outside of the wider community.
The Metropolitan Police are investigating 200 deaths linked to honour killings.
Kidnaps, beatings and rapes have also been committed in the name of "honour".
Liza Booth, from Asian Network, said clerics from all the faiths would hold the gathering later in the year to discuss how to make honour killings a thing of the past.
The 16 to 34-year-old age group interviewed in the survey needed to be persuaded such killings were not acceptable, they said.
Family importance
One interviewee told the radio station: "A lot of people treat their family as everything they have got. So if someone hurts their family the law might do nothing about it, you might have to deal with it."
Navid Akhtar, a journalist who has been examining the issue, said honour was ingrained into Asian society.
"Most of the Asians who are in Britain today come from very tribal communities.
"Honour is a big deal, it's kind of caught up with your property, it's caught up with your women and if anybody comes close to threatening you, you have to avenge your honour."
'Not tolerated'
Dr Aisha Gill, a lecturer in criminology at Roehampton University, told BBC Five Live that convincing the Asian community that honour killings were not acceptable was the right approach.
"I think it's absolutely essential that there is a collective responsibility, and this is not just for agencies, but for communities that are affected by it.
"[The government should] send out a clear message, an unambiguous message that such violence against women will not be tolerated."
In one recent case, two men were jailed for life for murdering their relative after she fell in love with an asylum seeker.
Greengrocer Azhar Nazir, 30, and his cousin Imran Mohammed, 17, stabbed Nazir's sister Samaira 18 times at the family home in Southall in April 2005.
The 25-year-old recruitment consultant was killed after she asked to marry an Afghan man - instead of marrying someone in the Pakistani family circle.
Of 500 Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims questioned, a 10th said they would condone the murder of someone who disrespected their family's honour.
Figures show 13 people die every year in honour killings, but police and support groups believe it is many more.
Religious leaders said they would hold a national conference on the issue.
Honour killing is a brutal reaction within a family - predominantly Asian and Middle Eastern - to someone perceived to have brought "shame" upon relatives.
What constitutes dishonour can range from wearing clothes thought unsuitable or choosing a career which the family disapprove of, to marrying outside of the wider community.
The Metropolitan Police are investigating 200 deaths linked to honour killings.
Kidnaps, beatings and rapes have also been committed in the name of "honour".
Liza Booth, from Asian Network, said clerics from all the faiths would hold the gathering later in the year to discuss how to make honour killings a thing of the past.
The 16 to 34-year-old age group interviewed in the survey needed to be persuaded such killings were not acceptable, they said.
Family importance
One interviewee told the radio station: "A lot of people treat their family as everything they have got. So if someone hurts their family the law might do nothing about it, you might have to deal with it."
Navid Akhtar, a journalist who has been examining the issue, said honour was ingrained into Asian society.
"Most of the Asians who are in Britain today come from very tribal communities.
"Honour is a big deal, it's kind of caught up with your property, it's caught up with your women and if anybody comes close to threatening you, you have to avenge your honour."
'Not tolerated'
Dr Aisha Gill, a lecturer in criminology at Roehampton University, told BBC Five Live that convincing the Asian community that honour killings were not acceptable was the right approach.
"I think it's absolutely essential that there is a collective responsibility, and this is not just for agencies, but for communities that are affected by it.
"[The government should] send out a clear message, an unambiguous message that such violence against women will not be tolerated."
In one recent case, two men were jailed for life for murdering their relative after she fell in love with an asylum seeker.
Greengrocer Azhar Nazir, 30, and his cousin Imran Mohammed, 17, stabbed Nazir's sister Samaira 18 times at the family home in Southall in April 2005.
The 25-year-old recruitment consultant was killed after she asked to marry an Afghan man - instead of marrying someone in the Pakistani family circle.
Suicide plot Brit ran for his life
A BRITISH suicide bomber ran for his life when his device failed to explode — but was later found dead in the sea, an inquest heard yesterday.
Ex-public schoolboy Omar Khan Sharif fled an Israeli bar chased by a witness and a knife-wielding taxi driver.
He wriggled free after a clash in which he was twice kicked in the groin, then vanished in the streets of Tel Aviv.
Two weeks later his corpse was discovered.
An inquest in his hometown of Derby heard the 27-year-old father of three plotted to attack Mike’s Place, a seafront bar next to the American Embassy in April 2003.
Asif Hanif, 21, of Hounslow, West London, detonated explosives strapped to his body — becoming Britain’s first suicide bomber, killing three others and wounding 65. Sharif dumped his device in a bin as he ran away.
Coroner Peter Ashworth recorded a "narrative verdict", saying it would never be known how Sharif ended up in the water — or whether he had been executed by Hamas henchmen in punishment for failing in his terror mission.
But he said there was no evidence Sharif had been restrained or tortured by Israeli security forces.
Ex-public schoolboy Omar Khan Sharif fled an Israeli bar chased by a witness and a knife-wielding taxi driver.
He wriggled free after a clash in which he was twice kicked in the groin, then vanished in the streets of Tel Aviv.
Two weeks later his corpse was discovered.
An inquest in his hometown of Derby heard the 27-year-old father of three plotted to attack Mike’s Place, a seafront bar next to the American Embassy in April 2003.
Asif Hanif, 21, of Hounslow, West London, detonated explosives strapped to his body — becoming Britain’s first suicide bomber, killing three others and wounding 65. Sharif dumped his device in a bin as he ran away.
Coroner Peter Ashworth recorded a "narrative verdict", saying it would never be known how Sharif ended up in the water — or whether he had been executed by Hamas henchmen in punishment for failing in his terror mission.
But he said there was no evidence Sharif had been restrained or tortured by Israeli security forces.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Blind Iraqi on danger drive rap
A BLIND Iraqi - who has lost both his eyes - was caught driving a car while he received instructions from a banned driver, a court heard today.
Omed Aziz, who lost his sight in bomb blast, reached speeds of up to 35mph on a half-mile route through Oldbury, West Midlands, in April.
Warley Magistrates’ court was told that Aziz - who also suffers from leg tremors and is partially deaf - was arrested by traffic police after removing his sunglasses to reveal his disability.
Prosecutor Peter Love asked PC Glyn Austin if he had noticed anything about Aziz.
PC Austin replied: "I did - he didn’t have any eyes, Your Worships."
The officer told the court that Aziz was arrested shortly after 11pm on April 23 after their Peugeot 405 was followed.
The officer said Aziz, from Wednesbury, pulled his vehicle on to waste ground after being informed there was a police car behind him.
PC Austin said: "I attempted to speak to the driver, who appeared to be fumbling around with the controls," the traffic officer said.
"At that point the passenger leaned across and stated ’He’s blind’."
Aziz was arrested and taken to Smethwick police station, where the he confirmed that he was totally blind and had impaired hearing in his left ear as a result of injuries sustained in an explosion.
PC Stuart Edge told the court that the M-registered Peugeot had crossed a white hazard line on to the wrong side of the road shortly before it was halted.
"I asked him if he could see me. He removed the dark-coloured sunglasses he was wearing and I could clearly see he was blind as he had no eyes," he said.
Defence solicitor Timothy Gascoyne invited the bench to acquit his client of dangerous driving.
He said: "The question is not whether his driving was dangerous, but whether being blind makes it dangerous."
Magistrates must decide whether Aziz’s driving fell far below what would be expected of a careful and competent driver and whether it would be obvious to such a driver that driving in that way would be dangerous.
32 Iraqis are booted out of UK
Omed Aziz, who lost his sight in bomb blast, reached speeds of up to 35mph on a half-mile route through Oldbury, West Midlands, in April.
Warley Magistrates’ court was told that Aziz - who also suffers from leg tremors and is partially deaf - was arrested by traffic police after removing his sunglasses to reveal his disability.
Prosecutor Peter Love asked PC Glyn Austin if he had noticed anything about Aziz.
PC Austin replied: "I did - he didn’t have any eyes, Your Worships."
The officer told the court that Aziz was arrested shortly after 11pm on April 23 after their Peugeot 405 was followed.
The officer said Aziz, from Wednesbury, pulled his vehicle on to waste ground after being informed there was a police car behind him.
PC Austin said: "I attempted to speak to the driver, who appeared to be fumbling around with the controls," the traffic officer said.
"At that point the passenger leaned across and stated ’He’s blind’."
Aziz was arrested and taken to Smethwick police station, where the he confirmed that he was totally blind and had impaired hearing in his left ear as a result of injuries sustained in an explosion.
PC Stuart Edge told the court that the M-registered Peugeot had crossed a white hazard line on to the wrong side of the road shortly before it was halted.
"I asked him if he could see me. He removed the dark-coloured sunglasses he was wearing and I could clearly see he was blind as he had no eyes," he said.
Defence solicitor Timothy Gascoyne invited the bench to acquit his client of dangerous driving.
He said: "The question is not whether his driving was dangerous, but whether being blind makes it dangerous."
Magistrates must decide whether Aziz’s driving fell far below what would be expected of a careful and competent driver and whether it would be obvious to such a driver that driving in that way would be dangerous.
32 Iraqis are booted out of UK
The new look for Britain’s hospitals
THIS is the latest look coming to our NHS hospitals –
a burka-style gown for patients.Instead of standard issue clothing, women who want to cover up because of their faith are to be offered the striking turquoise garment.
Although welcomed by doctors as a breakthrough to encourage Muslim women to seek treatment, critics last night said the move was "another example of political correctness".The "Inter-faith gown" is being piloted at Royal Preston Hospital after complaints from women that regulation dress was too revealing.
Hospitals across the country are also being offered the £12 burkas by an NHS clothing supplier. Doctors say that many women do not show up for vital operations because they fear the procedure will mean them breaking strict Islamic law.The hooded "Inter-faith gown" is designed to reveal nothing but the patients’ eyes and hands and yet allow access for surgeons.
Last night Conservative MP Philip Davies, who has campaigned against political correctness, said the dress would stir up resentment on wards because patients would believe others were getting special treatment."This may be viewed as a reasonable request from one particular group of patients but what I would like to ask is where does that request lie in a hospital’s priorities?" he said. "It is another example of political correctness because it is the sort of thing that has been brought in because the words ‘faith’ and ‘race’ have been mentioned.
"The average patient on a ward will look at this and be resentful because they will say to themselves: ‘This has been brought in because it is a Muslim request’."They themselves may have other requests, like more visiting hours, more flexible meal times or a brighter lamp for their bedside table, but they know they’ve got less chance of achieving this. A burka-style hospital gown is only high on the priority list because of the politically correct world we live in."The gown was devised by Karen Jacob, the linen services manager for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust which runs Royal Preston Hospital. Leeds-based company Interweave Textiles has taken on her design, offering the gowns on a free trial in Preston.Bosses say the response has been "overwhelming" and they expect other trusts to buy them so they can offer the option to Muslims.
The price will be £240 for a batch of 20 garments or 12 pounds (18 euros/23 dollars) each. It marks the first change from the regulation gown seen on wards for decades.A spokesman for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: "It has been brought in because some ladies simply felt they could not wear the normal gown which, as we all know, can show parts of us we do not want on show."Muslim patients have given us very good feedback and our doctors are also happy because it means they are helping and improving the health of patients who they would not normally see."We have had examples of people not showing up for surgeries or operations. This can only help."
As we have come up with the idea, we will work in partnership with the textile company to sell the gown to other NHS trusts and then share profits."Inventor Ms Jacob added: "I noticed a gap in the market and thought that it would be great if there was a gown that helped to preserve a patient’s modesty."The burka is the latest move to stir debate on priorities in the hard-pressed NHS. Health bosses in Wigan spent £700,000 on motivational speakers to inspire unhealthy patients to improve their diet – while cutting beds because of debts.Heywood and Middleton Primary Care Trust in Greater Manchester paid out £2,500 for a sex-change sailor to have his tattoos removed so he could feel "more feminine
Monday, September 04, 2006
NEW ISLAM CONVERTS HELD
FIVE of the men held in the latest wave of terror raids are new converts to Islam, the Daily Mirror can reveal.
All of them are the sons of families who came to Britain from Jamaica and the West Indies.
They are Moussa Abdullah Brown, 40, from Walthamstow, East London, and Leroy Mitchell, from Brixton, South London, who are both from Jamaican families.
Roger Michael Figaro, who uses the name Muhammed Al-Figari, and Kibly DaCosta, are both from Caribbean backgrounds and live in South London. The fifth is Gilbert Teye Baiden, 24, the youngest of this group, who also comes from a Caribbean family now in London.
Yesterday, his shocked family protested: "Our son is no terrorist." They were speaking from a friend's house as their own home in Brixton was being search by police.
His mother Beatrice, 53, said former video store worker Gilbert, one of five brothers, converted from Christianity to Islam two years ago before marrying his Muslim wife, Shawnette. They have a two-year old daughter.
Beatrice said: "Gilbert was a strong Christian like the rest of the family until he got married. Now he wears Muslim clothes and goes to the mosque, but I accept his new religion, which he keeps to himself."
Beatrice, a gospel choir singer, said she learned her son had been arrested when police phoned her.
She said: "On Friday my sons were coming round for a family dinner. At about 9pm Gilbert said he was going to meet some friends and he left.
"He didn't come home and I was worried. Then Paddington green station phoned and said, 'We've got Gilbert and he wants to talk to you'. He told me he was arrested at the Chinese restaurant but gave no details."
Police say the five arrests reflect an increasing number of young British blacks who grew up in Christian families but have recently converted to the Muslim faith. They were among 14 men still being held by anti-terrorist police after a swoop on the Bridge to China Town Hallal Chinese restaurant, in Borough, South London, on Friday.
Police believe the group were training to become suicide bombers at a secret camp at Jameah Islameah school in Crowborough, East Sussex.
One of those arrested is Abu Abdullah, who is said to have been No 2 in Britain to jailed cleric Abu Hamza. Last night Scotland Yard were applying to magistrates to extend the time they can keep suspects in custody.
A source said they were "very confident" there will be charges for serious terrorism offences.
All of them are the sons of families who came to Britain from Jamaica and the West Indies.
They are Moussa Abdullah Brown, 40, from Walthamstow, East London, and Leroy Mitchell, from Brixton, South London, who are both from Jamaican families.
Roger Michael Figaro, who uses the name Muhammed Al-Figari, and Kibly DaCosta, are both from Caribbean backgrounds and live in South London. The fifth is Gilbert Teye Baiden, 24, the youngest of this group, who also comes from a Caribbean family now in London.
Yesterday, his shocked family protested: "Our son is no terrorist." They were speaking from a friend's house as their own home in Brixton was being search by police.
His mother Beatrice, 53, said former video store worker Gilbert, one of five brothers, converted from Christianity to Islam two years ago before marrying his Muslim wife, Shawnette. They have a two-year old daughter.
Beatrice said: "Gilbert was a strong Christian like the rest of the family until he got married. Now he wears Muslim clothes and goes to the mosque, but I accept his new religion, which he keeps to himself."
Beatrice, a gospel choir singer, said she learned her son had been arrested when police phoned her.
She said: "On Friday my sons were coming round for a family dinner. At about 9pm Gilbert said he was going to meet some friends and he left.
"He didn't come home and I was worried. Then Paddington green station phoned and said, 'We've got Gilbert and he wants to talk to you'. He told me he was arrested at the Chinese restaurant but gave no details."
Police say the five arrests reflect an increasing number of young British blacks who grew up in Christian families but have recently converted to the Muslim faith. They were among 14 men still being held by anti-terrorist police after a swoop on the Bridge to China Town Hallal Chinese restaurant, in Borough, South London, on Friday.
Police believe the group were training to become suicide bombers at a secret camp at Jameah Islameah school in Crowborough, East Sussex.
One of those arrested is Abu Abdullah, who is said to have been No 2 in Britain to jailed cleric Abu Hamza. Last night Scotland Yard were applying to magistrates to extend the time they can keep suspects in custody.
A source said they were "very confident" there will be charges for serious terrorism offences.
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