Muslim dentist cut fees for women in Islamic dress

Sharia Dentist Update: this is the same fellow who is charged with refusing to treat a woman unless she was wearing a headscarf. Now it comes out that he gave the hijabbed ones a discount, too. "Dentist cut fees for women in Islamic dress," from the Manchester Evening News

A MUSLIM dentist has admitted reducing his fees to encourage female patients to wear the Islamic headscarf.

Dr Omer Butt, from Prestwich, told a disciplinary hearing he would ask Muslim women to cover up in observance of Islamic law before he treated them.

But he denied refusing to treat a nurse because she would not follow his rules.

The nurse, known as Patient A, told the hearing she was left `humiliated and upset' when she went to Dr Butt's Unsworth Smile clinic in Bury, in April 2005.

The nurse, a non-practising Muslim, claimed Dr Butt said she would have to find another dentist because she wouldn't wear a headscarf.

Dr Butt told the General Dental Council professional conduct committee the Islamic ethos of his surgery was a `marketing tool'.

He said: "If they are prepared to wear the headscarf, I am willing to reduce the fee or completely waive the fee."

He said he identified the woman as a Muslim because of her name, which has roots in Islam, then `politely' asked her to wear a headscarf.

He said: "I did request her to wear the headscarf. I said `It would help me if you would wear a headscarf'.

"Her response was she looked at me with a smile and said `Oh, that's strange'."

He said it was `unlawful' for him, as a Muslim, to look at a Muslim woman who was not properly covered up. He added: "If she was to adhere to my request, it makes me feel more comfortable.

"It was a polite request. It was a simple request. It was never more than a request."

LOO WITH NO ONE TO USE IT

BAKERY giants Greggs have installed a Muslims-only toilet at their new Scottish headquarters - despite the fact that no Muslims work there.

Workers at the state-of-the-art factory were shocked when they were given a tour of the building and told a cubicle had been fitted for the use of Muslim employees. The staff said they are baffled at the decision because they are not aware of any Islamic workers at the base in Cambuslang, near Glasgow.

Last night, management at the bakery said they had received several requests from all over the country for the exclusive facility. All their new buildings will now be fitted with the specialised toilet regardless of the number of Muslims in the workforce.

But staff at the new £15million plant labelled the decision "political correctness gone mad".

One said: “We were being given a guided tour of the new factory before moving there when they told us that they had a toilet for use only by Muslims.

"I couldn’t believe, everybody was stunned because we don’t know of any Muslims who are working here. I don’t think anybody is really angry about it, but there just doesn’t seem to be any need for it. This sort of things is just political correctness gone mad."

Another worker said: "The toilet just looks like a ceramic hole in the ground. I don’t think it will be getting much use and I don’t see why we couldn’t all just use the same toilet anyway.

"This sort of thing creates divisions between the workers."

The Islamic faith has particular rules regarding personal hygiene when going to the toilet, including squatting, washing feet, remaining silent and limited use of toilet paper. However, these rules are not compulsory to all Muslims and many believe they are outdated since, in modern times, toilets have become clean tiled areas.

Alan Greenshields, general manager for Greggs in Scotland, said the move was a pre-emptive measure in the company’s attempts to cater for all religions.

He said: "In many of our bakeries across the country, we have had requests for toilet facilities that cater for different religions. In order to future-proof our facilities we try to incorporate them where possible and have therefore introduced in our new bakery at Cambuslang.”

Greggs have spent £15million moving their production base to Cambuslang from nearby Rutherglen.

Last month, it was revealed that bosses at two Scottish NHS boards had banned staff from eating at their desks to avoid offending Muslims during Ramadan.

NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Lothian also recommended that vending machines and lunch trolleys be removed from hospitals, offices and clinics during the 30-day fasting period.

Asian women commit suicide on UK tracks

A large number of Asian women in Britain are committing suicide by taking to railway tracks, a report has revealed. One third of the total suicides in Britain now happen on a particular stretch of track going through Southall, west London, which has a large Asian community, the Daily Mail reported here on Sunday, citing the report of First Great Western train company.

"Suicide on the railway is a national issue and is a terrible tragedy for all involved, including crews. First Great Western has seen a number of suicides on the main line in an area west of London. Victims may come from the communities where lines run through," a spokesperson for the train company was quoted as saying.

According to figures, 80 out of the 240 rail suicides last year were on the lines into Paddington, west London. These pass through Slough, Southall and other areas with large Asian communities and carry one tenth of the rail traffic.

Meanwhile, a women’s rights organisation, Southall Black Sisters, has claimed that domestic violence are forcing more and more Asian women in Britain to commit suicide on railway tracks.

"The high instance of Asian women suicides is linked to abusive practices within Asian families. There is a correlation between these suicides and violence in homes. Psychiatric research has shown there are rarely cases of mental disorders in these cases, suggesting they are the result of social circumstances. These women are often isolated and find it hard to escape," Hannana Siddiqui from Southall Black Sisters, was quoted as saying.

Even Muslim playwright Yasmin Whittaker Khan, who has written about the social problems affecting Asian communities, said: "They feel there’s no other way of escaping problems such as adultery, domestic violence and alcoholism."

jihadist was hospital chaplain

A radical Muslim cleric banned from his local mosque was allowed to work as a hospital chaplain, according to a BBC London investigation.
Usman Ali has been banned from his local mosque in Woolwich, London, after trustees won a court injunction.
But the ex-member of banned group Al Muha-ji-roun led prayers for NHS staff at Woolwich's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Hospital staff said they had suspended Mr Ali two days ago after concerns were raised by the police.
Banned for life
The 30-year-old British born preacher was banned for life from entering his local mosque in Woolwich after trustees won a county court injunction against him in January.
It was an unprecedented step and cost the mosque £30,000.
BBC London has seen the judge's order on the case and found that Ali had shown a video to children in the mosque containing clips of planes flying into the world trade centre during which he chanted "God is great".
Mosque trustees said they warned hospital officials about Mr Ali months ago but nothing was done.
However, a hospital spokesman said: "We had no allegations made about this man's behaviour but as soon as the police raised their concerns we took action."
Mr Ali declined requests for an interview.

The Jihad Fighter On Scots Housing Benefit

A TALIBAN fighter who admits waging war against British troops is battling to win asylum in Scotland.

Only last year, Muhammad Hanif Hanifi was taking part in jihad - holy war - against Scottish soldiers in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

But now he is appealing to stay in Scotland, where he has lived on state benefits for six months.

He says he fled the frontline after rejecting the Taliban's fundamentalist cause and is now a target for their death squads.

As an asylum seeker, Hanifi gets housing, benefits and legal aid to cover his claim, appeal and any subsequent judicial review.

Many Afghans have been granted asylum in Britain over the years. They have largely been opponents of the Taliban who say their lives are in danger because of that.

Hanifi's case is highly unusual because he admits to having sworn his life to the Taliban and fought against the allied occupation of his country.

The 33-year-old, from a family of peasant farmers, says he was among thousands of Afghans recruited as foot soldiers after being brainwashed and bullied by powerful religious and military leaders.

He fought with the Taliban for seven years but says he deserted after he saw a teenage boy being beheaded as a punishment for collusion with British troops.

He claims to have witnessed seven other men killed in similar fashion.

He says that after he left the Taliban, gunmen sent to hunt him down killed his brother by mistake.

The Taliban rebels in Afghanistan have been responsible for the death of 78 British servicemen since the fighting began in 2001, including 34 this year.

The death toll includes men from 45 Commando, based in Arbroath, who were posted to Kandahar during Hanifi's time on the Taliban's frontline.

Men and women from RAF 51 Squadron, based at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, have also been in the thick of the battle in Kandahar.

Hanifi, who left his wife and five children in their village of Chakari, near Kabul, when he fled in February, has already been refused asylum by a tribunal and faces deportation if his appeal fails.

But speaking in his flat in Glasgow yesterday, he said he was confident he would be successful after another brother travelled to Pakistan to post vital documents to back up his case.

In testimony given to the Home Office through his lawyer, Hanifi openly admits to his involvement in the war of terror against UK troops.

Speaking through an interpreter yesterday, Hanifi, who was smuggled to Britain in the back of a lorry, revealed details of his case.

He tells how he was issued with a Kalashnikov rifle and instructed in desert warfare, joining thousands of his countrymen.

He said: "I was involved with the Taliban 15 years ago through religion and I would pray, as I am a very religious man, and cook food, which was my main job.

"I was not involved in jihad until seven years ago, which came after much pressure from the imam.

"He was a very powerful and persuasive man and he told me and other men like me we must take part in jihad and make war against non-believers.

"He said the soldiers who came to our country would force people to abandon Islam.

"He and other religious leaders preached of a heaven and hell and said we would be in heaven if we supported the Taliban.

"There were also very serious problems in Afghanistan caused by warlords, who would rob anyone who crossed their checkpoints.

"The Taliban took war against these very evil people, which I thought was the right thing to do.

"My early days had nothing to do with violence because I'm not a violent person. But once I was issued with my gun, it was clear that this would change.

"I had a Kalashnikov rifle that was Russian-made and I was involved in battles with it. I got involved in fighting twice.

"The first time was in Mazari Sharif, in northern Afghanistan, around six or seven years ago.

"We were fighting against British and American forces and against our government.

"The other main occasion when I was involved in fighting was in Kandahar in 2006, against British and American troops.

"I fired the gun many times but the fighting was done over a distance. It's possible I killed someone but I don't know.

"I was too busy trying to make sure no one shot me."

Hanifi has been living in a flat in Govan with three other Muslim asylum seekers.

He insists that he enjoys the life in Scotland, where he has made many friends, but misses his wife, three daughters and two sons.

He said: "I love Glasgow because the people I have met have been very kind and I like the green parks and trees.

"I have met many friends through the mosques and life here is good. My family are very important to me and I miss them terribly. But, for now, I can only concentrate on my own situation.

"It is important to know that I did not come to Scotland through choice, that I had to flee or be killed.

"I rejected the Taliban after witnessing some terrible crimes they committed. I realised this was not true jihad.

"They were torturing and murdering people and their conduct was nothing to do with religion.

"I heard of the Twin Towers atrocity in America and this was something I could never support. I have never supported anything to do with Bin Laden.

"It is true that I was brainwashed and I regret the things that happened.

"If I am sent back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will hunt me down and kill me. It will also put my family at great risk."

Hanifi now insists he supports the allied forces in Afghanistan.

He said: "Since the United Nations troops have been involved in my country, I can now see improvements.

"There are now new schools and hospitals and there is democracy.

"Women have rights and I believe this is good. I believed the Taliban to be something other than what I now see."

The Home Office, who shipped Hanifi to Glasgow as the London asylum system is too congested, refused his initial bid to stay here last month.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith ruled Hanifi had not supplied enough proof he was an active member of the Taliban. She also rejects his claim that his brother was killed by the Taliban.

But Hanifi says he now has documents and photographs to verify both assertions.

The Home Office also say that if he was a member of a terrorist organisation such as the Taliban, he would not be entitled to asylum under the terms of the Geneva Convention.

Members of identified terror groups lose their rights under the Convention.

The Home Secretary also claims Hanifi's case fails under the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights, saying there is no proof he would be killed or tortured if sent back to Afghanistan.

Mohammad Asif, of the Scottish Afghan Society, said last night: "I have never heard of such a case in Scotland, where the grounds of the case for asylum involve former membership of the Taliban.

"But anyone who has fallen foul of the Taliban, for whatever reason, would be in grave danger if forced to return to Afghanistan."

A spokeswoman for the Border and Immigration Agency, who are part of the Home Office, said: "We cannot comment on individual cases.

"We only return those who the asylum decision-making and independent appeals processes have found do not need international protection and who can therefore return safely."

Two in court on terror charges

TWO men will appear in court today charged with terrorism offences, police said.

Raingzieb Ahmed, 32, was arrested at Heathrow Airport yesterday when he arrived back in the UK after being held on suspicion of militancy in Pakistan.

Ahmed, of Barnston Avenue, Fallowfield, Greater Manchester, is charged with three offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, Greater Manchester Police said.

The first is that between April 22, 2004 and August 24, 2006 he directed the activities of an organisation which was concerned in the commission of acts of terrorism.

He is also charged with possessing material for terrorism purposes during the same time period, relating to three books that he owned.

The third charge is possession of an article, namely a rucksack containing traces of explosive, in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that possession of it was for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.

This offence allegedly took place between January 1, 2006 and January 24, 2007.

A 17-year-old, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, has also been charged with offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, after he was arrested in the town on Tuesday last week, a West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said.

The teenager is charged with possession of material for terrorism purposes, under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and with the collection or possession of information useful in the preparation of an act of terrorism, under Section 58 of the same Act.

Both will appear before City of Westminster Magistrates today.

Binned Laden: Pair to divorce

THE British gran who wed Osama bin Laden’s son is divorcing him after just five months — because she fears they will be murdered.

Jane Felix-Browne, 51, who wed Omar bin Laden, 26, in April, told The Sun: “We are both in fear of our lives.

“People are opposed to my marriage because I am British. I wasn’t prepared to see the man I love die. That is why we have decided to end our marriage.”

She told how al-Qaeda terror chief Osama’s powerful Saudi family had been humiliated by their marriage.

She claimed threats were made that scrap metal dealer Omar would be flung in prison on trumped-up charges.

And Omar feared losing all his business contracts unless they divorced.

In a trembling voice, five-times wed Jane insisted: “It was a really, really good marriage, a strong marriage. But I cannot stand by and watch my beloved husband die before my very eyes. I love him enough to let him go. I want him and his son, who is just three, to return to as normal a life as possible.

“This decision will hopefully take the pressure off Omar and his family. I will never marry again. My heart will always be with Omar and I will take my love for him to the grave.”

Parish councillor Jane, from Moulton, Cheshire, fears talking out against the mega-wealthy bin Laden family. But The Sun understands they demanded that Omar dump his British wife. Omar, whose son is from his first marriage to a Saudi wife, also received threats in a call to his mobile last week.

Jane said: “Omar was told he shouldn’t be married to me and there was a very good chance he would be taken to prison.

“Omar knew who it was on the phone, but he wouldn’t tell me. After the call he said he felt both our lives were in jeopardy.”

Jane said: “We were both absolutely devastated. We cried for three whole days.”

Omar runs his business in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and it’s thought he depends on his family’s network of contacts.

Jane said: “The bin Laden family are afraid of the political implications of a British woman being married to the son of Osama bin Laden.

“They fear embarrassment and complications not just in their own country, but also in Britain and America.”

In a last-ditch bid to save their marriage Jane wrote to Saudi Arabia’s king last week to ask for his backing. She received no reply.

Omar, who says he has not been in contact with his evil dad for six years, met Jane while horse riding at Egypt’s pyramids in April last year. After their wedding the couple ruled out living in Britain because they feared Omar might be attacked.

Mum-of-three Jane, whose former boyfriends include soccer legend George Best, said: “There is a lot of prejudice in this country.”

Now Jane says a divorce will be finalised any day.

Omar — fourth eldest son of the al-Qaeda leader — told us yesterday: “This marriage is now over. I don’t want a divorce but there are serious reasons for this break-up that I can’t talk about.

“I adore being with this woman. But we can’t stand up when the waves from the sea are coming to wipe us out.”

"There may be up to 200" 'radicalised' young Muslims in Scotland

Two hundred is troubling enough, but one also can't help but recall how the estimate of 1600 "extremists" in the entire United Kingdom quickly went to 2000 and beyond.
Tiny Minority of Extremists Alert. "Muslim leaders: not enough work being done in extremism fight," from The Herald:

Scotland's first high-profile terrorism trial has made uncomfortable viewing for members of the Muslim community.
Unlike those behind the attempted bombing of Glasgow Airport, Mohammed Atif Siddique was born and raised in Scotland. He attended mosques in Glasgow, Stirling and Alloa and his religious education was the same as any young Muslim growing up here could expect to receive.
The question facing community leaders now is: if Siddique could become so radicalised, could others? A study published recently by the Council of British Pakistanis in Scotland found that half the country's 31 mosque leaders thought extremist behaviour existed here, with the "vast majority" citing the UK Government's foreign policy as the reason.
And that assertion is accepted uncritically. But many Anglicans, Quakers, Buddhists, atheists, and so on, also disagree with British foreign policy. What keeps them from setting off bombs?
Security sources claimed yesterday there may be up to 200 other radicalised young Muslims in Scotland. But the Crown Office and Central Scotland Police went out of their way to stress that Siddique had been prosecuted as an individual for criminal acts, and that the case did not reflect on the wider Muslim community.
Muslim leaders who spoke to The Herald defended the reputation of Scottish mosques - the majority of which are Sunni - as liberal and moderate. Unlike some English mosques which have earned a reputation for radicalism, notably Finsbury Park in London where Abu Hamza gave sermons supporting terrorism, Scotland's mosques are not home to radical preachers or group meetings, they said.
Bashir Maan, chairman of Glasgow Central Mosque, said Siddique's was an isolated case which illustrated the dangers posed by extremist websites. Young people with access to computers could become influenced "anywhere in the world", Mr Maan said, comparing the dangers posed by extremists to that of paedophiles who groomed children via the web.
However, while Scotland's mosques have not been criticised for radicalising their members, prominent Scottish Muslims said not enough had been done to combat radicalism.
Naeem Raza, a consultant who advises and trains companies on understanding and dealing with Muslim communities, said there was "no evidence" that any mosques or formalised Islamic groups were spreading a jihadi message in Scotland.
But he said there was an attitude of "let's not talk about it" when it came to radical politics. The result, he said, was that young people in danger of being radicalised did not have an open forum in which to discuss political issues and be dissuaded from pursuing extremism.
Yes, facing the issue head-on would be a welcome change. But true progress would require the community to look inward, rather than blaming external factors as the fundamental cause of jihadist violence.
"Invariably, those who become radicalised will have been convinced by someone with a higher level of Islamic knowledge than them. It may not be correct, but it is more informed," said Mr Raza.
As usual, the texts themselves couldn't possibly be problematic.

Amanullah De Sondy, a divinity lecturer at Glasgow University, said Muslims were still "ghettoised" in Scotland, making them more vulnerable to radicalisation. "Why do people use this phrase Scottish Muslims'? Why not just Scots?" he asked. "Too many Muslims have two hats. One hat they wear when talking to people in the mosque, another when talking to people outside."
Indeed, but we have seen with the Doctor's Jihad Plot and other incidents that being well integrated into Western culture does not rule out the jihadist impulse, either.

Muslim dentist 'told patient to wear a headscarf or go elsewhere'

A muslim dentist made a woman wear Islamic dress as the price of accepting her as an NHS patient, it is alleged.

Omer Butt is said to have told the patient that unless she wore a headscarf she would have to find another practice.

Later this month, Mr Butt will appear before a General Dental Council professional misconduct hearing, which has the power to strike him off.

It is claimed that the 31-year-old dentist asked to speak to the woman in private after she turned up for an appointment at his clinic in Bury.

According to the charges, he questioned her on whether she was a Muslim and told her that if he was to treat her she would have to wear Islamic dress.

He is also said to have read out a number of religious rules to her.

He then told his nurse to give the patient her own headscarf to wear, the accusation says.

It is not known whether the woman was a Muslim.

The charges to be heard by the General Dental Council say that Mr Butt undermined public confidence in his profession by discriminating against a patient and failed to act in her best interests.

Mr Butt is the older brother of former Islamic extremist Hassan Butt, who once declared he had 'no problem' with terror attacks on Britain and who said that September 11 "served the pleasure of Allah".

He has since recanted and now calls for all Muslims to abandon violence.

The dentist also featured in immigration hearings involving an asylum seeker suspected of providing a safe house for Kamel Bourgass, an Algerian terrorist jailed for life for stabbing PC Stephen Oake to death in Manchester in 2003.

Mr Butt, the immigration hearing was told, was introduced by his brother to the asylum seeker, who at various points claimed three different identities.

The tribunal was told that Mr Butt was "a respectable and responsible person who wishes to help devout and practising Muslims in difficulty".

He "did not regard the use of false names as unusual for asylum seekers".

The headscarf incident is alleged to have happened in 2005, at a time when between 4,000 and 8,000 people in Bury were unable to find an NHS dentist.

According to the charges, Mr Butt "asked to speak to Patient A in private.

"In the course of conversation with Patient A you: (a) asked whether she was Muslim; (b) told her words to the effect that, in order to receive treatment from you, she needed to wear appropriate Islamic dress; (c) quoted to her parts of the Ahadith."

The Ahadith is a series of instructions on behaviour attributed to Prophet Mohammed but not written as part of the Koran.

The charge continues: "You told Patient A that, if she did not wear a headscarf, she would need to register with another dentist. You instructed your dental nurse to give Patient A her headscarf.

"The dental nurse took Patient A to another room where she was given the nurse's headscarf to wear.

"In seeking to impose an Islamic dress code on Patient A in order for treatment to be provided you undermined public confidence in the profession by discriminating against Patient A."

If the charges are upheld, the Porsche- driving dentist will be found guilty of serious professional misconduct.

Penalties can range from a public warning to suspension and being struck off.

Tory MP Sir Paul Beresford, a former minister and a dentist, said: "When a patient comes to see me I have no concern with their religion. I do not ask Muslim patients to read the Bible.

"My practice tries to respect religious belief. For example, during Ramadan we try to help Muslim patients by making sure they do not have to swallow water when they are fasting. We do not ask patients to become Christians."

Women staff at Mr Butt's Bury practice do not routinely wear headscarves while at work.

One female patient said: "I think it is a pretty outrageous thing to ask but I have never felt as if I am being discriminated against at this practice as a Western woman.

"If I was then I would certainly make a full complaint. If it is true then it shows a reverse prejudice bordering on racism."

Mr Butt was involved in another controversial incident earlier this year when police stopped his Porsche 911 and said they could not read its customised number plate.

The dentist recorded the subsequent search of the car on his mobile phone and passed the video to the BBC, which broadcast it on a local news bulletin. It shows Mr Butt asking an officer: "Are you a racist?"

The dentist was then arrested for racially aggravated behaviour. There were no charges, and a complaint against the police by Mr Butt is still being considered.

Mr Butt was unavailable for comment yesterday. Staff at his practice said he was on holiday.

Lecturers 'must block extremism'

Lecturers should back the government's efforts to prevent Islamic extremism in universities.

Universities Secretary, John Denham, says students should be helped to stand up to extremist "intimidation".

And he says that universities should help students to build bridges towards a more "cohesive society".

A lecturers' union had rejected government calls for universities to monitor campus extremism as creating a "quasi secret service".

'Misplaced'

"The opposition from the University and College Union was misplaced," said Mr Denham.

"Everybody understands the nature of the threat that we face, which is a threat to people involved in higher education as much as anyone else.

"What we want is to have institutions in which there is lively debate and engagement on all current issues from all students," he said.

"All we are trying to do is to make sure that everybody has the strength to ensure that people are not recruited to the sort of organisations which are promoting and organising violence of whatever sort.

"And secondly that students are supported in standing up to that and certainly not subject themselves to intimidation and violence."

Rejected

The UCU lecturers' union voted unanimously to reject the government's calls for universities to help monitor Islamic extremism within the student population.

The government had published guidance encouraging staff to be vigilant against violent extremism, unacceptable literature or guest speakers.

Lecturers warned that such an approach amounted to asking lecturers to spy on their students.

And in response to Mr Denham's comments, a union spokesperson said that "campus harmony is achieved by openness, tolerance and dialogue and not focusing on any particular group of students".

In 2005, Professor Anthony Glees wrote a report warning that extremists were operating on campuses. He said the problem must not be ignored.

"A significant number of people, either convicted of terrorist offences or who have admitted a guilt or who've been murdered or killed in the carrying out of their terrorist offences, have been students at British universities and colleges."

Jihadist in Scotland found guilty of "serious terrorism offences"

A 21-year-old student was convicted today of possessing CDs and computer material linked to Islamist terrorism, along with charges including threatening to become a suicide bomber.

Following the verdict, police said Mohammed Atif Siddique, from Alva, Clackmannanshire, near Stirling in central Scotland, had been found guilty of "serious terrorism offences" which posed a genuine threat.

Siddique's lawyer said he would appeal, arguing the student's actions amounted to nothing worse than "what millions of young people do every day - looking for answers on the internet".

"This verdict is a tragedy for justice and for freedom of speech and undermines the values that separate us from the terrorists, the very values we should be fighting to protect," Aamer Anwar said outside Glasgow high court.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on four charges, including one of possessing CDs and videos that could be used for terrorist purposes.

Siddique was also convicted on two charges of setting up websites with links to terrorist publications that showed how to use weapons and make bombs, and causing a breach of the peace at Glasgow Metropolitan College by threatening to become a suicide bomber and blow up Glasgow. He will be sentenced on October 23.

A computer disc found hidden under a carpet in the accused's family home contained images including Islamic extremists looting the body of a dead US serviceman.

Siddique's laptop had an al-Qaeda recruiting video urging young Muslim men to become suicide bombers.

He also set up a website that had links on how to be a home-grown terrorist, including bomb making advice and how to strip weapons.

During the four-week trial, prosecutor Brian McConnachie labelled Siddique a "wannabe suicide bomber", who helped distribute material that amounted to "a call to arms for Muslims".

"It's clear from that material that the whole idea was to glorify martyrdom operations, which we call suicide bombings," Mr McConnachie said.

Muslims try to undermine Olympics 2012 over their coincidence with Ramadan

Once again Muslims try to adjust the secular world to the norms of Islam. A group of Muslim clerics addressed to the committee organizing the Olympic Games (slated to take place in London in 2012) with a request to putt off the Olympics for one month. The terms of the 2012 Olympic Games (July 27-August 12) coincide with Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims all over the world (July 21-August 20).

During Ramadan, the followers of Islam are not allowed to eat during the daytime. It goes without saying that Muslim athletes will not be able to participate in any competitions during that month. A hungry athlete would never manage to set any records of course. Games, matches and many other sports events come to a standstill in many Muslim states when Ramadan starts.

It is worthy of note that the scandal was initiated by a group of British Muslims, not by the leaders of world’s biggest Muslim countries, etc. London-based Islamic Committee for Human Rights and the Muslim Council of Great Britain are among those who support the idea to delay the forthcoming Olympics. The chairman of the committee, Massoud Shadjared said in an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper that the Olympics never coincide with Christmas time. Therefore, it would be stupid to organizes the games during Ramadan, the official said. Turkish Muslim clerics joined their British colleagues and said that it would be incredibly hard for Muslim athletes to participate in the Games.

The International Olympic Committee demands the Games should be conducted during July 15-August 31 period. It means that the collision of the Olympics and Ramadan is inevitable. IOC Communications Director Giselle Davis stated that the Games bring together the peoples of all religions and principles. “It’s up to athletes to decide what they can do with religious rules,” said she.

Nevertheless, spokespeople for the committee organizing the Olympics in London said that they would continue consultations with the Muslim Council of Great Britain to regulate the questions connected with Ramadan. The above-mentioned period is the most convenient one for the Games because of easy traffic in the city during that time. To crown it all, it will be easiest to find 70,000 volunteers for the Games at the end in July and in the beginning of August.

This new problem shows that the officials making sports calendars are not used to taking religious holidays into their account. Modern sport was born in the Western world, whereas Europe and America managed to combine secular entertainment and Christina rules. No Orthodox athlete for instance has ever expressed any protests again sports competitions held during Lent or Advent.

On the other hand, Muslims may simply follow the example of their distant relatives. Israeli sports federations twist the arms of European sports associations claiming the latter should mind their religious norms and other peculiarities. A follower of Judaism is not allowed to work Saturdays, for example. That is why Israeli teams never play during these I-have-nothing-to-do days.

All major games were invented in the Western civilization. Therefore, people try to adjust sports to the norms of this civilization. Needless to say that it would be extremely hard to make the Olympics meet fundamentally different requirements of Islam. Women’s sports gear that they wear during competitions may often look like a bikini, which is obviously too outrageous for Muslim women in sports. As a result, female Muslim athletes look strange against the background of their colleagues when they try to dress according to the rules of hijab.

The British Muslims will most likely have to give up their idea of delaying the Olympics for one month. Even if several athletes refuse to participate in London 2012 Games in London, it will not have a big influence on the event on the whole. Muslim countries have never achieved considerable results during the Olympic Games. For example, Turkey won three gold medals during the Summer Olympics in Athens; Iran collected six medals in total.

Our followers ‘must live in peace until strong enough to wage jihad’

One of the world’s most respected Deobandi scholars believes that aggressive military jihad should be waged by Muslims “to establish the supremacy of Islam” worldwide.

Justice Muhammad Taqi Usmani argues that Muslims should live peacefully in countries such as Britain, where they have the freedom to practise Islam, only until they gain enough power to engage in battle.

His views explode the myth that the creed of offensive, expansionist jihad represents a distortion of traditional Islamic thinking.

Mr Usmani, 64, sat for 20 years as a Sharia judge in Pakistan’s Supreme Court. He is an adviser to several global financial institutions and a regular visitor to Britain. Polite and softly spoken, he revealed to The Times a detailed knowledge of world events and his words, for the most part, were balanced and considered.

He agreed that it was wrong to suggest that the entire nonMuslim world was intent on destroying Islam. Yet this is a man who, in his published work, argues the case for Muslims to wage an expansionist war against nonMuslim lands.

Mr Usmani’s justification for aggressive military jihad as a means of establishing global Islamic supremacy is revealed at the climax of his book, Islam and Modernism. The work is a polemic against Islamic modernists who seek to convert the entire Koran into “a poetic and metaphorical book” because, he says, they have been bewitched by Western culture and ideology.

The final chapter delivers a rebuke to those who believe that only defensive jihad (fighting to defend a Muslim land that is under attack or occupation) is permissible in Islam. He refutes the suggestion that jihad is unlawful against a nonMuslim state that freely permits the preaching of Islam.

For Mr Usmani, “the question is whether aggressive battle is by itself commendable or not”. “If it is, why should the Muslims stop simply because territorial expansion in these days is regarded as bad? And if it is not commendable, but deplorable, why did Islam not stop it in the past?”

He answers his own question thus: “Even in those days . . . aggressive jihads were waged . . . because it was truly commendable for establishing the grandeur of the religion of Allah.”

These words are not the product of a radical extremist. They come from the pen of one of the most acclaimed scholars in the Deobandi tradition.

Mr Usmani told The Times that Islam and Modernism was an English translation of his original Urdu book, “which at times gives a connotation different from the original”.

Report: Libraries stock Islamic terror books

Public libraries are stocking hundreds of Islamic books by advocates of "holy war", with many glorifying acts of terrorism, a new report claims.

Damian Thompson: The repositories of hate Council taxpayers' money has been spent on the books, with one library stocking works by the convicted preachers Abu Hamza and Abdullah al-Faisal. An investigation by a leading think-tank found extremist literature at six libraries, three in the London area, two in the Midlands and one in the North. It raises fears that public libraries could inadvertently fuel the radicalisation of young Muslims. The recent case of Dhiren Barot, who was jailed for 30 years for plotting a series of atrocities, showed that terrorists have used university libraries for research. Patrick Mercer, the Conservative MP for Newark and the Government's new adviser on security issues, said: "I don't oppose free speech but the amount of this material is frightening. "It has been bought with taxpayers' money and you have got to question the balance here. "Much of the material has very extreme views and I wouldn't want an impressionable young person to come across it and think that these are the views of the majority of Muslims." In the report, Hate on the State, published by the Centre for Social Cohesion think-tank, the authors warn that some libraries have become "saturated with extreme Islamist books". "Many of these books stocked in the Islam section of libraries glorify acts of terrorism against followers of other religions, incite violence against anyone who rejects jihadist ideologies and endorse violence and discrimination against women," the report says. "In a number of cases these books are not only on library shelves but are also given special prominence in displays. "In the worst cases they are the tools of radicalisation and increase the risk of Islamic terrorism." Tower Hamlets, one of the most heavily populated Muslim areas in the country, has eight libraries stocking dozens of books in English, Urdu, Bengali and Somali - including works by Hamza and al-Faisal. Both were jailed for incitement to murder and their writings were found in the council flat used as a bomb factory by the failed July 21 suicide bombers. Al-Faisal also influenced at least one of the July 7 bombers and was deported this year after finishing his seven-year sentence. In a book entitled Natural Instincts, he writes: "The kafirs [non-believers] are the henchmen of the Shaitaan [devil]" adding later: "The only language the kafirs respect is jihad [holy war]." Other authors on the shelves include Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the radical Muslim Brotherhood, and Sayyid Qutb, a major influence on Osama bin Laden. Tower Hamlets has a total of 40 books by the two men which include calls for a revival of the principles of jihad. The borough also has hundreds of books associated with Jamaat-e-Islami, the Pakistani Islamic political party founded by Abu Ala Maududi, who has called for a "universal revolution". The report also found that libraries in Leicester had 10 copies of books by Maududi and Ealing had 10 by Qutb. The radical Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir is also represented in Tower Hamlets, with one book, Funds in the Khilafah State, claiming: "The mere apostasy of the apostate gives Muslims the right to shed his blood and seize his property." Other books advocate polygamy, forbid the "free mixing of men and women" and one, Women Who Deserve To Go To Hell says: "We have no intention to accuse women when we say that they will be in a majority in hell." There are also dozens of books by moderate Islamic scholars but the report says that there are "excessively large collections of certain Islamic texts designed to incite hatred and violence". Tower Hamlets Council said yesterday that it would review its policy on Islamic literature. Birmingham and Ealing councils said they were happy to stock any material that was legal while Steve Rigby of Blackburn council said: "Librarians do not act as censors where titles are freely available." Inayat Bunglawala, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain and a Government adviser, said: "These are authors who are widely read in the Muslim world and it is not surprising that they are stocked in areas where there happens to be the highest concentration of Muslims," he said. "It does not necessarily mean you agree with them, it is part of a free society.".................... Pity that tolerance doesn't extend to Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, or Danish cartoons of Mohammed. Remember those "Free Speech: Go To Hell" posters waved by Muslim beheading enthusiasts on the streets of London? At a time when the Government is supposed to be "reaching out" to young Muslims to prevent them becoming radicalised, local councils are spending taxpayers' money putting into public libraries books by convicted terrorists which advocate death, destruction and holy war and preach violence against women and "kafirs". If you're late bringing them back, do they chop your hands off? It's not just Women Who Deserve To Go To Hell. We are all going to hell in a handcart. Council refuses to remove hate books A LONDON council has refused to remove extremist Islamic books from its libraries. Three libraries in the London borough of Tower Hamlets were found to stock books promoting antisemitism, violent jihad (holy war) and sexism. Some of these were by convicted race-hate preachers including Abu Hamza al-Masri, whose convictions include stirring up racial hatred and soliciting to murder, and who is serving a seven-year prison sentence for incitement. There were also works by Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, who was jailed in 2003 for repeatedly calling for the murder of non-Muslims. Al-Faisal was released and deported earlier this year. One of the 7/7 London bombers, Jermaine Lindsay, had attended some of his sermons. The books, paid for by taxpayers’ money, form part of the libraries’ “Islamic literature” collections. A report by the centre-right Centre for Social Cohesion thinktank, called Hate on the State: How British Libraries Encourage Islamic Extremism, last week said that many of the books stocked “incite violence against anyone who rejects jihadist ideologies”, and glorify “acts of terrorism against followers of other religions”. This week, on a visit to Whitechapel Ideas Store (the new name for libraries), a JC reporter found a large number of books by Sayyid Qutb, often considered the founder of modern Islamic radicalism. In his book, Milestones, he writes: “War should be declared against those from among the ‘People of the Book’ [Christians and Jews] who declare open enmity until they agree to pay Jitzyah [tax paid by non-Muslims in a Muslim state] or accept Islam.” Jews, he declares, “wanted to perpetuate their evil designs. At the top of the list of these activities is usury, the aim of which is that all the wealth of mankind end up in the hands of Jewish financial institutions, which run on interest.” Despite the content of the books, Tower Hamlets Council has refused to remove them, on the grounds that the books themselves were not illegal. A council spokeswoman said: “We will certainly consider this report as part of our ongoing 12-month review of library stock, which has already resulted in improvements to the balance of the Islamic literature in our libraries. “We have purchased a wider range of Islamic books to reflect the broad range of views within the Islamic world.” Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust told the JC: “CST is well aware that many of these authors slander non Muslims, have a particular hatred for Jews, and sow the seeds that allow extremism to flourish. “The time is well overdue for public bodies to understand the reality of what these people are preaching, and the detrimental impact that this has upon all of our society.”

Nine years for stepmother who tortured baby

Sumairia Parveen, 24, who had begun an affair with her cousin after walking out on her husband, "hated" 17-month-old Tahla Ikram who she feared threatened their relationship.

While showering love on her own daughter, she subjected helpless Tahla to weeks of abuse in the hope he would be taken into care.

The boy's father, Abid Ikram, 30, "stood by and did nothing" and has also received a nine-year sentence.

The child suffered a series of fractures and bruises as his limbs were "twisted and pulled", he was burnt with a cigarette and even had his leg progressively sliced open until the wound was so deep tendons and veins were exposed.

Many of his injuries were ignored for days, causing him to scream as his broken bones ground together.

The child - who months earlier had been in temporary care after police found him home alone - finally died in his cot, next to his father's double bed, on September 6 last year.

Ambulance staff called to the family home in Acton, west London, found the little boy cold, stiff and without a single sign of life.

Both Ikram and Parveen spent more than a week protesting their innocence at Southwark Crown Court.

While he wept as he told the court he "would never have hurt my son", she tearfully insisted she had loved him as if he "was my own".

But those trying the case took just six hours over two days to unanimously decide they were lying.

Parveen, who had her lover's baby in prison, was convicted last month of the "causing or allowing" offence - a relatively new one designed to cure a legal loophole that has seen many parents walk free because juries could not be sure who was responsible for a child's suffering.

Ikram, who once beat his son with a plastic cricket bat on her orders, was found guilty of the same charge, as well as perverting the course of justice for sending his lover to Pakistan after his son's death.

Hardline takeover of British mosques

Almost half of Britain’s mosques are under the control of a hardline Islamic sect whose leading preacher loathes Western values and has called on Muslims to “shed blood” for Allah, an investigation by The Times has found.

Riyadh ul Haq, who supports armed jihad and preaches contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus, is in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain. The ultra-conservative movement, which gave birth to the Taleban in Afghanistan, now runs more than 600 of Britain’s 1,350 mosques, according to a police report seen by The Times.

The Times investigation casts serious doubts on government statements that foreign preachers are to blame for spreading the creed of radical Islam in Britain’s mosques and its policy of enouraging the recruitment of more “home-grown” preachers.

Mr ul Haq, 36, was educated and trained at an Islamic seminary in Britain and is part of a new generation of British imams who share a similar radical agenda. He heaps scorn on any Muslims who say they are “proud to be British” and argues that friendship with a Jew or a Christian makes “a mockery of Allah’s religion”.

Seventeen of Britain’s 26 Islamic seminaries are run by Deobandis and they produce 80 per cent of home-trained Muslim clerics. Many had their studies funded by local education authority grants. The sect, which has significant representation on the Muslim Council of Britain, is at its strongest in the towns and cities of the Midlands and northern England.

Figures supplied to The Times by the Lancashire Council of Mosques reveal that 59 of the 75 mosques in five towns – Blackburn, Bolton, Preston, Oldham and Burnley – are Deobandi-run.

It is not suggested that all British Muslims who worship at Deobandi mosques subscribe to the isolationist message preached by Mr ul Haq, and he himself suggests Muslims should only “shed blood” overseas.

But while some Deobandi preachers have a more cohesive approach to interfaith relations, Islamic theologians say that such bridge-building efforts do not represent mainstream Deobandi thinking in Britain.

The Times has gained access to numerous talks and sermons delivered in recent years by Mr ul Haq and other graduates of Britain’s most influential Deobandi seminary near Bury, Greater Manchester.

Intended for a Muslim-only audience, they reveal a deep-rooted hatred of Western society, admiration for the Taleban and a passionate zeal for martyrdom “in the way of Allah”.

The seminary outlaws art, television, music and chess, demands “entire concealment” for women and views football as “a cancer that has infected our youth”.

Mahmood Chandia, a Bury graduate who is now a university lecturer, claims in one sermon that music is a way in which Jews spread “the Satanic web” to corrupt young Muslims.

“Nearly every university in England has a department which is called the music department, and in others, where the Satanic influence is more, they call it the Royal College of Music,” he says.

Another former Bury student, Bradford-based Sheikh Ahmed Ali, hails the 9/11 attacks on America because they acted as a wake-up call to young Muslims. This, he says, taught them that they will “never be accepted” in Britain and has led them to “return to Islam: sisters are wearing hijab . . . the lion is waking up”.

Mr ul Haq, the most high-profile of the new generation of Deobandis, runs an Islamic academy in Leicester and is the former imam at the Birmingham Central Mosque. Revered by many young Muslims, he draws on his extensive knowledge of the Koran and the life and sayings of the prophet Muhammed to justify his hostility to the kuffar, or non-Muslims.

One sermon warns believers to protect their faith by distancing themselves from the “evil influence” of their non-Muslim British neighbours.

“We are in a very dangerous position here. We live amongst the kuffar, we work with them, we associate with them, we mix with them and we begin to pick up their habits.”

In another talk, delivered a few weeks before 9/11, he praises Muslims who have gained martyrdom in battle and laments that today “no one dare utter the J word”. “The J word has become taboo . .. The J word is jihad in the way of Allah.”

The Times has made repeated attempts to get Mr ul Haq to comment on the content of his sermons. However, he declined to respond.

A commentator on religious radicalism in Pakistan, where Deobandis wield significant political influence, told The Times that “blind ignorance” on the part of the Government in Britain had allowed the Deobandis to become the dominant voice of Islam in Britain’s mosques.

Khaled Ahmed said: “The UK has been ruined by the puritanism of the Deobandis. You’ve allowed the takeover of the mosques. You can’t run multiculturalism like that, because that’s a way of destroying yourself. In Britain, the Deobandi message has become even more extreme than it is in Pakistan. It’s mind-boggling.”

In some mosques the sect has wrested control from followers of the more moderate majority, the Barelwi movement.

A spokesman for the Department for Communities said: “We have a detailed strategy to ensure imams properly represent and connect with mainstream moderate opinion and promote shared values like tolerance and respect for the rule of law. We have never said the challenge from extremism is simply restricted to those coming from overseas.”

12-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped by Muslim Men...

A 39-year-old man has been sentenced for brutally raping a 12-year-old girl and subjecting her to a terrifying ordeal in Oldham in October 2006.

Shakil Chowdhury (1/1/67) of Attock Close, Chadderton previously pleaded guilty to six counts of rape and was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday 31 August 2007 to 6 years for each, to be served concurrently.

On the evening of Thursday 27 October 2007 the 12-year-old girl was walking along Manchester Road in Werneth trying to get directions to go home when Chowdhury approached her.

He encouraged the girl to get into his car. When she got in she told him her name, address and age. Chowdhury then asked her if she would like to go to his home address with him and the girl agreed, feeling that she could trust him.

When they got to Chowdhury's house he gave her alcohol before taking her upstairs and telling her to lie on the bed. Feeling extremely frightened, the girl agreed to do this. Chowdhury then raped her.

He then left the room and a second man came into the room and raped the girl. Throughout the evening Chowdhury raped the victim a total of 11 times, using different beds within the house and forcing her to clean herself between attacks.

He also invited two other men to rape her, bringing the total number of men who had abused her that evening to four.

Chowdhury then took the girl home, asking if he could take her phone number before he left.

The girl reported the rape to the police and identified Chowdhury's address as the place the offences had taken place. Officers later executed a warrant at the address on Attock Close and arrested him.

Detective Chief Inspector Mary Doyle from Oldham CID said: "This child was subjected to a terrifying and prolonged attack from Chowdhury and his associates.

"One of the first things she told him was her name and age, so there is no doubt that he was aware how young she was.

"Chowdhury's actions that evening would have been unacceptable on a woman of any age, but to carry out this sort of attack on a 12 year old child is simply abhorrent.

"His victim has shown a great deal of bravery throughout this case, informing the police and pursuing this case to prosecution.

"I hope her bravery and the resulting conviction will encourage other victims to come forward, safe in the knowledge that GMP will investigate any complaints fully and take robust action against the people responsible."

Greater Manchester Police works in partnership with Oldham Council and Oldham Primary Care Trust to combat the issue of child exploitation in the borough.

A team, known as Messenger, has been set up to work in partnership with children's charity Barnardo's to identify children who are potentially at risk from abuse and formulate a strategy aimed at helping these individuals.

Anyone with any concerns about children being exploited in their area should contact their local police station on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Holy Books Used for Smuggling Narcotics

Should we expect a surge of outrage from the Islamic world over this? Holy books used for smuggling narcotics.

My guess is no.

RAWALPINDI: The Customs Collectorate, Rawalpindi, has recovered huge quantity of heroin and hashish, concealed in the Holy Quran and religious books being parcelled to United Kingdom (UK) through International Mail office, Customs sources told The News.

Collector Customs Muhammad Ashraf Khan and Additional Collector Dr Arsalaan, received information that a drug mafia active in Pakistan, was sending huge consignments through mail for a long time, the sources said adding, the authorities constituted a raiding party comprising deputy collector, Naveed Iqbal, superintendent Wasim Ahmad and inspectors Afaan Younas, Muhammad Ismail and Imtiaz Bhatti to conduct raids at International Mail offices in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The team during checking of parcels booked for England, found four parcels suspicious, the sources said and added the Holy Quran and religious books (Tafheem-ul-Quran) as well as garments were packed in the parcels.

During the search, the raiding party recovered 5.5 kilograms of hashish and 710 grams of heroin concealed in the cavities of the Holy Quran and Tafheem-ul-Quran, the sources said.

Bombproof our windows say Blair’s neighbours.

Tony Blair’s new neighbours have demanded bombproof glass for their houses to protect them from a terrorist attack.

The request comes just days after a series of security scares at his Georgian townhouse in Connaught Square, Central London. One incident involved a suspect car which was investigated by a remote- control ‘robot’ before being cleared.

After discussions with police, residents have had their request refused and have been told they must pay for the alterations themselves.

But it appears the former Prime Minister is considering having bombproof glass and has put in a planning application to Westminster Council to install new windows and doors.

The matter was brought up at a meeting of Connaught Square Residents Association. Neighbours are also worried that bomb damage would not be covered by their home insurance.