Video: Saudi Hate Literature in British Mosques

As the British government welcomes Saudi King Abdullah, Saudi-financed mosques in Britain are distributing Islamist hate literature and jihad ideology. This video features our old “friend” Inayat Bunglawala, spinning and twisting and evading the truth, like the Islamist puppet he is.

Internet used to target extremism

Efforts to tackle extremism among young British Muslims must be centred on the internet as well as on mosques, the communities secretary has said.
Hazel Blears said £70m in funding to undermine extremist influences would be used to set up websites to encourage young Muslims to talk about identity.
The funding aims to target the most susceptible group - men from 16 to 35.
Ms Blears said she was also setting up a panel of Muslim women to act as role models and to advise ministers.
Ms Blear said that, while it was essential to ensure mosques were at the forefront of the battle against extremism, new ways of beating the ever-evolving recruitment methods of extremists must be found.

In some cases, people are isolated from family and friends, indoctrinated and manipulated within a matter of months Hazel Blears

"They use slick media campaigns, reaching out through the internet," she told a conference in London.
"Predominantly they target young men, with a significant number in their teens."
This was done in "ungoverned spaces" including on the internet and in bookshops, snooker halls and clubs, she said.
She warned that the process of radicalisation could be rapid.
"In some cases, people are isolated from family and friends, indoctrinated and manipulated within a matter of months."
By setting up local web-based projects where young Muslims can talk about their identities and grievances, it was hoped they would be less likely to be attracted to other sites run by radical groups, she said.
Schemes to provide peer mentoring and support for students in higher education have also been suggested.
She also promised that imams working in places like prisons, hospitals and universities would be trained to offer support to their vulnerable charges.
National schemes
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the government had acknowledged that its previous strategy of dealing mainly with a few, large Muslim organisations had sometimes cut it off from groups with the greatest influence over young Muslims.
Of the £70m funding, £25m will be spent on national schemes including training imams and teaching citizenship in mosque schools.
"It's important to get much better at working with children and young people," Ms Blears said.
"By getting in early, by helping them understand their religion, equipping them with the confidence and skills to challenge and reject those preaching conflict, we can make today and tomorrow's communities more resilient to the violent extremist message."
The other £45m will be allocated to local partnerships over the next three years to be spent on promoting community leadership to withstand extremism.
The new advisory panel of Muslim women is designed to give them a voice on similar issues.

Teachers' Muslim dress order

A SCHOOL was yesterday accused of MAKING teachers dress up as Asians for a day – to celebrate a Muslim festival.

Kids at the 257-pupil primary have also been told to don ethnic garb even though most are Christians.

The morning assembly will be open to all parents – but dads are BARRED from a women-only party in the afternoon because Muslim husbands object to wives mixing with other men.

Just two members of staff – a part-time teacher and a teaching assistant – are Muslim.

Embrace

Yesterday a relative of one of the 39 others said: “Staff have got to go along with it – or let’s face it, they would be branded racist.

Who would put their job on the line? They have been told they have to embrace the day to show their diversity. But they are not all happy.”

The day aims to belatedly mark Eid, the end of Ramadan.

Sally Bloomer, head of Rufford primary school in Lye, West Midlands, insisted: “I have not heard of any complaints.

“It’s all part of a diversity project to promote multi-culturalism.”

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Serial sex offender can stay in UK, judge rules

A serial sex offender from Sierra Leone has been allowed to stay in the UK after a judge ruled deporting him would breach his human rights.

	The case echoes that of Italian killer Learco Chindamo

The revelation will be an embarrassment for Gordon Brown who recently pledged to double the number of foreign criminals being deported to their native countries.

Mohammed Kendeh, 20, who has admitted indecently assaulting 11 women, was assessed by the Home Office as being at "high risk" of reoffending.

But their attempt to deport him was overruled by an immigration judge last year.

The Home Office appealed that decision but now Mr Justice Hodge, President of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, has delivered a lengthy judgement upholding Kendeh’s right to stay in Britain.

Mr Justice Hodge, who is the husband of Government minister Margaret Hodge, said article eight of the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the "right to a family life", meant the sex attacker could not be deported.

Kendeh, who now lives in Peckham, south London, left Sierra Leone at the age of six and has very little family remaining in the troubled West African nation.

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His case echoes that of Learco Chindamo, who was convicted of murdering headteacher Philip Lawrence in 1995.

In August this year the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled that Chindamo should not be deported to his home country of Italy. He had been brought to the UK by his mother when he was six, did not speak Italian and his family were in Britain.

Kendeh first went to prison at the age of 15 and over the past five years has also been arrested for robbery, burglary, arson and drugs offences.

Gabrielle Browne, one of the women he attacked, said she felt "devastated and let down" by the judgement. She believes Kendeh will attack again.

Mrs Browne, 42, an IT worker and mother of two who lives in south London, waved her right to anonymity to tell how she was attacked in a park while training for the London Marathon in 2003.

"How is it right that somebody who has offended so seriously against defenceless women is allowed to remain in this country?" she said. "It is a farce."

In July Gordon Brown set a target of deporting 4,000 foreign criminals by the end of the year to ease the prison overcrowding crisis. The previous target had been 2,000.

Mr Brown said he wanted a message to go out that "if you commit a crime you will be deported from our country."

Last year Mr Justice Hodge himself said too many foreign criminals were not being sent home and removing people was a "big, big problem."

The Home Office made no immediate comment on the case.

Two-faced oil Sheiks who trade in terror

The arrival yesterday of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on a state visit has already generated more than the usual share of hypocrisy from both sides of a relationship built not on affection but on oil and commerce.
Even before he set off from Riyadh, the King chided our security services for allegedly ignoring Saudi warnings about the imminence of the 7/7 London bombings and for being half-hearted in combating terrorism.
Since Saudi Arabia is perhaps the most potent force behind global terrorism, promoting a deeply fundamentalist strain of Islamic theology worldwide, this must be one of the most hypocritical statements of all time.
But bizarre claims have come from our side too. Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells has spoken of the 'shared values' between our two countries.
What shared values? Was he thinking of Riyadh's 'Chop-Chop Square' where adulterers and thieves lose heads or arms under the kingdom's brutal Sharia law?
Was he referring to the scores of Saudi political dissenters executed and tortured every year?
Perhaps he meant the Saudis' treatment of women who are, in effect, kept under house arrest, banned from driving or leaving their home without a male guardian and made to dress 'modestly' - in other words covered from head to toe.
He presumably did not mean Tony Blair's suppression of a corruption probe into British Aerospace's alleged bribery of the ruling dynasty to secure a multi-billion arms contract.
In the coming days, the Saudis will claim that both Osama Bin Laden and the 15 Saudi 9/11 hijackers had no deeper connection to the culture and mores of the kingdom than that they were born and educated there.
Just as they did unconvincingly after 9/11, the Saudis will trumpet their new-found resolve in combating domestic terrorism, while promoting the idea of a UN centre to co-ordinate information on international threats and touting their peace plan for the Middle East.
Gordon Brown will make emollient noises in return for what will inevitably be further lucrative contracts. British exports to Saudi are worth £3.5 billion annually and our financial interests there amount to £7 billion.
But all of this polite verbiage conceals stark realities. For the truth is that for nearly three decades now, the Saudis have been exporting their indigenous extremists all over the world.
It was in 1979 that Saudi fundamentalists - fuelled by mass unemployment as well as the vast wealth, corruption and hypocrisy of the royal dynasty - stormed and occupied the holy shrine at Mecca, killing and capturing hundreds of pilgrims.
The Saudi authorities retook the mosque but they placated the growing unrest by introducing a religious crackdown and ensuring that strict Islamic codes were enforced.
They also encouraged fundamentalists to find trouble elsewhere - to go to Afghanistan and fight the atheist Soviets, even providing them with cheap flights and cash for weapons.
In this way, the authorities played a major role in financing what coalesced into Al Qaeda, whose leader, Bin Laden, is the spoilt scion of the largest Saudi construction firm.
So keen have they been to bury this connection that London's libel courts have been used to obliterate an academic book called Alms for Jihad for daring to broach this subject.
Equally disturbingly, Saudi Arabia has used its vast oil wealth to purvey on a global scale the austere Wahhabist strain of Islam on which the Saud dynasty's legitimacy rests, but which poisons young minds and fuels murderous anti-Jewish and anti-western resentment.
Saudi money talks in poorer countries, which is why, wherever you go, from Egypt to Ethiopia, the Gulf Arabs are bitterly resented.
Observing a couple of them last week knocking back doubles in the bar of a luxury Cairo hotel I can see why - and that is before they go to the call-girls and casinos, as they routinely do in Mayfair and Monaco.
In Ethiopia, the Saudis have built hundreds of mosques, giving its poor citizens bribes of £300 a time to convert to Islam.
In neighbouring Somalia, a failed state which Islamist extremists are endeavouring to take over, Saudi-style religious police - the Mutawiun - now patrol the streets looking out for such dangerous manifestations of western culture as Barbie dolls.
Far more serious inroads have been made by Wahhabists through the thousands of madrassas they have established in Pakistan and the pasatrens in Indonesia, the two most populous Muslim states.
Instead of a decent school system which might equip boys and girls for gainful employment, these religious seminaries teach them rote learning of the Koran and a host of noxious attitudes.
In case anyone imagines that these are faraway places about which we care nothing, the Wahhabists have been hyper-active closer to home.
A shocking report by the Policy Exchange think-tank reveals that the Saudis are behind a range of extremist texts that are openly available in a quarter of the British mosques surveyed.
Instead of claiming that our commercial links with Saudi Arabia trump everything else, we need a much more sober analysis of the costs and benefits of our relationship.
This should begin with our insistence that the Saudis take full responsibility for the export of extremists and the hateful propaganda that has a detrimental impact on our Muslim youth.
We should also demand total transparency regarding the origins of so-called charitable funds that wash in here and elsewhere from the kingdom.
Since Saudi Arabia practises absolute intolerance toward other faiths - notably Christianity - it is unacceptable that there should be no reciprocity regarding their capacity to build ever larger mosques here, while the mere ringing of a church bell in Jeddah or Riyadh is forbidden.
Finally, it is incumbent on any members of the British Establishment, notably the Church of England and the Royal Family, to inform themselves about who they are extending the hand of friendship to in the interests of a wishy-washy ecumenicism and a shared interest in horses.
Our Government should make it very clear that we are no longer prepared to have friends who act like two-faced enemies.

Michael Burleigh's Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism will be published in February by HarperCollins.

Books of hatred at mosques

ONE in four British mosques is in the grip of extremists, an investigation revealed yesterday.
The chilling extent of fanaticism is exposed in the biggest ever study of the UK’s growing Islamic community.
Undercover worshippers found imams peddling pamphlets advocating hatred of women, gays, Jews and Christians or preaching holy war against non-Muslims.
Think tank Policy Exchange recruited moderate Muslims to visit more than 100 mosques and Islamic centres for the study.
Meanwhile, a new Muslim watchdog yesterday unveiled a blueprint for stamping out extremism.
The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board set down “core standards” for preachers and worshippers – such as promoting peace with other faiths and branding forced marriages “unIslamic”.
The board will conduct checks to ensure the standards are upheld.

Drop terror film, Muslims tell C4

Islamic leaders last night called on Channel 4 to cancel a film about a British girl who is driven to become the UK's first female suicide bomber.
Britz, to be broadcast on Wednesday, tells the fictional story of a British-born Muslim who becomes part of a terror cell that sets out to slaughter hundreds of people.
Several of the characters are portrayed as associates of the real perpetrators of the July 2005 London bombings, in which 52 people died.
The film has also attracted criticism for labelling the police racist bullies after would-be suicide bomber Nasima, played by Manjinder Virk, is force-fed a ham sandwich by an officer.
Last night, Kurshid Ahmed, chairman of the British Muslim Forum, said: "A film which attempts to glamorise or rationalise the actions of suicide bombers has no place on our TV screens.
"Channel 4 should be working with us to defeat terrorism and extremism, not sowing hate and division in our communities."
Channel 4 says Britz is an attempt to understand what could lead a second-generation Muslim to turn against the country of their birth.
It blames Labour's "draconian" antiterror laws and foreign policy for alienating the Muslim community.
Director Peter Kosminsky denied radicalised Muslims would feel vindicated by the film.
"I hope that nobody who sees it would think there is anything triumphant or joyful about Nasima's journey.
"The point of the piece was to make non-Muslims know what it feels like to be Muslims in Britain today."

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Explosives manual teenager jailed

A teenager has been jailed after an Old Bailey jury found him guilty of having a terrorism-related explosives manual.
Abdul Patel, 18, of east London, was said in court to be "ready, willing and able" to help terrorists.
Judge Peter Rook sentenced him to six months in a Young Offenders Institution after rejecting mitigation for a suspended sentence.
The judge said Patel was guilty of possessing the document - but was not a "radicalised or politicised Islamist".
In September, a jury at the Old Bailey found Patel guilty of one charge of possessing a document likely to be useful for terrorism and not guilty of a second charge of possessing a document for an act of terrorism.
The teenager was 17 when he was arrested at his wife's family home in August 2006.
Under his bed police found what prosecutors said was an explosives manual detailing the construction of home-made bombs.
The manual was originally written for US experts and contained diagrams and drawings for improvised explosive devices.
It included bomb recipes involving ordinary chemicals and products, such as fertiliser. The box also included a book on the Taleban, a taped speech by Osama bin Laden and letters from people going to fight in Bosnia.
In his defence, Patel denied that he was radicalised. He told the court the manual was not his, but had been left with him by another man known to his father.
He had asked the man to take the boxes back. His father, who lives in South Africa, was said to be a veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviet Union, although Patel himself said he was not sure.
Box sealed
Sentencing Patel, Judge Rook said that the jury had cleared the teenager on the more serious charge - but that he had "no reasonable excuse" for possessing documents that were "obviously likely to be useful to a terrorist".
"You were looking after that book for someone older than you who you did not know well other than he had been an associate of your father," said the judge.
"It may be because of that man's association with your father that you naively agreed to look after that manual."
He said Patel had sealed the box but would have known that the title of the explosives manual was clear in large letters.
"It was clearly of current utility, even though it was published in 1991," said Judge Rook.
"It was dangerous if it had fallen into the wrong hands. I'm not prepared to say that you are a radicalised or politicised Islamist."
For Patel, Michael Mansfield QC argued that the teenager should not be jailed because of both his age and the nature of the offence.
But Judge Rook said that there had to be a deterrence factor in the case and that people needed to be alert to the dangers of possessing such material.
Patel was told he would serve three months of his sentence before being released and that the sentence took into account a time spent on remand prior to his trial.
The judge had initially sentenced Patel to eight months but reduced it after a defence submission based on youth sentencing law.

Jury sees 'terror training' video

The footage showed men holding sticks and doing forward rolls Mobile phone footage Footage that allegedly shows a group of men practising military-style techniques in a New Forest terror training camp has been seen by a jury.
A British Army officer told Woolwich Crown Court that the drills were similar to those of al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said the mobile phone footage, shot in Hampshire, was also reminiscent of basic Army training.
Five men all deny charges of being involved in setting up training camps.
Among them is Mohammed Hamid, 50, who prosecutors say set up camps attended by the 21 July bomb plotters.
The other men are Mousa Brown, Kibley da Costa, Mohammed Al-Figari and Kader Ahmed.
The trial heard that Mr da Costa, Mr Hamid and Mr Ahmed all took part in the New Forest camp, but the other two defendants did not.
'Weapon system'
The jurors heard that several short clips from the New Forest trip were recovered from a computer owned by Mr da Costa.
They were told that the three men travelled to the New Forest on 28 April 2006 for a four-day camp.
The British officer, referred to as Soldier A, said the activities shown were similar in some ways to basic Army training.
THE CHARGES
Mohammed Hamid is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with providing weapons and terrorist training. He faces additional charges of soliciting murder, and one charge of possessing terrorist documents
Mousa Brown is accused of providing and receiving weapons training
Kibley da Costa is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with providing terrorist training and with attending terrorist training camps
Mohammed Al-Figari is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with attending terrorist training camps
Kader Ahmed is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with attending terrorist training camps
He drew attention to one particular clip which showed a man identified as Mr da Costa bouncing on his knees between two positions while holding a large stick in front of him.
"I have seen that used as a method of carrying a weapon system," Soldier A said.
"It is not something that is taught by the British army. I have seen it used by insurgents while in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"It is a favoured position of insurgents and Taliban."
Prosecutor David Farrell QC then asked him: "With what type of weapon?"
He replied: "An AK-47."
In another clip, two men are seen performing a series of forward rolls, again holding a large stick in front of them.
Off camera, someone is heard to shout "Don't waste time."
Soldier A served as an infantry platoon commander on three active tours and now works as a British Army instructor.
He told the court that so-called "leopard crawling" shown in the footage might be used to approach an enemy, while wrestling and other drills seen could improve agility.
The trip was one of a series of trips taken by the five men including paintballing, camping in the Lake District and visits to an Islamic centre in East Sussex.
'Extreme' group
The court also heard evidence from an undercover police officer who infiltrated the group claiming he wanted to convert to Islam.
He attended a number of meetings at Mr Hamid's home in Clapton, east London, and eventually a number of the alleged training camps.
He told the court about a conversation he had with Mr Hamid's co-defendant, Mr da Costa, during a car journey before the New Forest camp.
"He said the group were extreme but it was the right way to be," the officer said.
Police hid a bugging device in Mr Hamid's home in September 2005.
In one recorded conversation played to the court, he is heard telling a group of men: "Remember this, Allah has turned around and said every Muslim should be fully trained.
"He should be able to take on two kuffar [non-believers], right, he should be ready for jihad."
The trial continues.
Story from BBC NEWS:

Muslim prisoners sue for millions after they were offered ham sandwiches

Muslim inmates who were allegedly offered ham sandwiches during the holy season of Ramadan are suing for compensation.
The incident is purported to have taken place at maximum security Leeds prison, where more than 200 Muslims are being held.
The mix-up was said to have happened after prisoners were given their special nightly menus and they saw that one of the options was a 'boiled ham sandwich'. Any variant of pork is strictly forbidden according to Muslim teachings.
After complaining to wardens, the prisoners were told the menus were a mistake. Many ordered cheese sandwiches instead, but some claimed they were still delivered ham sandwiches and ended up eating them because they were so hungry.
It was reported that lawyers estimated each inmate could receive as much £10,000 compensation if the claim is proved. Tax payers will end up footing the bill.
However the the Ministry of Justice said that the menu had been incorrectly printed, but denied that any of the prisoners were forced to eat ham.
"An inappropriate menu card was printed during Ramadan. This mistake was rectified immediately," said a spokesman.
"Appropriate menu options for the Iftar evening meal were available throughout Ramadan.
"Prison services guidelines state that prisoners must have a diet which meets the requirements of their religion."

UK Muslims to govt: Want us not to become jihadists? Give us money

At least it's a direct and honest appeal: Want peace? Pay the jizya. "Muslims in 'money not words' message," by Tom Smithard in the Yorkshire Post

A Government Minister was told yesterday to stop talking and start funding as he addressed a group of young Yorkshire Muslims battling to prevent members of their community becoming extremists.
Community Cohesion Minister Parmjit Dhanda was told that young Muslims were still annoyed about the war in Iraq and tensions in the Middle East.
And, in what he described as a "robust debate", he was told by members of the Leeds Muslim Youth Forum (LMYF) that they were fed up of having meetings with Ministers that appeared positive at the time but never resulted in the funding they were after.
Mr Dhanda visited the Hamara centre in Beeston, Leeds, yesterday to learn about grassroot schemes developed there to engage young people.
Representatives told him of the positive work to build links with other Leeds communities, including organising football tournaments and multi-faith visits to mosques, churches and synagogues.
They said they were about to organise a community cohesion awards night, featuring prizes for local role models, and had also recently run a cultural awareness week to help stop the feeling of alienation.
But, while tensions in Beeston had eased since the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings, carried out by members of the community, the representatives said there were still many problems that needed addressing.
Mohammed Kamran said: "We need to get young Muslims to understand the big picture. Young Muslims are p***** off with our foreign policy and the community gets all irate about politicians not engaging at a local level. We're trying to get people to engage at a local level themselves, because that's the only way it will change things."
P***** off with foreign policy? Politicians not engaging at the local level? Hmmm. I guess I'll have to become a suicide bomber myself!
Speaking afterwards, 20-year-old Fahad Khan said that it was vital for the LMYF to engage at the grassroots, through mosques and youth clubs, to reach young people before they became alienated and turned to extremism.
He said: "There is no escaping the fact that there is a lot of tension in this community, the Muslim youth is disenfranchised. They are being pulled three ways, the religious culture at home, the secular culture at school, and in-between the tension of the streets.
"Parents don't understand, many do not speak English, yet there's no translators available at parent-teacher evenings at schools. Young people also have grievances with other faiths, they focus too much on the differences rather than looking at the similarities.
"We also have 'consultation fatigue', with Ministers coming to see us but never getting anything done. We had a meeting with a Treasury Minister earlier in the summer, it was a positive meeting, but when we applied for funding afterwards it was rejected.
"We don't want to sound money hungry but we need it to progress as an organisation, to allow us to get our voices heard within the community. The problem at the moment is Ministers listen to what we say, but never act upon it."
But, but, says the government official, we've already ponied up plenty:
Mr Dhanda, a Sikh, told the Yorkshire Post: "We have invested £6m of money nationally in our Preventing Violent Extremism programme, with £17m over three years behind that.
"We had a good, frank discussion today. It's really important that we listen to what active young people in the Leeds Muslim community have to say because the projects they've been involved in locally have made a real difference.
"It's not a case of what goes wrong that we need to spend all our time focusing on. We need to find examples of what can be done to improve things. Where we have projects of real energy and vitality we need to utilise that and support that."

Why not tell them this, Dhanda? "We're going to enforce British law. You are in Britain. You must obey it. Poverty and disenfranchisement are no excuse for mayhem. Renounce Islamic supremacism and any hope to impose Sharia, accept the parameters of British society and law, work with law enforcement officials to root out jihadists from your community, and things will go well with you."

Garage wouldn't serve soldier

AN ASIAN worker at a BP filling station provoked fury by turning away a soldier because he was in uniform.

The shocked Army officer – wearing combat fatigues – was told to go away and change before he could buy beer from the service station shop.
But witnesses claimed the snub was due to the attendant’s antiwar views.
The incident is the latest in a series of blows to Forces personnel, who feel neglected by the nation.
The officer is a captain with 16 Air Assault Brigade, whose 5,000 troops fought heroically against the Taliban in Afghanistan last summer.
He said the public snub – at Wisley South Connect station on the A3 near Guildford, Surrey – left him humiliated and shamed in front of a dozen other customers.
He asked to remain anonymous in case of reprisal attacks by extremists, but reported the incident to BP and to the Army Families Federation.
The federation’s spokeswoman Melanie Pullan told The Sun: “I talked to this officer, and it was very disappointing to hear his experiences. It made our blood boil.
“We would ask the nation to get behind their troops, considering the sort of sacrifice so many are making.
“Their war has never been against Muslims. It’s a shame people can’t respect their service to the country, whether you agree with the politics behind it or not.”
BP last night issued a grovelling apology to the officer, claiming it was a bungle over the licensing laws and NOT a result of prejudice or politics.
A BP spokeswoman said: “We apologise sincerely to the Army officer for the inconvenience and embarrassment that has been caused.
“None of our staff has the right to discriminate on who they serve, regardless of what they are wearing.

“We investigated the incident and believe it was caused by an error in interpretation of the licensing laws. Retraining of staff is now taking place.”
BP insisted the snub was a simple misunderstanding.
A spokesman claimed the attendant thought it was illegal to sell alcohol to cops in uniform, and assumed the same rule applied to squaddies.
But witnesses who saw the incident are adamant it had nothing to do with licensing laws, and was based instead on the worker’s political views and prejudice against soldiers.
There is a growing feeling among military personnel that their huge sacrifices are no longer valued by their nation.
Worried Army chief, General Sir Richard Dannatt last month warned of a growing gulf between the public and our Armed Forces.
Ten days ago, The Sun told how not one person turned up to support Grenadier Guards at a London parade on their return home from Afghanistan.
And yesterday we revealed how thugs had vandalised the homes and cars of squaddies while they were away in war zones.

Men face court on terror charges

Two men from south-west London are to appear in court charged with offences under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Adam Mohamed, 28, of Chessington, and Imad Shoubaki, 31, of Merton, are due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today.
Scotland Yard said the men were charged with "conspiring to possess money for terrorist purposes".
Mr Mohamed is accused of one other offence and Mr Shoubaki of three other offences, all under the Terrorism Act.
The two men were arrested on 3 October.
Mr Mohamed is accused of having a computer disk with a file containing a book called Zaad e Mujahid "in circumstances which give rise to a reasonable suspicion that your possession thereof is for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism".
Mr Shoubaki is also accused of the same charge and of possessing another computer file entitled "How to become an assassin".
He is also accused of possessing computer files "of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".
These were the document entitled "How to become an assassin" and a second file detailing how to make explosives.

Priest gets a visit from 'hate crime' police for expressing his views on Muslim veil affair

A priest has been interviewed by police on suspicion of inciting racial hatred for expressing his Christian views in his parish newsletter.

Father John Hayes, 71, was quizzed for more than an hour after commenting on the case of a Muslim girl who went to court over her wish to wear a full veil in class.

A sergeant and community support officer turned up without warning at his presbytery after an allegation was made to a Scotland Yard 'hate crimes' unit.

The inquisition in Hornchurch, East London, prompted a furious row about policing priorities. In the past 12 months there have been five murders, 33 rapes, 424 robberies and 2,267 burglaries in the local police borough of Havering.

Yet, despite being accused of turning a blind eye to the inflammatory remarks of some Muslim preachers of hate, the Met still found time to quiz Mr Hayes.

Last night the priest said his 'offending' remarks had concerned Shabina Begum, who, represented by Cherie Blair QC, claimed unsuccessfully that it was her human right to be allowed to wear her jilbab, a loose gown, in class.

After hearing an interview with the girl, Mr Hayes suggested in his internet bulletin to his parishioners that it was never possible to convince anyone by argument in matters of religion.

"My point was that you have to demonstrate what it means to be Christian through your actions," he said.

"Apparently someone in my congregation was unhappy with my comments and, after waiting a year, went to the police to say he had been 'disturbed' by it."

A fortnight ago officers knocked on the door of his home next to St Mary's Church, Hornchurch. They said they had been sent by a superintendent.

"They said they had come to see if I had intended to incite racial hatred," the priest said. "I was pretty surprised. It seemed to me that political correctness had gone haywire in this situation.

"They were very polite and cordial, but I did say to them that surely they had better things to be doing with their time.

"We had a long, civilised discussion and I didn't give an inch.

"They seemed satisfied and when they eventually left the sergeant told me 'that's the end of the matter'. I felt the whole thing was a bit of a storm in a teacup."

He added: "I have the greatest respect for Islam. There are so many more similarities than differences in our religions that I feel it is a great pity we concentrate on the few things that divide us."

The decision to quiz Mr Hayes has infuriated many Met officers.

A source at the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said: "What happened is a gross error of judgment and possibly even an abuse of power.

"The senior officer who decided on this course of action should be called to account.

"It is yet another example of the political correctness which is blighting the Met. It is plain bonkers."

Mr Hayes, who became the priest at St Mary's 13 years ago, said one of his main aspirations was to bring people of different backgrounds together. On Saturday night he organised a 'One World' evening, where his congregation brought traditional cuisine from their country of origin.

He said: "You can talk about integration until you are blue in the face, but at the end of the day it's better to do this through actions - like getting people together over some food!"

‘Lyrical terrorist’ stored a library of hate, court told

A worker at Heathrow airport who called herself the “lyrical terrorist” wrote a poem entitled How to Behead and another on martyrdom, a court was told yesterday.
Police discovered the poems and a library of documents relating to terrorism in Samina Malik’s bedroom in Southall, West London. One document in her handwriting read: “The desire within me increases every day to go for martyrdom, the need to go increases second by second.”
Jonathan Sharp, for the prosecution, told the Old Bailey that Ms Malik, 23, liked to be known as the “lyrical terrorist” or “a stranger awaiting martyrdom”. He said: “She is a committed Islamic extremist, who supports terrorism and terrorists. She had a library of material that she had collected for terrorist purposes.”
Ms Malik, who is British born, was arrested in October last year after an e-mail that she had sent was found on another person’s computer. When her bedroom was searched police found a ringbinder full of documents that included poems and a list of weapons, Mr Sharp said. He added that Ms Malik had joined an extremist organisation called Jihad Way, which was set up explicitly to disseminate terrorist propaganda and support for al-Qaeda.
Ms Malik denies possessing articles for terrorist purposes and possessing records for terrorist purposes.
The trial continues.

New charge over 'honour killing'

A man has been charged with the murder of a 20-year-old woman whose father was earlier jailed for life for the crime.
Unemployed Amir Abbass, 22, of no fixed address, is accused of killing Banaz Mahmod and assisting an offender.
The body of Miss Mahmod, of Mitcham, south London, was found buried in a suitcase in Birmingham in April 2006 after a so-called "honour killing".
Mr Abbass is due to appear before Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court, south London, on Saturday.
In July this year, the victim's father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and his brother Ari Mahmod, 52, of Mitcham, were jailed for at least 20 and 23 years for the murder.
A third man, Mohamad Hama, 31, from South Norwood, south London, was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years for his involvement.

Anger over plan to dig up 350,000 bodies in historic London cemetery for Muslim burial site

A row has erupted over a plan to dig up a third of a million bodies from an historic east London cemetery to make way for a new Muslim burial site.

Tower Hamlets council in London is considering reopening the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park in Mile End to answer a long-running campaign for a Muslim graveyard in the area.

The park, off Bow Common Lane, was deconsecrated as a Church of England cemetery by Parliament in 1966, after being deemed full with about 350,000 bodies buried there.

It is not yet clear what the Council proposes to do with the remains, if they are ultimately removed from the graves and a new burial site built in their place.

Council sources have said the plans are not yet at a stage where this has been properly considered.

But already opponents to the proposal are lining up. They include the environmentalist and broadcaster, who is leading calls for the park to be kept as a wildlife haven.

The botanist, who is patron of a charity that acts as the guardian of the graveyard, said he will 'pray that the wisdom of all faiths' prevails in the decision over the cemetery's future.

The other options are to find land outside Tower Hamlets or redevelop the Bow Common gas works.

The Labour-controlled council had asked officers to find ways of opening a Muslim-only cemetery - but lawyers warned them that would be illegal.

The authority then examined the possibility of a multi-faith site, clearing existing graves to create a new cemetery with an area set aside for Muslim burials.

But now outraged East Enders have declared "there is no way we'll allow them to dig up our ancestors".

They have bombarded their local paper, the East London Advertiser, with protests against the plan to exhume 350,000 graves dating back to 1841, including those of the children of Dr Barnardo.

Religious leaders and politicians have also reacted angrily.

Tower Hamlets Tory group leader Peter Golds said no new cemetery had been opened in an inner city area for decades.

Cllr Golds insisted: "Of course, there must be respect for the recent dead and for those who mourn, but this proposal will cause untold damage to community cohesion in a borough that seriously wants for tranquil open space."

Labour's Poplar and Canning Town MP Jim Fitzpatrick said: "The cemetery is a very special piece of green space and I would personally want to examine very carefully any proposal to change that."

The Rev Alan Green, chair of the Tower Hamlets Inter-Faith Forum and dean for the borough, said the former Church of England graveyard was not an 'appropriate' place for a new cemetery.

Rev Green said: "The Church supports the move to ensure suitable future provision for the burial and cremation needs for all local residents.

"However, we do not believe that the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is an appropriate location due to the emotional, practical and ecological issues of removing thousands of bodies and destroying an important wildlife centre.

"Therefore, we hope that we can work with the council and other faith groups to find a more suitable alternative."

Even Respect group leader Abjol Miah, who has been at the forefront of calls for a Muslim cemetery, opposed the blueprint.

Mr Miah said: "The Bow cemetery is an historic site and a nature reserve and therefore appears not to be an appropriate place.

"However, there is an urgent need for new cemetery facilities for Tower Hamlets residents.

"The lack of such facilities affects everyone, and is pressing because many, including most Muslims, prefer to bury their loved ones."

But defending the plan, Labour's environment spokesman in Tower Hamlets, Abdal Ullah, said: "To preserve the respect and dignity for everyone, I think most of the graves would have to be cleared out and we'd start afresh."

He said a corner of the cemetery would be reserved for Muslims who are buried in shrouds at a depth of 6ft and on their side facing Mecca.

With the fast-changing demographics of Tower Hamlets, the cemetery would be pre-dominantly Muslim.

see this story from last year as well

'Terror plot' man pleads guilty

A man linked to an alleged plot to set up UK terror training camps admitted soliciting murder, it can be revealed.
Atilla Ahmet, of Lewisham, south east London, admitted three charges of encouraging others to commit murder.
The revelation came as five men with connections to Ahmet went on trial at Woolwich Crown Court for a number of terror offences, which all five deny.
Prosecutors told the court that one of them, Mohammed Hamid, organised camps attended by some 21 July plotters.
Mr Hamid, 50, of Clapton, east London, stands accused alongside Mousa Brown, 41, of Walthamstow, east London; Kibley da Costa, 24, of West Norwood, south east London; Mohammed Al-Figari, 42, of Tottenham, north London; and Kader Ahmed, 20, of Plaistow, east London.
The prosecution told jurors that Mr Hamid was involved in the radicalising of young Muslims for two years from 2004.
Alleged terrorist training took the form of camping trips and paintballing excursions around Britain, said David Farrell, prosecuting.
Mr Farrell added that the trips were intended to "foster within the participants that they were training for "Jihad" against the "Kuffir", or non-believers".
He said: "A number of young men who attended camps organised by Hamid were in fact involved in attempts to kill and seriously injure passengers on the London transport network on 21 July, 2005."
Ahmet's plea has been disclosed after reporting restrictions were lifted at Woolwich Crown Court.
The jury was told that since Ahmet had entered his guilty plea, Mr Hamid was "the principal offender you are concerned with".
Jurors also heard that Ahmet went to Mr Hamid's home to attend meetings, where Mr Farrell said "aggressive unlawful violence" was promoted.
Mr Farrell added: "At meetings held at Hamid's home address and elsewhere, the methods of Hamid and Ahmet involved the encouragement of the use of unlawful violence in the name of Islam."
The court heard that some of those involved in the failed 21 July attacks also met at Mr Hamid's home.

Among this material were extremist documents including CDs and DVDs containing recordings of murders, beheadings and suicide bombings, he said.

At one meeting Hamid "spoke of six or seven atrocities" before the 2012 Olympics, Mr Farrell said.

And on another occasion he talked about the "magnificent 15" - the 9/11 hijackers in America, it was said.

Brown praised the actions of the 7/7 suicide bombers, responding "yeah, yeah, yeah" when someone at a meeting called them "Fantastic Four", the jury heard.

At another meeting there were references to Finsbury Park Mosque and "the preacher of hate" Abu Hamza, the barrister said.

Ahmet, of Rangefield Road, Bromley, south east London, boasted that American TV channel CNN had labelled him "the number one al Qaida in Europe", it was said.

Mr Farrell told the jury: "You will hear him preach to the group about dying for their belief in Allah and entering paradise.

"Democracy, he preaches, is the number one enemy of Islam."

He was also overheard speaking about his dislike for the Muslim Council of Britain and the Muslim Association of Britain, saying their leaders should be removed because of their failure, in effect, to support his extremist view and their collaboration with non-believers, the barrister added.

Evidence of phone contact between Mr Hamid and the four convicted would-be bombers - Muktar Said Ibrahim, Hussein Osman, Ramzi Mohammed and Yassin Omar - was shown to the jury.
Mr Farrell said that on the evening of 7 July 2005, a text message was sent from Mr Hamid's mobile phone to a mobile owned which was owned by Osman.
It read: "Assalam bro, we fear no-one except ALLAH, we will not change our ways, we are proud to be a Muslim an we will not hide. 8pm Friday at my place be there food an talk AL-QURAN."
Earlier, the jury had heard that Al-Quran was an alias used by Mr Hamid.
Mr Farrell said: "The prosecution do not suggest that Hamid's role in seeking to train and influence those who took part in 21/7 was the only training or influence they received.
"The prosecution's case is that Hamid, assisted by Ahmet, was a recruiter, groomer and corrupter of young Muslims.
Mr Farrell added that Hamid was arrested at a stall in London's Oxford Street in October 2004 alongside Muktar Said Ibrahim, the ringleader of the failed 21 July plot.
Mr Farrell said: "Hamid told the police that his name was 'Osama bin London' and on the way to the police station he said to a police officer 'I've got a bomb and I'm going to blow you all up'."
Jurors were told that Mr Hamid's home was bugged by police from September 2005.
When the defendants were arrested, material including CDs and DVDs containing recordings of murders, beheadings and suicide bombings were seized from their homes, Mr Farrell said.
The case continues.

THE CHARGES
Mohammed Hamid (above) is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with providing weapons and terrorist training. He faces additional charges of soliciting murder, and one charge of possessing terrorist documents
Mousa Brown is accused of providing and receiving weapons training
Kibley da Costa is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with providing terrorist training and with attending terrorist training camps
Mohammed Al-Figari is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with attending terrorist training camps
Kader Ahmed is charged under the Terrorism Act 2006 with attending terrorist training camps

jesus portrait offends muslim, worker loses job!!!

A Catholic worker at Manchester Airport was suspended after hanging an image of Jesus on a staff room wall.
Gareth Langmead, 40, was sent home from his job as a car parks supervisor after a complaint from a Muslim colleague.
He was off work for three days while an investigation was carried out and later reinstated with a clean record.
Union officials accused the airport of overreacting and said Mr Langmead was upset by the incident, but the airport said he had not complained.
The airport worker, from Atherton, Greater Manchester, found the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as he was clearing out a desk drawer.
As he felt unable to throw it away, Mr Langmead hung it on a wall in the staff rest room, prompting a complaint it had been put up as "an act of provocation".
Airport bosses investigated the claim but reached the decision that he had done nothing wrong.
This investigation was swiftly concluded and the employee has returned to work with a clean record Manchester Airport spokesman
A spokesman said: "We can confirm that a member of staff was suspended pending an investigation into his conduct.
"This investigation was swiftly concluded and the employee has returned to work with a clean record.
"Given the nature of this incident, we have agreed with our airport Chaplain that he and his team will work with the employees involved to foster a greater level of understanding about each other's beliefs and how this applies in the workplace."
News of the suspension emerged a week after Hindu Heathrow Airport worker Amrit Lalji, who lost her job for wearing a nose stud, was reinstated.
Last year, Heathrow worker Nadia Eweida was suspended by British Airways for wearing a Christian cross but later reinstated following condemnation by clerics and politicians.

Met chief warns over terror plots

The number of terrorist plots in the UK is "mounting" and the "magnitude" of their ambitions growing, Met Police chief Sir Ian Blair has warned MPs.
He was making the case to the Commons Home Affairs committee for extending the current 28-day limit for detaining terror suspects without charge.
Terror law watchdog Lord Carlile told MPs longer detention would not harm relations between Muslims and police.
He said foreign policy was more likely to "radicalise young people".
The government has said the time has come to re-examine the 28-day limit - which was doubled from 14 days in 2005 - because of the complexity and nature of the threat of terrorism.
No evidence
Its previous attempts to extend the period to 90 days ended in defeat - when it was rejected by a combination of Tory, Lib Dem and some Labour MPs.
Sir Ian conceded that there have been no cases so far where detention beyond 28 days had been needed but he said it was only a matter of time.
The prospect that we will need more than 28 days some time in the not too distant future is so real a prospect that Parliament needs to consider it Sir Ian Blair
He told the home affairs committee internment was a bad idea - but 50 to 90 day detention would be "sensible" if there was judicial oversight.
"The prospect that we will need more than 28 days some time in the not too distant future is so real a prospect that Parliament needs to consider it," Sir Ian told MPs.
The Metropolitan Police chief conceded that extending detention beyond 28 days would not "ease" relations between police and the Muslim community.
More effort
But he said more effort should be made to explain to the Muslim community why the police believed it was needed.
"The number of the conspiracies, the number of conspirators within those conspiracies and the magnitude of the ambition, in terms of destruction and loss of life, is mounting, has continued to mount year by year," he said.
Sir Ian added that given that increase in threat "a pragmatic inference can be drawn that at some stage 28 days is not going to be sufficient".
In the absence of any compelling evidence it is a mystery why Sir Ian Blair, Gordon Brown and [home secretary] Jacqui Smith seem so determined to reopen this debate Nick Clegg
But both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said there were many alternatives to extending the detention period, including allowing post-charge questioning and intercept evidence in trials.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "We have the longest period of detention without trial in the democratic world.
"Any increase needs to be based on evidence - not guesswork - that it is needed to protect the public."
And Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "In the absence of any compelling evidence it is a mystery why Sir Ian Blair, Gordon Brown and [home secretary] Jacqui Smith seem so determined to reopen this debate."
Judges' oversight
The government's independent reviewer of terrorism laws, Lord Carlile, agreed there was no evidence of a case so far in which it could be shown that detention beyond 28 days would have made a significant difference.
But he said in a very small number of cases - perhaps two or three in the next five years - more time for police questioning could be useful, and in his view would be justified, subject to oversight by judges.
He told MPs he said any number of days would be "entirely arbitrary" and there was no "perfect cut-off point".
There are other things that radicalise young people of course, like foreign policy for example, but that's a different matter Lord Carlile
"I've recognised that Parliament will set a cut-off point. My view is that probably, even if there was a limit of 90 days, almost nobody, perhaps nobody at all, would be held for 90 days if there was a proper and fully human-rights compliant, system of judicial control."
Lord Carlile told MPs he did not think extending the pre-charge detention limit would damage relations between Muslims and the police.
He said he was concerned that Muslims were disproportionately affected by detention laws as the "vast majority" of Muslims disapproved very strongly of terrorism.
"But I don't believe that from that one can necessarily extrapolate: 'Ergo - the extension of detention from say 28 to 56 days is going to make relations with the police worse'. I see no evidence of that, none has been given to me and I don't think it's logical.
"There are other things that radicalise young people of course, like foreign policy for example, but that's a different matter."

Army forks out for 95 hijabs

POLITICALLY correct MoD officials are to issue free hijabs to female Muslim troops — while front line soldiers are having to buy their own kit.

Under new service dress regulations, six of the Islamic hijabs will be given to each Muslim servicewoman wanting them.

But it has sparked fury amid an MoD cash crisis. Squaddies also claim the hand-out is unfair as they pay out of their own pockets to observe strict military dress rules.

The Sun can also reveal that so far, NONE of the ten serving female Muslims even wants to wear hijabs at work.

But MoD officials have ordered a batch of 95 — costing hundreds to the taxpayer — just in case new recruits do.

One serving NCO told The Sun last night: “It’s stupid officials being too PC again, spending money on pointless things rather than on the front line.”

New rules also excuse Muslim women from wearing skirts but the veil is still banned for practical reasons.

MoD chiefs hope to attract more Muslim women, prized due to their rare, natural cover.

Earlier this year squaddies in Iraq were forced to buy their own kit.

One dog handler forked out £85 for new boots after his feet were left in agony by ill-fitting kit.

Doc terror rant at NHS hospital

POLICE were called in to probe an al-Qaeda outburst by a doctor during a Muslim prayer meeting at an NHS hospital.

Psychiatrist Eltigani Adam Hammad, 60, crowed about British and US deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But he is still in his £70,000-a-year job with Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber Mental Health NHS Trust.

Details of his tirade emerged after the arrests of two Muslim doctors over alleged plots to blow up Glasgow Airport and a nightclub in London’s Haymarket.

Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah Jordanian and hospital specialist Mohammed Jamil Asha have been charged with conspiring to cause explosions.

Dr Hammad burst into his rant before prayers at Rotherham General Hospital.

A fellow Muslim doctor protested to health officials – who called in the police.

A source said: “He boasted that the US had failed in Iraq and were going to leave.

“He said nationalist Muslims would come to power and all the Iraqis who betrayed the Iraqi people and cooperated with the Americans would pay the price.

“Hammad said he supported al-Qaeda because they were fighting for Islam and didn’t mind if Iraqi civilians were killed.”

Hammad – who qualified in Sudan – agreed to stop giving further addresses before Friday prayers at the hospital.

Police and hospital authorities decided he should NOT be prosecuted or disciplined.

‘Teen tried to kill BNP supporters’

A TEENAGER has appeared in court accused of plotting to blow up members of the British National Party after he was arrested in Dewsbury.

The 17-year-old from Ravensthorpe, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London to face two charges under the Terrorism Act 2000.

It is alleged that he had in his possession a copy of the Anarchists’ Cookbook, containing instructions about how to make home-made explosives.

The charges are that he was in possession of material for terrorist purposes in October last year and that he collected or had information useful in the preparation of an act of terrorism.

The teenager, who is a British national but has dual nationality with Pakistan, stood in the dock wearing a baggy, blue hooded top

He said nothing other than to confirm his name and date of birth, before prosecuting counsel Piers Arnold outlined the evidence before Judge Daphne Wickham.

He was arrested at an address in Ravensthorpe on Monday and taken to London yesterday morning.

Judge Wickham ruled that the offences were not within the remit of the magistrates’ court and set a date for a committal hearing on October 25.

After the 40-minute hearing, the teenager was released on bail under several conditions.

These included reporting daily to police, living at his home address, only leaving home in the company of a named adult, and not being allowed to access a computer, use an internet cafe or use a mobile phone.

A second 17-year-old facing similar charges, who has already been remanded in custody but cannot be named, will also appear for committal to the Crown Court on October 25.

Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases

Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs.
Some trainee doctors say learning to treat the diseases conflicts with their faith, which states that Muslims should not drink alcohol and rejects sexual promiscuity.
A small number of Muslim medical students have even refused to treat patients of the opposite sex. One male student was prepared to fail his final exams rather than carry out a basic examination of a female patient.
The religious objections by students have been confirmed by the British Medical Association (BMA) and General Medical Council (GMC), which both stressed that they did not approve of such actions.
It will intensify the debate sparked last week by the disclosure that Sainsbury’s is permitting Muslim checkout operators to refuse to handle customers’ alcohol purchases on religious grounds. It means other members of staff have to be called over to scan in wine and beer for them at the till.
Critics, including many Islamic scholars, see the concessions as a step too far, and say Muslims are reneging on their professional responsibilities.
This weekend, however, it emerged that Sainsbury’s is also allowing its Muslim pharmacists to refuse to sell the morning-after pill to customers. At a Sainsbury’s store in Nottingham, a pharmacist named Ahmed declined to provide the pill to a female reporter posing as a customer. A colleague explained to her that Ahmed did not sell the pill for “ethical reasons”. Boots also permits pharmacists to refuse to sell the pill on ethical grounds.
The BMA said it had received reports of Muslim students who did not want to learn anything about alcohol or the effects of overconsumption. “They are so opposed to the consumption of it they don’t want to learn anything about it,” said a spokesman.
The GMC said it had received requests for guidance over whether students could “omit parts of the medical curriculum and yet still be allowed to graduate”. Professor Peter Rubin, chairman of the GMC’s education committee, said: “Examples have included a refusal to see patients who are affected by diseases caused by alcohol or sexual activity, or a refusal to examine patients of a particular gender.”
He added that “prejudicing treatment on the grounds of patients’ gender or their responsibility for their condition would run counter to the most basic principles of ethical medical practice”.
Shazia Ovaisi, a GP in north London, said one of her male Muslim contemporaries at medical school failed to complete his training because he refused to examine a woman patient as part of his final exams.
“He was academically gifted, one of the best students, but gradually he got in with certain Islamic groups and started to become more radical,” said Ovaisi.
“You could see there was a change in his personality as time went by. During the final exams he was supposed to treat a female patient in hospital. He refused to do it, even though it would have been a very basic examination, nothing intrusive.
“But he refused and as a result he failed his exams. I was quite shocked and disappointed about it because I don’t see there being anything in our religion that prohibits us from examining male and female patients.”
Both the Muslim Council of Britain and Muslim Doctors and Dentist Association said they were aware of students opting out but did not support them.
Dr Abdul Majid Katme, of the Islamic Medical Association, said: “To learn about alcohol, to learn about sexually transmitted disease, to learn about abortion, it gives us more evidence to campaign against it. There is a difference between learning and practising.
“It is obligatory for Muslim doctors and students to learn about everything. The prophet said, ‘Learn about witchcraft, but don’t practise it’.

Sharia Alert: a glimpse into the future for Britain and Europe, unless things change drastically. Apparently these medical students don't intend to treat anyone but observant Muslims.

BBC's Newsround fed youngsters Al Qaeda propaganda, claims ex-spy chief

Britain's former spy chief accused the BBC of "parroting" Al Qaeda propaganda to children as young as six.
Dame Pauline Neville Jones, who is also a former BBC governor, is infuriated at the stance the corporation's Newsround programme took on the September 11 attacks.
She accused the flagship children's news bulletin of feeding an "ugly undercurrent" which suggests the terrorist outrage was somehow justifiable.
Newsround is aimed at viewers aged between six and 12.
On its website it answered the question concerning 9/11, "Why did they do it" by saying: "The way America has got involved in conflicts in regions like the Middle East has made some people very angry, including a group called al Qaeda - who are widely thought to have been behind the attacks."
After the public complained, the text was amended.
It now reads: "Al Qaeda is unhappy with America and other countries getting involved in places like the Middle East.
"People linked to al Qaeda have used violence to make this point in the U.S.A, and in other countries."
Dame Pauline, who headed the Government's Joint Intelligence Committee and is described as the most formidable female diplomat Britain has produced, said the new version was even worse.
"It still says it's all America's fault, and now for daring to be involved in the Middle East at all," she said.
"It wasn't 'people linked to' al Qaeda who killed 3,000 people that day, it was al Qaeda itself.
"Osama bin Laden even boasted of the attacks. Is the BBC really saying that if you're 'unhappy' it's quite normal behaviour to murder people?
"Is the BBC so naive as to take al Qaeda's propaganda at face value? Or is there something more sinister at work here?"
Dame Pauline, who is now a shadow security spokesman, added: "Al Qaeda make the manifestly false claim that America is part of an enormous Jewish-Christian conspiracy to dominate the world and kill Muslims.
"This is no secret - Osama bin Laden has said as much himself.
"We know that in the long run the struggle against terrorists is a battle for hearts and minds.
"How can we expect to win when our national broadcaster is parroting their line to our own children?
"There is only one set of people who are ever to blame for terrorist attacks and that's the perpetrators themselves."
Dame Pauline said the BBC was a "national treasure" and she had been proud to serve as a governor.
"But from time to time I have found myself asking questions about BBC's attitude to terrorism. It even orders its journalists not to use the word terrorist," she added.
"Although almost everyone in Britain quite rightly reacted with horror to the attacks of September 11, there was an ugly undercurrent that blamed America for being attacked.
"Just two days after the attacks the BBC screened an edition of the Question Time programme where they invited an anti-American audience that laid into the American ambassador, leaving him close to tears. In fairness, the BBC apologised for that outrage.
"Even though this was an appalling example of knee-jerk prejudice, at least it was meant for adults.
"I never imagined the rot would spread to the BBC's children's programmes. I was wrong."
Scroll down for more...
Dame Pauline has complained to the BBC's head of journalism Mark Byford, who is understood to have defended the text as "clear and concise".
Sinead Rocks, editor of the Newsround programme, said the first version of the text was several years old and should no longer have been available.
But she defended the new version, insisting it was not an attempt to "justify" the events of September 11.
"We feel it is entirely legitimate to question the motives of the people who carried out the attacks," she said.
"Our contact with our audience has shown that their understanding is helped by events being put into some kind of context.
"We often have to translate complex and emotive issues into language appropriate for children. It's a responsibility we take very seriously."

Muslim checkout staff can refuse to sell drink

Muslim supermarket checkout staff have been given the right to refuse to sell alcohol to customers.
At least one chain has allowed workers to call in a colleague to take their place when customers are buying beer, wine or spirits.
Those with religious objections to selling drink have been asked to raise their hands so that a colleague can step in.

Staff have also been allowed to avoid stacking shelves with alcohol.
The system by which a checkout worker can raise their hand to avoid selling alcohol - much in the same way staff under 18 have to raise their hand to get the permission of a supervisor to sell drink - has been introduced by Sainsbury's.
The chain operates the practice at at least one store in North London, where one checkout worker is regularly replaced by Muslim colleagues who are prepared to sell alcohol and handle packages or bottles containing it.
Sainsbury's said yesterday that it operates a 'flexible' system in which store managers make their own decisions on what practices suit the needs of staff and the demands of trade.
A spokesman said: "We are flexible and we will accommodate religious needs as far as we can. We don't have a hard and fast rule."
Muslim groups praised the store for its understanding of religious needs.
Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "By selling alcohol you are not committing a sin. You are just doing the job you are paid for.
"Muslim employees have a duty to their employer and in supermarkets most people would accept that in selling alcohol you are merely passing it through a checkout. That is hardly going to count against you on the day of judgement."

Peter McKay: Cringing to Muslims is so pointless

"Islam is peace" media campaign in UK

Brian of London over at Shire Network News took these photos, and comments trenchantly, "This is one of the very buses blown up by a devout Muslim 2 years ago. Maybe they should be spending their money convincing devout Muslims it's a Religion of Peace™ rather than me."
"Muslim 'peace' adverts launched," from the BBC

an advertising campaign promoting British Muslims as integrated citizens who reject extremism has been launched.
Islam is Peace - formed after the bombings in London in July 2005 - has initially placed adverts on the capital's buses and Underground trains.
They show a range of Muslims - including a policewoman, a Scout group and the chef Michael Barry - with the slogan "Proud to be a British Muslim".
Organisers say research shows many Britons associate Islam with terrorism.
Nationwide tour
The group insists that the religion demands that its followers live in peace with their neighbours within non-Muslim societies.
But it says it recognises that Muslims have a duty to show that the vast majority of them wish to do so.
Sadiq Khan MP said: "This is a fantastic initiative. Islam is a faith whose primary focus is peace and submission to one God.
"This campaign will help to bust some of the myths about Islam and allow the true face of Islam to reach all parts of our country."
Secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain Muhammad Abdul Bari said: "The silent majority of Muslims are coming forward and now challenging the islamophobia in sections of our media - it is a brave undertaking."
The campaign is launched as a new law banning incitement to religious hatred comes into force.