Muslim cleric praises killer of foe of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws

British authorities have assumed that Qari Mahmood was a “moderate.” He received a community award from local officials (who were also Muslim). Will British authorities ever wake up and realize that what Qari Mahmood has said here is not “extremist,” but reflects core Islamic teaching? Probably not.

“London preacher and friend hail fanatic who killed politician in Pakistan as ‘hero and martyr,'” by David Churchill, Evening Standard, April 15, 2016 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A London preacher and his friend sparked outrage today by praising a fanatic who murdered a Pakistani politician for criticising the country’s strict Islamic laws.

Former imam Qari Mahmood, 38, and Khalid Iqbal Malik, 43, who attend Lea Bridge Road mosque in Leyton, hailed killer Mumtaz Qadri “a hero” and “a martyr”.

Qadri was convicted of killing Punjab governor Salman Taseer after shooting him 28 times over his support for liberal reforms of blasphemy laws in 2011.

In an online video published last month, hours after Qadri’s funeral following his state execution, Mr Mahmood, of Waltham Forest, hails him “a hero” and blesses his “martyrdom”.

He adds: “We are praying to Allah that he will grant us the same martyrdom… this is a man who loves God and his Prophet.

“People are crying for him and praying for him…. and you can see how moving the funeral is… God help us to take his mission forward.”

The video appeared on online media channel Zara Sochoo — run by Mr Malik — which has more than 60,000 followers.

When asked why the clip was put on the channel’s Facebook page, Mr Malik also hailed Qadri a “martyr”.

He said he did not recall the video but added: “He [Qadri] did a great act. It was not murder because, you know, not everyone’s opinions are the same.

“Mumtaz Qadri was a great religious person. In front of him, someone said to his Holy Prophet something [bad] like that, so he shot him.”

Waltham Forest council is investigating and councillor Ahsan Khan has stepped down from his cabinet role after it emerged he had organised a mini ceremony on January 28 at which Mr Malik was presented with a community award for building up a large online following.

Mr Malik was handed a crest bearing the borough’s coat of arms by mayor Saima Mahmud.

During the ceremony, councillor Khan praised the cleric for the channel’s “good content” and for it getting “over 500,000 hits across Europe”….