he Syrian-born radical Islamic cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed has
described Michael Adebolajo, the alleged Woolwich terrorist he claimed
he converted to Islam as a "hero."
Bakri said Adebolajo was a hero because he had the "courage" to remain
at the scene after the killing and confront police officers. He also
claimed that God destined for the soldier Lee Rigby to die.
In a telephone interview with The Independent from exile in Lebanon,
Bakri declared: "He was not a coward, he did not flee the scene."
Bakri, who admitted that he knew Adebolajo and met him on several
occasions in 2004 when he was a London preacher described him as a
"very quiet, very shy man" who asked "basic questions about Islam."
The Independent reports he said: "I knew him as Michael when he came
to the meetings and then he converted and he became known as Abdullah;
I hear he then started calling himself Mujahid. He asked questions
about religion, he was curious. He had first started coming when there
was a lot of anger about the Iraq war and the war on terror. Whether I
influenced him or not, I do not know. But he was a quiet boy, so
something must have happened.
"He was also asking me questions about racism. I think the racism of
British society turned him towards Islam. He will only be judged by
God. If he dies, then he will become a martyr. He did not target
civilians, it was a military target. The British soldier also died for
his beliefs. The military is involved in killing Muslims around the
world. To many Muslims around the world, he [Adebolajo] is a hero,
because he was fighting back. Lots of Muslims in the UK will condemn
what he said, but there are many who will believe it is justified. It
will make the British Government sit up and think about withdrawing
their troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not for me to condemn
what he has done – I can't say what he has done is forbidden."
Bakri said he could understand why the alleged killers carried out the
attack on the machine gunner and drummer.
According to the The Independent, he said: "I saw the film and we
could see that he [the suspect] was being very courageous. Under Islam
this can be justified, he was not targeting civilians, he was taking
on a military man in an operation. To people around here [in the
Middle East] he is a hero for what he has done."
Bakri said Adebolajo used to visit his stall in London where the two
talked about Islam. He said Adebolajo also attended talks and meetings
the now banned group Al-Muhajiroun held.
In an interview with Reuters, Bakri said: "I think Michael, or
Mujahid, is going to stand for what God has destined for him. God
destined for him to carry out the attack and God destined for the
British soldier to die for the cause he believed in."
Bakri, who was known as the Tottenham Ayatollah, and who named his son
after Osama bin Laden, was once filmed in 2007 arguing that beheading
the enemies of Islam was permitted.
He was banned from returning to the UK after the 7/7 London bombings
for alleged links to al-Qaeda.
The UK Express reports he said in the 2007 "beheading" video: "When
you meet [Westerners], slice their own necks. And when you make the
blood spill all over, and the enemy becomes so tired, now start to
take from them prisoners. Then exchange them until the war is
finished. Verily they remind the sunnah of removing the head of the
enemy. They remind the sunnah of slaughtering the enemy. They remind
the sunnah of how to strike the neck of the enemy. They removed the
head of the enemy. Use the sword and remove the head of the enemy."
He now lives in exile in Lebanon. According to the Daily Mail, he left
London shortly after the 2005 bombings. The Home Office barred him
from returning to the UK.
He founded the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahir in the UK and later Al-Muhajiroun.
Digital Journal reports that Anjem Chadoury former leader of
Al-Muhajiroun, also admitted that Adebolajo attended meetings.
According to Digital Journal, Choudary said he had known Adebolajo
after he converted to Islam in 2003. He said Adebolajo stopped
attending meetings of the group two years ago.
Digital Journal reports Choudary told The Independent: "He attended
our meetings and my lectures. I wouldn't describe him as a member [of
Al Muhajiroun]. There were lots of people who came to our activities
who weren't necessarily members. He was a pleasant, quiet guy. He
converted to Islam in about 2003. He was just a completely normal guy.
He was interested in Islam, in memorizing the Koran. He disappeared
about two years ago. I don't know what influences he has been under
since then."
Bakri's comments come as the UK police are being urged keep a close
watch on the comments and activities of radical Muslim clerics. The
Daily Mail reports that the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have come under
harsh criticism after airing interviews with radical UK Islamic
clerics, including Anjem Choudary.
When BBC Newsnight questioned Choudary on the video which showed
Adebolajo explaining, with reference to British foreign policy, why he
and his companion Michael Adebowale carried out the attack, Choudary
said: "what he said in the clip, I think not many Muslims can disagree
with."
A cellphone video showed the 28-year-old Adebolajo with bloodied
hands, wielding an ax and a butcher's knife, while attempting to
justify the gruesome murder of the British soldier Lee Rigby.
According to the Daily Mail, Tory MP Bob Stewart, a former army
Colonel and former commander of UN forces in Bosnia, responded to
Choudary's comments, saying: "He was sailing close to the wind but he
knew exactly what was saying to make sure he didn't go too far. If he
advocates racial killing we have a law against racially aggravated
crime."
Stewart said it was time for UK to "tear up human rights laws and
deport extremists deemed to be a threat to the public." According to
Stewart, Labor's Human Rights Act, based on the European Convention on
Human Rights, should be scrapped to allow the UK authorities take
action against hate preachers and terror suspects. He said: "It may
not be as democratic as libertarians would like but, I am sorry, we
are fighting a war."
Baroness Warsi, a senior Foreign Office minister, criticized the
decision to air the interview, saying: "We all have a responsibility,
including the media, not to give airtime to extremist voices – idiots
and nutters who speak for no one but themselves. The heartening thing
in the midst of all this tragedy is that the British Muslim community
has, with a unified, unreserved voice, condemned the killing and
pledged support for our armed forces. This is a real maturing of the
community which has taken years of painstaking work and frank
discussions behind closed doors. This time everyone has stepped up to
the mark. Yet here broadcasters are undoing all this by giving a
platform to one appalling man who represents nobody. I am really
angry."
The Daily Mail is reporting that the British Prime Minister is
planning to launch a new terror task force, Tackling Extremism and
Radicalization Task Force (TERFOR), which will implement measures to
muzzle Islamic hate preaching in the UK and ban extremist clerics from
using public platforms in schools, colleges, prison, and mosques to
spread their message.
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