Beautiful new thread.
Thank you.
Thronged by hundreds of devout British Muslims, the Finsbury Park mosque in London built in 1990 to serve the large Muslim population in the area not only became a centre for sermons and speeches by clerics but also became synonymous with radical Islam.
By the year 2000, and thanks in part to its association with Abu Hamza al-Masri, the imam of the mosque, it had gained notoriety. The mosque was raided by British police in 2003 and Abu Hamza removed as imam when the Charity Commission expressed concerns about the management of the mosque and its apparent use for political activities.
This was the mosque attended by Richard Reid, the failed shoe-bomber, and Algeria-born British citizens Kamel Rabat Bouralha, Osman Larussi and Yacine Benalia, who were loyal to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev (responsible for taking hostage and then killing school children in Beslan).
Reports indicate that the Regent Park mosque in London and the Stratford Street mosque in Birmingham, too, have been used as recruitment centres for global jihad. But Pakistani-Kashmiri separatists based in London refuse to accept that the mosques have been misused.
"No, I don't think mosques in Britain have been misused for jihad or recruitment of young Muslims for terrorism," says Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, chairman, Justice Foundation ~ Kashmir Centre. Professor Shawl, who also heads an organisation "fighting for Kashmiri freedom" earlier headed by Dr Ayub Thukar (whose charity organisation Mercy International was accused of sending funds to Kashmiri terrorists), believes that there is no link between British radical Islam and Kashmir.
The same sentiment is echoed by Zafar Khan, chief of the diplomatic affairs department of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), UK. "Madrasas and mosques in Britain have not played a role in fermenting jihad whether in Kashmir or globally.
They have only been providing religious services to Muslims," said Khan. He, however, agreed that mosques in Britain could have played a more constructive role in helping their congregations integrate into British society.
Political observers such as Graham Walker of Chatham House, though, believe that UK mosques have undoubtedly played a role in promoting extremism.
The British Home Office recently drafted a report on Islamic Radicals in Britain - who they are, to which section of society they belong, from which economic strata they hail, what their education levels are, and why they take part in jihad.
The report brought into sharp focus many issues related to extremism and young Muslims in Britain. The report said that terrorist-recruits include immigrants from North Africa and West Asia now naturalised and resident in the UK, and second and third generation British citizens of Pakistani and Kashmiri origin. Radicalised youth, the report said, are either well-educated professionals with degrees and technical qualifications, or under-achievers with few or no qualifications and often a criminal background.
Lastly, it noted, British Muslims actively engaged in terrorist activity, whether at home or abroad, are estimated to be not more than one per cent of the total population of British Muslims (approximately 16,000 of the total 1.6 million).
So why has this fringe element become the topic of such heated debate?
In part, because terrorism experts attribute the growth of British radical Islam to groups like Al Muhajiroon (AM) and Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT). Al Muhajiroon was founded in 1996 by Syrian-born Omar Bakri Mohammad who was educated in Cairo and expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1986. He took asylum in the UK, formed the British branch of HuT, split from it in 1996, and then formed the AM.
Radical imams such as Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri have played a crucial role in encouraging fundamentalism through their speeches and sermons both inside and outside mosques. AM and HuT are suspected to have close links with other radical groups such as the Supporters of Sharia (SOS) founded by Abu Hamza. Both the HuT and AM believe in jihad and war against non-believers, and want to create a united Islamic Caliphate with no national boundaries governed by Sharia law.
Irrespective of the bans imposed on them, both outfits are active in various colleges and universities in the UK and recruit cadre regularly. Indeed, more than 30 colleges and universities in Britain are reported to have active extremist groups. (The Guardian, 16 September 2005).(No other URL)
The 9/11 and 7/7 suicide attacks have been glorified by OBM, AM and Abu Hamza. Omar Bakri Mohammad called the 9/11 attackers the "Magnificent 19" and the 7/7 bombers the "Fantastic Four". In the past, Omar Bakri has proudly admitted that Omar Khan Sharif and Asif Hanif, the Tel Aviv suicide bombers, were his students. So were the eight arrested in March 2004 in connection with the half-a-ton of ammonium nitrate found in the UK.
Bakri, who is prone to bombastic statements, left London for Beirut a few months ago.
The fact that the asylum seekers who were embraced by Britain and lived here for many years (Bakri left UK after two decades) were using their freedoms and liberties to encourage Islamic extremism doesn't, of course, bother British - non-Islamic - radicals. Lord Eric Avebury, the human rights activist who founded and later headed the British Parliamentary Human Rights Group, believes that 7/7 should be seen as a "recognition of the fact that we haven't done much to address the problems of Islam-phobia."
Despite the uproar in mainstream British politics and media about the abuse of the country's asylum policy, Lord Avebury sticks to his radical guns: "When you say we have a liberal asylum policy, I would agree that we have admitted a few people who are not welcome. But that was just an unintended consequence of having a very large system."
As for the Kashmir connection, AM leader Anjem Choudhry, who believes "it is the duty of Muslims to fight against the oppression of their Muslim brothers in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Palestine and liberate these countries," is considered close to many in the Pakistani-Kashmiri "movement".
Reports suggest that 900 British Muslims are trained annually in Pakistan by radical groups active in Kashmir like the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiyaba. MJ Gohel, director of the London-based Asia-Pacific Foundation that monitors terrorism, points out the Pakistan connection - all six of the senior Al-Qaida leaders captured worldwide till today were found to have been living in Pakistan.
A top Al-Qaida operative in Pakistan, Osama Nazir, arrested in Faisalabad last year, told investigators that over 300 British Muslims of Pakistani origin had signed up with the Al-Qaida since the 9/11 attacks and received training at JeM and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen camps for suicide missions.
Moha-mmed Ghalib, president of the Birmingham-based Tehreek-e-Kashmir, defends Muslims fighting in Kashmir. "Even if there are outsiders in Kashmir, so what? In Bosnia, too, we had outsiders. Once the Kashmir issue is resolved they will all go back."
For years, now, Indian officials have been demanding that Britain take stronger action to stop recruitment and fundraising aimed at providing a fillip to terrorism in Kashmir. JKLF's Zafar Khan argues that what is exported from Britain into Kashmir is "not money but activism and support for the freedom struggle." Anjem Choudhry, on the other hand, said after attempts were made to clamp down on fundraising via legislation: "Do you think the 1,300 mosques around the country will stop collecting money for jihad? If anything, they will be more determined now."
(The author is The Statesman's Jammu-based Special Re-presentative currently in London on a British Chevening scholarship for journalists.)
Subject: Radical Islam & British Muslims
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=4 &theme=&usrsess=1&id=99457
I became an American Citizen on 27 November 1961, admitted to the United States on 24 November 1950 as a Displaced Person (DP) quota immigrant.
I served my Country for over 29 years as a Soldier in the US Army.
I still don't feel like I paid my debt to America for letting me be an American. I have never been to heaven ! but I do live in America.
I have some observations I would like to share with you.
- American people are the greatest people on Earth.
- They produce the mightiest " Warriors " in history of man-kind.
- Only big flaw we have is our Politicians, it seems when they get elected they put their " BALLS " in cold storage. They are like Thunder without Lightning, loud noise without results.
One example, at the White House " which is our house " what use to be our Nations Christmas Tree, now some want to call it a Holiday Tree.
I would like to wish all you Christians a Merry Christmas. And if you are a Atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or Jew, or I will offer you my hand and wish you well, and Peace on Earth.
But I will also offer you a warning if you mean America and its people harm !! We will meet on the Battlefield and you will be destroyed, this is not an idol threat History speaks for itself.
America has a Destiny and it's guided by the All Mighty.
Please take a moment and remember our Armed Forces in harms way, and pray for their safe return.
De Oppresso Liber Vladimir "Jake" Jakovenko
French weapons cache found, suspects arrested
Last Updated Thu, 15 Dec 2005 07:52:47 EST CBC News
Three people suspected of "indirect links" to al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq were arrested in France Thursday.
Counterterrorism agents rounded up the suspects near Paris just days after a similar operation near the capital and the northern Oise region that saw more than 20 suspects arrested, said national police.
Counterterrorism agents round up suspects near Paris, Thursday.
* FROM DEC. 12, 2005: France stages raids on 'Islamist' network
The three men arrested Thursday are believed to have "indirect links" to al-Zarqawi, thought to lead the group al Qaeda in Iraq, said national police spokeswoman Catherine Casteran.
Police say they found weapons in a garage in Clichy-sous-Bois, including several pounds of explosives, AK-47 and Famas assault rifles, revolvers, ammunition, balaclavas and bulletproof vests.
They believe the weapons were used for armed robberies in France to help finance jihad, or holy war, and that some of the money was given to al-Zarqawi's group.
Police also said there are links between the alleged militant network and common criminals.
ABC radio news says a Nuclear plant (smelter?) has had a big explosion.
It says that the radiation is normal.
Also, news on the Chicago plane of a week ago, the one that went thru the fence, they say it needed 800' more for the landing to be safe in the snow and ice.
The pilot landed short on a runway that was already too short.