Posted on 03/12/2003 9:12:18 AM PST by swarthyguy
LONDON - Since 9/11, Britain has emerged as America's closest ally in the war against terrorism. Ironically, Britain is also a major base of operation for some of the most radical Islamic organizations, including some direct supporters of Osama bin Laden. But it took September 11th before the activities of these militant groups were taken seriously.
In January of 2002, British military intelligence working in eastern Afghanistan made a shocking discovery in the mountains of Tora Bora. During searches of Osama bin Laden's cave complex, they found the names of 1,200 British citizens, all Muslims, who trained with the Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan.
The discovery was made public in January of this year. The British press reports that some of those who survived the defeat of the Taliban, have sneaked back into Britain and are forming terrorist cells. Many have gone underground to avoid detection.
As U.S. and British troops get ready for a possible war with Iraq, authorities are worried that these extremists and other Islamic militant groups could be plotting terrorist attacks in Britain and elsewhere.
This comes as no surprise to intelligence officials. For years Britain, and London in particular, has been a hub for Islamic radicals. Some anti-terrorism investigators have called the British capital "Londonistan." Many fundamentalist groups find Britain, with its liberal immigration laws and broad tradition of free speech, to be a perfect base for their jihad against the West.
At the heart of Britain's radical Islamic movement is a man called Mustafa Kamel, a.k.a. Abu Hamza al-Masri. An Egyptian cleric, Hamza is wanted by other countries for suspected terrorist activities. Since 1978 he has lived under protective asylum in Britain.
Today, he spends his time in London running a group called "Supporters of Sharia." According to the S.O.S. website, the goal is to replace secular rule and democracy with Sharia, a harsh form of Islamic law.
When CBN News asked Hamza if he wants to see Great Britain become a Muslim nation based on Sharia, he said, "The whole of the planet, not only Great Britain, because we are all a creation of god, we have to pay god his attributes, and follow his law."
Hamza, who has a metal hook on his right arm, lost both hands and an eye during a raid in Afghanistan 10 years ago. He believes a holy war is the only way to implement the laws of Allah in Britain.
"Jihad in general is striving for the sake of god to establish his law and order on earth and the backbone of jihad is fighting, so everything fighting in the cause of god is jihad," Hamza said.
Of course, the call to martyrdom is also included in this belief. "This is the only way you can prove yourself in front of god. 'Look, this is the dearest thing I have, is in my life. If I had anything dearer than that, I would have given it to you.' So being a martyr is an honor," he said.
British intelligence believes Abu Hamza has played an important role in recruiting terrorists. Hamza denies this charge. Still, the finance ministers of seven industrialized nations recently froze his assets.
Hamza claims to not understand why his accounts were frozen. When pressed on the topic, Hamza replied, "They want to shut me up, they don't like my statements, they don't like the true version of the Koran, they want people to give them apologetic Islam, and Islam to serve their purposes, regardless if its convenient for Muslims or god."
For years, Hamza used a mosque in Finsbury Park in north London, considered the most radical and dangerous in Europe, to preach hate against Jews and Christians.
In a video obtained by a British newspaper, Hamza tells supporters that murder and stealing are legitimate weapons against the enemies of Islam. Hamza tells them, "Just kill them, it's OK!"
And for those who do not care to believe in his god, what are the consequences? Hamza said, "Well, if you live in my property and you don't pay me my rent, you get out! And Jihad is to get you out, this is the property of god, you don't worship him, you get out. How are you going to get out? You get killed!"
Andrew Dismore, a member of British Parliament, said, "It seems to me what they are doing is inciting violence and peddling a message of anti-Semitic hatred at the same time."
Dismore says Hamza's radical message resonates with many young Muslims in Britain. "They do work very, very actively to recruit among young British Muslims to persuade them to their particular brand of fundamentalism and to ultimately train them for Jihad."
Scotland Yard believes Hamza preached jihad to the likes of Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged 20th hijacker on 9/11, and Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe-bomber." Both visited the mosque on several occasions.
Hamza shied away from taking credit when CBN News asked how his messages might have influenced these men. "You ask these people," he redirected. "Muslims use thousands of mosques in their lifetime, and they use mosques sometimes because of their convenience, because their mother-in-law lives here or their father lives here. Muslims use thousands of mosques sometimes a mosque for the morning, a mosque for Friday, a mosque for the afternoon, they pray five times a day."
Investigators suspect that some of the British Muslims whose names were found in the mountains of Tora Bora, may have been recruited from the Finsbury Park mosque, as well.
Hamza feels that the net around him is tightening. "It must be tightening," he said, "because now this is a satanic time, because there are people who want to define the right and the wrong away from god's definitions. So the net must be tightening against me, but that is usual for prophets and the prophets' followers."
Religious experts estimate that around 15 percent of Britain's two million Muslims are radical. Many of them see the conversion of Britain and the United States to Islam as key to their goal of worldwide domination.
Omar Izzadeen and a group of young men belong to another radical Muslim group called Al Muhajiroun. Their mission is to establish Al Khilafah, a global Islamic regime, starting here in Britain.
"Our message is to bring Islam to the world, Islam will conquer the White House, will conquer it in Downing Street," Izzadeen said. "It means conquer, it means the Americans will live under Islam, like it or not, so will the UK."
On a Friday night, Izzadeen instructs the group to follow the example of the 19 hijackers of September 11th. He reminds them that it only took a "few good men" to bring terror to America.
"It really shook the Americans, superpower, shook by 19! And it showed their weakness. You see brothers, if people put their minds to something, they can do anything, and in particular, the believers," Izzadeen said.
While the majority of Muslims here have nothing to do with these radical groups, experts say Islam is becoming a major force to be reckoned with in Britain.
Mathew Ashimolowo, a Nigerian Christian who converted from Islam, is the pastor of a prominent church in London. "They're becoming very bold and everyone is afraid to touch them," he said. "Islam is growing so fast and it is converting people. Matter of fact 9/11 increased interest and curiosity about Islam."
And what is attracting people to Islam? In part, Ashimolowo says, it is the failure of the church to be relevant in today's British society. "The Christianity we have today in Britain is a conformed Christianity that has been shaped by the culture, by the Western man," he said.
He says Muslims sense an opportunity and are trying to fill the spiritual vacuum.
In London and elsewhere, low attendance has forced some churches to put their buildings up for sale. In some cases, Muslims are buying the churches and converting them into mosques.
Dr. Peter Riddell, a professor of Islamic Studies in London, said, "Britain now has approximately 1,000 mosques, and just before the millennium, Muslim leaders in this country said that they want to add another 200 to the number in the coming years."
Ashimolowo says that, since 9/11, the political correctness brigade brands you racist if you dare challenge or question Islam. Some church leaders say the policy of the British government and the monarchy has actually been to sell Islam.
"There is now discussion to say that the monarchy, should not describe themselves as defenders of 'the Faith,' but defenders of 'faiths.' And in our opinion, there's only one faith, because it's only in Christianity that God demands faith to please Him," Ashimolowo said.
As British authorities continue to confront the growing threat of radical Islam, Christians too are confronting them head on.
CBN News observed one brave street preacher named Jay Smith as he publicly addressed a radical Muslim crowd on the street. "We are going to look at these two scriptures, we are going to look at the Koran, and we are going to look at the Bible," he told them.
LONDON - Britain may be America's closest ally in the war against terrorism, but the country also serves as a base of operation for some of the most radical Islamic organizations. Some of these groups are on a mission to establish a global Islamic regime and to wage war against the United States.
But there is a countermission underway in the United Kingdom, a spiritual war for souls. CBN News followed an American missionary who says Britain is a mission field ripe with opportunities to share the gospel with Muslims.
Jay Smith's confrontational approach has him face to face with some of Britain's most fanatical Muslims. We observed him in London as he publicly addressed a crowd of radical Muslims.
Smith preached, "Does anybody believe that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance? Come on you Muslims, come front and center, come up here, come up here, I want to talk to you. I want to look at your scriptures."
One Muslim man responded, "Talk to me." Smith replied, "I am going to talk to all of you."
Jay Smith believes that Muslims need to abandon their faith because their holy book, the Koran, is flawed. "We are going to look at these two scriptures, we are going to look at the Koran, and we are going to look at the Bible," he said.
In his audience this Sunday afternoon are some of Britain's most radical Muslims. Since 1993, Smith and a team of Christians have conducted weekly debates at Britain's famous outdoor debating chamber called Speaker's Corner.
For more than a century, Speaker's Corner in central London has been what the guidebooks call a symbol of free speech. On any given Sunday, anyone who has an opinion to air and anyone who will listen will gather beside the lush green grass of Hyde Park.
But in recent years, Speaker's Corner has become a battlefield between Islamic extremists and Christian evangelists.
We witnessed a Christian as he debated a Muslim saying, "There is one God, that God is not Allah, Allah is not God."
Smith, who holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies, believes that God has called him to confront Muslims in Britain with the Gospel.
Speaking to the crowd he said, "That is the only defense they have but they know they can't go to the Koran to find an answer. The only place you can go to know an answer for this is in the Bible."
Fundamentalist Muslims, who are trained to attack Christianity, are also using the setting to win converts. A Muslim preacher at the park delivered his message, "There is no salvation accept in the message of Mohammed."
There are about two million Muslims living in Britain, and 48 percent of them live in London. Their numbers are growing fast here, and across the continent.
Experts have called London the evangelistic hub of radical Islam in the West. Some see the conversion of England to Islam as an important strategy for winning Europe.
Smith told CBN News, "The influence of Islam is growing dramatically for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they are doing an awful lot more than we are, than anybody else is to make sure that it grows. For that reason, people are hearing, people are listening, people are being influenced. They are converting right, left and center. They have more converts in the last eight months than they've had in the last two years before, since September 11th, of all times, when you thought they would be getting all kinds of bad publicity."
Now radical Muslims march openly shouting, "Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda, we support Taliban!"
Speaking to the Muslims at Speaker's Corner, Smith asked, "Now we want to know from people here, do you want Islam to take over Britain?" The Muslim crowd responded yelling, "Yes, yes!"
Religious scholars estimate that around 15 percent of Muslims in this country are radical. Many of them want to see Britain turned into an Islamic regime governed by Sharia, a harsh form of Islamic law.
And while most of Britain's two million Muslims have nothing to do with these radical elements, Smith says Christians cannot afford to ignore the views of the minority.
Smith explained in an interview, "The majority of the people living in the UK would be moderate, that's why they are here. Now, they are really not my concern because they are not the ones attacking me, they are not the ones attacking Christianity. Nor are they attacking the West they want to assimilate. It is the people on the right that we have to fear, the ones we are going to have to contend with."
He continued, "But missions has spent all of their time with the people in the middle, very few of them are dealing with the people on the right. Yet those are the ones that are hijacking our jets, those are the ones that are blowing themselves up, and us with them, with bombs. Those are the ones that want to overturn our societies and eradicate the freedoms that we have. Therefore, we are going to have to contend with them, whether we like it."
Back with the crowd at Speaker's Corner, Smith said, "We are going to change subject here now, we've got the Muslims in front, they are already angry. They are going to get even angrier because what we are going to talk about now is the future of Islam in Britain."
He challenged some listeners, "Come on, don't just yell from back there, come forward and stand right here. I want to talk to each one of you because I am going to look at your scriptures and I am going to see from where your authority comes."
Many find Jay Smith's method of sharing the Christian faith controversial. In fact, Christians criticize him for being too combative.
But Smith told us, "Now you, and many people would interpret that as being combative or aggressive, I call it passion. I am passionate for what I believe. I am forthright with what I believe and I need to be so because the people I am dealing with are very passionate. What you see here today is very symptomatic of what Paul did in the 1st Century; it's not symptomatic of what we are doing in the 21st Century and I think that's unfortunate."
He continued, "I think a lot of Christians believe and assume, that when you are to contact somebody of another faith or you are to get into a discussion, you must do so meekly and mildly because Jesus was meek and mild, without realizing that the Jesus we have made is very European, a very European Jesus - one who talks calmly, meekly, always has a smile on his face. But then you have to read the New Testament, look what Jesus did in the Temple, look at what he did to the Pharisee."
Smith admits that his approach will not work in Muslim dominated countries. Such boldness, he says, would provoke severe persecution of Christians.
We asked Jay Smith if he hates Muslims. He responded, "No, not at all, I think they are great. I love their passion, I am jealous of them. I love the passion they have, I wish we had the same and therefore I want to make sure that we get Christians that have equal passion."
When he is not standing on his small stepladder waving the Koran and urging Muslims to abandon their faith, Smith is training others on how to take on the challenge of Islam.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Beth Grove stepped atop the ladder for the first time.
Afterward she recalled, "Today, was very intense. A lot of the very fundamental Muslims who are taught in the Mosques how to attack Christianity were there. I just had a conversation, just now, with a guy who knows the Bible, better than I know the Bible. He was throwing every verse at me and even as I tried to give verses to answer him he would just use it as a plan against me so it was quiet a difficult conversation."
Grove has debated Muslims on the street level at Speaker's Corner for the past two years. She and others in the team say they get a lot of criticism from other Christians for generating much heat but little light among these Muslims.
"When you work with Muslims, especially fundamentalist Muslims, you don't see fruit," Grove said. "It is very easy to work in a ministry where you've seen fruit. For example, I work with Kurdish people and they are really responding to the Gospel. But fundamental Muslims, you don't really see that fruit. And it can be quite hard, week in, week out, to be reaching Muslims. And you know, perhaps 20 years down the line there'll be fruit, but right now you don't see it."
But that hasn't stopped these Christians from defining what they believe and defending it in public.
Joyce Tseng, an international missionary, said, "I discovered the passion and the joy of evangelism."
Hanna Jackson is a 20-year-old Christian debater who comes here to confront Muslims. She says she is not scared to face them. "I was in the beginning, yeah, when I was younger I was surrounded one time by 25 Muslim people, and I was frightened for my life. But the Lord has, over time, given me the strength and boldness to do this," she said.
Grove said, "Since I've come to Speaker's Corner, I have learned my Bible quicker than any other time. I went to Bible college and graduated, and I came to Speaker's Corner and realized I knew hardly anything. And so the Muslims are wonderful because they make me learn my Bible."
Smith says he has endured threats at Speaker's Corner, "Many times. If they are just real loud threats, I don't take them very seriously. Sometimes it comes from the crowd saying, 'We are going to kill you Mr. Smith, we are going to follow you home.' But if they come and whisper in my ear, I take it a little bit more seriously."
And they have. In 1995, Smith was assaulted when he tried to challenge a Muslim speaker on the origins of the Koran.
"I was knocked unconscious, it was in the papers the next day and it was from that time that I've been getting up on the ladder because the police came to me and asked me to get up on the ladder because they were scared for my health," he said.
The growth of Islamic fundamentalist groups has forced police to boost their numbers at Speaker's Corner. Some Muslims groups have used violence to silence their opponents.
CBN News asked him how spiritually prepared he has to be for something like this. Smith said, "I think it is very important, half the battle is there in the heavenlies. I have a good 10 to 20 churches in America who are starting to pray for me at 10 in the morning in the East Coast, which is three in the afternoon here, just for my protection, just to make sure that I am Christ-like in the real sense, in the holistic sense, and to make sure that that which is said is going to make an impact on those who hear it."
As we observed, Smith read a familiar passage of scripture to his Muslim debaters. "This is Psalm 23, are we ready? 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing, He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters..."
Smith says Muslims are hearing the Gospel and are more curious than ever before. He says 9/11 has brought new opportunities to share his faith and to stand firm against those who attack Christianity.
"Give me a fundamentalist any day, I know that I can redirect that passion for the Truth," Smith said. "With that kind of passion, once it's brought through, can you imagine what they can do to the rest of Islam!"
Yes it is, but it is also time for us to do the same. There is far too much PC in both countries.
For the same reason we can't close our borders and tighten our immigration laws. It's called politically-correct insanity and the liberal desire to dig your own grave, all in the name of tolerance and compassion.
"By yielding to a false form of 'civility,' we sometimes allow our critics to intimidate us. As I have said, active citizens are often subject to truly vile attacks. They are branded as mean-spirited, racist, Uncle Tom, homophobic, sexist, etc. To this we often respond (if not succumb), so as not to be constantly fighting, by trying to be tolerant and nonjudgmental -- i.e. we censor ourselves. This is not civility. It is cowardice, or well-intentioned self-deception at best." -- Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
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