13 raids shattered the peace of Muslim neighbourhoods

The Times Online UK ^ | August 11, 2006 | Steve Bird and Russell Jenkins

[WmShirerAdmirer]

Terror plot

24 people were arrested by police at houses in East London, High Wycombe and Birmingham

A BIOCHEMIST, a Heathrow airport security worker and the son of a former Tory party worker were being held by police last night.

All were among the 24 people arrested as properties in East London, Birmingham and High Wycombe, Bucking- hamshire, were targeted in co-ordinated raids.

The Tory party worker’s son was one of four held in High Wycombe. Neighbours said that he had had a difficult adolescence but had recently married and settled down.

“About six months ago he said he was converting to Islam. He grew a beard and shaved his head,” a neighbour said.

In Walthamstow, East London, a car chase presaged the action to come. Witnesses saw an unmarked police vehicle chase down a car near Walthamstow dog track before forcing the occupants out at gun point.

Arrests made during the morning included Waheed Zaman, a biochemistry student, and Amin Asmin Tariq, a Heathrow security worker. Mr Zaman, who sat on London Metropolitan University’s Student Council as a representative of the Islamic Society, is well known in the community.

Last night his sister Safeena said: “He loves fish and chips and Liverpool football club and his favourite TV programme is Only Fools and Horses. He even wanted to join the police as a forensics expert. He is a great believer in the importance of integration between our community and the Western world.”

Mr Tariq, who has been working at Heathrow for three years, was led away in handcuffs early yesterday morning, according to witnesses. He wears Western clothes and is “well-respected in the community”, according to neighbours.

Police activity in Birmingham centred on addresses in Bordesley Green and Ward End. Two properties, a suburban home and a shop with lock-up garages, have links to the same family, the Raufs, who run a cake distribution business.

Their terraced home in St Margarets Road, Ward End, where about twenty girls come nightly to learn religion, was being inspected by forensic science officers. The front door had been damaged by the raid.

A local man, whose 12-year-old daughter received lessons in basic Islam at the address, described the residents as “peaceful people”. Ikram Ulhaq said that his daughter went for an hour’s lesson at the address most evenings.

Mr Ulhaq said: “All I know is they are peaceful, religious people. They were teaching Koran and all that to the young kids. I’m shocked, I’m sure they’ve got the wrong people.”

June Lethbridge, 85, said that a family had lived at the property adjacent to her for 12 years but she did not know how many were residents. “They’ve always been very pleasant. As far as I know, most of the family are in Pakistan for a wedding at the moment. I haven’t seen them come back.”

The Raufs are understood to use a lock-up facility in Belchers Lane, Bordesley Green, for their business.

Much police activity yesterday was concentrated on a search of garages at the back of the premises, which are believed to be let by the owner.

Records suggest that the property was sold by Rashid Rauf to another man, Tayib Zaman Rauf, in 2004 for £70,000. During the morning forensic science officers in blue suits focused on at a large end-of-terrace property occupied, according to a neighbour, by a foster family. A mid-terrace house farther down the road was also being guarded. John Weir, 50, has lived for 15 years opposite a rundown Victorian mid-terrace house in Forest Road. His peace was shattered when 20 police appeared shortly before midnight.

“My daughter was looking out of the window which overlooks the street,” Mr Weir said. “She shouted to me that some officers were carrying a battering ram up the street.”

With a single blow they broke down the blue front door. No one was in the home, believed to have been rented out to two men.

The three-storey house, divided into two flats, was bought for £138,000 in cash in July, according to Land Registry records. The next day the property was let to a North African man who appeared to be a Muslim, and another man of Western appearance.

Doreen Cardy, a next-door neighbour in her seventies, said that she was woken by the sound of drilling at the property at about 5am.

Less than a mile away, a man was arrested in a raid at a terraced house.

A fifth Walthamstow property in Ravenswood Road was also raided.

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

Yea, but "Shattered Peace" and Muslim" make perfect sense.

[New Girl]

Mr Ulhaq said: “All I know is they are peaceful, religious people. They were teaching Koran and all that to the young kids. I’m shocked, I’m sure they’ve got the wrong people.”

Notice this same reaction in every case. This is why no one will ever convince me that there are "moderate" muslims out there. Just once I'd like to hear a neighbor say something like "this kind of violence will not be tolerated in our community, we do not want to be associated with these evil people and we will provide authorities with as much assistance as we can" or something like that. Nope, they ALWAYS defend the terrorists.

[jiggyboy]

"He is a great believer in the importance of integration between our community and the Western world."

"Conquest" is the word that comes to mind.

[New Girl]

Those damned London police! Bothering those nice peaceful Muslim neighborhoods, for NO OTHER REASON then the peaceful Muslims within sought to commit yet another mass murder! I'm spittin' mad! Those London police should be ARRESTED immediately!

I know, it's terrible! There the Muslims were, peacefully developing undetectable bombs in their own backyards and then the London police showed up. Geez, it's getting to the point that a Muslim can't even record his own martyrdom tape in peace anymore.

[Rummyfan]

“About six months ago he said he was converting to Islam. He grew a beard and shaved his head,” a neighbour said.

ALARM! ALARM! ALARM!

[Rummyfan]

“About six months ago he said he was converting to Islam. He grew a beard and shaved his head,” a neighbour said.

And yet Mr Nihad Awad of CAIR says there is no such thing as Islamic fascism...

[KC_Conspirator]

Yeah, I am waiting for the next news story to say the cops that arrested him are Everton supporters, and therefore wrongfully arresting him because he is a "minority" and Liverpool fan.

[L98Fiero]

"Nope, they ALWAYS defend the terrorists."

That can be guaranteed. But to some freepers I'm a bigot for not embracing them.

"Do you even know any Muslims?" is the standard line. My reply is usually something to the effect of:
"Do you? Do you REALLY know them? Every story about some terrorist getting caught planning to blow up something is followed shortly by a multitude of quotes about how nice and good the individual terrorists were, even from their non-Muslim neighbors and associates!"

In my view, the Moderate Muslim is the equivilent to the Black Republican. They are out there but rarer than hen's teeth.

[vimto]

News just on here - the Muslims refuse to believe there is was a plot Mr angry Muslim of Walthamstow- "we were lied to about WMD!"

I'm sick of their excuses and denial.

[callthemlikeyouseethem]

yeah, the peace in muslim neighborhoods in Dearborn, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, etc need to be disturbed some...

....They know them as two all-American college students traveling to Ohio and other states on summer break, buying cheap cell phones for resale to put a few bucks in their pockets.

...Attorneys for the two men said authorities are overreacting to a legal purchase of phones by two men who are working for a legitimate businessman. He resells the cheap phones at a profit and has been cleared of any terrorism links by the FBI, the attorneys said.

...One of the suspects at first said the telephones, purchased with falsified names, were for a family construction business. En route to the jail, Abulhassan told a deputy he knew of no one who could possibly need hundreds of cell phones and that he suspected they were shipped overseas, Vessels said.

[twigs]

twenty girls come nightly to learn religion...Ikram Ulhaq said that his daughter went for an hour’s lesson at the address most evenings

Maybe it's just me, but my daughter at this age would have gone to no classes each evening for an hour. And she loved church! These children seem more like zombies...

[Teacher317]

And the underlying message is that it is far better to have dead and dying Westerners than to merely disturb a Muslim neighborhood. Nice.

Personally, I'd rather have lines of inconvenienced Muslims than piles of dead Westerners (and the world would likely be better off in that exchange), but that's just my culture-centric opinion.

[WmShirerAdmirer]

Don't know if you've read any of Lawyer/Commentator Debbie Schlussel's pieces in

frontpagemagazine.com

and on her web site,

www.debbieschlussel.com


but she's all over these two guys and the whole of Dearborn's "little south lebanon".
You might like to have a look see...(sometimes her outrage at the FBI ignoring certain behavior occurring in Dearborn borders on murderous and not very pc indignation, but someone has to cry "Fire!!!"

[callthemlikeyouseethem]

thank you... never can have to much info when our lives depend upon it...;) will bookmark too...:D

Heard Roger Hedgecock (I think that's who it was) mention her name yesterday and wished for TIVO for the radio as I was only half-listening given all that was going on...

got it now though, again, thanks

[gogeo]

Last night his sister Safeena said: “He loves fish and chips and Liverpool football club and his favourite TV programme is Only Fools and Horses. He even wanted to join the police as a forensics expert. He is a great believer in the importance of integration between our community and the Western world.”

[Publius6961]

This story is the most frustrating in months.
They have captured the perps.
They have identified them.

Yet there is still no comprehensive list of their names or their photographs. Knowing that, links to other suspect would be much easier for non-muslims who might know them.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Here is a list of all the names scattered throughout this article:

Waheed Zaman, a biochemistry student Amin Asmin Tariq, a Heathrow security worker
Tayib Zaman Rauf
Rashid Rauf ?
Maroof Rauf, 19
Abdul Rauf, 22
Mohammed al-Ghandra
Ahmed al Khan
Amjad Sarwar
Asad Sarwar
Abdul Wahid (Don Stewart-Whyte), 19
Wassem Kayani
Oliver Savant, 25, ( Ibrahim )
Samih Ahmed, 22
Usman Saddique, 24
Altaf

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I consider myself topped.
Cheers !

[vimto]

Nah, not topped. Ray Davies wrote too many good songs any one could be quoted.

Listening to any questions right now - pap/ Mind you Henry Blofeld on Islamic Terrorism is a hoot. He knows about buses and cricket in that order.

I love him, a dying breed.

[Publius6961]

Updated, from a second list (*) Some may be aliases and many may have more than one spelling.

Abdulah Ahmed Ali*
Samih Ahmed, 22
Cossor Ali*
Shazad Khuram Ali*
Altaf
Mohammed al-Ghandra
Nabil Hussein*
Tavir Hussein*
Umair Hussein*
Waseem Kayani
Ahmed al Khan
Waheed Arafat Khan*
Osman Adam Khatib*
Abdul Muneem Patel*
Tayib Zaman Rauf
Rashid Rauf ?
Maroof Rauf, 19
Abdul Rauf, 22
Amjad Sarwar
Assad Sarwar
Oliver Savant, 25, ( Ibrahim )
Muhammed Usman Saddique, 24
Amin Asmin Tariq, a Heathrow security worker
Shamin Mohammed Uddin*
Abdul Wahid (Don Stewart-Whyte), 19, who had converted to Islam
Waheed Zaman, a biochemistry student

[Eurotwit]

Too bad bin laden didn't visit Highbury during the George Graham years.

He would have been bored to death :-)

Anyhow, your plan would not work, since bin laden has been banned from Highbury. Again, no kidding :-)

"Premiership giants Arsenal have barred Bin Laden from the ground after discovering that the terrorist leader is a big fan of the club.

"We've seen the reports in the papers. Clearly he wouldn't be welcome at Highbury in the future," said a club spokesman. "

Bin Laden was apparently on the terraces as the north London side reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/funny_old_game/1650069.stm