Posted on 02/17/2002 2:04:49 PM PST by My Identity
British Islamic extremists have been involved in weapons training with assault rifles at a mosque in London, intelligence sources have told The Observer.
The disclosures that hardline Islamists practised with Kalashnikov AK-47s at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London underline the pivotal role that Britain has played in the recruitment of volunteers to fight alongside Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group all over the world.
It will also intensify pressure on the Government to crack down on Islamic militants using the UK as a base.
MI5 recruited worshippers at Finsbury Park who opposed the hardline stance taken by controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, who often leads prayers there, and asked them to help monitor the activities of extremists. Early last year the agents told their handlers that several groups had been taught to strip and reassemble Kalashnikovs in the mosque's basement. It was not clear if the guns were live or deactivated weapons, which can legally be owned in the UK.
Hamza, the most influential and radical of the prayer leaders at the mosque, said yesterday that, as far as he knew, no 'harmful' activities had ever taken place there. However, he admitted that he could not monitor all areas of the mosque.
Hamza, who is wanted for alleged terrorist offences in the Yemen, told The Observer that the mosque may have been the victim of a smear campaign by foreign agents. He named Algeria and Egypt as two countries particularly keen to see the mosque shut down. 'They are sending agents to cause us trouble,' he said.
Last month The Observer revealed that a video showing the execution of Algerian conscripts by hardline militants had been circulated at the mosque. Hamza denied it had been used for recruiting purposes.
However, MI5 has been told by their agents that scores of young men were being sent from the mosque for training at camps in Afghanistan. They reported that consignments of supplies including radio and telecommunications equipment were dispatched to Pakistan for eventual distribution in the Afghan training camps allied to or run by al-Qaeda. They also revealed a complex operation run by some men attending the mosque to provide volunteers with false documents. Although the men recruited by MI5 were not directly involved in the logistics of supplying overseas Mujahideen, the operation was openly talked about at the mosque.
Several men involved with the al-Qaeda group have already been linked to Finsbury Park mosque. Feroz Abbassi, a computer engineer from Croydon held by the US in Cuba, was 'indoctrinated' in the mosque, according to his parents. Jerome Courtailler, arrested in Holland for allegedly plotting to blow up the US embassy in Paris, prayed there as did Djamel Beghal, Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid, all of whom have been linked to al-Qaeda by investigators.
Three former MI5 agents interviewed by The Observer said that the mosque's reputation drew radical Islamists from all over Europe. One recalled white Swedish converts to Islam who had sought out the mosque because they want to take part in 'the Jihad'.
'They got false papers from people they met at the mosque and were sent to Afghanistan via Germany,' one former agent recalled.
Senior officers with two Middle Eastern intelligence agencies based in Peshawar, the Pakistani frontier city that was until recently a major base for militant volunteers fighting alongside the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies, said that interviews with Mujahideen arrested by Pakistani authorities over the last 18 months had revealed that many had received instruction in basic battlefield first aid from a doctor who ran lessons at the mosque. They said that consignments of medical supplies, including large quantities of antibiotics, had been sent from the UK.
Hamza yesterday denied the allegations, saying that the mosque lacked funds.
The British sources said they had told MI5 that volunteers who had fought in Afghanistan for the Taliban or for Islamic militants in Chechnya and Algeria boasted at the mosque of battles they had taken part in. Many younger worshippers were deeply impressed by the 'war stories', the men said.
ML/NJ
And you tell me these dudes worship the same G-d we do? Someone has been fibbin' about Islam.
The Islamists had us fooled for a long time. They suckered us into believing that they are peaceful neighbors and don't want to make trouble. Well, I haven't seen any FATWAS against using the Mosque as a terror training center. Seems like that's the main purpose of their Islam.
Minority view of Islam or the normative view?
To buy a shotgun in Britain you need to hold a Shotgun Certificate, and to buy a rifle you need to hold a Firearms Certificate. You can ask for forms for these from your local police station.
Ask also to speak to your local police firearms liaison officer, who will tell you what you need to fill those forms out to his or her satisfaction. They may also want to see a 'good reason' for you wanting a gun, such as membership of a clay shooting club or pest control. They usually want to see that you will keep your gun or guns in a secure place, such as a steel gun cabinet bolted to a wall. You have to store ammunition separately.
A shotgun is described as a smooth-bore gun (not being an air-weapon) which has a barrel not less than 24 inches with a bore diameter not exceeding 2 inches. A firearm usually describes a cartridge-loading, rifled-barrel longarm (rifle) with a barrel not shorter than 300mm. Overall length of the firearm must not be less than 600mm unless it is a muzzle loader. Firearms include: muzzle-loading rifles or pistols; shotguns with a magazine capacity greater than three; airguns with power ratings exceeding 12 ft/lbs for rifles and 6ft/lbs for pistols; and historic pistols kept at home as part of a collection or kept at a designated historic site and used for non-competitive target practice.
People who apply for a Firearm Certificate for a rifle or muzzle-loading pistol from 1 October 1997 need to be a member of a rifle or muzzle-loading pistol club approved by the Home Office or Scottish Office under the Firearms Acts if they intend to use the gun for target shooting only. Muzzle loaders are now the only legal useable handguns available to UK shooters (apart from the historic cartridge firing handguns kept at designated sites). However, in order to conduct your shooting you will need a supply of blackpowder which as a classified explosive, has its own restrictions requiring the acquisition of a blackpowder certificate from your police force.
You have to be aged 17 or over to have a Firearms Certificate. If you are aged less than 17 you can have a Shotgun Certificate as long as you have your parent's signed permission. You must be aged 17 or over to purchase an airgun and ammunition. If you are aged between 14 and 17 years, you may borrow a gun or have one bought for you by someone aged 17 or over, and you may use it without supervision on private property where you have a right to be. If you are under 14 you may use an airgun on private property but you must be supervised by someone over the age of 21 at all times. It is unlawful for an under-14-year-old to possess a gun and ammunition without supervision.
It is an offence to fire a gun within 50 feet of a roadway, public footpath or bridleway if by doing so any member of the public is endangered. It is an offence to carry a loaded gun in a public place without good reason. An gun may be considered loaded even if the bullets (or pellets in thecase of air rifles) are in a detached magazine.
These were just the rules we had got used to. From 1997, firearm and shotgun certification became more stringent. Among the extra hurdles, people who now apply for Firearms Certificates have to provide two referees, and the police are able to revoke a Firearms Certificate in cases where the holder no longer has a good reason to possess firearms or ammunition.
Certain types of firearm are illegal in Britain. These include automatic weapons and most handguns.
AK-47 training held in London mosque: Report
AFP
[ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2002 9:07:43 AM ]
ONDON: British Islamic extremists have been involved in weapons training with assault rifles at a mosque in London, a British Sunday paper said.
Intelligence sources quoted by the Observer said that hardline Islamists practised with Kalashnikov AK-47s at the Finsbury Park mosque in north London as part of recruitment to fight alongside Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The revelations will renew pressure on the British government to crack down on Islamic militants using Britain as a base, the paper said.
MI5 intelligence service recruited worshippers at the mosque who opposed the hardline stance taken by the controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, the Observer said.
The intelligence recruits then monitored practices at the mosque which include the stripping and reassembling of Kalashnikov rifles in the basement, the paper said.
Abu Hamza, the most influential and radical of the prayer leaders at the mosque, said Saturday that, as far as he knew, no harmful activities had ever taken place there.
Abu Hamza, who is wanted on terrorist charges in Yemen, told the Observer that the mosque may have been the victim of a smear campaign by foreign agents.
Last month the Observer revealed that a video showing the execution of Algerian conscripts had been circulated at the mosque.
Abu Hamza denied it had ever been used for recruiting purposes.
That's only for the Politiclly Un-Correct if your a member of a Politically Correct group it doesn't apply.
Only bad guys allowed to possess?
They want a stone-age society dominated by them, under ther guise of a half-assed religion that is more hypocritical than most organised religions.
It's certainly the view borne out by history.
Twenty years ago it was an Irish enclave in the London Area.
Now it is a free fire zone of Middle East occupants, whose limited vocabulary and reasoning skills make them resort to leathal weapons as an answer to failed conversation.
Twenty years ago it was an Irish enclave in the London Area.
Now it is a free fire zone of Middle East occupants, whose limited vocabulary and reasoning skills make them resort to leathal weapons as an answer to failed conversation.
Fingers a bit uncontrolled after drinking while watching Maryland pummel Duke.
Go Terps!
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