Author Archives: Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri

How to “Racialise” Umar Farouk’s Journey of Radicalisation

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: January 3, 2010

The debate raging on the extent of radicalisation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab while he was a student at UCL is well underway. The Sunday Telegraph published a piece today which publishes evidence that “has only become apparent in the past 48 hours”:

Al-Awlaki, who is also thought to have influenced Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the US soldier who killed 13 people at a military base in Texas in November, has been accused by the US Department of Homeland Security of using his video lectures to “encourage terrorist attacks”.

The 38-year-old’s extremist ideology is laid bare in his pamphlet ’44 Ways to Support Jihad’ in which he declares: “The hatred of kuffar [non-Muslims] is a central element of our military creed” and “arms training is an essential part of preparation for Jihad”.

His role in influencing Abdulmutallab, who is suspected of attempting to blow up a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day, has only become apparent in the past 48 hours.

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Posted in Islamism, Terrorism | 1 Comment

Seasonal Messages – MCB Style

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: January 2, 2010

An MCB statement from last month contained a heart-warming interfaith message to members of other religions:

This year, the month of Muharram falls close to both Christmas and Hanukkah, and at this time, we extend our warmest wishes to the Christian and Jewish communities. As a revered Prophet for Muslims, we also remember that Isa (as) or Jesus dedicated his life to serving his community, and spreading the message of peace and freedom. In Hanukkah we are again inspired towards sacrifice in the face of oppression.

The month of Muharram is one that holds a rich and powerful history for Muslims, and the Muslim Council of Britain marks this month as one that should inspire us towards the search for truth and justice and sacrifice in the way of the communities that we are part of.

Two weeks later, they are advertising the following Event:

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Posted in Interfaith, Islamism | Tagged | 8 Comments

Abdurrahman Wahid Is Dead

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: December 31, 2009

Abdurrahman Wahid, 69, is dead

The man was nearly blind, brilliant and a maverick cleric who always stood against Islamic extremism in Indonesia. His death is a loss to his country and to the cause against political Islamism and radical extremism.

A brilliant and cultured man who read widely and loved the music of Beethoven, he spoke out to preserve an inclusive form of Islam that is under pressure today by a tide of radicalism.

As leader of the Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, with up to 40 million members, and later as president, he promoted rights of minorities, of non-Muslims and of the often-abused community of ethnic Chinese.

To his critics he responded: “Those who say that I am not Islamic enough should reread their Koran. Islam is about inclusion, tolerance, community.”

His liberal views were sometimes a step ahead of those of his countrymen in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, now numbering 235 million.

Posted in International Affairs | 5 Comments

Khamenei Trampled Underfoot

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: December 29, 2009

Effective metaphor for the popular movement against the Islamist regime that is underway in Iran in this video:

Posted in Activism, Democracy | 1 Comment

Started With the Desert

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: December 19, 2009

A paean to the magnificence of Saudi Arabia by a Pakistani boy-band from 1992. Enjoy.

No houses were in desert
No parks were in desert
No roads were in desert
No cars were in desert
The flower, the water, the parks in the desert!

We love King Fahd!
We love King Fahd!
We love King Fahd!
We love King Fahd!

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Required Reading for Ed Balls

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: December 13, 2009

The Centre for Social Cohesion has this disturbing news:

Haringey Council has announced today that it has resumed funding to the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation (ISF), a registered educational charity with links to HT. Funding was suspended in October this year following revelations by the CSC and Sunday Telegraph that it received over £113,000 in government grants for its schools in Haringey and Slough in 2007/08. The Haringey Council investigation claimed to have found no evidence of ‘inappropriate influence’ at the ISF school in North London.

Here are two documents that should be made required reading for the Secretary for Schools, Ed “Minister of Hizb ut Tahrir” Balls.

The first is the curriculum of the ISF Schools – signed off by OFSTED in 2005. The second is the article on education policy written in Khilafah, a Hizb ut Tahrir publication, by one of the three trustees who run the school, Farah Ahmed who is the headteacher of the Slough ISF School.

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Posted in Anti Fascism, Anti Muslim bigotry, Antisemitism, Islamism | 4 Comments

When Is Banning a Mosque Not Islamophobic?

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: December 8, 2009

Plans to convert an old, disused city-centre warehouse into a mosque for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Walsall were rejected after more than 800 complaints were received.

A man protesting the mosque development plans was jubilant:

“It is a victory for the people, there are enough places of worship in the area. There was not a single person who supported it.

Something like that should be to serve the community but none of the local residents were going to benefit from it. It is great that common sense has prevailed.”

Another man couldn’t contain his joy:

“We are happy the right decision has been made. It would have been a public nusiance and is a relief.”

Surely these comments could not have been made by anyone other than the Islamophobic bigots from the BNP, SIOE or the EDL? Actually, they were not.

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Posted in Sectarianism | 33 Comments

Promoting Jihad in the UK

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: December 2, 2009

Via Hudson, a fine article by Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens on how the ideology of Anwar al-Awlaki has been and promoted in the UK by, amongst others, Cage Prisoners and Mohammed Hamid AKA ‘Osama bin London’.

Here is a video of Muhammed Hamid at one of his jihad training camps:

In the United States, pro al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki has recently attracted the attention of mainstream media and counter terrorism commentators. His involvement with Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hassan has sparked a public interest in a man whose role in disseminating al-Qaeda ideology has been overlooked for far too long.

Nowhere is this complacency more acute than in the United Kingdom, where a number of organisations have openly promoted and supported Awlaki for years with impunity. As set out in a briefing for the Centre for Social Cohesion recently, the most active Awlaki promoters in the UK are a group called Cage Prisoners (CP), for whom Awlaki acts essentially as an emir (religious leader).

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Posted in Islamism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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