By Guest | Published:
February 8, 2010
This is a cross-post of an article by Alexander-Meleagrou Hitchens
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In yesterday’s Sunday Times, CagePrisoners (CP) was criticised for promoting al-Qaeda preacher Anwar al-Awlaki on their site. The group’s head, Moazzam Begg, responded by saying that ‘I don’t consider anybody a terrorist until they have been charged and convicted of terrorism.’ The only problem with this is that his organisation’s website is replete with profiles and sympathetic interviews with convicted terrorists. Rightly, Begg follows the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ line, but when they are convicted, CP seem to give the terrorists a lot of sympathy.
CP’s website, for example, reproduces and publishes letters and poems written by people who have been convicted on terrorism charges in the UK. What is the justification for this? Begg has never addressed this issue, and it is about time that he did. I have already covered the materials on the CP site in previous blogs.
Posted in Islamism, Terrorism | Also tagged Moazzam Begg |
By Faisal | Published:
November 17, 2009
A shortened version of this article has been published on Comment is Free
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It is now clear US Army Major Nidal Hasan had a series of connections to the Islamist cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki . For those of us who have studied, with increasing concern, the extreme teachings of this cleric, this tragedy is the inevitable consequence of un-checked Islamist radicalisation. This situation has been made all the more distressing by the apparent lack of concern shown by the US Intelligence and Military authorities in taking Awlaki’s influence seriously.
Even before Major Nidal had fired a single bullet in Fort Hood, the US authorities knew about his increasingly vocal radicalisation and that he had attended the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Virgina at the time Awlaki was its head Imam. Nidal had also been the subject of an FBI investigation after it was discovered that he made communication with Awlaki by email. There was certainly no lack of overt clues.
Posted in Islamism | Also tagged al-Qaeda, Anas al-Tikriti, Anwar al-Awlaki, Azad Ali, Cordoba Foundation, East London Mosque, Inayat Bunglawala, Islamic Forum Europe, Moazzem Begg, Muslim Association of Britain, Osama Saeed |
For the last few years, Asim Qureshi has been working for Cageprisoners as a senior researcher. Tomorrow, he says, he will finish working at Cageprisoners and, in the new year, will start work at Reprieve, a legal charity which uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners.
You will remember that, back in August, it was Cageprisoners who tried to organise an event at Kensington Town Hall involving a video message from jihadist preacher Anwar al-Awlaki (and a speech by Reprieve employee Ahmed Ghappour). Fortunately, these plans were over-ruled by Kensington Council and Anwar al-Awlaki’s message was not broadcast. Cageprisoners is led by Moazzem Begg, who said of hate preacher Ali al-Tamimi.
He cannot be regarded as an extremist, fundamentalist, lunatic type terrorist scholar that they claim abound. He is one of the most reasonable and middle of the path scholars that I have come across, who not only make sense in everything that they say, but they back it up with evidence from the Qur’an. [8:45 onwards]
Posted in Islamism | Also tagged Asim Qureshi, Reprieve |
The Spittoon recently brought you the disturbing news that, on the 30th of this month, Kensington Town Hall was planning to host a fundraiser for Cageprisoners at which a video message from Anwar al-Awlaki would be broadcast. If you were concerned by this then you will find that today’s Observer contains some good news.
An Islamist preacher has been banned from addressing a major British fundraising event amid claims he backs attacks on UK troops and supports terrorist organisations linked to Al Qaeda.
The revelation that Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemen-based preacher accused of advocating violent jihad, was due to speak via video link at Kensington town hall later this month, has raised fears public buildings are being used for extremism. A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea council said: “Some of the views expressed by Mr al-Awlaki in the past are not appropriate for broadcast in [council] premises.”
Posted in Islamism | Also tagged Anwar al-Awlaki |
Anwal al-Awlaki is an American extremist based in Yemen. This is his website. Note the picture of a man with AK47 which, very appropriately, Awlaki uses to represent his website. It also distributes a video of British and American troops suffering in Afghanistan, suffering which is celebrated.
On his website, Awlaki publishes a leaflet called 44 Ways of Supporting Jihad. Awlaki tells his readers that, in the current day and age, it is compulsory for them to get arms training then to go and fight jihad. And, before any apologists pop up to say I’m misrepresenting the concept of jihad in Islam, no, he is not talking about jihad al-nafs. If it entails arms training then what Awlaki is talking about is religiously justified warfare.
This is a point Awlaki makes clear when he tells readers of his website to fight against government armies in the Muslim world.
