Gamblor
08-19-2004, 10:46 PM
Essex boys sign up for "holy war" (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/islam/story/0,1442,656221,00.html)
Burhan Wazir
Sunday February 24, 2002
The Observer
Khalid Akhtar sounds like a typical fanatic. Standing outside a community centre in southern England last week, he branded Jews as 'devils' and called for a war on the enemies of Islam.
But Akhtar is different in one crucial respect from most of the extremists who gather at certain mosques around Britain and talk of revolution.
Once known as John, 29-year-old Akhtar is one of a new generation of white converts being recruited into British Islamic organisations with links to al-Qaeda. His home, the suburban town of Ilford on the London-Essex border, has become a flashpoint for extremist activity.
On Friday nights members of al-Muhajiroun, a UK-based militant group, gather in Ilford's Eton Road Community Centre to hear the charismatic spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Bakri, denounce the West. On average, about 70 young British men - including 20 whites - attend.
Not far away, followers of the rival Hizbut-Tahrir meet at Ilford Library. The group rose to notoriety in 1996 when its leaders managed to attract enough support to book a religious demonstration at Wembley Arena. Their weekly sermon attracts a similar number of whites.
Since 11 September, al-Muhajiroun has proved itself to be the most rebellious section of the British Muslim community. The British shoe bomber Richard Reid, 28, was seen at several al-Muhajiroun meetings in Ilford in the months before his failed attempt to bomb American Airlines Flight 63 over Miami.
Several al-Muhajiroun members are prisoners at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and in Kandahar after being captured while fighting for the Taliban. Groups like al-Muhajiroun and Hizb ut-Tahrir can count on a following of several thousand in places like Ilford and their founders are expanding the ranks by converting non-Asians to Islam. The borough of Redbridge - which includes Ilford and has 230,000 people - is a fertile recruiting ground.
'Al-Muhajiroun has one goal,' said Anjam Choudry, its UK chairman. 'We would like to see the implementation of the sharia law in the UK. Under our rule this country would be known as the Islamic Republic of Great Britain. To do that, attracting young Asians is not enough. So we are making a conscious effort to recruit large numbers of non-Muslims.
'Whites, Chinese, Japanese and Indians in this country are all bored with the capitalist system. It's a bankrupt ideal. We have found that young non-Muslims, like our Asian followers, want something new. You can tell that from the anti-globalisation movement. So we're offering them something pure: a religious mission, the values of sharia law and jihad.'
'I never felt like I belonged anywhere,' said Mohamed Khan, 24, formerly known as Alan and a white convert in al-Muhajiroun. He said he was disillusioned with Christianity. 'It didn't give me any sense of respect. No one goes to church any more. At least the mosques are full, so Islam obviously has something.'
His friend, Salim Yunus, 20, also a former Christian, said that in al-Muhajiroun they were led by example. 'You look at your average church priest, and what does he do? Who would he go to war with? No one. So how can Christianity claim to be a religion when its followers don't believe in spreading the word? The fact that Western politicians like Bush and Blair are scared of Islam means that it is a great religion. Sheikh Bakri knows that: he would die for it.'
Last week an Islamic cleric in Ilford, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal, 38, was arrested in a dawn raid at his home and charged with making race-hate speeches under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. El-Faisal, whose taped speeches have titles such as 'No Peace With The Jews', appeared at Bow Street magistrates court in London on Thursday. As he left the courtroom, one supporter called out: 'Allah is the final judge.'
The white Muslims don't see themselves as having converted. They think they have reverted to their original faith. Salim Yunus, Mohamed Khan and Khalid Akhtar have their own Islamic role models - Osama bin Laden, Richard Reid and the followers of al-Qaeda.
'There is a clear rise in the politics of identity,' said Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious studies at Derby University. 'Young white men who join Islam might be feeling out of place from modern life. So you find that when they join a religion like Islam they have an unbending view. Their views on jihad, for example, might be less compromising than the views of people who were born Muslims.'
One white convert, Suleyman, a former drug addict from London's East End, said that a holy war was an obligation, not a debatable option. 'Richard Reid tried it and he was right to,' he said. 'Islam has enemies everywhere. It's up to Allah's soldiers to secure a victory.'
Burhan Wazir
Sunday February 24, 2002
The Observer
Khalid Akhtar sounds like a typical fanatic. Standing outside a community centre in southern England last week, he branded Jews as 'devils' and called for a war on the enemies of Islam.
But Akhtar is different in one crucial respect from most of the extremists who gather at certain mosques around Britain and talk of revolution.
Once known as John, 29-year-old Akhtar is one of a new generation of white converts being recruited into British Islamic organisations with links to al-Qaeda. His home, the suburban town of Ilford on the London-Essex border, has become a flashpoint for extremist activity.
On Friday nights members of al-Muhajiroun, a UK-based militant group, gather in Ilford's Eton Road Community Centre to hear the charismatic spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Bakri, denounce the West. On average, about 70 young British men - including 20 whites - attend.
Not far away, followers of the rival Hizbut-Tahrir meet at Ilford Library. The group rose to notoriety in 1996 when its leaders managed to attract enough support to book a religious demonstration at Wembley Arena. Their weekly sermon attracts a similar number of whites.
Since 11 September, al-Muhajiroun has proved itself to be the most rebellious section of the British Muslim community. The British shoe bomber Richard Reid, 28, was seen at several al-Muhajiroun meetings in Ilford in the months before his failed attempt to bomb American Airlines Flight 63 over Miami.
Several al-Muhajiroun members are prisoners at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and in Kandahar after being captured while fighting for the Taliban. Groups like al-Muhajiroun and Hizb ut-Tahrir can count on a following of several thousand in places like Ilford and their founders are expanding the ranks by converting non-Asians to Islam. The borough of Redbridge - which includes Ilford and has 230,000 people - is a fertile recruiting ground.
'Al-Muhajiroun has one goal,' said Anjam Choudry, its UK chairman. 'We would like to see the implementation of the sharia law in the UK. Under our rule this country would be known as the Islamic Republic of Great Britain. To do that, attracting young Asians is not enough. So we are making a conscious effort to recruit large numbers of non-Muslims.
'Whites, Chinese, Japanese and Indians in this country are all bored with the capitalist system. It's a bankrupt ideal. We have found that young non-Muslims, like our Asian followers, want something new. You can tell that from the anti-globalisation movement. So we're offering them something pure: a religious mission, the values of sharia law and jihad.'
'I never felt like I belonged anywhere,' said Mohamed Khan, 24, formerly known as Alan and a white convert in al-Muhajiroun. He said he was disillusioned with Christianity. 'It didn't give me any sense of respect. No one goes to church any more. At least the mosques are full, so Islam obviously has something.'
His friend, Salim Yunus, 20, also a former Christian, said that in al-Muhajiroun they were led by example. 'You look at your average church priest, and what does he do? Who would he go to war with? No one. So how can Christianity claim to be a religion when its followers don't believe in spreading the word? The fact that Western politicians like Bush and Blair are scared of Islam means that it is a great religion. Sheikh Bakri knows that: he would die for it.'
Last week an Islamic cleric in Ilford, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal, 38, was arrested in a dawn raid at his home and charged with making race-hate speeches under the Offences Against the Person Act of 1861. El-Faisal, whose taped speeches have titles such as 'No Peace With The Jews', appeared at Bow Street magistrates court in London on Thursday. As he left the courtroom, one supporter called out: 'Allah is the final judge.'
The white Muslims don't see themselves as having converted. They think they have reverted to their original faith. Salim Yunus, Mohamed Khan and Khalid Akhtar have their own Islamic role models - Osama bin Laden, Richard Reid and the followers of al-Qaeda.
'There is a clear rise in the politics of identity,' said Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious studies at Derby University. 'Young white men who join Islam might be feeling out of place from modern life. So you find that when they join a religion like Islam they have an unbending view. Their views on jihad, for example, might be less compromising than the views of people who were born Muslims.'
One white convert, Suleyman, a former drug addict from London's East End, said that a holy war was an obligation, not a debatable option. 'Richard Reid tried it and he was right to,' he said. 'Islam has enemies everywhere. It's up to Allah's soldiers to secure a victory.'