of Jihad a word of truth before and oppressor ruler.” It was in this context that he
referred to Sayedd Qutb and Abdullah Azzam.
323.
Further, with regard to the list of prisoners, the Claimant submitted he did not know
who was in the prison at the time and did not refer in his speech to any prisoner by
name. The Claimant said he condemned the commission of the crimes referred to or
the commission of any breach of the criminal law.
Analysis
324.
There are three salient feature to the Claimant’s BELMARSH PRISON SPEECH
(2011) speech, some of which echo themes in the Claimant’s CAGE SPEECH (2010))
First, his expressions of solidarity with the Belmarsh prisoners (i.e. “The Believers
are but a single brotherhood”). Second, his reprise again of the theme of the “legacy
of good deeds”. Third, his references again to the 20 th Century extreme ideologues,
Sayyid Qutb and Abdullah Azzam , coupled with the suggestion that they, like the
prisoners at Belmarsh, were only “speaking truth to power”.
325.
There are three key issues for determination. First, what the Claimant meant by the
phrase “speaking truth to power” in this context. Second, whether the BBC is right in
submitting that Claimant was expressing ‘unqualified’ support for the prisoners of
Belmarsh. Third, whether the Claimant is right in submitting that his references to
Sayyid Qutb and Abdullah Azzam were appropriate and innocuous because he was
merely citing them as examples of those who spoke “truth before an oppressor ruler”.
To some extent, these three questions are inter-linked.
326.
The Claimant begins by referring to the “legacy of Taqwah” as an Islamic virtue or
aspiration “to fear Allah” so that you can be prepared for “death or what comes after
death”. He then suggests the first legacy of Taqwah (literally ‘fear or awe of God
together with an awareness of the Presence of God as a witness to our deeds’) as being
the “our oneness, our unity, our love, with … our brothers behind bars in Belmarsh
and other places in which they are struggling to implement the deed of Allah” or the
“oneness of Ummah”. (I accept Dr Wilkinson’s view that, the Claimant used taqwah
in an un-orthodox way to emphasise the unity and solidarity of
the Muslim Ummah, rather than in its normal sense to remind the audience to be
mindful of God and to use the month of Ramadan as an opportunity for reflection
(fikr) and repentance (tawba)).
327.
The Claimant said the second legacy of taqwah was the legacy of “good actions…
deeds” including “speaking truth the power”. He then employs the same technique as
in the CAGE PRISONERS SPEECH (2011), namely to cite examples of historical
figures as positive role models of those who have demonstrated this particular virtue
of “speaking truth to power” against “tyrants” and “oppressive rulers”. By these
transparent means, the Claimant gives credence to the deeds of Abdullah Azzam and
Sayyid Qutb by bracketing them with the early prophets, e.g. Abraham who “faced
off Nimrod”, Jesus who “[spoke] the truth against the Romans” and Moses who
“[spoke] the truth in front of a tyrant ruler, the people of Pharaoh”.
328.
The Muslim prisoners at Belmarsh at the time comprised about 19% of the total prison
population. It was well known that some of the Belmarsh Muslim prisoners had been
convicted of the most serious terrorist crimes (see above). Despite this, however,
nowhere in his speech does the Claimant see fit to limit his solidarity with, and praise
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