12. The Claimant was represented by Mr William Bennett and the BBC were represented by Mr Andrew Caldecott QC and Ms Jane Phillips. I am grateful to all Counsel and their legal teams for their able assistance. THE CLAIMANT 13. The Claimant, Shakeel Begg, is 47 years old. He was born in Nairobi, Kenya. He arrived in the UK aged 8. He grew up in the London Borough of Lewisham and went to school and college in South London. He travelled to Saudi Arabia and attended the Islamic University of Medinah (“IUM”) for five years, where he studied classical Islamic disciplines, including Islamic sciences, theology, Shari’a law, Arabic language and Qur’an recitation. IUM is an important centre for the training of Sunni Muslim clerics and is closely associated with broadly Salafi1 approach to Muslim religious beliefs. 14. He returned to the UK in 1996. He was appointed Chief Imam at Lewisham Islamic Centre (“LIC”) in 1998. LIC was established in the late 1970 and is a registered charity with its own primary school and after-school academy for young Muslims. It serves a large Muslim population in Lewisham and beyond and plays a central role in the life of the local Muslim community. 15. The Claimant obtained an MA in Islamic Studies from Markfield Institute of Higher Education in Leicester in 2005-2006 and diplomas in Islamic Finance, Chaplaincy and Jurisprudence in 2008-2009. In 2009, he was appointed an Imam at the Redbridge Islamic Centre in East London, but returned to continue his role as Chief Imam at LIC on 1st September 2011. He is currently Chief Imam and Khateeb (a person who delivers the weekly sermons) at the LIC. He is an employee and trustee of the LIC. 16. In his detailed witness statement, the Claimant highlighted his community and interfaith work (see further below). He also repeatedly stressed in his witness statement, as he did during his oral evidence, his commitment to non-violence and that Islam is a religion of peace: “53. … As a Muslim, I am committed to combatting extremism in all its forms because it is destroying our social harmony, creating suspicion and poisoning the minds of our youth. The actions of groups such as the so called “Islamic State, ISIL or 1 Salafism is the movement within Islam which argues that Muslim practice should return to that of the 7th Century (see further below). ISIS”, are responsible for destroying the reputation of Islam, a religion that promotes peace, tolerance, justice, fairness and equality. I am totally opposed to ISIS and have actively campaigned and spoken out against the evils of ISIS.” “59. … The teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have been misconstrued and I consider it my duty to deconstruct any warped interpretations of Islam that may encourage someone to commit unlawful violence against the teachings of Islam.” 4