157.
I am not persuaded by the Claimant’s suggestion that he was taken ‘out of context’.
No relevant ‘context’ was provided by the Claimant at the time of the FSIC press
statement in 2006 nor has been since. Further, it is not easy to think of any ‘context’
which could materially ameliorate the Claimant’s core message to the audience about
jihad in this speech.
Conclusion
158.
In conclusion, in my judgement, in his KINGSTON UNIVERSITY SPEECH (2006),
the Claimant was espousing extremist Islamic positions and promoting or encouraging
religious violence, in particular by exhorting his audience to travel to engage in armed
jihad (qital) in Palestine. He said:
“You want to make jihad? Very good. Don’t shout and scream and fight with your
Muslim brother who is doing something else for the deen. Take some money and
go to Palestine and fight, fight the terrorists, fight the Zionists in Palestine if you
want to do this.”
(2) ADVICE TO TAWFIQUE CHOWDHURY (2009)
159.
The BBC rely upon a document headed “Advice to Sheikh Tawfique from Imam
Shakeel Begg” authored by the Claimant, which was posted on the
www.pureislam.com
website
on
19th
February
2009
and
the
th
www.islamicawakening.com website on 20 February 2009.
160.
The Claimant’s ���Advice” was in a response to a speech by a Muslim scholar, Sheikh
Tawfique Chowdhury, delivered in December 2008 to counter-terrorism officers in
Cardiff. Sheikh Chowdhury was the Director General of the AlKauthar Institute and
Mercy Mission.
Text of the Claimant’s “Advice”
161.
The Claimant’s “Advice to Sheikh Tawfique” posted on the Web read as follows:
“Bismillah al-Rahman Al-Rahim
It is with much sadness that I read Tawfique Chowdhury’s
speech to the anti-terrorism officers in Wales, which he
brazenly posted on an Islamic blog. I was deeply shocked and
appalled by his enthusiasm for collaboration with a body that
has failed tis [sic] own war against Islam and the Muslims at
home and abroad. It is deplorable for a graduate from the
prestigious Islamic University of the Prophet’s city – the first
Islamic State – where the subject of ‘Aqida is emphasised the
most, to declare himself an ally of the West against Islam, not
even by choice, but naturally. It is ridiculously outrageous for
a Muslim speaker to lure the anti-terrorism officers into using
him and other religious leaders against the Muslim community.
This is not to say that we should not work to prevent unlawful
violence. In fact, many have been at the forefront of this work,
without signing a deal with the devil, or joining any sort of
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