Anjem Choudary
Encyclopedia
Anjem Choudary is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 former solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

, and, before it was proscribed, spokesman for the Islamist group Islam4UK. He is married, has four children, and lives in Ilford
Ilford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Choudary studied medicine at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...

 before switching to law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

. He became a solicitor, and chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers. He later met Omar Bakri Muhammad
Omar Bakri Muhammad
Omar Bakri Muhammad is an Islamist militant leader who was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir into a major organization in the United Kingdom before leaving the group and heading another Islamist organisation, Al-Muhajiroun, until its disbandment in 2004.For several years Bakri was one of...

, and the two helped form the Islamist organisation, al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun is a banned Islamist organisation that was based in Britain and which has been linked to international terrorism, homophobia and anti-semitism...

. The group organised several anti-Western demonstrations, including a banned protest march in London for which Choudary was summoned to appear in court. Al-Muhajiroun was a controversial organisation, which was later disbanded following the UK government's decision to ban it. Choudary was present at the launch of its intended successor, Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah
Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (organisation)
For the Islamic Muslim Arabic term see Ahlus Sunnah wal JamaahAhlus Sunnah wal Jamaah is an Islamic organisation operating in the United Kingdom, intended to be a successor to the banned Al-Muhajiroun organisation. Founded in November 2005 in north London, its head is "Simon" Sulayman Keeler...

, and later helped form Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa is a Muslim organization which, along with the The Saviour Sect, is widely believed to be the reformed Al-Muhajiroun after it disbanded in 2004 by order of Omar Bakri Muhammad. Other members include Abu Izzadeen and Abu Uzair....

, which was also banned, before he became the spokesman for Islam4UK.

Choudary is a vocal critic of the UK's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has praised the terrorists involved in the attacks of 11 September 2001, and 7 July
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....

 2005. He believes in the implementation of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 Law throughout the UK, and marched in protest at the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...

, following which he was prosecuted for organising an unlawful demonstration. He was also investigated, but not charged, for his 2006 comments regarding Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

. Choudary receives little support from the mainstream UK Muslim population and has been largely criticised in the media.

Early life and education

Choudary was born in 1967, the son of a Welling
Welling
Welling is a district in the London Borough of Bexley, South East London. It is a suburban development situated between Shooter's Hill and Bexleyheath north of the A2 road and 10.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross.-History:...

 market trader. He enrolled as a medical student at the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...

, but switched to law after failing his first-year exams. His final year as a law student (1990–1991) was at Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

. He then moved to London and taught English as a second language, until he found work at a legal firm and completed the qualifications to become a lawyer. He became chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers, but was removed from the roll of solicitors (the official register of legal practitioners) in 2002.

Choudary came to public attention in 1999, when the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...

 identified him as playing an instrumental role in the recruitment of Muslim trainees leaving Britain to fight abroad. He told the newspaper "before they go abroad to fight for organisations like the IIF, the volunteers are trained in Britain. Some of the training does involve guns and live ammunition."

Al-Muhajiroun

Choudary embraced Islamism
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...

, and with the Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Muhammed, co-founded al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun is a banned Islamist organisation that was based in Britain and which has been linked to international terrorism, homophobia and anti-semitism...

. The two men had met at a local mosque, where Bakri was giving a tafsir
Tafsir
Tafseer is the Arabic word for exegesis or commentary, usually of the Qur'an. Ta'wīl is a subset of tafsir and refers to esoteric or mystical interpretation. An author of tafsir is a mufassir .- Etymology :...

. In 2002 the group were refused a permit for a rally in London, by then Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...

, Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...

. They ignored the ban, and held a rally on 25 August. Choudary was summonsed to Bow Street Magistrates Court on 14 January 2003, on charges which included "exhibiting a notice, advertisement or any other written or pictorial matter", "using apparatus for the amplification of sound", "making a public speech or address", and "organising an assembly". In the same year Choudary gave a talk on education at Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...

, where he outlined his ideas for a parallel system of Islamic education in the UK. His speech followed a bazaar organised by al-Muhajiroun, advertised by leaflet and word of mouth. Choudary also included elements of the group's ideology in his lecture.

In 2003 or 2004 Choudary organised an Islamic-themed camping trip, at which Bakri lectured, on the 54 acres (218,530.4 m²) grounds of the Jameah Islamiyah School
Jameah Islameah School
Jameah Islameah School was an independent Islamic school in East Sussex. The school was located on a 54 acre site and has residential facilities to house male students aged 11 to 16. The school was independently owned and the proprietor functioned as the principal...

 in East Sussex. The trip, which was advertised by word-of-mouth, was attended by 50 Muslim men, most of whom were members of al-Muhajiroun. Bakri later claimed the activities at the camp included lectures on Islam, football, and paintballing. In September 2006 police searched the school following allegations that it was used in the training and recruitment of terrorists. According to testimony from Al Qaeda suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...

, in 1997 and 1998 Abu Hamza
Abu Hamza al-Masri
Abu Hamza al-Masri is an Egyptian Sunni activist known for his preaching of a violent and politicised interpretation of Islam, also known as militant Islamism or jihadism...

 and groups of around 30 of his followers held training camps at the school, which included training with AK47 rifles and handguns, and a mock rocket launcher. No arrests were made, and students and faculty were allowed to return on 23 September 2006, the first day of Ramadan.

The UK government had investigated expelling Bakri even before the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and in July 2003 the headquarters of al-Muhajiroun, and the homes of Bakri and Choudary, were raided by the police. The following year, under new anti-terrorist legislation, the government announced that it wished to ban al-Muhajiroun from operating in the UK. In 2005 Bakri learned that he was at risk of prosecution for his support of the 7 July 2005 London bombers
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....

, and in August left the UK for Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, where he claimed that he was on holiday. After leaving a television station where he said "I will not return to Britain unless I want to go there as a visitor or as a tourist", he was detained by Lebanon's general security department and held in a Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

 prison. Several days later, Bakri was excluded from returning to Britain by Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...

 Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...

, on the grounds that his presence in Britain was "not conducive to the public good." Choudary condemned the decision as "outrageous", demanded to know what Bakri had done to justify the ban, and claimed that ministers were inventing rules to ensure that Bakri could not return. In November Choudary was deported from Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, along with three other followers of Bakri, and returned to the UK. Along with the three other deportees, he claimed that they were there to help Bakri set up a madrasah
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...

, and blamed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for orchestrating their deportations.

Following his deportation, Choudary attended the launch in London of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah
Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (organisation)
For the Islamic Muslim Arabic term see Ahlus Sunnah wal JamaahAhlus Sunnah wal Jamaah is an Islamic organisation operating in the United Kingdom, intended to be a successor to the banned Al-Muhajiroun organisation. Founded in November 2005 in north London, its head is "Simon" Sulayman Keeler...

, the intended successor organisation to al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun is a banned Islamist organisation that was based in Britain and which has been linked to international terrorism, homophobia and anti-semitism...

. Choudary said that Bakri was not on the committee of the new group, but that "we would love for the sheikh to have a role." The organisation operates mainly through an invitation-only internet forum, to which Choudary contributes under the screen name Abou Luqman. A reporter visiting the site found calls for holy war, and recordings by Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

, Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...

, and Omar Bakri Mohammed.

Al-Muhajiroun attempted a relaunch in June 2009 at Conway Hall, in Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...

. Several speakers were invited to share a platform with Choudary, but some later claimed that they had been invited under false pretences. When the group refused to allow women into the meeting, the chairman of the society which runs the hall cancelled the event. He was heckled by many of those in the audience. Choudary took the microphone from the chairman and led chants of "sharia for UK", saying in reference to the exclusion of women: "Jews and Christians will never make peace with you until you either become like them or adopt their ways." Outside the hall, Choudary criticised British society, and predicted that Muslims would make up the majority within one or two decades. When asked why, if society was so bad, he lived here, he replied: "We come here to civilise people, get them to come out of the darkness and injustice into the beauty of Islam."

Al Ghurabaa

Choudary was also a spokesman for the Muslim organisation, Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa is a Muslim organization which, along with the The Saviour Sect, is widely believed to be the reformed Al-Muhajiroun after it disbanded in 2004 by order of Omar Bakri Muhammad. Other members include Abu Izzadeen and Abu Uzair....

. The group was proscribed in 2006 by then Home Secretary John Reid
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...

, who said: "I am determined to act against those who, while not directly involved in committing acts of terrorism, provide support for and make statements that glorify, celebrate and exalt the atrocities of terrorist groups." The group is believed to have been an off-shoot of al-Muhajiroun. Choudary reacted to the news with outrage, complaining: "The easy option when one is losing an argument is to ban the opposition voice. [...] We [al-Ghurabaa] are not a military organisation; we have only been vociferous in our views—views concerning everything from the government's foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan to the host of draconian laws, which they’ve introduced against us in this country."

Islam4UK

In November 2008 Choudary organised a meeting of the newly-formed Islam4UK, which, according to its website, was "established by sincere Muslims as a platform to propagate the supreme Islamic ideology within the United Kingdom as a divine alternative to man-made law", and to "convince the British public about the superiority of Islam [...] thereby changing public opinion in favour of Islam in order to transfer the authority and power [...] to the Muslims in order to implement the Sharee’ah (here in Britain)". According to Ed Husain
Ed Husain
Mohammed Mahbub Husain is the author of The Islamist, a book about Islamic fundamentalism, and an account of his five years as an Islamist activist. Husain also helped to create, with Maajid Nawaz, the counter-extremism organisation the Quilliam Foundation. He is currently at senior fellow at the...

, co-founder of the counter-terrorism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation
Quilliam Foundation
The Quilliam is a London-based think tank that focuses on "counter-extremism", specifically Islamism, which they argue is the cause of Muslim terrorism. They lobby government and public institutions for more nuanced policies regarding Islam and the need for greater democracy in the Muslim world...

, Islam4UK is a "splinter group of al-Muhajiroun and Hizb ut-Tahrir, the originators of extremism in Britain." The meeting, advertised as a conference to "rise to defend the honour of the Muslims", was held at the Brady Arts and Community Centre in Tower Hamlets. Choudary then announced that Bakri would be speaking, via a video-conference link, although technical problems meant that his address was instead given over a telephone line. When asked by a Muslim woman how the comments of one of the event's speakers could be justified, with regards to Islam being a religion of peace, Choudary stated, "Islam is not a religion of peace...It is a religion of submission. We need to submit to the will of Allah.".
With the announcement by Islam4UK that it planned to hold a protest march through Wootton Bassett
Wootton Bassett
Royal Wootton Bassett , informally known as Wootton Bassett, is a small market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001...

 (famous for honouring dead British soldiers returning from the war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

), Choudary said "You may see one or two coffins being returned to the UK every other day, but when you think about the people of Afghanistan its a huge number [being killed] in comparison [...] I intend to write a letter to the parents of British soldiers telling them the reality of what they died for." Choudary's open letter was published on 3 January 2010. In it, he explained his reasons for proposing the march, endorsed his religious beliefs, and claimed that UK politicians had been lying about the war. Choudary stated that the proposed march was to "engage the British publics minds on the real reasons why their soldiers are returning home in body bags and the real cost of the war." In an interview with Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...

, he stated that the location of the proposed march was chosen to effect a level of media attention which "it would not have gained anywhere else". The proposed march has been condemned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

, who said that to offend the families of dead or wounded troops would be "completely inappropriate", the Minhaj-ul-Quran International UK centre in Forest Gate
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...

, and the Muslim Council of Britain
Muslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...

, which stated that it "condemns the call by the fringe extremist group Islam4UK for their proposed march in Wootton Bassett." The planned march was cancelled by the group, on 10 January 2010.

From 14 January 2010 the organisation was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...

, making membership illegal, and punishable by imprisonment. Choudary condemned the order. In an interview on BBC Radio he said "we are now being targeted as an extremist or terrorist organisation and even banned for merely expressing that. I feel this is a failure of the concept of democracy and freedom."

Views and marches

Since the disbandment of al-Muhajiroun, Choudary has often praised Muslim terrorists. He referred to the 11 September terrorists as "magnificent martyrs", and in 2003 appeared to endorse terrorist attacks by British Muslims, saying that al-Muhajiroun would "encourage people to fulfil their Islamic duties and responsibilities". In 2004 he said that a terror attack on British soil was "a matter of time"; following the 7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....

 he refused to condemn the atrocities. In 2008 he attacked the Muslim Council of Britain
Muslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...

 (who had condemned the 11 September and 7 July terrorist attacks), accusing them of "selling their souls to the devil". in an Interview with CBN news Mr Choudary said that “You can't say that Islam is a religion of peace, Because Islam does not mean peace. Islam means submission." Following Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

's death, Choudary stated that "For Obama, killing an old man [Bin Laden] and his family in his home is justice...That is the justice of the Americans – occupation, murder, mayhem, imprisonment. That is the only justice that they know. We are here to say: That is injustice. Whenever you have man-made law, whenever you rule by other than what Allah has revealed, you will have injustice, you will have oppression. The biggest Satan, the biggest oppressor, the biggest criminal in the world today is Barack Obama, his henchmen, and his allies."

Choudary has regularly attended public marches, and following a protest march outside the Danish Embassy in London
Islamist demonstration outside Danish Embassy in London in 2006
The 2006 Islamist demonstration outside the Embassy of Denmark in London took place on 3 February 2006, in response to controversy surrounding the publication of editorial cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...

 on 3 February 2006, held in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...

, he was a member of a panel of interviewees on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 news programme, Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....

. He defended Muslims in Britain, saying that "we live in peace with the host community, we are not allowed to target people here", and claimed that the police had inspected and allowed the controversial placards used in the demonstration. Choudary was heavily criticised by his fellow panellists, who included the MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Keighley
Keighley (UK Parliament constituency)
Keighley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...

 Ann Cryer
Ann Cryer
Constance Ann Cryer JP is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Keighley from the 1997 general election up until she stood down at the 2010 general election...

, Humera Khan, of the al-Nisa Muslim Women's Group (who accused him of demonising Islam), vice-chair of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 Sayeeda Warsi, professor Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan is a Swiss academic, poet and writer. He is also a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University...

 (who claimed that Choudary's actions were designed to evoke a strong response from the media), and leader of the UK Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...

 Roger Knapman
Roger Knapman
Roger Maurice Knapman is a British politician and the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party ....

. On 15 March 2006 he was among five men arrested in connection with the demonstration, which had been organised by al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa is a Muslim organization which, along with the The Saviour Sect, is widely believed to be the reformed Al-Muhajiroun after it disbanded in 2004 by order of Omar Bakri Muhammad. Other members include Abu Izzadeen and Abu Uzair....

. He was arrested again on 4 May at Stansted Airport for an alleged breach of bail, and charged with organising the protest without notifying police. He was bailed to appear before Bow Street Magistrates Court on 11 May. On 4 July 2006 he was convicted and fined £500 with £300 court costs.

The following day, at an Al Ghurabaa press conference at the Al Badr centre in Leyton
Leyton
Leyton is an area of north-east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, located north east of Charing Cross. It borders Walthamstow and Leytonstone; Stratford in Newham; and Homerton and Lower Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney....

, Choudary claimed that the blame for the London bombings lay with the British government, and said that the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 had "blood on his hands". He also urged Muslims to defend themselves against perceived attacks by "whatever means they have at their disposal", and referred to the 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid
2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid
The 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid saw the arrest of two men at their east London homes in Forest Gate by police acting on what they described as "specific intelligence" that they might be terrorists in possession of a chemical bomb. One of the men was shot during the raid. No explosive devices were...

 in which Mohammed Abdul Kahar was shot in the shoulder. He encouraged Muslims not to co-operate with the police under any circumstances. Local council leader Clyde Loakes criticised Choudary's comments, stating "I am sure the vast majority of Waltham Forest residents do not support these views." Several days later, on 9 June 2006, Choudary organised a demonstration outside the Forest Gate police station in London, to protest against the arrest of the Forest Gate men. About 35 men and 15 women attended the demonstration. The family of the two men said that the police raid represented "barbaric and horrific actions", but that an extremist protest would "only give another opportunity for our community to be portrayed in a negative light".
Choudary is reportedly a regular poster on "Followers of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'aah Muntada", an invitation-only internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

 visited by some of Britain's more notable Muslim extremists. Using the alleged pseudonym Abou Luqman, Choudary has voiced support for the Muslim community in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, who, he claims, have been "violated" by Christian-backed Ethiopians, and has also called for other members to fight jihad.

Choudary strongly believes in the primacy of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 over all other faiths, and the implementation of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 Law, in its entirety, in the UK. In 2001 he stated that his allegiance is to Islam, and not a country. He believes that, for a true Muslim, "a British passport is no more than a travel document." In October 2006 he addressed a Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

 debate in Dublin, where as spokesman for al-Muhajiroun he spoke against the motion that "This house believes that Islamist violence can never be justified". Supporting him were Sulayman Keeler, from al-Ghurabaa, and Omar Brooks, leader of the Saviour Sect Group. Among those supporting the motion however, Islamic scholar Sheikh Al Saleh said that "Islam is the heritage of mankind", and Shaheed Satardian of the Supreme Muslim council of Ireland criticised "Muslim vigilantes" who had made attempts on his life, and fire-bombed his home in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Satardian said that his younger brother had been killed by extremists, and told Choudary "I believe violence perpetrated in the name of Islam is a terrible slur on the name of Islam." In February 2008 the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

 Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...

 commented that "as a matter of fact certain provisions of sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law". Choudary responded by saying that Sharia "has to be adopted wholesale", and that "it will come either by embracing Islam because it is the fastest growing religion in the country, or by an Islamic country conquering Britain or by elements embracing Islam and imposing it." In 2008 he spoke of the "flag of Sharia" flying over Downing Street
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...

 by 2020, claimed that some Muslim families in east London were having "10 or 12 children each", and that hundreds were converting to Islam each day. Choudary has spoken against elements of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 faith. In December 2008 he posted a sermon on an Islamic website, in which he stated: "Every Muslim has a responsibility to protect his family from the misguidance of Christmas, because its observance will lead to hellfire. Protect your Paradise from being taken away – protect yourself and your family from Christmas".

In September 2006 Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 gave a speech on the question of the "reasonableness" of the Christian faith, to the University of Regensburg in Germany. In the Regensburg lecture he spoke about rationality in faith, and cited comments by the 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425.-Life:...

, who, as the Pope put it, said "show me just what Mohamed brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." The citation attracted severe criticism from Muslims around the world, including the parliament of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 which condemned the Pope for his comments, and which sought an apology from him. Following the speech, on 17 September Choudary led a protest outside Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...

, where he told reporters "Whoever insults the message of Mohammed is going to be subject to capital punishment." The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

 reported him as saying: "I am here [to] have a peaceful demonstration, but there may be people in Italy and other parts that would carry that out." The Metropolitan Police investigated his comments, but concluded that "no substantive offences" were committed during the demonstration. Shadow Home Secretary
Shadow Home Secretary
In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who 'shadows' the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and...

 David Davis
David Davis (British politician)
David Michael Davis is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...

, who had called for action to be taken against Choudary, said: "It is quite disgraceful. It sends out a message to Muslim extremists that we, as a country, do not have the moral courage to stand up to them."

In July 2011, he claimed responsibility for a scheme to stick bright yellow posters on street posts to proclaim areas as "Shariah Controlled Zones." "We are going to go to all these same areas and implement our own Sharia-controlled zones," he is quoted as saying. "We want to run the area as a Sharia-controlled zone and really to put the seeds down for an Islamic Emirate in the long term."

Criticism

Choudary has been largely criticised by most UK newspapers, some of whom describe him as an extremist. In January 2010 Guardian contributor Mehdi Hasan wrote: "Is Choudary an Islamic scholar whose views merit attention or consideration? No. Has he studied under leading Islamic scholars? Nope. Does he have any Islamic qualifications or credentials? None whatsoever. So what gives him the right to pontificate on Islam, British Muslims or 'the hellfire'? Or proclaim himself a 'sharia judge'?", and claimed that Choudary was "as unrepresentative of British Muslim opinion, as he is of British anti-war opinion." Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

 said that Choudary "is one of those people who needs to be looked at seriously in terms of the legality of what he's saying because he strays, I think, extremely close to the line of encouraging hatred, extremism and violence." Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....

, the leader of Respect – The Unity Coalition, said of Choudary: "He is a bigot whose goal in life is to provoke division. He engages in these provocations because he is deeply hostile to any coming together of Muslims and non-Muslims. For him, the fact that a majority of the British people – Muslim and non-Muslim – oppose the war in Afghanistan is not something to be celebrated, but is something to be feared." Rod Liddle
Rod Liddle
Roderick E. L. Liddle is an English print, radio, and television journalist.He is an associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he is the author of Too Beautiful for You , Love Will Destroy Everything , and co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain...

, writing in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...

, said: "Anjem Choudray...is one of those thick-as-mince gobby little chancers who could only possibly come from Britain." Conservatives in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 have also been critical of Choudary. Fox News host Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...

 called him "one sick, miserable, evil S.O.B." during a segment on his show discussing the 2011 Egyptian protests.

Choudary has received little support from the mainstream Muslim community, although in January 2010 Telegraph writer Jamie Bartlett speculated that he might have "some" support among the minority of Muslims in the UK who could be considered to hold conservative views.

Tabloid criticism of Islam4UK and Choudary since news of the proposed march first became public has, generally, been vitriolic. The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...

 printed an article on 6 January which claimed that Choudary was in receipt of state benefits in the region of £25,000 and said: "British-born father-of-four Choudary is notoriously vague about whether he works or has other money coming in." It continued, "He is understood to be employed by a Muslim organisation on a shoestring wage, which allows him to claim income support and free time to spread his hatred." Choudary had first commented on the matter to the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...

 months earlier, stating "I don't think it's of any importance". While generally, follow-up reporting of The Suns article was restricted to other tabloid newspapers, on 12 January Choudary was asked to clarify the matter by ITN reporter Angus Walker. Choudary replied "The money belongs to Allah and if it is given, you can take it. You don't lie and you don't cheat – that is what the prophet said. I am not doing anything illegal." Appearing on the BBC's The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics is a British television show launched by the BBC in 2003. Presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn, the programme takes an in-depth and sometimes irreverent look at the daily goings on in Westminster and other areas across Britain and the world, and includes interviews with leading...

 on 14 January, presenter Andrew Neil
Andrew Neil
Andrew Ferguson Neil is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.He currently works for the BBC, presenting the live political programmes The Daily Politics and This Week...

 discussed with Choudary his opinions on the banning of Islam4UK, before asking him to comment on his financial status, claiming that it was "relevant to our viewers". Choudary told Neil that his finances were a personal matter, and that he was "doing something, and I don't want to discuss that with you. I'm not on Jobseeker's allowance, but at the same time I have family allowance, I have very firmly held views which I'm propagating at the same time." Responding to the media's criticism of him, Choudary said "I do believe that people have been whipped up into an anti-Islam anti-Muslim frenzy."

Personal life

In 1996 Choudary married 22-year-old Rubana Akhtar, who had recently joined al-Muhajiroun, which he led at the time. She later became the group's head of women. The couple settled in Ilford and had four children.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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