Abu Hamza al-Masri
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Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri (أبو حمزة المصري) (born 15 April 1958) is an infamous Muslim cleric in the United Kingdom, convicted in 2006 for racial hatred, terrorist and incitement to murder offences for his inflammatory sermons calling for death to non-Muslims.
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Early life
Abu Hamza was born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in Alexandria, Egypt in 1958. He was the son of a middle class army officer. In 1979, he moved to the UK and studied in Brighton. In 1981, he married Valerie Fleming, and had a son, Mohammed Mustafa Kamel. The marriage ended in divorce five years later.
Abu Hamza lost both his hands during the 1990s and now uses a distinctive hook as his right hand. Abu Hamza claims that he travelled to Afghanistan and sustained injuries to both hands and was blinded in the left eye as the result of helping clear land mines left behind by the Soviet Union. However, this explanation has been disputed by some news sources which state that his hands were more likely amputated in Saudi Arabia as a punishment for theft [1].
In 1999, his son Mohammed was sentenced to three years in prison in Yemen for taking part in a bombing campaign.
Preaching
Abu Hamza, formerly the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in North London, runs Supporters of Sharia, which is a group dedicated to the rule of Islamic law. In 2003, he addressed a rally in central London called by the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, where members spoke of their support for al-Qaeda.
On 4 February, 2003 (after being suspended since April 2002) Abu Hamza was dismissed from his position at the mosque by the Charity Commission, the statutory organisation that regulates charities (and hence most places of worship) in England and Wales. Since then, he has carried on his preaching on the streets outside the mosque to large crowds.
Abu Hamza has publicly expressed support for Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and against the UK government's involvement in Iraq.
Abu Hamza has claimed that the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a sign from God. He said:
- "These missions would increase the number of satellites for military purposes. It would increase the slavery of governance of other countries by America. It is a punishment from God. Muslims see it that way. It is a trinity of evil because it carried Americans, an Israeli and a Hindu, a trinity of evil against Islam. The fact that the motor of the craft fell on Palestine [a town in Texas] - all these are messages from God. It is a strong message, for the Israeli, to be taken up there to space and he spoke about the Holocaust, to try to make religious advancement from it and gain some moral high ground, hence you have seen this message over Palestine."
Extradition
The Yemeni authorities had requested his arrest and extradition, claiming he was linked to plots to bomb targets there, but the British authorities have not complied claiming he will not get a fair trial.
Hamza was naturalized as a British citizen when he married Valerie Traverso, who was a British citizen by birth. However, it appears that this marriage was a bigamous one as Valerie Traverso was still married to her previous husband. When this was discovered, the Home Office began the procedure to remove his British citizenship.
When Hamza applied for legal aid to oppose this procedure, his application was rejected. His legal team has prolonged the fight by taking out a judicial review, and he could still appeal to the Court of Appeal or the Lords, which could take years to come to a decision. Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Great Britain, said, "This man has alienated the public from Muslims with his vile rants. British Muslims are growing impatient that he is still able to tarnish them with these remarks. He is not welcome at any mosque in the country and we have nothing to do with him."
On 27 May 2004, Abu Hamza was detained by British authorities and is to appear before magistrates in the start of a process to extradite him to the United States, where he has been named in an indictment of participating with Earnest James Ujaama in his attempt to establish a terrorist training camp in late 1999 and early 2000 near Bly, Oregon, and providing aid to al-Qaeda.
However, as part of the European Union the United Kingdom is party to an agreement whereby extradition must be refused to any country which has the death penalty where the suspect is to be tried in a capital case.
Arrest and Conviction under Terrorism Act 2000
On 26 August 2004, al-Masri was arrested by British police under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which covers the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. He was released on 31 August 2004 [2].
On 19 October 2004, Abu Hamza al-Masri was charged with 16 crimes, including encouraging the murder of non-Muslims, and intent to stir up racial hatred. [3]
The trial initially commenced on 5 July 2005 was adjourned and resumed on 9 January 2006. On 7 February 2006 Abu Hamza was found guilty of 11 out of the 15 charges laid against him, including 6 charges of soliciting to murder and 3 charges of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.
Abu Hamza is currently being held in Belmarsh Prison.
Hamza on attacks in Britain (from just before his arrest):
"It is immoral to target people who have no say in the war. In fact they were against the war in Iraq ... If it was not for this Zionist media ... the people of this country ... would have informed themselves ... so it is not fair to target them. It is not Islamic ... We’ve got to distinguish between the evil politicians and the normal people who go about their business every day."
In January 2006 while on trial, he accused the Jewish people of being "blasphemous, treacherous and dirty" and explained it was because of this "why Hitler was sent into the world". He also called for "a world dominated by a caliph, sitting in the White House" [4] . Whilst under cross-examination Hamza claimed the Jews control the Foreign Office, the media and the money supply in Britain and America [5].
In London on February 8, Abu Hamza al-Masri,was sentenced to seven years for incitement to murder in public speeches.
On 7 February 2006, Abu Hamza was found:
- Guilty of 6 charges of soliciting to murder
- Guilty of 3 charges related to "stirring up racial hatred"
- Guilty of 1 charge of owning recordings related to "stirring up racial hatred"
- Guilty of 1 charge of possessing "terrorist encyclopaedia"
- Not guilty of 3 charges of soliciting to murder
- Not guilty of 1 charge related to "stirring up racial hatred"
The charges related to a terrorist encyclopaedia, illegal under the Terrorism Act 2000, and to propaganda materials produced by Hamza.
Following his trial, Hamza was sentenced to seven years imprisonment to run concurrently for eight counts and 21 months for the others. He has already been in jail since May 2004. In sentencing, Justice Hughes said Hamza had "helped to create an atmosphere in which to kill has become regarded by some as not only a legitimate course but a moral and religious duty in pursuit of perceived justice".
US authorities are seeking the cleric's extradition for terror-related matters. He is wanted on charges of trying to set up a "terrorist training camp" in the state of Oregon. Under the current law, the cleric will not be extradited until he has finished serving his sentence in the UK.
Comparison to Nick Griffin
Five days before Hamza's sentencing, Nick Griffin, head of the hard-right and anti-immigrant British National Party which has a record of members attacking blacks and Muslims, was acquitted on race hate charges relating to alleged assaults against Islam, which among other things, he called a, "vicious, wicked faith" and called for the end to the religion. This has given rise to charges that in Britain, there is a different law for Muslims and for non-Muslims, although the allegations are impossible to prove, as each case is different, and decided by a different jury, on a different set of facts.
Griffin was not totally acquitted, as with Hamza, he was found not guilty of two charges, while two further charges will be retried, so as yet it is not certain that Griffin will be completely acquitted.
Further to this, while Griffin did make inflammatory comments, his statements did not include direct incitements to violence, and unlike Hamza, was not directly linked to terrorist handbooks. And while Griffin was disparaging about Muslims, he did not as Hamza did make any incitements to murder: "Killing of the Kaffir for any reason you can say it is OK, even if there is no reason for it." He called on his followers to poison, ambush and kill non-believers and added: "You must have a stand with your heart, with your tongue, with your money, with your hand, with your sword, with your Kalashnikov. Don't ask shall I do this, just do it." [6].
Profile
He has become something of a celebrity hate figure among the tabloids, where his speeches advocating violence and his sinister appearance are guaranteed to horrify readers, thus selling papers. He was featured in the Daily Mail which called for his deportation. He was nicknamed "The Hook" by some British tabloid newspapers because of the hook on his right hand.
According to a POPULUS survey, Muslims in Britain oppose his views by a factor of two-to-one; however, among the age group 18-24, the figures are reversed, and 2 out of 3 who expressed an opinion agree with his views. [citation needed]
See also
External links
- Supporters of Shareeah Website - Abu Hamza's website
- BBC Abu Hamza profilees:Abu Hamza al-Masri
