Former senior members of al-Muhajiroun, formerly one of the most extreme Islamist groups in the UK, have siezed on the controversy over the Archbishop of Canterbury's remarks on Sharia law to rally their followers. A press release issued by Anjem Choudary on Friday 8 February said that a partial implementation of Sharia law cannot work and that true Sharia law can only be implemented through a Caliphate:
"The two systems of secularism and Islam are diametrically opposed, you cannot say that sovereignty and supremacy is for man on the one hand and also that sovereignty belongs to Allah on the other. One must take precedence, and that is Islam."
The press release also said that Choudary, previously one of the most high-profile members of al-Muhajiroun before it disbanded in 2005, would be holding a meeting on the subject 'Britain Under Islam' at Walthamstow on Saturday 9 February.
The press release also said the archbishops' remarks were part of a plot to promote secularism among British Muslims:
"Muslims therefore must believe that the comments of the archbishop are designed to take them away from the true understanding of Islam and to adopt his own religion of secularism. This is also evident in his attack against the penal system implemented in some Muslim countries."
Choudary also told The Telegraph that:
"Sharia has been promised by the Prophet Mohammed and 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."
Although al-Muhajiroun was estimated to have had as many as several thousand members and supporters in the late 1990s, Anjem Choudary today has probably less than a 100 followers.
Comments (2)
Does anyone know why this man, Anjem Choudary, is still in this country and why he hasn't been deported? I note he now has only in the region of 100 followers but, to my mind, that's 100 too many.
Posted by Old-Tyke | February 12, 2008 8:24 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 20:24
This shows the craven attitude of Williams in trying to boost sharia. His input is meddlesome and dangerous and only plays into the hands of extremists, as Trevor Phillips says.
Leave matters alone. I have no real problem with 'sharia courts' operating on a voluntary basis for dispute resolution amongst those who would want to use them. Because voluntary associations have absolutely no force in law.
Williams' departure was to insinuate that something more was required than the weak voluntary principle.
He is presuming that the 'establishment' principle, for which he stands, will somehow tame extremists, whereas in fact they would only embolden them, and act to trap Muslims into having to use courts run by extremists bent on turning British citizens into Muslims and the UK into a sharia state.
Posted by M Clyde | February 12, 2008 12:58 PM
Posted on February 12, 2008 12:58