Dana
2004-10-26 22:56:11 UTC
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/298
Weblog
Londonistan Follies
May 16, 2003
Londonistan Follies The British government won itself the reputation for
being tough because it joined with the U.S.-led effort in Iraq, quite in
contrast to France. But when it comes to domestic counterterrorism, the
French are far ahead of the hapless, head-in-the-sand Londonistanis - as I
have noted earlier. Indeed, it sometimes seems like one could handsomely
fill a blog with nothing but entries documenting the British follies.
"Muslim men use law loophole to get a harem of 'wives'": "Up to 4,000
British Muslim men have entered into polygamous marriages, some of them
keeping as many as five wives, according to senior religious figures. They
have taken advantage of a loophole in the laws against bigamy by going
through a 'nikah' ceremony at a mosque rather than registering the marriages
officially. Many are avoiding the expense and obligations of divorce, but an
estimated 2,000 or more are men who wish to exercise their 'right',
according to traditional interpretations of the Koran, to have as many as
four wives. . In extreme cases, women brought from abroad, notably from
Bangladesh, to marry a British Muslim have been victims of so-called honour
killings by their families after being sent home when the relationship has
failed." In an accompanying article, "I have enough love for all my women,"
the Times tells the story of Medi Siadatan, an Iranian immigrant with "three
wives, twelve children, a busy design consultancy and homes in Britain and
Milan." What makes his case of particular interest is that his wives number
two Italians and one Englishwoman. (Oct. 21, 2004)
In a Times (London) article about Abu Hamza Al-Masri, the British Islamist,
we learn first that he was charged a day earlier "with 16 offences of
encouraging murder, stirring up race hatred and possessing a terrorist
document. Ten of the counts allege that the former imam 'did solicit or
encourage' others at public meetings to kill non-believers in the Muslim fai
th: four refer specifically to attacks on Jews." The article then goes on:
"Abu Hamza is to receive a new aluminium hook from the NHS [National Health
Service]. A specialist from a London clinic will fit the hook at Belmarsh,
at an estimated cost of £5,000. The cleric lost both hands and an eye in a
bomb explosion. A spokesman for the Home Office said that he was entitled to
the same care as any other prisoner." (Oct. 20, 2004)
"Selfridges and Asda join Ramadhan celebration": In Birmingham, the
department stores Selfridges and Asda are making a prayer room available,
complete with ablution facilities, and producing break-fast festive suppers
for Muslims, both employees and customers, during Ramadan. (Oct. 13, 2004)
"London mosque link to Beslan": "A member of the group responsible for the
Beslan school massacre last month is a British citizen who attended the
infamous Finsbury Park mosque in north London. . Two other members of the
group, loyal to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, are also believed to have
been active in the UK until less than three years ago. They are suspected of
taking part in the raid on the school in which 300 people, half of them
children, died." (Oct. 3, 2004)
"Mosque teacher beat boy with stick": When an 11-year-old boy drew a picture
of a naked caveman during a class at the Alma Road mosque in Peterborough,
his instructor Mohammad Abdullah became enraged and threw the boy to the
ground, hitting him with a stick on the arms and neck while telling him "I
hit you for your own benefit. Take it like a man." (Sept. 21, 2004)
"'Death threat' asylum seeker returns to Pakistan for wedding": Nigel Bunyan
tells the tale in London's Daily Telegraph of one Liquat Ali, a Pakistani
asylum seeker in Great Britain. First, some background: Ali, 47 and father
of nine, claimed asylum in Britain, apparently in 1998, on the grounds that
his factory in Pakistan was blown up by political opponents, that he faced
death threats there, and he would be killed if he had to return to his
native country. For six years, Ali battled the British bureaucracy in an
effort to avoid being sent back, finally winning an indefinite leave to
remain in Britain in April 2004 as part of an amnesty for asylum seekers who
had waited over five years for a decision. In the meantime, he joined the
Liberal Democrat party and won a seat in 2003 on the city council in
Manchester, representing the Longsight borough. Ali's brief political career
is so far noteworthy mainly because of the controversy that erupted soon
after his election, as it became clear that he could not follow council
discussions without a translator. Nonetheless, he won re-election to the
council in June 2004 and is now said to attend meetings without need of a
translator.
And now Ali again finds himself in the news, this time because -
notwithstanding his fears of mortal assault in Pakistan - he returned there
for an eighteen-day vacation in August 2004 during which he attended his son
Mohammed's wedding, visited with his sick mother, and accompanied a Liberal
Democrat colleague on the Manchester city council, John Commons, to some
political engagements. (During those visits, Ali discreetly and wisely
stayed in the background, so as not to attract press coverage.) Ali
confesses that he did not inform the Home Office about the visit, as he was
required to do. Speaking through an interpreter, he assessed the trip: "My
family in Manchester told me to be vigilant and it was very stressful. I
took a risk and it was worth it. It is still not safe for me to live there."
Sajjad Hussain, however, is unconvinced. Hussain is the Labour politician
who lost the Longsight seat to Ali in 2003 and he says, "I know asylum
seekers who fear they will be killed if they go home. They would not go back
for any reason. I believe that there are grounds for the Home Office to
investigate this case." Hussain's argument might convince some, but not the
Home Office, whose spokesman explains that a person such as Ali, granted
indefinite leave to remain in the U.K. is allowed back in so long as he
spent less than two years in his native country. (Sept. 14, 2004)
"Cleric supports targeting children": What does Omar Bakri Mohammed, leader
of al-Muhajiroun, think about the recent atrocity in Beslan, Russia, where
some 400 people were killed when Islamists seized a school? Well, he
endorsed it. Holding innocents (including children) hostage is a justified
step for any Muslim who has suffered at British hands. "If an Iraqi Muslim
carried out an attack like that in Britain, it would be justified because
Britain has carried out acts of terrorism in Iraq. As long as the Iraqi did
not deliberately kill women and children, and they were killed in the
crossfire, that would be okay." (Sept. 5, 2004)
"Advert still in place by mosque despite protests": A 1998 protest by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations against a southern California
billboard showing Osama bin Laden and calling him "the sworn enemy" struck
me as so deep an insight into that organization that I have posted this
press release on my website. This came to mind on reading that Bristol's
Muslim community is outraged that a billboard showing bin Laden next to the
words "Go Get 'Em" had not been taken down immediately, especially because
it is just around the corner from the Shahjalal Jamia Mosque in Bristol,
England. Mosque elders deem the ad, for a new version of PlayStation2
computer game called America's 10 Most Wanted, "insensitive and
undiplomatic," "offensive," and "irresponsible." The PlayStation2 game
involves capturing fugitives such as the Al-Qaeda leader and Saddam Hussein.
Players compete against each other to win a £10,000 reward. The chief
executive of Play It, the maker and publisher of the game, was indignant
too: "We have told the advertising company to take it down immediately. We
had no idea that this billboard was near a mosque. The last thing we would
want to do is cause offence." (Aug. 28, 2004)
"Terror leaflets found at mosque": Police last week were called in to
investigate after hundreds of leaflets urging Muslims to become Mujahideen
fighters and ask them to "pray for death and decay to be visited upon the
West" were distributed at Birmingham Central Mosque, one of Europe's largest
Islamic centers . The flyers were signed by Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamah, said by
mosque officials to be an alias of Al Muhajiroun organization, which I have
elsewhere described as "perhaps the most extreme Islamist group operating in
the West." Interestingly, the mosque's chairman, Mohammed Naseem, blamed the
British government for Al Muhajiroun's presence. "Its leaders continue to
preach and incite terrorism and yet the Government does not nothing about
it. These people should be removed from the country." It bears noting that
on July 29, 2004, Azmat Yaqub, a person associated with the Birmingham
Central Mosque died in a hail of bullets at a gymnasium, after having
survived a similar assault in March 2003 in what the press reported as a
dispute between factions at the mosque. This mosque appears to be out of
control; one wonders if it will it go the way of its Finsbury Park
counterpart. (Aug. 15, 2004)
"Hardliners hijack the re-opening of mosque": The closing of north London's
Finsbury Park mosque in January 2003, due to suspected terrorism-related
activities associated with Abu Hamza al-Masri, was supposed to clean the
place out permanently. Ah, but this is Londonistan. The mosque re-opened
after a year and a half yesterday for a while and was immediately occupied
for two hours by some forty of Abu Hamza's acolytes, interrupting prayers,
denouncing the trustees and new imam. The group's leader, Abu Hamza ally Abu
Abdullah, in a 20-minute address announced that he had taken the mosque back
"for the people." In true Abu Hamza style, he damned the trustees for
working with the "infidels" and claimed he could produce thirty times as
many people as he had brought yesterday. As a result of these antics, the
mosque was again closed. Oh, and this detail, supplied by the Guardian: Abu
Hamza's followers have prayed outside the mosque every Friday since he was
banned, "resulting in a sizable policing bill and the closure of the road to
traffic, while neighbouring mosques have struggled to cope with up to 800
displaced worshippers (Aug. 7, 2004)
"British Islam colleges 'link to terrorism'." Sean O'Neill reveals in the
Times of London that two British universities have each endorsed an Islamist
college that train imams for British mosques and have "links to terrorism."
The University of Wales has validated courses at European Institute of Human
Sciences (EIHS). Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brethren leader known for
condemnation of homosexuality as a disease and his enthusiasm for
Palestinian suicide bombers, chairs the council of scholars that oversees
the EIHS academic program. Teaching is conducted solely in Arabic. EIHS is
housed in an eighteenth-century manor house in Llanybydder, West Wales.
The University of Loughborough has validated courses at the Markfield
Institute of Higher Education, near Leicester. Markfield's rector is
Khurshid Ahmad, 72, who is also vice-president of Pakistan's Jamaat-e Islami
and someone who in July 2003 wrote that Afghan areas under Taliban rule "had
become the cradle of justice and peace." One of Markfield's lecturers is
Azzam Tamimi, who is a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and
an admirer of the Taliban. The Islamic Foundation, which established and
controls Markfield, has two trustees who are listed by the United Nations
Security Council as linked to the Taliban or al-Qaeda. The Prince of Wales
opened the new campus of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education in
January 2003.
In sum, these two colleges appear to be connected to the two oldest and most
powerful Islamist movements, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim Brethren, and
that appears to be just fine with the two universities, not to speak of
Prince Charles. (July 29, 2004)
"Terror Suspect Seeks Bail for Mental Health Treatment": A Palestinian
terrorist suspect held being at Broadmoor, a security psychiatric hospital,
seeks bail so that his mental health problems can be treated "in the
community," the High Court heard today. Referred to only as "A" (because he
is a hospital patient), this individual was arrested over three years ago on
suspicion of raising funds for terrorist groups, including those linked to
Osama Bin Laden. In July 2002, Home Secretary David Blunkett had him
transferred to the hospital because of his mental health problems. A is
seeking bail by calling on his rights under the European Convention on Human
Rights. (July 21, 2004)
"Hijackers allowed to stay for fear of infringing their human rights": In
February 2000, nine Afghans hijacked a Taliban-regime airliner internal
flight and forced it to fly to London. Today they found out that immigration
adjudicators had refused the hijackers asylum but ruled that they could not
be deported. The adjudicators ruled that Article 3 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits returning anyone to a country
where he might be "subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment," prohibits the hijackers from being deported. Never mind that
the Taliban no longer rule Afghanistan; defense lawyers argued that the
hijackers anyway face a danger from "Taliban elements who could target
them." As a result, the nine can stay in Britain, along with their 21
dependents. Oh, and they are living in rent-free housing and receive welfare
benefits. The decision embarrasses the Government, which intends to appeal.
The shadow home secretary, David Davis, characterized the ruling as "crazy"
on the grounds that it invites others to hijack planes as a means to claim
asylum. The Daily Telegraph notes two prior precedents for this ruling: the
six Iraqis who in 1996 hijacked a Sudanese airplane to land in London have
remained in the country with their families; and three members of a gang
that hijacked a Tanzanian airliner in 1984 have remained in Britain. (July
14, 2004)
"Conservative Party organises Milad-un-Nabi celebration." Leaders of the
Muslim Council of Britain "attended the Milad-un-Nabi function organised by
the Conservative Party" at the party's central office on May 15, 2003. The
Conservative Party chair, members of the shadow cabinet, and a number of MPs
attended. "This was the first time that such an event celebrating the birth
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has been organised by a
political party," noted the MCB. Ian Duncan Smith, the party leader, spoke:
"I'm grateful to the Muslim Council of Britain - its many membership
organisations - and the many other groups that actively represent Britain's
Muslims - increasing awareness of Islam throughout this country...Today's
celebration is but a small step in what I hope will be an ever-deeper, and
ever more friendly association between Conservatives and British
Muslims....The sooner I have Muslim Conservative MPs, the sooner I will have
a Muslim minister." (May 16, 2003)
Weblog
Londonistan Follies
May 16, 2003
Londonistan Follies The British government won itself the reputation for
being tough because it joined with the U.S.-led effort in Iraq, quite in
contrast to France. But when it comes to domestic counterterrorism, the
French are far ahead of the hapless, head-in-the-sand Londonistanis - as I
have noted earlier. Indeed, it sometimes seems like one could handsomely
fill a blog with nothing but entries documenting the British follies.
"Muslim men use law loophole to get a harem of 'wives'": "Up to 4,000
British Muslim men have entered into polygamous marriages, some of them
keeping as many as five wives, according to senior religious figures. They
have taken advantage of a loophole in the laws against bigamy by going
through a 'nikah' ceremony at a mosque rather than registering the marriages
officially. Many are avoiding the expense and obligations of divorce, but an
estimated 2,000 or more are men who wish to exercise their 'right',
according to traditional interpretations of the Koran, to have as many as
four wives. . In extreme cases, women brought from abroad, notably from
Bangladesh, to marry a British Muslim have been victims of so-called honour
killings by their families after being sent home when the relationship has
failed." In an accompanying article, "I have enough love for all my women,"
the Times tells the story of Medi Siadatan, an Iranian immigrant with "three
wives, twelve children, a busy design consultancy and homes in Britain and
Milan." What makes his case of particular interest is that his wives number
two Italians and one Englishwoman. (Oct. 21, 2004)
In a Times (London) article about Abu Hamza Al-Masri, the British Islamist,
we learn first that he was charged a day earlier "with 16 offences of
encouraging murder, stirring up race hatred and possessing a terrorist
document. Ten of the counts allege that the former imam 'did solicit or
encourage' others at public meetings to kill non-believers in the Muslim fai
th: four refer specifically to attacks on Jews." The article then goes on:
"Abu Hamza is to receive a new aluminium hook from the NHS [National Health
Service]. A specialist from a London clinic will fit the hook at Belmarsh,
at an estimated cost of £5,000. The cleric lost both hands and an eye in a
bomb explosion. A spokesman for the Home Office said that he was entitled to
the same care as any other prisoner." (Oct. 20, 2004)
"Selfridges and Asda join Ramadhan celebration": In Birmingham, the
department stores Selfridges and Asda are making a prayer room available,
complete with ablution facilities, and producing break-fast festive suppers
for Muslims, both employees and customers, during Ramadan. (Oct. 13, 2004)
"London mosque link to Beslan": "A member of the group responsible for the
Beslan school massacre last month is a British citizen who attended the
infamous Finsbury Park mosque in north London. . Two other members of the
group, loyal to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, are also believed to have
been active in the UK until less than three years ago. They are suspected of
taking part in the raid on the school in which 300 people, half of them
children, died." (Oct. 3, 2004)
"Mosque teacher beat boy with stick": When an 11-year-old boy drew a picture
of a naked caveman during a class at the Alma Road mosque in Peterborough,
his instructor Mohammad Abdullah became enraged and threw the boy to the
ground, hitting him with a stick on the arms and neck while telling him "I
hit you for your own benefit. Take it like a man." (Sept. 21, 2004)
"'Death threat' asylum seeker returns to Pakistan for wedding": Nigel Bunyan
tells the tale in London's Daily Telegraph of one Liquat Ali, a Pakistani
asylum seeker in Great Britain. First, some background: Ali, 47 and father
of nine, claimed asylum in Britain, apparently in 1998, on the grounds that
his factory in Pakistan was blown up by political opponents, that he faced
death threats there, and he would be killed if he had to return to his
native country. For six years, Ali battled the British bureaucracy in an
effort to avoid being sent back, finally winning an indefinite leave to
remain in Britain in April 2004 as part of an amnesty for asylum seekers who
had waited over five years for a decision. In the meantime, he joined the
Liberal Democrat party and won a seat in 2003 on the city council in
Manchester, representing the Longsight borough. Ali's brief political career
is so far noteworthy mainly because of the controversy that erupted soon
after his election, as it became clear that he could not follow council
discussions without a translator. Nonetheless, he won re-election to the
council in June 2004 and is now said to attend meetings without need of a
translator.
And now Ali again finds himself in the news, this time because -
notwithstanding his fears of mortal assault in Pakistan - he returned there
for an eighteen-day vacation in August 2004 during which he attended his son
Mohammed's wedding, visited with his sick mother, and accompanied a Liberal
Democrat colleague on the Manchester city council, John Commons, to some
political engagements. (During those visits, Ali discreetly and wisely
stayed in the background, so as not to attract press coverage.) Ali
confesses that he did not inform the Home Office about the visit, as he was
required to do. Speaking through an interpreter, he assessed the trip: "My
family in Manchester told me to be vigilant and it was very stressful. I
took a risk and it was worth it. It is still not safe for me to live there."
Sajjad Hussain, however, is unconvinced. Hussain is the Labour politician
who lost the Longsight seat to Ali in 2003 and he says, "I know asylum
seekers who fear they will be killed if they go home. They would not go back
for any reason. I believe that there are grounds for the Home Office to
investigate this case." Hussain's argument might convince some, but not the
Home Office, whose spokesman explains that a person such as Ali, granted
indefinite leave to remain in the U.K. is allowed back in so long as he
spent less than two years in his native country. (Sept. 14, 2004)
"Cleric supports targeting children": What does Omar Bakri Mohammed, leader
of al-Muhajiroun, think about the recent atrocity in Beslan, Russia, where
some 400 people were killed when Islamists seized a school? Well, he
endorsed it. Holding innocents (including children) hostage is a justified
step for any Muslim who has suffered at British hands. "If an Iraqi Muslim
carried out an attack like that in Britain, it would be justified because
Britain has carried out acts of terrorism in Iraq. As long as the Iraqi did
not deliberately kill women and children, and they were killed in the
crossfire, that would be okay." (Sept. 5, 2004)
"Advert still in place by mosque despite protests": A 1998 protest by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations against a southern California
billboard showing Osama bin Laden and calling him "the sworn enemy" struck
me as so deep an insight into that organization that I have posted this
press release on my website. This came to mind on reading that Bristol's
Muslim community is outraged that a billboard showing bin Laden next to the
words "Go Get 'Em" had not been taken down immediately, especially because
it is just around the corner from the Shahjalal Jamia Mosque in Bristol,
England. Mosque elders deem the ad, for a new version of PlayStation2
computer game called America's 10 Most Wanted, "insensitive and
undiplomatic," "offensive," and "irresponsible." The PlayStation2 game
involves capturing fugitives such as the Al-Qaeda leader and Saddam Hussein.
Players compete against each other to win a £10,000 reward. The chief
executive of Play It, the maker and publisher of the game, was indignant
too: "We have told the advertising company to take it down immediately. We
had no idea that this billboard was near a mosque. The last thing we would
want to do is cause offence." (Aug. 28, 2004)
"Terror leaflets found at mosque": Police last week were called in to
investigate after hundreds of leaflets urging Muslims to become Mujahideen
fighters and ask them to "pray for death and decay to be visited upon the
West" were distributed at Birmingham Central Mosque, one of Europe's largest
Islamic centers . The flyers were signed by Ahle Sunnah Wal Jamah, said by
mosque officials to be an alias of Al Muhajiroun organization, which I have
elsewhere described as "perhaps the most extreme Islamist group operating in
the West." Interestingly, the mosque's chairman, Mohammed Naseem, blamed the
British government for Al Muhajiroun's presence. "Its leaders continue to
preach and incite terrorism and yet the Government does not nothing about
it. These people should be removed from the country." It bears noting that
on July 29, 2004, Azmat Yaqub, a person associated with the Birmingham
Central Mosque died in a hail of bullets at a gymnasium, after having
survived a similar assault in March 2003 in what the press reported as a
dispute between factions at the mosque. This mosque appears to be out of
control; one wonders if it will it go the way of its Finsbury Park
counterpart. (Aug. 15, 2004)
"Hardliners hijack the re-opening of mosque": The closing of north London's
Finsbury Park mosque in January 2003, due to suspected terrorism-related
activities associated with Abu Hamza al-Masri, was supposed to clean the
place out permanently. Ah, but this is Londonistan. The mosque re-opened
after a year and a half yesterday for a while and was immediately occupied
for two hours by some forty of Abu Hamza's acolytes, interrupting prayers,
denouncing the trustees and new imam. The group's leader, Abu Hamza ally Abu
Abdullah, in a 20-minute address announced that he had taken the mosque back
"for the people." In true Abu Hamza style, he damned the trustees for
working with the "infidels" and claimed he could produce thirty times as
many people as he had brought yesterday. As a result of these antics, the
mosque was again closed. Oh, and this detail, supplied by the Guardian: Abu
Hamza's followers have prayed outside the mosque every Friday since he was
banned, "resulting in a sizable policing bill and the closure of the road to
traffic, while neighbouring mosques have struggled to cope with up to 800
displaced worshippers (Aug. 7, 2004)
"British Islam colleges 'link to terrorism'." Sean O'Neill reveals in the
Times of London that two British universities have each endorsed an Islamist
college that train imams for British mosques and have "links to terrorism."
The University of Wales has validated courses at European Institute of Human
Sciences (EIHS). Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brethren leader known for
condemnation of homosexuality as a disease and his enthusiasm for
Palestinian suicide bombers, chairs the council of scholars that oversees
the EIHS academic program. Teaching is conducted solely in Arabic. EIHS is
housed in an eighteenth-century manor house in Llanybydder, West Wales.
The University of Loughborough has validated courses at the Markfield
Institute of Higher Education, near Leicester. Markfield's rector is
Khurshid Ahmad, 72, who is also vice-president of Pakistan's Jamaat-e Islami
and someone who in July 2003 wrote that Afghan areas under Taliban rule "had
become the cradle of justice and peace." One of Markfield's lecturers is
Azzam Tamimi, who is a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and
an admirer of the Taliban. The Islamic Foundation, which established and
controls Markfield, has two trustees who are listed by the United Nations
Security Council as linked to the Taliban or al-Qaeda. The Prince of Wales
opened the new campus of the Markfield Institute of Higher Education in
January 2003.
In sum, these two colleges appear to be connected to the two oldest and most
powerful Islamist movements, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim Brethren, and
that appears to be just fine with the two universities, not to speak of
Prince Charles. (July 29, 2004)
"Terror Suspect Seeks Bail for Mental Health Treatment": A Palestinian
terrorist suspect held being at Broadmoor, a security psychiatric hospital,
seeks bail so that his mental health problems can be treated "in the
community," the High Court heard today. Referred to only as "A" (because he
is a hospital patient), this individual was arrested over three years ago on
suspicion of raising funds for terrorist groups, including those linked to
Osama Bin Laden. In July 2002, Home Secretary David Blunkett had him
transferred to the hospital because of his mental health problems. A is
seeking bail by calling on his rights under the European Convention on Human
Rights. (July 21, 2004)
"Hijackers allowed to stay for fear of infringing their human rights": In
February 2000, nine Afghans hijacked a Taliban-regime airliner internal
flight and forced it to fly to London. Today they found out that immigration
adjudicators had refused the hijackers asylum but ruled that they could not
be deported. The adjudicators ruled that Article 3 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits returning anyone to a country
where he might be "subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment," prohibits the hijackers from being deported. Never mind that
the Taliban no longer rule Afghanistan; defense lawyers argued that the
hijackers anyway face a danger from "Taliban elements who could target
them." As a result, the nine can stay in Britain, along with their 21
dependents. Oh, and they are living in rent-free housing and receive welfare
benefits. The decision embarrasses the Government, which intends to appeal.
The shadow home secretary, David Davis, characterized the ruling as "crazy"
on the grounds that it invites others to hijack planes as a means to claim
asylum. The Daily Telegraph notes two prior precedents for this ruling: the
six Iraqis who in 1996 hijacked a Sudanese airplane to land in London have
remained in the country with their families; and three members of a gang
that hijacked a Tanzanian airliner in 1984 have remained in Britain. (July
14, 2004)
"Conservative Party organises Milad-un-Nabi celebration." Leaders of the
Muslim Council of Britain "attended the Milad-un-Nabi function organised by
the Conservative Party" at the party's central office on May 15, 2003. The
Conservative Party chair, members of the shadow cabinet, and a number of MPs
attended. "This was the first time that such an event celebrating the birth
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has been organised by a
political party," noted the MCB. Ian Duncan Smith, the party leader, spoke:
"I'm grateful to the Muslim Council of Britain - its many membership
organisations - and the many other groups that actively represent Britain's
Muslims - increasing awareness of Islam throughout this country...Today's
celebration is but a small step in what I hope will be an ever-deeper, and
ever more friendly association between Conservatives and British
Muslims....The sooner I have Muslim Conservative MPs, the sooner I will have
a Muslim minister." (May 16, 2003)