Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Europe

European 'No-Go' Zones for Non-Muslims Proliferating

2013-01-29

Islamic extremists are stepping up the creation of "no-go" areas in European cities that are off-limits to non-Muslims. Many of the "no-go" zones function as microstates governed by Islamic Sharia law. Host-country authorities effectively have lost control in these areas and in many instances are unable to provide even basic public aid such as police, fire fighting and ambulance services. The "no-go" areas are the by-product of decades of multicultural policies that have encouraged Muslim immigrants to create parallel societies and remain segregated rather than become integrated into their European host nations. In Britain, for example, a Muslim group called Muslims Against the Crusades has launched a campaign to turn twelve British cities – including what it calls "Londonistan" – into independent Islamic states. The so-called Islamic Emirates would function as autonomous enclaves ruled by Islamic Sharia law and operate entirely outside British jurisprudence. The Islamic Emirates Project names the British cities of Birmingham, Bradford, Derby, Dewsbury, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Sheffield, as well as Waltham Forest in northeast London and Tower Hamlets in East London as territories to be targeted for blanket Sharia rule. In the Tower Hamlets area of East London (also known as the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets), for example, extremist Muslim preachers, called the Tower Hamlets Taliban, regularly issue death threats to women who refuse to wear Islamic veils. Neighborhood streets have been plastered with posters declaring "You are entering a Sharia controlled zone: Islamic rules enforced." And street advertising deemed offensive to Muslims is regularly vandalized or blacked out with spray paint. In the Bury Park area of Luton, Muslims have been accused of "ethnic cleansing" by harassing non-Muslims to the point that many of them move out of Muslim neighborhoods. In the West Midlands, two Christian preachers have been accused of "hate crimes" for handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham. In Leytonstone in east London, the Muslim extremist Abu Izzadeen heckled the former Home Secretary John Reid by saying: "How dare you come to a Muslim area." In France, large swaths of Muslim neighborhoods are now considered "no-go" zones by French police. At last count, there are 751 Sensitive Urban Zones (Zones Urbaines Sensibles, ZUS), as they are euphemistically called. A complete list of the ZUS can be found on a French government website, complete with satellite maps and precise street demarcations. An estimated 5 million Muslims live in the ZUS, parts of France over which the French state has lost control. Muslim immigrants are taking control of other parts of France too. In Paris and other French cities with high Muslim populations, such as Lyons, Marseilles and Toulouse, thousands of Muslims are closing off streets and sidewalks (and by extension, are closing down local businesses and trapping non-Muslim residents in their homes and offices) to accommodate overflowing crowds for Friday prayers. Some mosques have also begun broadcasting sermons and chants of "Allahu Akbar" via loudspeakers into the streets.

Link

Britain

Muslim preacher Abu Izzadeen found guilty of inciting terrorism

2008-04-18

A Muslim preacher who barracked former Home Secretary John Reid faces life in jail after he was found guilty of calling on his followers to train to be terrorists and telling them to kill non-believers to get to heaven. Abu Izzadeen, whose real name is Trevor Brooks, 32, led a group of Islamic radicals who stormed the moderate Regents Park Mosque in central London and then forced back police who tried to evict them. Izzadeen was found guilty of incitement to terrorism abroad along with three of his associates, Abdul Rehman Saleem, also known as Abu Yahya, the convert Simon Keeler, also known as Suliman Keeler, and Ibrahim Abdullah Hassan. Brooks, Keeler and two other men, Shah Jalal Hussain and Abdul Muhid were found guilty of collecting money for terrorists in Iraq. Hussain skipped bail while the jury were deliberating and is now on the run The group delivered a series of speeches from the middle of the mosque in November 2004, which coincided with a night of the Muslim festival of Ramadan known as the “Night of Power.” They were found on a DVD lasting nearly five hours in which Brooks told his followers: “Allah will remove all the kufr [disbelief] from the earth, and how? With dua [prayers] or with some books? No my dear Muslim brothers with jihad for the sake of Allah...So we are terrorists, terrify the enemies of Allah.” Brooks said anybody who sought “dignity outside of shariah [Islamic law]” would be “humiliated.” In another speech, recorded two years later in Small Heath, Birmingham, Brooks asked his audience; “Are you ready for another 7/7?” Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said this time Brooks was trying not to break a new terrorism law, making it illegal to “glorify terrorism.” But he said he had “clothed” his message in the words of Mohammed Siddique Khan, one of the July 7 bombers who left behind a videoed message. He said he was telling them “listen, absorb and follow the words of a suicide bomber.” Brooks told his audience: “These people have made a clear statement: If you stop, you'll be saved. If you don't stop, we're going to kill you indiscriminately. Now, you take the bus, you take the train? You could be the next target. You could be burned alive. You prepared to die?” Brooks claimed his arrest was politically motivated after he interrupted a speech on fundamentalism by then Home Secretary John Reid at a youth centre in Forest Gate, East London, two months later, causing a storm of publicity. Izzadeen was a follower of the radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, one-time leader of a group called al-Muhajiroun, who left for the Lebanon in the wake of the July 2005 bombings. The Regents Park speech was found on a DVD recovered during a raid on Bakri's home in Haringey, North London, on March 15 2006 in the wake of the protests against the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Running for four hours and 48 minutes it covered a period at the mosque between 3.48pm and 10.15pm. The police were called at 8pm by security staff at the mosque as the preaching began outside and returned an hour and 20 minutes later after the crowd had moved inside. But the crowd forced the officers from the mosque as they chanted “leave, leave, leave” and “out, out, out” as well as “Allah-u-Akbar”. One female officer said she was pushed, shoved and spat at. Inside the mosque speakers referred to the September 11 hijackers as the “magnificent 19” and the audience clapped those who had “chosen to answer the call by becoming martyrs.” Mr Laidlaw said the defendants had “crossed the line representing the boundary of freedom of expression by some considerable distance and become criminal.” He said that in the tape, largely recorded before the police arrived, “the speeches became progressively more emotive and inflammatory and insulting in their tone.” He added: “Much of what they say and believe is deeply, deeply offensive to liberal, fair-minded people. ”Their views are by ordinary standards, among other things, intolerant, racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic. If others were to describe them and their religion in the language they use the defendants would understandably be outraged.” The men will be sentenced today.

Link

Britain

UK unveils new anti-terror bill

2007-06-08

Britain’s Home Secretary John Reid on Thursday proposed new laws to combat the threat of terrorist attacks, including some laws he conceded might stir controversy. The plans unveiled in parliament include allowing police to held terror suspects - for longer periods - without charge, tougher sentences for convicted terrorists and a review of the ban on using intercept evidence such as phone tapping. “I believe that terrorism remains the greatest threat to the life and the liberty of this nation,” Reid said as he announced the proposals for a new counter-terrorism bill. “It is the greatest challenge we face and it is important that our legislation continues to evolve to meet the threat, just as the terrorists will continue to advance in their means forming that threat.” “But I firmly believe that any legislation concerned with national security should be taken forward with the full support of this house.” The most contentious proposal involves extending the 28-day limit in which detectives question terror suspects without charging them. Outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair back in 2005 wanted to give police 90 days to grill suspects, citing the length of time it took detectives to gather evidence from the Internet and abroad. However, he was forced to limit the period to 28 days - up from the original 14 days - after parliament members rejected his plan, inflicting Blair first defeat in the House of Commons.

Link

Britain

Voted "Most Likely to be a Terrorist"

2007-05-30

A TERROR suspect on the run for a week after breaking his Home Office curfew appeared in his school yearbook as the kid most likely to be . . . a TERRORIST. Ibrahim Adam, 20, was given the mock accolade by classmates, who also branded him the “rudest” boy in their year. The 2003 book — compiled by pupils when Adam was 16 — sees one ex-pal sum him up with the chilling phrase: “Known by many, understood by few.” The fugitive’s form teacher at Seven Kings High School in Ilford, Essex, brands him “Mr Argumentative”. Another jokey award given to him and a girl he is pictured with dubs them the “most gorgeous couple”. The yearbook pictures Adam in his school uniform at age 11 and 16 — and includes a retort from him slamming classmates as “sados”. He blasts in badly-written English: “Its me the one who terrorized our form teacher! Hope you all remember me.” Adam — whose entry contrasts with other pupils tipped to be future Prime Minister or superstar — signs off by declaring: “Good luck in the future. IBZ.” Cops fear Adam may be heading to Iraq to wage war on British troops — along with his brother Lamine, 26, and a third man. All three are terror suspects who scarpered last Monday after breaking Home Office control orders. Adam is the younger brother of Anthony Garcia, 25 — jailed for life as one of the Bluewater bomb plotters. Adam and third brother Lamine were made the subject of control orders over alleged plots to blow up troops abroad. They vanished after failing to call a private monitoring firm from their home in Barkingside, East London. Two days later Home Secretary John Reid released their names and that of fellow fugitive Cerie Bullivant, 24. Adam, who was born in Algeria, left school in 2005. Yesterday a former classmate insisted the terror suspect was always “popular” with teachers. The ex-pal said: “No one can believe what’s happened.” Police have distributed posters featuring a new picture of missing Bullivant. The CCTV snap shows him with his long hair shaven. It was taken a week ago when he last reported to Dagenham Police Station in East London. Cops are warning the public not to approach any of the three but to dial 999. The disappearance of the trio has fuelled fresh controversy over control orders — which are used to keep tabs on terror suspects. Three others have also done a runner. On Friday one was named as Iraqi Bestun Salim. He is accused of links with Iraq’s slain al-Qaeda mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Link

Britain

New security shambles as three terror suspects go on the run

2007-05-24

Three terror suspects, including two brothers of an Islamic fanatic jailed for plotting mass murder, are on the run tonight. They had all been under control orders requiring them to report to the authorities every day. Two of the men are Lamine Adam, 26, and Ibrahim Adam, 20, whose brother Anthony Garcia, 24, was jailed for life last month for his part in the fertiliser bomb plot. The third man is their associate Cerie Bullivant, 24. Home Secretary John Reid, who faced fresh accusations that the Government's terror policy is a shambles, took the unprecedented step of naming the three after consultations with Scotland Yard. The fact that they were named - Ministers have resisted all attempts to identify three other control order suspects on the run - was seen as evidence of the urgent need to find them. Opposition MPs said it was clear control orders could not protect the public. Control orders were introduced as a compromise after the courts ruled that terror suspects could not be detained without trial. But successive home secretaries have suffered a series of human rights defeats which mean suspects can no longer be placed under virtual house arrest. Six in total have now gone on the run. The Adam brothers, originally from Algeria, had been due to contact a monitoring company on Monday, but failed to do so. Bullivant failed to report to his local police station the following day. Deputy assistant commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Terrorism Command for the Metropolitan Police, said: "They have breached the conditions of their control orders, which is a serious crime. We know that Lamine Adam, Ibrahim Adam and Cerie Bullivant are associates and may well be together. It is possible the public can help us trace them." Mr Reid will make an emergency statement to Parliament tomorrow. Security sources stressed that the men were under control orders because they were suspected of plotting atrocities overseas and said they were not an immediate danger to the public here. But their links to Garcia, who changed his name when he became a model, are certain to cause alarm. He was one of five men jailed for life last month for a bomb plot linked to Al Qaeda that could have killed hundreds of people.

Link

Britain

British Police Arrest 6 Terror Suspects

2007-04-24

LONDON (AP) - British anti-terrorist police on Tuesday arrested six people who were suspected of inciting others to commit acts of terrorism overseas and raising funds for terrorism. Five of the arrests took place in London and one in Luton, northwest of London, the Metropolitan Police said. ``The arrests form part of a long-term pro-active and complex investigation into alleged incitement and radicalization for the purposes of terrorism, as well as alleged provision of financial support for international terrorism,'' a police spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with force policy. The men were being held at an unnamed central London police station. Police said a number of searches were ongoing in connection with the investigation. Police did not immediately identify the six. The British Broadcasting Corporation said, however, that one of the men was believed to be Abu Izzadeen, also known as Omar Brooks, who heckled Home Secretary John Reid last year. Izzadeen, 31, is the spokesman for the al-Ghurabaa group, which the government banned in July. He disrupted a meeting between Reid and Muslim leaders in London, which Reid had called to ask Muslim parents to look out for signs in their children of brainwashing by extremists.

Link

Britain

British hacker faces extradition to the US

2007-04-03

A British man accused of hacking into U.S. military and NASA computer systems lost a High Court challenge Tuesday to avoid extradition to the United States. Gary McKinnon, who was been indicted in New Jersy and northern Virginia, had claimed he could face prosecution under U.S. anti-terror laws if sent to the United States. His lawyer said he now would take the case to the House of Lords, Britain's highest court of appeal. McKinnon, 41, is accused of illegally accessing around 100 government computers between February 2001 and March 2002, causing around $700,000 in damages. It remains one of the largest cyber attacks on the U.S. government. A British judge ruled in May that McKinnon, who was arrested in 2002, should face trial in the United States. Home Secretary John Reid signed off on the request. McKinnon said he accessed systems because he was looking for evidence that America was concealing the existence of UFOs. District Judge Nicholas Evans, however, said McKinnon left notes on computer systems criticizing American foreign policy. "U.S. foreign policy is akin to government-sponsored terrorism," Evans quoted one such note as saying. In one attack, which occurred immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, McKinnon targeted the Earle Naval Weapons Station in New Jersey

Link

Britain

Court bails Abu Izzadeen

2007-02-10

The Muslim radical who barracked Home Secretary John Reid was released on conditional bail after being charged with a terrorism offence. Abu Izzadeen appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates Court accused of encouraging terrorism in a public speech, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006. Abu Izzadeen appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates Court accused of encouraging terrorism in a public speech, contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006. The 32-year-old Islamic convert was arrested on Thursday in east London over a speech in which he allegedly praised the July 7 bombers. Izzadeen gave the speech in Birmingham on July 2 last year, just days before the first anniversary of the London bombings. District Judge Daphne Wickham released him on bail on a number of conditions, including that he should not attend or address any organised meeting and that he should surrender his passport. Izzadeen, an electrician and father of three, of Brierley Road, Leytonstone, east London, appeared in the dock wearing a blue fleece jacket over a white t-shirt. Also known as Omar Brookes, he hit the headlines in September last year when he heckled Mr Reid as he addressed a 30-strong group of Muslims in Leyton, east London. Izzadeen's arrest on Thursday was not related to that incident. If found guilty of encouraging terrorism, he faces up to seven years in prison.

Link

Britain

Abu Izzadeen has been arrested for encouraging terrorism

2007-02-08

Abu Izzadeen, the radical Muslim who barracked Home Secretary John Reid last year, has been arrested for allegedly encouraging terrorism. Izzadeen, 31, was held this morning in Leyton High Road, east London, under Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006. Scotland Yard said it related to an "on-going inquiry". It is understood to relate to a speech he gave in the West Midlands area - thought to be Birmingham - last year. That speech apparently pre-dates the widely publicised incident in September when Izzadeen heckled Mr Reid as he addressed a 30-strong group of Muslims in Leyton. Izzadeen is in custody at a central London police station. The article here is trying to pin the arrest on his confrontaion with the government official. 'Burgers know better...he was arrested for his ties to the 'militants'. Radical Muslim leader Anjem Choudhury predictably responded to news of his arrest by saying that Muslims were now the subject of a "witchhunt". Izzadeen interrupted the Home Secretary and launched into an angry tirade. "How dare you come to a Muslim area when over 1,000 Muslims have been arrested?" he said. "You are an enemy of Islam and Muslims, you are a tyrant. Shame on all of us for sitting down and listening to him." Continuing his diatribe, Izzadeen said Mr Reid, Tony Blair and George Bush could "all go to hell". Izzadeen is a well-known Islamic extremist who has been investigated over controversial comments about the July 7 suicide attacks. He came to public prominence after refusing to condemn the 7/7 London bombings. Instead, he described the attacks as "mujahideen activity" which would make people "wake up and smell the coffee". And bt the way: Izzadeen, also known as Omar Brooks, is said to be a former spokesman for the radical Islamic group al-Ghurabaa, an offshoot of al-Muhajiroun - both of which are now banned in the UK.

Link

Britain

A Return To "Transport To Botany Bay"?

2007-02-01

A PLANE-load of prisoners from British jails could be headed Down Under more than 200 years after Britain first sent boats full of convicts to Australia. With the UK on the brink of a jail overcrowding crisis, Prime Minister Tony Blair has vowed "all options" are open to solve the problem - including sending hundreds of expat prisoners home to serve their sentences. Australia's High Commissioner to the UK Richard Alston made light of the the prospect of convicts again landing on Aussie soil at a recent function. However the crisis is no laughing matter for Home Secretary John Reid. Cells are so full he last week wrote a letter to judges urging them to lock away only the most violent and dangerous criminals. The plea brought Mr Reid under immediate fire but he says he has no choice but to propose an array of radical solutions to the cell shortages. Suggestions include the "nuclear option" of releasing some prisoners early; sending 11,000 foreign nationals to finish their sentences at home; and creating a waiting list for jail spaces. Other emergency proposals include renting prison ships to house criminals offshore and converting an RAF camp to house prisoners. The maximum capacity of British jails is 80,716. The number of inmates topped 80,000 for the first time in November. The rapidly bulging prison population has been blamed on the 2003 Justice Act, which was expected to see serious criminals locked up for longer and fewer jailed for minor crimes.

Link

Britain

Police raids target 'terror plot'

2007-01-31

Eight people have been arrested under the Terrorism Act in Birmingham after a "significant" operation involving police and security service MI5. A number of addresses in the city have been sealed off after morning raids. The raids took place at 0400 GMT on Wednesday morning. Security sources have told the BBC the alleged plot would not have involved mass casualties but marked "a different approach to terrorism in the UK". Wonder what that means - Assasinations? The six-month operation involved the Midlands counter terrorism unit, West Midlands Police and the Met Police. At least four addresses in Birmingham were targeted as part of the 0400 GMT raids. Two residential houses and a general store in the Alum Rock area were raided as well as a book store in the Sparkhill area. Police have cordoned off roads around Jackson Road and Foxton Road, in Alum Rock, and Poplar Road and Stratford Road, in Sparkhill. The raided houses are now being searched by officers. Police have not confirmed any of the raided addresses. The eight are suspected of "the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism". The Home Office said Home Secretary John Reid had been fully briefed. "This operation is a reminder of the real and serious nature of the terrorist threat we face," a spokeswoman said. In a statement, West Midlands Police asked for the "continued support and co-operation of the public". "Our message to people living in the West Midlands is to remain vigilant," the statement added. AoS News Update, 10:30 CST: More from Pajamas Media here, and from WaPo here, where the count is now nine.

Link

Britain

Terror suspect slips net in UK

2007-01-17

An international terror suspect who had been under a controversial loose form of house arrest is on the run, said British Home Secretary John Reid on Tuesday. In a written statement to lawmakers, Reid said that the individual had absconded earlier this month. The individual, who was compelled to report daily to police and surrender travel documents, had “recently been radicalised and wanted to travel abroad for terrorism-related purposes”, said Reid. It was not believed that the person was a threat to the public, he added.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More