This is a guest post by Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens
Habibi has previously blogged about a dinner for Islamist extremists being held by the City University Islamic Society. This event was originally scheduled to take place on the 1st of April. On 30th March 2009 my organisation, the Centre for Social Cohesion, sent the following email to the University expressing our concerns over the extreme nature of the speakers:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing in regard to a planned 1 April 2009 City University Islamic Society event entitled ‘The Beginning of a New Chapter’. The invitation of this event highlights Anwar al-Awlaki, Murtaza Khan and Haitham al-Haddad as the guest speakers.
The Centre for Social Cohesion would like to bring your attention to the extremist nature of the proposed speakers at this event
Anwar Al-Awlaki
Running his own blog site from Yemen, Al-Awlaki will be speaking for this event via video link. Al-Awlaki is currently banned from entering the United States. He is known by US intelligence officers to be an al-Qa’ida supporter and former spiritual leader to three of 9/11 hijackers.In an article entitled ’44 Ways to Support Jihad, Al-Awlaki encourages Muslims to participate in jihad (armed fighting), either in person, by funding the mujahideen (fighters) or by jihad of the word, as well as telling Muslims to participate in arms training. In a January 2009 blog posting, Al-Awlaki states:
“Jihad is the greatest deed in Islam…In times like these, when Muslim lands are occupied by the kuffar [unbelievers]…and when Islam is being attacked in order to uproot it, Jihad becomes obligatory on every Muslim…Again, the point needs to be stressed: Jihad today is obligatory on every capable Muslim.”
In December 2008 Al-Awlaki praised the US designated terrorist Somali group, Al-Shabab and said Muslims should imitate the terrorist organisation in its recent events in Somalia. Al-Awlaki said:
“Al-Shabab not only have succeeded in expanding the areas that fall under their rule but they have succeeded in implementing the sharia and giving us a living example of how we as Muslims should proceed to change our situation. The ballot has failed us but the bullet has not.”
Murtaza Khan
Murtaza Khan (aka Abu Hasnayn Murtaza Khan) is a teacher at Al Noor primary school in London. Channel 4’s Undercover Mosque features Khan as saying:On Jews and Christians: “Those whom the wrath of God is upon is the Jew, is the Christian.”
Criticises Muslims who follow Jewish and Christian ways: “We’ve become Jews in our clothing, Jews in our eating, Jews in everything that we do. And the other half is Christian in everything that they do. Muslims are following one of these accursed nations. And people are still not waking up to understand the fact that these people are enemies towards us.”
Calls Jews and Christian’s filthy: “We should have a sense of shame. For how long have we seen that our mothers, our sisters and our daughters have to go and uncover themselves in front of these filthy non-Muslim doctors?”
Haitham al-Haddad
Haitham al-Haddad recently gave a talk declaring a victory for Hamas in their recent conflict with Israel. Among his statements at this talk was the following:“My proposed solution for the Israelis is to leave Palestine and to go back to their own countries to live in peace. If they want to live in peace, in real peace, they should leave Palestine and leave it for the Palestinians and those Jews who would like to live in Palestine, but under the Palestinian government, not under the Israeli government.”
We are very concerned that these individuals will have a negative effect on the young and impressionable audience who will be given a very confused and extreme interpretation of the Islamic faith.
Best wishes,
Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens
On the same day I received a short response from the University saying that the event was cancelled, without specifying exactly why. It then came to our attention on Monday of this week that in fact the event had been rescheduled, with the same speakers, for today, 8th of April 2009. So again, we sent the University an email asking if they were happy about the speakers who were billed to appear. The response I got said that the previous event for the 1st of April was cancelled due to a technicality and the 8th of April event was going ahead with the advertised speakers as there was no proof that any of them breached section 43 of the Education Act, which guarantees free speech on University campuses within the law. This was despite the proof I had already given them in the above email.
Thus, with all attempts at settling this matter privately having failed, we issued a press release last night giving the details of the event. This, in turn, triggered a flood of calls to the University this morning from the media and a rather pissed off phone call to me from one of their communications people. This person ranted and raved that there was no proof that a pre recorded speech by al-Awlaki was to be played at the event (notice how before the press release they had no problem when I told them al-Awlaki was going to speak), even though up until last night the City ISOC website was advertising to the contrary. I then got a further email confirming that there will be no pre record of al-Awlaki despite what was advertised on the ISOC site, and despite what an organiser of the ISOC event told me when I called and asked them about it today, but the other two, al-Haddad and Khan, were confirmed to speak. So again, I responded:
Dear XXXX,
Can I confirm then that the University is happy with the attendance of the other two speakers, Haitham al Haddad and Murtadha Khan?According to the City University website your position on free speech on campus is the following:
“We will guarantee by policy and action the right of free speech within the University community unless the exercise of such a right can be shown to lead to or increase significantly the probability of the discrimination of individuals or groups, harm to individuals or groups within the University, or the University or the community within which the University is located.”
Murtadha Khan was filmed by Channel 4 preaching hatred against both the Christian and Jewish Communities:
“For how long do we have to see our mothers, sisters and daughters having to uncover themselves before these filthy non-Muslim doctors? We should have a sense of shame.
We’ve become Jews in our clothing, Jews in our eating, Jews in everything that we do. And the other half is Christian in everything that they do. Muslims are following one of these accursed nations. And people are still not waking up to understand the fact that these people are enemies towards us.”
As we see it, the words of this man clearly violate the University’s policy on free speech.
Haitham al-Haddad recently gave a talk declaring a victory for Hamas, a designated terrorist entity, in their recent conflict with Israel, in which he advocated the abolition of Israel:
“My proposed solution for the Israelis is to leave Palestine and to go back to their own countries to live in peace. If they want to live in peace, in real peace, they should leave Palestine and leave it for the Palestinians and those Jews who would like to live in Palestine, but under the Palestinian government, not under the Israeli government.”
We cannot stress enough how dangerous the views of men like this are and considering the influence that hate preachers have been proven to have in inspiring terrorist attacks both in this country and abroad the University must now act responsibly and cancel this event. We find it unacceptable that the City Islamic Society see it fit to present men such as this as the true voice of Islam and would implore them to seek out true non-violent moderate Muslim scholars to address their young and impressionable audience.
Best wishes
Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens
I never received any response from this email, so we will just have to assume that they are ok with Jew haters and Hamas lovers, and in fact these two men are addressing the City ISOC audience as I write this.
Now, the connection with al-Awlaki is quite hard for the City ISOC to deny as their website also carries speeches by him, and their extremist credentials are further bolstered by a startlingly racist and sectarian essay on the site entitled ‘Beware Celebrating Christmas and the New Year’, which includes things like:
One of the most important basic principles of our religion is that of al-walaa’ wa’l-baraa’, loyalty (walaa’) to Islam and its people, and diavowal (baraa’) of kufr and its people. One of the essential features of this disavowal of kufr and it’s people is that the Muslim should be distinct from the people of kufr, and he should feel proud of his religion and of being a Muslim, no matter how strong and advanced and civilized the kuffaar may be, and no matter how weak and backward and divided the Muslims may be. It is not permissible under any circumstances to take the strength of the kuffaar and the weakness of the Muslims as an excuse for imitating and resembling them, as some hypocrites and defeatist Muslims claim
You will probably notice that the links I give to the City ISOC page are from a Google cached page, that is because as of 3pm today, after all the fuss from us, the ISOC site was inexplicably taken down. What a coincidence, right? It will probably be up again soon, after this all blows over. So how about we don’t just let this blow over and keep at them until they realise that in fact there are prominent Muslim speakers out there who – now get this – actually don’t think that all other religions are filth and Hamas and al-Qaeda are the heroes of the Islamic world.
