Amnesty International UK has promoted Moazzam Begg of Cageprisoners for years, right up to a Downing Street publicity stunt earlier this month.
Begg and Cageprisoners in turn have promoted al Qaeda preacher Anwar al Awlaki. Just two weeks ago Begg was still defending him, with this laughable line about what happened after Awlaki’s detention in Yemen in 2006 and 2007:
After his release, I am told, Anwar’s position on issues pertaining to US foreign policy had started to become more hostile.
Begg continues:
A cursory look at Awlaki’s pre-incarceration lectures would clearly show just why he became so popular. He was not a radical ‘preacher of hate’ by any stretch of the imagination.
“I am told”? Ho ho. Cageprisoners were avid followers of the man. They lifted whole pieces from his blog for republication on their website, showing that they read Awlaki’s blog and appreciated it. They knew very well who Awlaki was – a man who broadcasted his murderous hatred to the world.
As for “started to become more hostile”, “foreign policy” and “not a radical preacher of hate”, Awlaki’s extremism stretches back many years and the targets of his hatred are hardly limited to US policymakers. For example, he provided an Islamic justification for the murder of the Mohammed cartoonists back in 2006, before his arrest in Yemen.
Amnesty International is another target. In this vile speech, Awlaki says:
They want you to disbelieve so that you will become equal to them. The Jews and the Christians will not be pleased until you become like them. How can we have trust in the leaders of kufr (disbelief) when today, today, right now, right now, there are Muslim brothers in jail. Every sinister method of interrogation is used against them. They would use against them homosexuals to rape them. They would bring their mothers and sisters and wives and they would rape them in front of these brothers. Now it’s true that this is not happening in the West, but the West knows about it. The United Nations knows about it. Amnesty International knows about it and they’re doing nothing. In fact, sometimes they are encouraging it.
So, will Amnesty UK stop promoting Awlaki fans? Backing extremists need not and should not be any part of a human rights campaign.
If a preacher certain extremists find “inspirational” says Amnesty International is part of an evil plot against Islam, it’s not just wrong, it’s crazy.
