Hate Preachers

The Glasgow Central Mosque and Khatm-e-Nubuwwat

1 April 2016

The Glasgow Central Mosque has said it was “shocked” by the murder of Asad Shah.

It really shouldn’t be. It has done its part to foment the very hatred that apparently cost Mr Shah his life.

See for yourself. The mosque proudly hosts annual meetings of the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat group. Here’s the poster for the latest.

Khatm-e-Nubuwwat is a hideous death cult.

A clear case in point was the reaction of some its followers to the murder of Asad Shah. It was glee.

Entitled Anti Qadianiat (Tahafuz Khatme Nubuwwat), the page posted a comment alongside a screenshot of an article about the death of Asad Shah that said: “Congratulations to all Muslims.”

The page has previously posted clips onto video-hosting site Dailymotion calling Mr Shah a “false prophet”.

Just a few paragraphs from a recent Reuters report about Khatm’s campaigns in Pakistan also capture the group’s ugly nature quickly.

A little-known alliance of hundreds of lawyers in Pakistan is behind the rise in prosecutions for blasphemy, a crime punishable by death that goes to the heart of an ideological clash between reformers and religious conservatives.

The group, whose name translates as The Movement for the Finality of the Prophethood, offers free legal advice to complainants and has packed courtrooms with representatives, a tactic critics say is designed to help it gain convictions.

The stated mission of the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Lawyers’ Forum and its leader Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry is uncompromising: to use its expertise and influence to ensure that anyone insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammad is charged, tried and executed.

“Whoever does this (blasphemy), the punishment is only death. There is no alternative,” Chaudhry told supporters crammed into his small office behind the towering red-brick High Court building in the eastern city of Lahore.

Reuters also notes:

Chaudhry was the defence lawyer for Mumtaz Qadri, executed on Monday February 29 for gunning down the popular governor of Punjab province in 2011 over his criticism of the blasphemy law.

Chaudhry argued, ultimately unsuccessfully, that the bodyguard was justified in killing Salman Taseer, because he committed blasphemy by publicly questioning the law.

This brings us right back to the Glasgow Central Mosque:

The religious leader at Scotland’s biggest mosque has praised an extremist who was executed for committing murder in Pakistan, the BBC can reveal.
…
In messages seen by the BBC, Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman says that he is “disturbed” and “upset” at the news of Qadri’s execution, before writing “rahmatullahi alai”, a religious blessing usually given to devout Muslims and meaning may God’s mercy be upon him.

In another, he says: “I cannot hide my pain today. A true Muslim was punished for doing which [sic] the collective will of the nation failed to carry out.”

Maulana Habib Ur Rehman is the most senior imam at Glasgow Central Mosque, a role which involves leading prayers and giving religious guidance and teachings.

You can peruse the wisdom of Khatm’s UK arm here. A typical sample:

The Qadiyanis are a destructive sect that took their signs from Islam in order to cover their filthy agenda. They have shown open opposition to Islam.

Their leader claims Nubuwwah, they interpolate the Qur’an and they say that Jihad is null and void.

Qadiyaniyat is an offshoot British organisation. They cannot attain strength except with the help of the British.

The Qadiyanis were dishonest regarding the decisions of the Ummah and they help Zionism. They helped to oppose Islam. They take aid from this power to destroy and interpolate the beliefs of Islam.

It’s all a wicked plot against Islam, you see:

The new danger, however, lies in the role which Qadiani leaders have started playing in the sphere of International politics by offering their clandestine services to anti-Muslim countries and cabals. Espionage is a very lucrative business and becomes much easier and safer when secret agencies are opened up in foreign countries with the façade of ‘Missionary posts’.

To top it all off, the mosque is now in the news for terrorism connections:

Police Scotland is to investigate alleged links between two prominent Muslim leaders and a banned sectarian group in Pakistan.

A BBC investigation has found that Sabir Ali, head of religious events at Glasgow Central Mosque, was president of Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP).
…
Sipah-e-Sahaba is a militant anti-Shia political party formed in Pakistan in the 1980s.

The group and its armed off-shoot, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), have accepted responsibility for deadly sectarian attacks against Shia Muslims and other religious minorities in Pakistan.

It has links to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and was banned by the Home Office in 2001 – and in Pakistan one year later.

Police Scotland have issued another statement today:

Officers from Police Scotland have met with leaders from a range of communities to underline Scotland’s united commitment to respect diversity and condemn the threat of violence and terrorism.

“Police Scotland will continue to reach out to the main mosques in Scotland to provide reassurance and support to all sections of the Muslim community. Working closely with community leaders and partners will help to allay any concerns and strengthen Scotland’s multi-faith existence.”

It is long past time that Police Scotland and so many forces elsewhere in the UK did more to “reassure” those of us in the community of people who oppose and despise religious murder.

The Glasgow Central Mosque is simply not part of that community.

Alec adds: Police Scotland will be right onto it just as soon as they have finished their hall monitor duties.