In today’s lunacy news, the BBC says it understands that local police officers in Lewisham will continue working with Shakeel Begg, the disgraced “Jekyll and Hyde” imam, as a member of their “advisory group”. The Sunday Politics segment begins at 29:40 here.
Now just one paragraph from Friday’s libel case judgment against Mr Begg should suffice to terminate that relationship. Here it is:
333. In my view, the Claimant’s BELMARSH PRISON SPEECH (2012) was particularly sinister. What the Claimant was, in truth, seeking to do was to signal sub silentio, his unalloyed admiration and praise forthe Belmarsh Muslim prisoners for what they had done, i.e. for being virtuous and brave enough to fight. The Claimant was not only expressing his sympathy and solidarity with the Belmarsh Muslim prisoners’ for their plight, but also approval of their crimes.
There is of course much more in the judgment.
But let’s add another straw to this seemingly stubborn back.
It’s December 2014. Hhugs, a charity dedicated entirely and exclusively to supporting terrorist families, is holding an event in London which is sponsored by Mr Begg’s Lewisham Islamic Centre.
It’s Mr Begg’s turn to speak. He brings up the high number of terror arrests in south London, his part of the capital. Is he concerned? Yes, but about the police. Does he want to help? Yes, he wants to serve the suspects and the convicts.
First he calls south Londoners Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan “brothers”. And what brothers they are. In 2013 they pled guilty to US charges of “conspiring to provide and providing material support, including funds, personnel, and physical items, to terrorists”. These cases were handled in open courts with full due process both here and in the US – Guantanamo was never a factor.
Then he turns to the “paintballing jihadis”, a nasty British terrorist cell that was infiltrated, taken down, brought to court, and convicted in 2008. He appears to say he knew one of the cell members.
Scorn is all he has to offer to the security officedrs who kept us all safe, Muslims included, on that occasion. The infiltrating agent was nothing but a munafiq, a disparaging term for “hypocrite”. Supporting a convicted would-be jihadi, by contrast, is “brotherhood, this is Islam, this is imaan [faith], this is ihsan [perfection] that we learn from our noble messenger”. While counter-terrorist legislation is “terror towards the Muslim community”.
Here are the poor innocent paintballing brothers, recorded in the infiltration operation. Note the ringleader Mohammed Hamid saying the 7/7 atrocities were “not even a breakfast for me”.
Here is a chilling news report from the time.
Shakeel’s podium company at the Hhugs event included Moazzam Begg, figurehead of the terrorist support group Cage. Shakeel is a big fan – he says he and his mosque turn to Cage for “support and counsel and advice”.
Another speaker at the Hhugs event was hate preacher Uthman Lateef, a proudly open enemy of the police and keen backer of terrorists.
The “supporters” of Hhugs are a proper rogues’ gallery. Shakeel Begg is among them.
There is a fair bit of history here. Local Met officers have been very keen on Mr Begg’s mosque. Here is Chief Inspector Graham Price brandished on the mosque’s website:
We regard LIC as contributing to community safety through their valuable work and high standing in the local area.
In fact, Chief Inspector Price tops the judge’s list of Shakeel Begg’s supporters in the libel case judgment.
Here’s a group visit in 2014 where officers had a chance to understand “the true and noble message of Islam”.
Partnership never stops, you see.
Oh yes it does. It must. The Met needs to announce that it will no longer work with Shakeel Begg or his mosque in any “community” capacity.
An apology to the people of London for this travesty would also be in order.
