What do you call a Muslim working against extremists to keep people safe? A “snake”. Or “vermin”.
This is the message Azad Ali of the Islamist agitation group MEND is spreading. Four days ago he warned his Facebook followers to “be wary” of Mubin Shaikh, adding “don’t even give him the time of day”. This was Ali’s introduction to a post (click to enlarge) from a fellow Cage groupie which denigrated Shaikh as a “snake” and “spineless vermin”.
You see, Shaikh did something impermissible. He bravely infiltrated a Canadian terrorist cell known as the Toronto 18 and helped to bring its members to justice on behalf of his country’s intelligence and police services. This was the plotters’ aim:
Four years ago, a group of young Muslim men conspired to send Ottawa a deadly message. Enraged by Canada’s military involvement in Afghanistan, and fuelled by violent jihadi videos, they plotted to storm Parliament Hill and detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto. The goal was to cause catastrophic damage, cripple the economy and unleash mass carnage.
Seven of the men actually pleaded guilty. Four contested the charges and were also found guilty.
Note that flimsy “entrapment” arguments used in this case were formally rejected in court.
For the Azad Alis of this world, a Muslim helping to bust these horrible people is “selling out”.
This is but one episode in Mr Ali’s extremist career.
This is a man whose view on al-Qaeda preacher and recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki was quite straightforward – Ali said “I really do love him for the sake of Allah”.
Ali is also keen on Hamas, whose leader Ismail Haniyeh should be the Caliph of the Muslims.
In the media field, Ali has threatened an undercover reporter and taken the Daily Mail to court for saying Ali supported the killers of British troops in Iraq. He lost that case badly.
You will also find Ali bitterly lamenting the British mosques which refuse to countenance praise and prayers for jihadis.
All of this makes him perfect for MEND, which is determined to promote extremists and wreck Prevent, the government policy targeting extremists.
For the most part, with the drearily predictable exception of Baroness Warsi, it seems the Tories understand this well and give MEND a wide berth.
Labour is another story, of course. Many of its MPs continue to appear, happily, at MEND events. The most recent include Naz Shah, Wes Streeting, and Richard Burgon.
Naz Shah was spotted alongside Sufyan Ismail at a MEND event in November. Ismail is a founder and former CEO of MEND who likes to brag about “battering the 300 year old Israeli lobby”. Just in case you were wondering if he is antisemitic. He is also fond of brazen lies that stir up anger and hatred.
Eric Pickles called Shah on this. MEND’s entirely typical response was lawfare thuggery.
Here’s Wes Streeting at a MEND meeting in Redbridge in November. He has attended several MEND events.
And here’s Richard Burgon.
Luckily, there are quite a few Mubin Shaikhs out there, working hard in great danger for our security. It would be nice if people supported them, not least by shunning their enemies. MEND is a very good place to start.
