Omar Bakri Muhammad
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Omar Bakri Muhammmad (born 1958 in Syria) is a Muslim cleric.
He joined the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood as a young man and participated in their revolt against the Syrian Ba'ath Party and the government of Hafez al-Assad. He later moved to Beirut, Lebanon in 1982 after the rebellion was crushed by the Assad regime. In Beirut, he joined the local branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
In 1983, he moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he set up Al-Muhajiroun as one of the front organizations for Hizb ut-Tahrir in Saudi Arabia.
Bakri moved to Britain in 1985 and was given indefinite leave to remain under political asylum laws after this. He founded the Al-Khilafa publishing house in London and serves as a judge in the Shari'a, or Islamic Law, Court of the United Kingdom.
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Growing radicalism
In 1996, he resigned from Hizb ut-Tahrir after disagreements on policy, style and methods, and he declared Al-Muhajiroun an independent party. Since then, the political party has had many ups and downs throughout its tumultous career. He initially founded the group as a traditional Sunni organisation that did not associate itself with jihad movements; however, five years later, after September 11, 2001, he seemed awestruck by the attacks on New York, and changed his leanings towards the theology and philosophy of Al-Qaida. Bakri Muhammad then renounced all of his previous views, and declared himself a Salafi, which some Muslims describe as Wahabi. He is now vilified by some moderate Muslims and certain elements in the press for supporting various jihadist organisations.
In 2004 he ordered the dissolution of Al-Muhajiroun.
"Leaving Britain"
On August 6, 2005 he was reported to have left the United Kingdom after rumours that the UK Government was planning to investigate him (as well as other clerics) under little-used treason laws. [1]
Quotes
- "The life of an unbeliever has no value, it has no sanctity." [2]
Speaking 15 days after bombers killed over 50 people in London and a day after a series of failed attacks on the city's transport network, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed said the British capital should expect more violence.
- "What happened yesterday confirmed that as long as the cause and the root problem is still there ... we will see the same effect we saw on July 7," Bakri said.
- "If the cause is still there the effect will happen again and again," he said, adding he had no information about future attacks or contacts with people planning to carry out attacks.
- "I would like to see the Islamic flag fly, not only over number 10 Downing Street, but over the whole world," he said.
- "But Islam is a message of war for those who declare war against Muslims," he said.
- "I condemn any killing and any bombing against any innocent people in Britain or abroad, but I expect the British people to condemn the killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan."
However, asked about Islamist attacks on British and U.S. troops and on Israelis, he said: "If violence is pro-life I don't condemn it."
- "But I think that would be political suicide for the British government if they started to deport and imprison all extremists and radicals," he said.
- "Because if, God forbid, something happened again, they would have nobody left to blame."
See also
- Treason threat cleric 'leaves UK'
- There Can Be No End to Jihad an interview with Omar Bakri Muhammad (Christianity Today article)
