Roger Howard has an interesting piece over at the Social Affairs Unit. He writes of meeting the leaders of al-Muhajiroun in June 2001 and his conclusion that far from being interested in martyrdom, Omar Bakri and his crew were more interested in celebrity.
Far from telling me stories of suffering or of the Prophet Mohammed, the young adherents of Al Muhajiroun instead reached for what looked like an enormous book. Now they were suddenly smiling, their faces glowing with pride as they pointed to it and gestured me to take a look.
This was not a large copy of the Koran but a scrapbook that contained numerous press cuttings about their organisation. These supposedly devout Muslims slowly turned each page for me to see, wanting to share their glory and watching my reaction closely to make sure that I was properly impressed by what I now saw. The larger the article and the more damning the headline, the more proudly it was shown to me by these young men whose whole presence, demeanour and bearing had changed so visibly during these few minutes. Bakri was also watching and visibly crowed with delight, laughing out loud as the articles were displayed. “They hate me, the press!” he cried out, as his followers laughed with him.
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Omar Bakri = Toss Bag
Sad. I remember sitting with my sister who is not Muslim while CNN was on the television. A journalist was interviewing British Muslims to find out “why they are so angry”. And one guy ostensibly a Muslim surrounded by a group of other Muslims said that “Islam does not teach us to turn the other cheek, it says if you lay a hand on me, i’ll send ya to the cemetary”.
And in my mind, I’m thinking about all the examples of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam returning harshness with gentleness and the ayat about any eye for an eye but forgiveness is better, and to no transgress in our responses.
My sister, on the other hand started laughing and said, “that’s not good press for you guys”.
Once upon a time, it wouldn’t have rated too highly on the outrage scale if a couple of Muslim youths were to behave this way. They could have been written off as cranks. foolish, impetuous youths etc. However, the problem is that, after September 11, such langauge is taken seriously. And with some good reason, I suppose.
Here is a good article on the case of the British-Egyptian Abu Hamza al-Masri that is worth reading too.
Dr. Ali al-Timimi received life in prisonment here in the US, for saying things less offensive then that of al-Masri.
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