‘The Suicide Factory Abu Hamza and The Finsbury Park Mosque’ Sean O’ Neill & Daniel McGory

Mr Wole Soyinka the Nobel laureate recently described this country as a ‘cesspit,’ in respect of the growth of Islamic fanaticism. Reading this book one can only but agree that he has hit the mark. It is clear that during the 1990’s Britain in general and London in particular became the sanctuary for and the breeding ground of persons holding the vilest and virulent ideologies that ultimately culminated in mass murder in New York, Madrid and London itself. What makes this story so exasperating is the role of the security services, who did not turn a blind eye upon those who were conspiring to commit mass murder, no they looked on indulgently. For the murders to be committed were to be committed overseas, for the most part in far off places of which we know little.[1] The truly disgusting Mr Hamza was allowed at every stage to firstly strong-arm himself into control of the Mosque then to commit multiple offences as he allowed the mosque to become the centre for Social security and credit card fraud, identity theft and a conduit for terrorists on their way to commit murder from Afghanistan to Washington DC.
The most infuriating aspect of this sordid story is the fact that the same security services are now being equipped with a whole library shelf full of laws that role back civil liberties in a way inconceivable before 9/11, when if they had used existing law before 2001 all this could have been avoided, more importantly possibly 9/11 and definitely 7/7 could have been averted. Hamza did not win a bitter struggle; it was gifted to him on a platter.
[1] Or in some cases closer to home, since many of the Algerians under observation were planning attacks in France.

Popular posts from this blog

NESRINE MALIK AND THE UNSUNG VIRTUES OF HYPOCRISY

Image
As I write this a 27 year old woman, Mariam Ibrahim, has just had a baby in a Sudanese prison, ‘the condition of the mother and baby is not known as Ibrahim's lawyer and her husband, a US citizen, had been denied access to her. Omdurman women's prison has a basic clinic, where the child is thought to have been born. Ibrahim has been shackled since being imprisoned.’ [1]   Mariam also has an 18 month old child who is also being held in prison with her. The ‘crime’ for which she is imprisoned is apostasy, for which she has received the death sentence. She has also been sentenced to 100 lashes, for the additional crime of having sex with her Christian husband. Although she has been a lifelong Christian her father was a Muslim, Sudanese sharia law forbids women to marry outside the Muslim faith, men needless to say can do as they please in these matters. Mariam Ibrahim and her husband.  Nineteen countries punish their citizens for apostasy, and in 12 of those countries
Read more

INTERVIEW WITH TOM VAGUE

Image
Tom Vague At the top end of All Saints Road there is a refuge, an enclave in which a local Bohemian culture retains a foothold, this is the Book & kitchen , a café/bookshop with adjoining terrace. Here the bustle of the nearby market gives way to conversation, conversation in the presence of images of the recent, and not so recent, past. The past of an area that has contributed so much to the life and culture of the city. I was there to meet local historian Mr Tom Vague a man intimately familiar with so much of this history. What Tom doesn’t know about the recent history of the area probably is not worth knowing. With Tom’s energy and effort Colville Community Forum, supported by City Living Local Life, recently held a gathering at The Book and Kitchen to celebrate this rich history. February 16 6-9 Pm, with Film Screening and Readings Exhibition February 16-26 2016. Featuring 30 Classic Westway Photographs and Posters. This represents one of a number of initiatives of t
Read more

LONDON BELONGS TO ME PART ONE

Image
. I. I have lived in London now just over thirty years, having moved here on 4 th July 1983 . I don’t know how long you normally have to wait to claim squatter’s rights but thirty years seems a good enough period to me. The glory of London is its parks and open spaces, you are rarely ever far away from a London park, common or heath. I am within fifteen minutes walk of Kensington Gardens or Holland Park , much closer to several smaller areas with grass and flowers and benches on which to sit, all maintained by Kensington and Chelsea council who also still believe in the value of trees. Those who would see what they call ‘the state’ shrink rarely mention such items in their calculations. What does it cost to maintain a tree? Too much by far for the likes of those right wing think tanks whom and I fear the phrase is soon likely to break under the strain under which it is now being placed, know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Holland Park is one of t
Read more