Abu Hamza al-Masri

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Abu Hamza al-Masri
Abu Hamza al-Masri
Born April 15, 1958 - Alexandria, Egypt

Abu Hamza al-Masri (أبو حمزة المصري) (born 15 April 1958) is a Muslim cleric in the United Kingdom, currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for incitement to murder and incitement of racial hatred.

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[edit] Early life

Abu Hamza was born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1958. He was the son of a middle class army officer. In 1979, he entered the UK on a student visa [1], and studied civil engineering at Brighton Polytechnic [2]. On May 16, 1980, he married Valerie Traverso (now Fleming), a Catholic, [3], and had a son, Mohammed Mustafa Kamel. He acquired British citizenship following three years of marriage: suggestions that he was an asylum seeker are false. In 1984, he divorced his wife; however, because she failed to divorce her previous husband until 1982, the marriage was void. It is not known whether Hamza was aware of this; if he was, his British citizenship could be invalidated.

Following his radicalisation, he took their three-year-old son Mohammed to Egypt, saying his father was ill. The child did not see his mother again until his father was convicted in Yemen for taking part in a bombing campaign (Mohammed was sentenced to three years in prison). His step-son, Mohsin Ghalain, was also arrested in connection with the charges.

Abu Hamza lost both his hands and the use of his left eye at some point during the 1990s, and now uses a distinctive hook as his right hand. He claims to have lost his hands and eye as the result of helping clear land mines in Afghanistan left behind by the Soviet Union. Some dispute this claim and offer alternative theories, including that his hands may have been cut off as punishment for theft in Saudi Arabia.[4]. On a special edition of the BBC's Newsnight program broadcast 16 November 2006 a Moroccan-French spy known by the pseudonym Omar Nasiri [5] claimed that he was told by one of his teachers in Afghanistan that he [the teacher] was present when Abu Hamza lost his hands in a nitroglycerin accident, in an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. [6]

His current wife is Nadjet Kamel Mostafa.

[edit] Preaching

Abu Hamza, formerly the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in North London, runs "Supporters of Sharia", a group dedicated to the rule of Islamic law. In 2003, he addressed a rally in central London called by the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, where members spoke of their support for al-Qaeda.

On 4 February, 2003 (after being suspended since April 2002) Hamza was dismissed from his position at his mosque by the Charity Commission, the statutory organisation that regulates charities (and hence most places of worship) in England and Wales. After his ejection from the mosque, he preached outside the gates until he was imprisoned on remand. [7]

Hamza has publicly expressed support for al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and against the UK government's involvement in the War in Iraq.

[edit] Extradition

The Yemeni authorities have requested his arrest and extradition, claiming he is linked to plots to bomb targets there, but the British authorities have not complied claiming he will not get a fair trial.

Hamza was naturalised as a British citizen when he married Valerie Traverso, who was a British citizen by birth. However, it appears that this marriage was a bigamous one as Traverso was still married to her previous husband at the time. When this was discovered, the Home Office began the procedure to remove his British citizenship.

When Hamza applied for legal aid to oppose this procedure, his application was rejected. His legal team has prolonged the fight by seeking a judicial review, and he could still appeal to the Court of Appeal or the Lords, which could take years to come to a decision. Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said, "This man has alienated the public from Muslims with his vile rants. British Muslims are growing impatient that he is still able to tarnish them with these remarks. He is not welcome at any mosque in the country and we have nothing to do with him."

On 27 May 2004, Abu Hamza was detained by British authorities and is to appear before magistrates in the start of a process to extradite him to the United States, where he has been named in an indictment of participating with Earnest James Ujaama in his attempt to establish a terrorist training camp in late 1999 and early 2000 near Bly, Oregon, and providing aid to al-Qaeda.

However, as a member state of the European Union, the United Kingdom is party to an agreement whereby extradition must be refused to any country which has the death penalty and where the suspect is to be tried in a capital case [citation needed].

[edit] Arrest and conviction under the Terrorism Act 2000

Abu Hamza was arrested on a US request on terrorism charges brought in New York. The British police acted thanks to a case built by the FBI. The information that built the case was passed to the FBI by Glen Jenvey, see [8].

On 26 August 2004, Hamza was arrested by British police under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 which covers the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. He was released on 31 August 2004 [9].

On 19 October 2004, Hamza was charged with 16 crimes under the provisions of various statutes, including encouraging the murder of non-Muslims, and intent to stir up racial hatred. [10]

The trial initially commenced on 5 July 2005 was adjourned and resumed on 9 January 2006. On 7 February 2006, Hamza was found guilty on eleven charges and not guilty on four:

  • Guilty of six charges of soliciting to murder under the Offences Against The Person Act 1861; not guilty on three further such charges
  • Guilty of three charges related to "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up racial hatred" under the Public Order Act 1986, not guilty on one further such charge
  • Guilty of one further charge of owning recordings related to "stirring up racial hatred"
  • Guilty of one charge of possessing "terrorist encyclopaedia" under the Terrorism Act, s58

The charges related to his possession of the Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad, a terrorist encyclopaedia and to propaganda materials produced by Hamza.

Following his trial, Hamza was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment to run concurrently for eight counts and 21 months for the others. He has already been in jail since May 2004. In sentencing, Mr Justice Hughes said Hamza had "helped to create an atmosphere in which to kill has become regarded by some as not only a legitimate course but a moral and religious duty in pursuit of perceived justice". Abu Hamza is currently being held in Belmarsh Prison.

The verdict came soon after the acquittal of British National Party member Nick Griffin on two charges under the same provisions of the Public Order Act and with a possible retrial on two more where the jury failed to reach a verdict. This has led to comparisons between the two cases within the broader debate of free speech in the UK [11][12].

[edit] Quotations

Hamza on attacks in Britain (from just before his arrest):

"It is immoral to target people who have no say in the war. In fact they were against the war in Iraq ... If it was not for this Zionist media ... the people of this country ... would have informed themselves ... so it is not fair to target them. It is not Islamic ... We’ve got to distinguish between the evil politicians and the normal people who go about their business every day."

Hamza claims that the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a sign from God:

"These missions would increase the number of satellites for military purposes. It would increase the slavery of governance of other countries by America. It is a punishment from God. Muslims see it that way. It is a trinity of evil because it carried Americans, an Israeli and a Hindu, a trinity of evil against Islam. The fact that the motor of the craft fell on Palestine [a town in Texas] – all these are messages from God. It is a strong message, for the Israeli, to be taken up there to space and he spoke about the Holocaust, to try to make religious advancement from it and gain some moral high ground, hence you have seen this message over Palestine."

"Killing of the Kafir [an Islamic religious term usually rendered into English as "covering the truth"] for any reason you can say it is OK, even if there is no reason for it." He called on his followers to poison, ambush and kill non-believers and added: "You must have a stand with your heart, with your tongue, with your money, with your hand, with your sword, with your Kalashnikov. Don't ask shall I do this, just do it." [13].

Of licensors for alcohol sellers he said: "Make sure that the person who gave him the licence for that wine shop doesn't exist any more on the Earth. Finish him up. Give him dawa (inviting non-Muslims to accept the truth of Islam). If he doesn't respect dawa, kill him." [14]

He suggested that people coined the term suicide attack to put others off it. "It is not called suicide - this is called shahada, martyring, because if the only way to hurt the enemies of Islam except by taking your life for that, then it is allowed," adding: "The person who hinders Allah's rule, this man must be eliminated".

In January 2006 while on trial, he accused the Jewish people of being "blasphemous, treacherous and dirty" and explained that this was "why Hitler was sent into the world". He also called for "a world dominated by a caliph, sitting in the White House" [15] . Whilst under cross-examination Hamza claimed the Jews control the Foreign Office, the media and the money supply in Britain and the USA.[16]

[edit] Profile

He has become something of a celebrity hate figure among the tabloids, where his speeches advocating violence are guaranteed to horrify readers, thus selling papers. He was featured in the Daily Mail which called for his deportation. He was nicknamed "The Hook" by some British tabloid newspapers because of the hook on his right hand. He apparently enjoys provoking outrage and has readily posed for photographs holding his "hook" right hand to his eye.

According to a POPULUS survey from December 2005, Muslims in Britain oppose his views by a factor of two-to-one; however, among the age group 18-24, the figures are reversed, and two out of three who expressed an opinion agree with his views (27% supporting his views, 14% disagreeing with them). [17]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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