Omar Khayam
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Omar Khayam (born Bedford) is a British Muslim notable for public protest. In February 2006 he attended protests in London against the Muhammad cartoons, dressed as a suicide bomber.
As this was less than a year after the lethal 7 July 2005 London bombings, his actions were featured in news reports, such as on the front page of The Sun which expressed outrage against his protest endorsing the deaths in London.[1] When newspapers traced his whereabouts, he initially refused to apologise, saying his protest was justifiable. However, he later appeared publicly alongside local Labour MP Patrick Hall to apologise.
Subsequent to this apology, newspapers reported his prior conviction for selling illegal drugs, and accused him of hypocrisy as such drugs are haram (prohibited under Islam), and drug trafficking carries a mandatory death sentence in several Muslim countries.
He had been convicted in 2002 of selling crack cocaine, and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. He was released on parole in 2005, having served half of his sentence. According to a report in the Daily Mirror, he had been a significant local drug dealer in Bedford, known on the street as Skinner. The report stated that he became increasingly radicalised in prison, mixing with extremist Islamists, and promising to sell drugs to aid their cause[2] On 7 February 2006, following heavy publicity, he was arrested by Bedfordshire Police and returned to prison for unspecified parole violations.[3][4]
Following his release, more controversy follwed Omar Khayam after his appointment as a train cleaner for First Capital Connect in Cambridge, UK.[5]
