The Saved Sect
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The Saved Sect (Arabic الفرقة الناجية, al-Firqat un-Naajiyah), formerly and more generally known as The Saviour Sect, is an Islamist organization that operated in the United Kingdom from its formation in November 2005 until the British government banned it on 17 July 2006. It is widely believed, along with Al Ghurabaa, to be the reformed Al-Muhajiroun which Omar Bakri Muhammad disbanded in 2004.[1] It is believed that Omar Bakri today still heads this organisation.
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[edit] Overview
The Saved Sect sees the majority of Muslims living in the Western world as being on the verge of apostasy and sees its primary purpose as being to remind the Ummah of what it sees as true Islamic values and the correct behaviour required to achieve salvation.[1] They believe that as all the world is Allah's creation then it is their duty to bring (their interpretation of) Islamic law to the entire world.
The name of the group is derived from a hadith (or tradition) ascribed to the prophet Muhammad:
- My nation will be divided into 73 sects, all of them will be in the Fire except for one (the saved sect)...
On 17 July 2006 the group was banned under new legislation in Britain. Home Secretary John Reid laid an order in Parliament which made it a criminal offence for a person to belong to or encourage support for the group, to arrange meetings in its support, or to wear clothes or carry articles in public indicating support or membership.
Although the organization's website claims to represent the views of the Saviour Sect in Islam, they do not claim that they themselves are the Saviour Sect, as this apparently would be ascribing purity to themselves and would also indicate that they have knowledge of al-Ghayb (the unseen), which Muslims believe only Allah knows about.
They claim to be followers of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah (The Messenger and his Companions) and that their teachings are of as-Salaf us-Saalih (the Pious Predecessors). However, many Sunnis deny this.
In November 2005, Al Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect were re-established under the name Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.[2] This organization operates mainly through an invitation-only Internet forum, of which Anjem Choudary is a prominent contributor, using the username "Abou Luqman". A reporter visiting the site found recordings of Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Omar Bakri Mohammed, as well as calls for holy war.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ UK: Islamist guilty of soliciting murder Spero News
- ^ "New group replaces al-Muhajiroun" BBC News 29 October 2006
- ^ "Banned extremists regroup" The Sunday Times 29 October 2006
