Ahmad Thomson

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Ahmad Thomson is a British barrister and writer and also a member of the Murabitun movement and also a founder of the Association of Muslim Lawyers . He is the author of several books, including the revised edition of Dajjal: the AntiChrist (1997); Making History (1997); the revised editions of Jesus, Prophet of Islam and Blood on the Cross (in two volumes, For Christ's Sake and Islam in Andalus) with Muhammad Ata Ur-Rahim (1996); The Next World Order (1994); The Difficult Journey and The Way Back (1994).[1] He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1979, and is a member of the Association of Muslim Lawyers.[2] He is co-author of The Islamic Will with Hajj Abdalhaqq and Aisha Bewley (1995).[3] He has been described by some in the press as having acted as an informal advisor to 10 Downing Street on matters related to Muslims,[2] although he has never set foot inside No. 10 or met any Prime Minister except Kenneth Kaunda in Zambia, in 1965. He made both written and oral representations to the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences in 2002, arguing that different religious groups including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs should have equal rights and equal protection under English law.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Contents

[edit] Background

He was born as Martin Thomson[2] in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, and educated in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and England. He converted to Islam on August 13, 1973.[10]

[edit] British Media and The Next World Order

Thomson first came to public attention in 2001 when he featured in an award winning documentary My Name is Ahmed broadcast on BBC2 on the 14th August 2001 and in Prince Naseem's Guide to Islam broadcast on BBC2 on the 15th August 2001. He subsequently appeared in the first two Shariah TV series[11] broadcast on Channel 4 on the 18th May 2004[12] and 25th May 2004[13] and in April 2005.[14] He has been a regular guest on the Hassan & Habibah show broadcast on Islam Channel.

Following his support of Dar Al-Taqwa’s successful complaint to the Press Complaints Commission[15] concerning a deliberately inflammatory attack by the Evening Standard in July 2005,[16][17] a group of British journalists (including Toby Helm, David Cesarani and Daniel Kahtan) who Mr Thomson claims never to have met, retaliated by alleging that Thomson's 1994 book, The Next World Order (which had, by then, been out of print for several years), contained allegations that Freemasons and Jews control the governments of Europe and America, and that it was a "big lie" that six million Jews died in the Holocaust.[2][18]

In fact Thomson had simply stated that it is a “big lie” to assert that those whom Arthur Koestler has described as “the thirteenth tribe” are descended from the Tribe of Israel (Jacob the son of Isaac) when in fact they are not descended from Shem, the son of Noah, but from Yapheth, the son of Noah. This is nonetheless a familiar antisemitic allegation, and quite unsubstantiated. There has been little genuine scholarship and research into the Khazars to authenticate the veracity of the claim that "most Jews" or "Ashkenazi Jews" are by and large their descendants. Thomson had allegedly written that Jews have no right to live in what he called "the Holy Land," because they are not a "pure race," and are therefore not the biblical Israelites.

Elsewhere it was alleged that Thomson has said that Saddam Hussein was used as an excuse for U.S. troops, "including thousands of Jews," to occupy Saudi Arabia and[2] that the invasion of Iraq was "part of a Zionist plan,"[19] to realise the publicly declared Zionist aim of establishing the Greater Eretz between the Nile and the Euphrates.

By using each other as their sources, these journalists created the impression that their articles were thoroughly researched and were therefore eligible to be regarded as “reliable sources” by newspapers and internet bloggers alike.

Asked about Thomson's role as an informal advisor to the government, a government spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph: "We talk to a lot of people, including many whose views we do not necessarily agree with,"[2] – and some whose views are deliberately distorted by the media in order to encourage involuntary disagreement with them from the outset, just in case they might possibly have something worthwhile to say.

Thomson responded to the reports by saying that the story was "grossly distorted." He said that he had not denied the Holocaust and that: "I have always said that one unjust death is one too many."[19] At present only the slaughter of Muslim civilians requires independent verification. He also wrote, “To be anti-Zionism is not to be racist or anti-Jewish”, and, “To be anti-Zionism is not to be anti-Semitic”, and, “To be anti-Zionism is not to be a conspiracy theorist.”[20]

[edit] Views on Islam

Thomson has written that "radical Islam" is a contradiction in terms. "It is not possible to be a true Muslim and simultaneously a violent terrorist."[21] He has also written unequivocally against any form of military-industrial-complex dictated, bank authorized, state sponsored, indiscriminate laser precision bombing (whether this involves the collective punishment of civilians or their decimation or their genocide) or suicide bombing.[22]

Thomson has also been quoted as saying: “Islam is not just a matter of words. As the Prophet said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘The Shahada is easy on the tongue, but much flows from it.’ Ever since I said Shahada, I have lived every moment of my life finding out what it entails. It is a process that never ends.”[23] The Shahada is to bear witness that there is no god other than Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

When describing his first pilgrimage to Makka, Thomson wrote: “When I had first embraced Islam some four years earlier, I had known next to nothing about it, other than the fact that the community of Muslims whom I had joined were more knowledgeable and radiant and better behaved than any other human beings that I had ever met during my life up until then. I had embraced Islam in the hope of acquiring that knowledge and radiance and courteous behaviour, and as time passed my hopes were gradually fulfilled, as, little by little I learned about and tried to embody the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, may the Blessings and Peace of Allah be on him.[24]

Thomson has also been quoted as saying: “Islam is the solution, not the problem. It’s a wonderful time to be Muslim because we’re at the beginning of a new chapter. Never be afraid to be who you are. Have trust in Allah and He will protect you,” and, “Islam is safety and salvation. It provides us with the courtesy and generosity to step back from such petty disputes in this world, to live our brief lives with nobility and wisdom – and to connect our hearts to Allah and the certain promise of something ever lasting, the peace of the Garden in the next world.”[25]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Books by Ahmad Thomson Ta-Ha Publishers'
  2. ^ a b c d e f Helm, Toby. "Jews and Freemasons controlled war on Iraq, says No 10 adviser", Daily Telegraph, September 12, 2005
  3. ^ Books by Ahmad Thomson Dar Al-Taqwa
  4. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. 1st Memorandum from The Association of Muslim Lawyers written by Ahmad Thomson, published by the United Kingdom Parliament
  5. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. 2nd Memorandum from The Association of Muslim Lawyers written by Ahmad Thomson, published by the United Kingdom Parliament
  6. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Part 1, Examination of Ahmad Thomson by the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences, published by the United Kingdom Parliament
  7. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Part 2, Examination of Ahmad Thomson by the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences, published by the United Kingdom Parliament
  8. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Part 3, Examination of Ahmad Thomson by the House of Lords Select Committee on Religious Offences, published by the United Kingdom Parliament
  9. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Supplementary Memorandum from The Association of Muslim Lawyers written by Ahmad Thomson, published by the United Kingdom Parliament
  10. ^ Thomson, Ahmad – Author Information Ibooks
  11. ^ Shariah TV Shariah TV Leading Lights
  12. ^ Shariah TV Shariah TV Citizen Islam
  13. ^ Shariah TV Shariah TV Living Together
  14. ^ Shariah TV Shariah TV A Clash of Civilisations
  15. ^ Press Complaints Commission Adjudication: Dar Al-Taqwa –v- Evening Standard
  16. ^ Muslim Lawyers(Europe) Lawyer Ahmad Thomson (London) defends Al Taqwa Bookshop
  17. ^ Islam Magazine Why Ahmad Thomson was attacked by Associated Newspapers
  18. ^ Cesarani, David. A way out of this dead end, in The Guardian, September 16, 2005
  19. ^ a b Kahtan, Daniel. "Government Urged To Sever Ties With Barrister", TotallyJewish, September 14, 2005
  20. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Where Angels Fear to Tread, Islam Magazine
  21. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Debate: Radical Islam? – No Such Thing, The Muslim Weekly, March 16, 2005
  22. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Shahid or Suicide – Martyr or Murderer? The Muslims' Rules of Engagement
  23. ^ Ahmad Thomson – Profile Hajj Ahmad Thomson
  24. ^ Thomson, Ahmad. Intention excerpts from The Difficult Journey by Ahmad Thomson, published in Meeting Point March 2000
  25. ^ Al-Risala Magazine Being Ahmad Thomson published by 'Al-Risala magazine, p.22, Summer 2005

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading