The leader of a controversial Islamist organisation has boasted that the government’s decision to ban it last week has boosted its popularity.
Anjem Choudary says his profile, and that of his group, Islam4UK, has soared as a result of the government’s decision to proscribe it. “There’s nothing like a government ban to make you popular,” Choudary said.
The radical cleric, whose attempts to hold a march through the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett prompted concerns that it would lead to civil unrest, claims his group has been inundated with requests from non-Muslims who want to join. “They think the government has run over our liberties and are disgusted by its actions,” he said.
Choudary, who receives around £25,000 a year in benefits and has referred to the 9/11 hijackers as “magnificent”, says he has been asked to give talks at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Leeds University. He warned that the government’s actions would not stop his supporters from speaking out. “If they want to arrest me there are many others,” he said. “You can’t silence people.”
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, banned the Islamist group – and its parent organisation al-Muhajiroun – last Thursday. The decision followed a threat from Choudary to lead a march through Wootton Bassett which marks the return of every fallen serviceman repatriated to nearby RAF Lyneham and has come to symbolise the UK’s respect for its war dead.
In the ensuing outcry, Johnson introduced new laws that will make membership of the two organisations a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
Two other organisations linked to Choudhary – al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect – are already proscribed and there are concerns Islam4UK will simply appear under a different name.
But Johnson said: “Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly. We are clear that an organisation should not be able to circumvent proscription by simply changing its name.”
Critics have attacked the decision as curtailing freedom of speech. But many people have applauded Johnson’s decision to ban the two groups.
There are serious concerns al-Muhajiroun has played a significant role in influencing terrorists. The leader of a cell that wanted to bomb the Ministry of Sound and the Bluewater Shopping Centre, Omar Khyam, is known to have attended al-Muhajiroun events.
Five members of the al-Muhajiroun front-groups al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect have been convicted of crimes including “soliciting murder” and “inciting racial hatred”.
Another six members have been convicted of offences including “inciting people to commit acts of terrorism overseas” and terrorist fund-raising.
Last year, one of the men convicted of leading the arson attack on the home of the publisher of the Jewel of Medina, a novel about the early life of Muhammad, was a former al-Muhajiroun member.
Haras Rafiq, a former director of the Sufi Muslim Council, described Choudary as a “self-publicist” and said that concentrating on his actions could be detrimental to the UK’s security. “While he’s prancing around, there is a danger that people who are far more dangerous are being ignored.”