http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...uburb-worrying-social-moral-implications.html As Islamic extremists declare Britain's first Sharia law zone, the worrying social and moral implications By SUE REID As a throng of Muslim families crowd around him, Abu Izzadeen speaks in a quiet voice of his plans for the future of Britain. The tall, bearded 36-year-old â who was recently freed from prison after serving a term for funding terrorism â is telling, in chilling detail, how he wants to impose Islamâs strict Sharia law on this country. At a shopping mall in Waltham Forest, North London, Muslim passers-by listen intently. Some shout greetings in Arabic from across the street. Fathers push forward their young sons (wearing skull caps for prayers at the local mosque) so they can get a good view of the man who is plainly viewed by many as a hero. Determined to defeat Western 'decadence': Jamaal Uddin and, below, Abu Izzadeen Determined to defeat Western 'decadence': Jamaal Uddin and, below, Abu Izzadeen Today, Izzadeen, the self-styled âDirector for Waltham Forest Muslimsâ, will march with his supporters â many of them new young recruits to Islam â as part of their campaign to make the suburban borough into Britainâs first Sharia-law zone. Under his brutal set of rules, there would be a ban on alcohol, gambling, drugs, music, smoking and homosexuality, as well as on men and women mixing in public. This is all part of Izzadeenâs concerted campaign to defeat âWestern decadenceâ and turn large parts of Britain â where, his supporters say, âpeople live like animals in a jungleâ â into an Islamic Emirate. Already, 20,000 yellow leaflets have been printed by Islamic activists, saying âYou are entering a Sharia controlled zone. Islamic rules enforced.â The leaflets have been stuck onto lamp-posts, put up in shop windows and on pillar boxes. As fast as the police and council officials tear them down, more go up. 'No porn or prostitution': Islamic extremists set up Sharia law controlled zones in British cities Izzadeen says: âThis is the first step towards turning Britain into an Islamic state. There are nearly three million Muslims in this country. Islam is a sleeping giant that is waking. We have moved on from the debate about the provision of halal meat to more political issues. âTwenty-five areas around Britain have large Muslim populations, including Bradford, Dewsbury, Leicester and Luton. We want to turn them all into Islamic Emirates, where the excesses of Western civilisation are not tolerated.â Hate preacher: Abu Izzadeen talks to the media after interrupting the speech of Home Secretary John Reid in 2008 Hate preacher: Abu Izzadeen talks to the media after interrupting the speech of Home Secretary John Reid in 2008 Tempting though it is to dismiss Izzadeen as a barmy extremist â which he surely is â the huge influx of Muslims into such areas has turned his campaign into a potentially explosive issue. One in seven of those living in the borough of Waltham Forest is a practising Muslim. Nearby Newham and Tower Hamlets, where leaflets are also being distributed, have populations where, respectively, one in four and one in three follows the Muslim faith. Although â and this needs to be stressed â the vast majority of Muslims are moderate-minded, and Abu Izzadeenâs followers remain on the fringe, some of their hard-line policies have started to take root. According to the Association of Chief Police Officers, every year 17,000 Muslim women in Britain become victims of forced marriages, are raped by their husbands or subjected to female genital mutilation â all condoned by more extreme Islamists. The campaign to introduce Sharia-controlled zones is being run by a new and radical organisation, Muslims Against Crusades (MAC). Its slick website carries propaganda about why the Islamic way of life is best. As an example of its attack on British decadence, it was quick this week to post a picture of Amy Winehouseâs body being removed from her house by police, under a coldly-worded caption stating: âThe tragic end of a Western woman.â The website says Sharia law zones have âmomentousâ support from Muslim businessmen, lawyers and community leaders, who are âsickened by the alcohol, pornography and downright secular culture of Britainâ. One letter posted on the site yesterday, and said to be from a local man, says (in non-perfect English): âBrothers, it is about time we open our eyes to the reality where our own community is being corrupted by the Kaffar (disbeliever) and their so-called freedom. âThe amount of our sons and daughter who have been affected by the non-Islamic culture is shocking. The Muslim youth today see no problem in having boyfriends and girlfriends before marriage, or walking out of college together.â Promoting the introduction of Sharia law, MAC explains: âIn the past 50 years, the United Kingdom has transformed beyond recognition. Campaign: Muslims Against Crusaders press conference in Walthamstow. Abu Rumaysah, Sayful Islam, Abu Izzadeen and Anjem Choudary all want Sharia law in Britain Campaign: Muslims Against Crusaders press conference in Walthamstow. Abu Rumaysah, Sayful Islam, Abu Izzadeen and Anjem Choudary all want Sharia law in Britain âWhat was once a predominantly Christian country has now been overwhelmed by a rising Muslim population, which seeks to preserve its Islamic identity and protect itself from the satanic values of the Britain. âThere are now more than 2.8 million Muslims living in the U.K., which is 5 per cent of the population. At least 5,200 people convert to Islam in the UK each year, 60 per cent of them women. âThe entire infrastructure of Britain is changing. Mosques, Islamic schools, Sharia courts, Muslim-owned businesses and banks have now become an integral part of the British landscape.â So how likely are these extremists to succeed with their plans to turn parts of Britain into militant Islamic enclaves? There are already 100 mosques in Waltham Forest, Newham and Tower Hamlets. Across London, 24 Islamic primary and secondary schools teach thousands of pupils the national curriculum, but can devote time to Islamic studies in religious lessons. Hundreds of after-school classes (where boys and girls wearing robes, skull caps or hijabs and learn to recite the Koran by heart) flourish in the mosques of British cities. Eighty-five Sharia courts now operate nationwide, parallel to traditional courts, with justice dispensed by Islamic judges on domestic rows, divorce, financial disputes and an increasing number of minor criminal acts, such as theft. There is also a separate Islamic financial system which conforms to Sharia banking industry restrictions, including a ban on interest payments on loans. According to this yearâs Global Islamic Finance Report, Britain is now the main centre for Islamic finance outside the Muslim world. Baroness Cox, a crossbench peer and campaigner for Muslim women, has highlighted the dangers of the increasing influence of extreme factions within Islamic culture. She says: âAs the Muslim population has grown, and the state-sponsored creed of multiculturalism has become ever more powerful, so Sharia law has strengthened its grip on our society. âThis is a recipe for disaster, because different legal systems for people of different religions will promote divisions between communities. Not only that, Sharia courts discriminate terribly against women. Sharia treats women as second-class citizens, whether it be in inheritance rights or divorce. In Sharia courts, a womanâs word counts for only half the value of that of a man. âPolygamy is also tolerated, with men allowed to take multiple wives. I know of Muslim women being subjected to savage domestic violence, and then refused a divorce, while their husbands are free to enter into further marriages to women from overseas.â Equally worried about the growth of the pro-Sharia campaign is Alan Craig, a former Newham councillor who has lived in East London for 30 years. He says: âThis is the public tip of a hidden iceberg.â He points to the example of street advertisements featuring girls in swimsuits, which are regularly blacked out by Islamic activists who paint burkhas over the modelsâ bodies. He says Muslim women have also been threatened with violence for not wearing burkhas.
He adds: ‘Islam in Britain is now a political force, and not just a religion. Society in this part of London is slowing being changed. But I am not surprised the campaign for Sharia zones resonates with Muslim families. I’m sure there will be sympathy for aspects of Sharia law with British parents, too. We all know about the town centre behaviour of our young on a Saturday night.’ Mr Craig says he believes the campaign for Sharia zones has more widespread support among Muslims than the authorities are prepared to admit. ‘I would like to think that the campaign is orchestrated by extremists, and is only supported by a small group of their followers; but I fear that it is not the case.’ Ally: Anjem Choudary, a British-born convert to Islam and the former leader of the extremist organisation Islam4UK Ally: Anjem Choudary, a British-born convert to Islam and the former leader of the extremist organisation Islam4UK A recent poll by research organisation ICM of 500 Muslim families revealed that 40 per cent supported the introduction of the strict religious code in Britain. Another, by the right-leaning Policy Exchange, found that more than one-third of young Muslims would be happy to live under Sharia rules. No doubt such findings will invigorate Mr Izzadeen and his sidekicks. They include Anjem Choudary, a British-born convert to Islam and the former leader of the extremist organisation Islam4UK, which was banned by the Government. Its supporters, who included Izzadeen, had called for the Islamic flag to fly over Downing Street, and some of its members burned poppies on Armistice Day last year in central London. This week, Choudary claimed that Waltham Forest’s proposed Sharia zone would be patrolled by young Islamists. ‘We have hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are willing to go out and make sure our laws are obeyed,’ he says. ‘This is the best way of dealing with drunkenness, loutishness, prostitution and the sort of thug life you get in Britain.’ Of course, it would be easy to dismiss all this as the rantings of a lunatic fringe, but when I met Izzadeen this week, he boasted that scores of young Britons are converting to Islam. Indeed, at substantial number of the girls in hijabs walking past us in the shopping mall appeared to be of white, English descent. When I approached one, who said she was called ‘Abi’ and was aged 18, she was at first reluctant to speak. Then, in a Cockney accent, she said: ‘I have not been forced into anything. I was a Christian of sorts, but now I have, like a lot of my friends, embraced Islam. It makes me feel better about my life. ‘I was at school with Muslim girls, and they helped me make up my mind. I think that Sharia law would work here.’ Meanwhile, a British-born 17-year-old Islamic radical, calling himself ‘Jamaal Uddin’ (after a famous Afghan reformer of the 19th century) was busy putting up Sharia posters. The bearded red-head was wearing Muslim dress and said he ‘embraced Islam’ 11 months ago. ‘Allah has told me, and many other converts, that alcohol, drugs, pornography, music and concerts are all forbidden under Sharia. That it is why it is our duty to go out and spread his word.’ Izzadeen, who was released from jail last autumn after serving four years for inciting racial hatred and raising funds for terrorism plots (infamously, he once called for British soldiers serving in Iraq to be beheaded), is proud of all his new recruits. A former electrician, his real name is Trevor Brooks and he was brought up by Jamaican-born parents in Hackney before converting to Islam at the age of 17. Now married with three children, he lives on welfare hand-outs, though these are frowned on by Islam, which forbids begging by the healthy. Cynically, he calls them ‘the jihad-seekers allowance’. Warming to his cause, he says: ‘Sharia is a political system which is well-supported by the youth in Waltham Forest. They want to follow the rules of Islam because they are sick of what Western society offers them. ‘Look at the rapes, the brothels near the mosques, the drunkenness on the streets. Do you think the youth want that?’ But the vast majority of British Muslims are offended by such hardline rules. Mohammed Illyas, general secretary of Waltham Forest mosque, has stated clearly: ‘We condemn these kinds of views, and if they come to the mosque preaching this kind of thing, they would be thrown out.’ Such concerns over extremist Islamic influence on all aspects of society in the area are growing among many Muslims. Nilgin Aslan, a 51-year-old Muslim mother, recently took her daughters to a fete organised by a Waltham Forset Islamic group called Noor Ul-Islam and held at a local cricket ground. At the entrance, the girls, who were wearing vest tops, were given T-shirts to cover their shoulders. Their mother says: ‘We agreed to put them on, but it was a hot afternoon, and when my daughters later tried to take off the T-shirts, an official told them to cover up or they would be arrested. ‘They took the T-shirts on and off three times before we got fed up of being told off, and left. ‘I was disgusted. It was supposed to be an event for the whole community. I think it gave a bad name to all Muslims.’ Hasib Hussain, one of the fete’s female officials, explained afterwards that the T-shirts were only given to ‘women dressed inappropriately with low-cut tops’. She said it was an issue about females dressing modestly, as it was an Islamic-run event.’ No doubt, this decision would have pleased Abu Izzadeen and his pro-Sharia zealots. But as he marches through London’s streets today, waving the banners of Muslims Against Crusades, the great irony will undoubtedly be lost on him that if Sharia law really ever took hold in this country, such public demonstrations would almost certainly be prohibited. Dont have anything against their culture but surely the Government have to get a bit of a backbone when it comes to this... Bad enough are the laws of immigration within this country but to allow sharia law to be imposed and also education to be dictated is ridiculous and is wrong Not a fan of Cameron or any government leader to be honest but think its about time we took a similar stance to Australia in terms of immigration...
If they want to practice thier religion they should **** off back to wherever it was that they came from. They won't cos it is a **** hole without any benefit system. Burn the ****ers.
If they are here they need to respect our laws and culture. In their countries we have to cover our legs, arms, shoulders etc and respect their religions, cultures etc. If they cannot do that then deport every last f*cking one of them, preferably in rusting ships that will sink in the middle of some ocean. No doubt some people will come on here defending them and thats their right however I have had dealings with these people and my opinion for what its worth is that they are a cancer on the world.
WE have a few daft lads on our forum who think that the Daily Mail gives a balanced view of the world.What is anyone in Sunderland doing reading the over reactionary middle class drivel let alone quoting it as fact. Why not go the whole hog and declare that the EDL is the compassionate voice of reason and Nick Griffin is an intellectual.ffs
Just gonna throw this out there. But what about the Jewish communities who have EXACTLY the same thing? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7233040.stm "British Jews, particularly the orthodox, will frequently turn to their own religious courts, the Beth Din, to resolve civil disputes, covering issues as diverse as business and divorce. "There's no compulsion", the registrar of the London Beth Din, David Frei, said. "We can't drag people in off the streets." Both sides in a dispute must be Jewish, obviously, and must have agreed to have their case heard by the Beth Din. Once that has happened, its eventual decision is binding. English law states that any third party can be agreed by two sides to arbitrate in a dispute, and in this case the institutional third party is the Beth Din. The Beth Din also takes care of a multitude of Jewish community affairs, many of which never give rise to any dispute: the dates of the Sabbath, kosher certification of caterers and bakers, medical ethics for Jewish patients and religious conversions. But it is in the areas of divorce and litigation that the Beth Din acts as a court in the western sense. "
Fair play, wasnt meant to focus purely on one religion. All for being multi-cultural as long as they don't impose their ideas or laws upon the country. And for Late Night Bus, most of the time I dont listen to the daily mail, in fact laugh at it as it does come out with funny stories, but this story is something that is actually happening, and as uni mackem has pointed out, its more than one religion doing it
Typical bloody scaremongering from the fail. Living down near London I know loads of muslims and they think worse of these nutters than we do!
Thats good to hear but everywhere in the world its all them causing bother. I am a mild mannered bloke and try to get on with all but some of the things I have read and some things I have witnessed make me extremely wary of them.
Every population has its nutters! We're not short of a few over here. And look at the Land Of The Free. Right wing Christian fundamentalists are ripping the Republican Party a new asshole. With the press and the internet everything's just so much more visible now. As for "everywhere in the world it's all them causing bother" Islam is in the middle of an internecine war covering almost a third of the planet. You're bound to notice it! The danger is of being dragged further into it.
As someone who does not believe in god I say ban all religions as they are used by arseholes to unite groups of arseholes to perform acts that they would not normally commit much like how the Nazis came to power and did the same in the 20/30/40zs : regarding a country accepting a group of people into their community then the migrants should accept the host communities rules otherwise you should be given your own rules as an extension i.e. thieve and you get your hand cut off etc - but introduce things like rape/sexual assault means cock cut off - **** that means the 40 virgins is a no no for these boys - but start the "she is not wearing enough so fair game etc" and just execute end of
The Daily Mail will undoubtedly be scaremongering, but the fact remains that certain groups of radicals are putting up notices declaring Sharia Law in the communities they live in. This needs to be nipped in the bud, and anyone promoting this by putting up leaflets or issuing threats needs to be dealt with severely by British Law..
Agree completely. There are nutcases in all religions, just make sure they get nowhere near deciding what the rest of us can do. I have a great mate who is married to a Muslim woman, she is fine and tolerant towards other religions (or none). On the other hand I was brought up in an nutcase fundamentalist Christian environment, which just caused huge pain for me and other family members, and I've made ****ing sure my bairn has been saved from what I had to go through. Not to be offensive to the religious on here - I agree with the right of anyone to practise their own religion - but I'm 100% atheist.
I can't for the life of how people base their whole ideologies on books that were written by men hundreds of years ago that have been adapted and amended over the years by other men...They then go to listen to people preaching their interpretations of these books written by men, and believe it is the word of some God.. What makes it more incredible is that some of these people are intelligent..
It's called faith mate. Knowledge, education, brains, or logic doesn't come into it. It's not something you can reason with. Im very anti-religion. My wife is a Muslim, whose views sound very similar to Second Doctor's mate. Religion? We never discuss it and don't allow it to become an issue between us. We respect each other's position.