Al-Muhajiroun

Al-Muhajiroun (literally "The Emigrants") was a British-based Islamist organisation, membership in which has been banned.

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History

The group was founded on March 3, 1983 by Omar Bakri Mohammed following his exclusion from the Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir. Despite becoming active predominantly in Britain, al-Muhajiroun was actually established in Mecca and launched in Jeddah. Mohammed was later expelled from Saudi Arabia after protesting its government (on the grounds that the regime was "man-made") and came to Britain in 1986.[1]

Al-Ghurabaa

Al-Ghurabaa, believed to be an offshoot of al-Muhajiroun, was banned in 2006 under new legislation outlawing the glorification of terrorism.[2]

The Saved Sect

The Saved Sect, another believed al-Muhajiroun offshoot, was banned at the same time as al-Ghurabaa.[2]

Parts of its website can still be read on Archive.org, including an, erm, enlightening hypothetical conversation between a secularist and a Muwahhid.[1]
  1. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20060704221414/http://www.thesavedsect.com/articles/Dawah/DebateSecularistMuwahhid.htm

Call to Submission and Islamic Path

Two more of the groups that the government decided were al-Muhajiroun under different names. Beyond that... eh, who cares?[3]

Islam4UK

Islam4UK was a web-based organisation describing itself as "a platform" for al-Muhajiroun,[4] founded by Bakri Mohammed and at one point led by Anjem Choudary.[5]

Banning

As mentioned above, the British government banned Al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect in 2006. In 2010 it decided that al-Muhajiroun, Islam4UK, Call to Submission, Islamic Path and London School of Sharia should be treated as the same organisation that had operated under those two names and similarly banned.[3][6]

"Over the last year, evidence has emerged that al-Muhajiroun and Islam4UK are simply alternative names for terrorist organisations which have already been banned in the UK under the names al-Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect since 2006", said then-home secretary Alan Johnson. "Prior to its proscription in 2006, those two organisations called for readers of its websites to 'kill those who insult the prophet', praised the terrorist actions of Osama bin Laden, and advised that it was forbidden to visit Palestine 'unless you engage in the main duty of that place, ie jihad'. These are not views that are merely provocative – they are designed to encourage violence and legitimise violent acts in the name of religion."[7]

Following the ban another group, Muslims Against Crusades, sprang up only to be similarly banned.

Connections to terrorism

Four men who planned to detonate a bomb at the London Stock Exchange in 2010 were reportedly connected to Al-Muhajiroun; one, Mohammed Chowdhury, had previously been photographed holding an Islam4UK placard.[8] One of the killers responsible for the 2013 Woolwich attack also had a background in the group.[9]

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gollark: Just give all your windows a 3D position and size, have ways to move them around somehow, and have camera controls.
gollark: Not what I meant.
gollark: Don't need it.
gollark: 3D.

See also

References
  1. http://web.archive.org/web/20081024202445/http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?search=1&articleid=23622
  2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/jul/17/uksecurity.terrorism
  3. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/counter-terrorism/proscribed-terror-groups/proscribed-groups?view=Binary
  4. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/6931212/What-is-Islam4UK.html What is Islam4UK? The Telegraph.
  5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/8459410.stm
  6. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jan/12/islam4uk-banned-alan-johnson-islamist Islam4UK To Be Banned, Says Alan Johnson Alan Travis. The Guardian. January 12, 2010.
  7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/19/islam4uk-ban-home-secretary-afghanistan
  8. http://blog.thecst.org.uk/?p=3397
  9. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22636624
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