Everything about Abu Hamza Al Masri totally explained
Abu Hamza al-Masri (أبو حمزة المصري) (born
15 April 1958) is a
Sunni Muslim leader in the
United Kingdom, currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred.
Early life
Abu Hamza was born
Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in
Alexandria,
Egypt, in
1958. He was the son of a
middle class army
officer. In
1979, he entered the UK on a
student visa (External Link
), and studied civil engineering at
Brighton Polytechnic (External Link). On
May 16,
1980, he married Valerie Traverso (now Fleming), a
Catholic convert to
Islam,
(External Link), and had a son, Mohammed Mustafa Kamel. He acquired British
citizenship following three years of marriage. In
1984, he divorced his wife; however, because she'd failed to divorce her previous husband until
1982, the marriage was void. It isn't known whether Abu Hamza was aware of this; if he was, his British citizenship could be invalidated.
Following his radicalisation, he took their three-year-old son Mohammed to Egypt, saying his father was ill. The child didn't see his mother again until his father was convicted in
Yemen for taking part in a bombing campaign (Mohammed was sentenced to three years in prison). His stepson, Mohsin Ghalain, was also arrested in connection with the charges.
In the early 1990s, he lived in
Bosnia, with an identity document under the name of Adam Eaman, where he fought in the
Arab mujahidin against the
Serbs.
(External Link) (External Link)
Abu Hamza lost both his hands and the use of his left eye at some point during the 1990s, and now uses a distinctive
hook as his right hand. He claims to have lost his hands and eye as the result of helping clear
land mines in
Afghanistan left behind by the
Soviet Union. Some dispute this claim and offer alternative theories, including that his hands may have been cut off as punishment for theft in
Saudi Arabia.
(External Link). On a special edition of the BBC's
Newsnight program broadcast
16 November 2006 a Moroccan-French spy known by the
pseudonym Omar Nasiri (External Link) claimed that he was told by one of his teachers in Afghanistan that he [theteacher] was present when Abu Hamza lost his hands in a
nitroglycerin accident, in an
al-Qaeda training camp in
Afghanistan.
(External Link)
His current wife is Nadjet Kamel Mostafa.
Preaching
Abu Hamza, formerly the
imam of
Finsbury Park Mosque in North
London, runs "Supporters of
Sharia", a group dedicated to the rule of
Islamic law. In
2003, he addressed a rally in
central London called by the radical Islamic group
al-Muhajiroun, where members spoke of their support for
al-Qaeda.
On
4 February, 2003 (after being suspended since April
2002) Abu Hamza was dismissed from his position at
Finsbury Park mosque by the
Charity Commission, the statutory organisation that regulates charities (and hence most places of worship) in
England and
Wales. After his ejection from the mosque, he preached outside the gates until he was imprisoned on remand.
Abu Hamza has publicly expressed support for al-Qaeda,
Osama bin Laden, and against the UK government's involvement in the
War in Iraq.
Extradition
The Yemeni authorities have requested his arrest and extradition, claiming he's linked to plots to bomb targets there, but the British authorities have not complied claiming he won't get a fair trial.
Abu Hamza was naturalised as a British citizen when he married Valerie Traverso, who was a British citizen by birth. However, it appears that this marriage was a
bigamous one as Traverso was still married to her previous husband at the time. When this was discovered, the Home Office began the procedure to remove his British citizenship.
When Abu Hamza applied for
legal aid to oppose this procedure, his application was rejected. His legal team has prolonged the fight by seeking a judicial review, and he could still appeal to the
Court of Appeal or the Lords, which could take years to come to a decision.
Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the
Muslim Council of Britain, said, "This man has alienated the public from Muslims with his vile rants. British Muslims are growing impatient that he's still able to tarnish them with these remarks. He isn't welcome at any mosque in the country and we've nothing to do with him."
On
27 May 2004, Abu Hamza was detained by British authorities and is to appear before
magistrates in the start of a process to
extradite him to the
United States, where he's been named in an
indictment of participating with
Earnest James Ujaama in his attempt to establish a terrorist training camp in late 1999 and early 2000 near
Bly, Oregon, and providing aid to al-Qaeda.
However, as a member state of the
European Union, the
United Kingdom is party to an agreement whereby extradition must be refused to any country which has the
death penalty and where the suspect is to be tried in a capital case. This won't prevent his extradition to the United States, but it'll prevent any court from imposing a sentence of death, should he be found guilty.
The courts of Britain have recently permitted his extradition to the US as of November 15.
Arrest and conviction under the Terrorism Act 2000
Abu Hamza was arrested on a US request on terrorism charges brought in New York. The British police acted to a case built by the
FBI. The information that built the case was passed to the FBI by
Glen Jenvey,.
On
26 August 2004, Abu Hamza was arrested by British police under section 41 of the
Terrorism Act 2000 which covers the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of
terrorism. He was released on
31 August 2004
On
19 October 2004, Abu Hamza was charged with 16 crimes under the provisions of various British statutes, including encouraging the
murder of non-Muslims, and intent to stir up
racial hatred.
The trial initially commenced on
5 July 2005 was adjourned and resumed on
9 January 2006. On
7 February 2006, Abu Hamza was found guilty on eleven charges and not guilty on four:
- Guilty of six charges of soliciting to murder under the Offences Against The Person Act 1861; not guilty on three further such charges
- Guilty of three charges related to "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up racial hatred" under the Public Order Act 1986, not guilty on one further such charge
- Guilty of one further charge of owning recordings related to "stirring up racial hatred"
- Guilty of one charge of possessing "terrorist encyclopaedia" under the Terrorism Act, s58
The charges related to his possession of the
Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad, a
terrorist encyclopaedia and to propaganda materials produced by Abu Hamza.
Following his trial, Abu Hamza was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment to run concurrently for eight counts and 21 months for the others. He has already been in jail since May 2004. In sentencing, Mr
Justice Hughes said Abu Hamza had
"helped to create an atmosphere in which to kill has become regarded by some as not only a legitimate course but a moral and religious duty in pursuit of perceived justice". Abu Hamza is currently being held in
Belmarsh Prison.
The verdict came soon after the acquittal of
British National Party member
Nick Griffin on two charges under the same provisions of the Public Order Act and with a possible retrial on two more where the jury failed to reach a verdict. This has led to comparisons between the two cases within the broader debate of
free speech in the UK.
On
18 January Lord Justice Hughes made the order for the recovery of the full costs of the defence of the race-hate charges, estimated in excess of 1 million pounds. This judgement was based on his view that "the story I've been told today (by Abu Hamza) is simply not true" that he'd no share in a £220,000 house in Greenford, west London. Abu Hamza had claimed it belonged to his sister.
The court also found that Abu Hamza was contributing £9000 a year for private education for his children..
Quotations
Abu Hamza claims that the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a sign from
God:
» "These missions would increase the number of satellites for military purposes. It would increase the slavery of governance of other countries by America. It is a punishment from God. Muslims see it that way. It is a trinity of evil because it carried Americans, an Israeli and a Hindu, a trinity of evil against Islam. The fact that the motor of the craft fell on Palestine [atown in Texas] – all these are messages from God. It is a strong message, for the Israeli, to be taken up there to space and he spoke about the Holocaust, to try to make religious advancement from it and gain some moral high ground, hence you've seen this message over Palestine."
"Killing of the
Kafir [anIslamic religious term usually rendered into English as "covering the truth"] for any reason you can say it's OK, even if there's no reason for it." He called on his followers to poison, ambush and kill non-believers and added: "You must have a stand with your heart, with your tongue, with your money, with your hand, with your sword, with your
Kalashnikov. Don't ask shall I do this, just do it.".
Of licensors for alcohol sellers he said: "Make sure that the person who gave him the licence for that wine shop doesn't exist any more on the Earth. Finish him up. Give him
dawa (inviting non-Muslims to accept the truth of Islam). If he doesn't respect
dawa, kill him."
He suggested that people coined the term
suicide attack to put others off it. "It isn't called suicide - this is called
shahada, martyring, because if the only way to hurt the enemies of Islam except by taking your life for that, then it's allowed," adding: "The person who hinders Allah's rule, this man must be eliminated".
In January 2006 while on trial, he accused the
Jewish people of being "blasphemous, treacherous and dirty" and explained that this was "why
Hitler was sent into the world". He also called for "a world dominated by a
caliph, sitting in the
White House" . Whilst under cross-examination Hamza claimed the Jews control the
Foreign Office, the media and the
money supply in Britain and the USA..
Profile
He has become something of a celebrity hate figure among the
tabloids, where his speeches advocating violence are guaranteed to horrify readers, thus selling papers. He was featured in the
Daily Mail and
The Sun which often called for his deportation, up to his eventual conviction. He was nicknamed "The Hook" and "Captain Hook" by some British tabloid newspapers because of the hook on his right hand. He apparently enjoys provoking outrage and has readily posed for photographs holding his "hook" right hand to his eye.
According to a POPULUS survey from December
2005, Muslims in Britain oppose his views by a factor of two-to-one; however, among the age group 18-24, the figures are reversed, and two out of three who expressed an opinion agree with his views (27% supporting his views, 14% disagreeing with them).
Further Information
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