The Role of Islamic Art in the Battle of Liberation:
Article Nineteen:
Art has regulations and measures by which it can be determined whether it is Islamic or pre-Islamic (Jahili) art. The issues of Islamic liberation are in need of Islamic art that would take the spirit high, without raising one side of human nature above the other, but rather raise all of them harmoniously an in equilibrium.
Man is a unique and wonderful creature, made out of a handful of clay and a breath from Allah. Islamic art addresses man on this basis, while pre-Islamic art addresses the body giving preference to the clay component in it.
The book, the article, the bulletin, the sermon, the thesis, the popular poem, the poetic ode, the song, the play and others, contain the characteristics of Islamic art, then these are among the requirements of ideological mobilization, renewed food for the journey and recreation for the soul. The road is long and suffering is plenty. The soul will be bored, but Islamic art renews the energies, resurrects the movement, arousing in them lofty meanings and proper conduct. "Nothing can improve the self if it is in retreat except shifting from one mood to another."
All this is utterly serious and no jest, for those who are fighters do not jest.
January 31, 2006
These are similar to the sort of statements Mr. Hamza is on trial for from My Rightwing Conspiracy
Maybe Iran should take in the Paleoswinian people since they’re such great allies. After all, Ahmadinejad thinks moving entire populations to another place is a good idea anyway. These subhuman scum deserve each other. (I suspect that most Iranian people don’t want the filthy Paleostinians around either, though–apparently nobody else does.)
Maybe Iran should take in the Paleoswinian people since they’re such great allies. After all, Ahmadinejad thinks moving entire populations to another place is a good idea anyway. These subhuman scum deserve each other. (I suspect that most Iranian people don’t want the filthy Paleostinians around either, though–apparently nobody else does.)
Trial by Televison
This one is from last friday:
With a view to an attempt to tie the more constructive elements of the Supporters of Shareeah into a useful film for wider public consumption I met Samir Shah from Juniper TV yesterday who gave me a much needed insight into TV. I was relieved to find that he thinks the theory of a “Zionist media conspiracy” is a load of baloney, in his experience of the media in this country. He told me he felt that a “Real Abu Hamza” story with the involvement of his family, lawyer and friends would be a goer.The "Man behind the headlines”.
He didn't think my favourite idea, which would bring Sparkle and three of her Republican christian friends over to be put into a “reality situation in bizzare places over a couple of weeks” with Abdullah Hajj and co (with dumplings cooking dumplings) a “Pow wow between those we are told are religious and political enemies” was much cop as he thought “reality” to be the domain of the shallower end of Television.
I don't really think I sold it to him properly or explained how good TV I thought Abdullah, Hajj and Dumplings would make. I was very emotionally drained as I had just walked out of Perry's summing up of the case against Mr Hamza. This whole thing has given me a lot of spiritual pain which has physical symptoms or maybe its focused pain which was already there. I need a holiday. I am actually missing squatting. All the involvement in lots of peoples lives, communal eating, living like animals in chaos. It was nice to find my ex-squatting buddies in a rare oasis of comradeship through their last move into fantastic five floor office accomodation.
I think the last year I would rather have seen an organised liason between the rev. Stephen Coles, Rabbi Goldstein and Mr. Hamza with a view to solving the situation we find ourselves in than to see him locked away in Belmarsh. He was never a danger on the street in Finsbury park. I think he said some things which were well over the top, in a heated situation as the temperature rose between Islam and the West. When his passport was taken away he preached that no one should bomb in this country. A position he has stuck to and tried to explain in court.
Perry called the arrival of Rev Coles and Rabbi Goldstein in court a “stunt”.
With a view to an attempt to tie the more constructive elements of the Supporters of Shareeah into a useful film for wider public consumption I met Samir Shah from Juniper TV yesterday who gave me a much needed insight into TV. I was relieved to find that he thinks the theory of a “Zionist media conspiracy” is a load of baloney, in his experience of the media in this country. He told me he felt that a “Real Abu Hamza” story with the involvement of his family, lawyer and friends would be a goer.The "Man behind the headlines”.
He didn't think my favourite idea, which would bring Sparkle and three of her Republican christian friends over to be put into a “reality situation in bizzare places over a couple of weeks” with Abdullah Hajj and co (with dumplings cooking dumplings) a “Pow wow between those we are told are religious and political enemies” was much cop as he thought “reality” to be the domain of the shallower end of Television.
I don't really think I sold it to him properly or explained how good TV I thought Abdullah, Hajj and Dumplings would make. I was very emotionally drained as I had just walked out of Perry's summing up of the case against Mr Hamza. This whole thing has given me a lot of spiritual pain which has physical symptoms or maybe its focused pain which was already there. I need a holiday. I am actually missing squatting. All the involvement in lots of peoples lives, communal eating, living like animals in chaos. It was nice to find my ex-squatting buddies in a rare oasis of comradeship through their last move into fantastic five floor office accomodation.
I think the last year I would rather have seen an organised liason between the rev. Stephen Coles, Rabbi Goldstein and Mr. Hamza with a view to solving the situation we find ourselves in than to see him locked away in Belmarsh. He was never a danger on the street in Finsbury park. I think he said some things which were well over the top, in a heated situation as the temperature rose between Islam and the West. When his passport was taken away he preached that no one should bomb in this country. A position he has stuck to and tried to explain in court.
Perry called the arrival of Rev Coles and Rabbi Goldstein in court a “stunt”.
Resonance Party
February 4th
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square
£5 - live music from 7pm onwards. Its to raise money for their new
license.
February 4th
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square
£5 - live music from 7pm onwards. Its to raise money for their new
license.
Passion and Dispassion
OK. This is from events last Thursday. The Judge is going to finish summing up tomorow then its up to the jury. I am exhausted but hope to bring you further up to date.
The trouble with all things “GWOT” as my Republican blogger friends call it is passion. Passion on all sides. Today was a lesson in how experiments with dispassion in the courtroom failed. The Judge had a nice try. Didn't work. Fascinating.
I've got to say that the last few days Mr. Hamza has done well but I am not sure how from this trial the jury can really see who he is. I wish I could show them my footage, how he calmed down over the year I saw him preach. This is extremely emotionally draining. I've been cycling everyday and the nervous tension is getting to my spine. Its only an hour up the river walking to the Old Bailey so I think I am going to walk next week.
Perry has been emphasising the “media keywords” of the GWOT. “The Encylopedia of Afghan Jihad” is “The Terrorist Manual” etcetera. Hamza directs everything towards the Koran and the fact that MI-5 never arrested him for any of this. Because Hamza's voice is amplified and Perry's isn't Hamza has often subtly carried. No idea what the jury must be thinking. They don't look like the type of people who would be interested in any of this.
Fitz finished up with Hamza: Seize, beleaguer, lie in wait, ambush? Surrah 9 vs 5. Had the Police discussed the nature of his sermons? Yes. Contents, ideas, priorities, enemies, suicide bombing, everything. Had he incited anyone to kill in any case? No. Racial hatred? No. In Islam racial hatred is a major sin. Does he hate individual Jewish people? No. He invites them to the mosque for a cup of tea.
The jury left for the Judge to consider how to deal with evidence from Fitz's expert witness to come, a Mr. Seale who was going to talk about the “Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad”, give a definition of “Jihad” and an expert opinion on the veracity of conflicts Hamza was either giving details about or reacting in anger to on the tapes.
The judge was anxious that Mr Seale confine himself to the facts and not supply any “value judgments” however right they might be. He went over the analysis of the evidence Seal would be giving striking out paragraphs he thought were either irrelevant or contained these “value judgments”.
Fitz took the judge through the “Theatres of conflict” one at a time. He was anxious that the Judge gave a ruling on whether joining a large scale conflict where the locals were resisting illegal occupiers with force could actually be considered self defence and not murder.
Perry argued against this, saying that the case should be centred sort of Whitechapel-Luton-Blackburn and not Bosnia-Kosovo-Chechenya-Palestine-Kashmir-Algeria. Hamzas message. His intentions. Perry went on to say that the Chechen situation “Had not even arisen...” The judge reminded him he had made a reference to Beslan in his opening speech. His face was a picture of regret which made me smile.
“I will do anything to put that right.” he begged.
The judge ruled against Fitz. Violent resistance to occupation wasn't limited to self defence. He allowed reference to Chechnya. He ruled in favour of Mr. Seale giving evidence of conflicts and definitions of Jihad.
First came Rabbi Goldstein, who spoke of amicable dealings with Mr. Hamza in a delicate inter-faith pastoral matter between a lapsed Jew and their Muslim spouse. Next came the Rev. Stephen Coles. As soon as he came into the court room I felt a rare and rejuvinating smile cross my face as I have met Rev. Coles twice before but promised not to blog about him until he came into the story. He spoke of meeting Mr. Hamza in the week of the 9-11 attacks. He has since been in regular contact with Mr. Hamza and visits him in prison. The judge cut into the Rev Coles delivery so I'm not sure it scored with the jury in theatrical terms.
Patrick Seale was worth waiting for. Perry hadn't cross examined either Rabbi or Reverend, but he cross examined Mr. Seale on definitions of Jihad. He supported Hamza's definition over the one Perry relied on, from a friend of his, Zaki Badarwi who had coincidently died days earlier.
He called Mr. Badawi a great friend and a commited pacifist who had worked hard on inter-faith peace. He believed Badawi's views on Jihad to be against mainstream opinion in the Islamic world. Cross-examined about terrorism he got in a “One mans terrorism is another mans freedom fighter” which caused a slight murmuring in the public gallery.
He said that the Encylopedia of Afghan Jihad was a valuable historical document. "I didn't know you had one here. I should like to see it.." When describing the conflicts relevant to the “Hamza tapes” the Judge had to send the jury out at one point as Seal described massacres of thousands and dynamited mosques. This was the first “dispassion faliure”.
The next, and possibly the most poignant one for me was when Mr. Fitz called Mrs. Arani. Perry had a go at her about the “mysterious reapearance” of Volume 6 of the Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad entilted “Bombs”. Why had she made no record of when Hamza's 16 year old son Osman had casually “dropped it in” to her offices? Why had it not turned up in the 8 hour search of Mr. Hamza's house made with arabic interpreters to retrieve the evidence? If the children had been “playing with it” how come it had no marks of childplay? Of course it wasn't long before Mrs. Arani showed her passion in this, angrily recounting stories of Mrs. Hamza in tears in her arms, relentless media pressure and unhelpful arrangements in the original arrest interviews and since at Belmarsh prison.
Perry triumphantly brought into question Mrs Arani's ability to dispassionately carry out her legal duties, intending the jury to count it against her. I would hope the jury to count this in her favour.
Rabbi and vicar back Abu Hamza
The trouble with all things “GWOT” as my Republican blogger friends call it is passion. Passion on all sides. Today was a lesson in how experiments with dispassion in the courtroom failed. The Judge had a nice try. Didn't work. Fascinating.
I've got to say that the last few days Mr. Hamza has done well but I am not sure how from this trial the jury can really see who he is. I wish I could show them my footage, how he calmed down over the year I saw him preach. This is extremely emotionally draining. I've been cycling everyday and the nervous tension is getting to my spine. Its only an hour up the river walking to the Old Bailey so I think I am going to walk next week.
Perry has been emphasising the “media keywords” of the GWOT. “The Encylopedia of Afghan Jihad” is “The Terrorist Manual” etcetera. Hamza directs everything towards the Koran and the fact that MI-5 never arrested him for any of this. Because Hamza's voice is amplified and Perry's isn't Hamza has often subtly carried. No idea what the jury must be thinking. They don't look like the type of people who would be interested in any of this.
Fitz finished up with Hamza: Seize, beleaguer, lie in wait, ambush? Surrah 9 vs 5. Had the Police discussed the nature of his sermons? Yes. Contents, ideas, priorities, enemies, suicide bombing, everything. Had he incited anyone to kill in any case? No. Racial hatred? No. In Islam racial hatred is a major sin. Does he hate individual Jewish people? No. He invites them to the mosque for a cup of tea.
The jury left for the Judge to consider how to deal with evidence from Fitz's expert witness to come, a Mr. Seale who was going to talk about the “Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad”, give a definition of “Jihad” and an expert opinion on the veracity of conflicts Hamza was either giving details about or reacting in anger to on the tapes.
The judge was anxious that Mr Seale confine himself to the facts and not supply any “value judgments” however right they might be. He went over the analysis of the evidence Seal would be giving striking out paragraphs he thought were either irrelevant or contained these “value judgments”.
Fitz took the judge through the “Theatres of conflict” one at a time. He was anxious that the Judge gave a ruling on whether joining a large scale conflict where the locals were resisting illegal occupiers with force could actually be considered self defence and not murder.
Perry argued against this, saying that the case should be centred sort of Whitechapel-Luton-Blackburn and not Bosnia-Kosovo-Chechenya-Palestine-Kashmir-Algeria. Hamzas message. His intentions. Perry went on to say that the Chechen situation “Had not even arisen...” The judge reminded him he had made a reference to Beslan in his opening speech. His face was a picture of regret which made me smile.
“I will do anything to put that right.” he begged.
The judge ruled against Fitz. Violent resistance to occupation wasn't limited to self defence. He allowed reference to Chechnya. He ruled in favour of Mr. Seale giving evidence of conflicts and definitions of Jihad.
First came Rabbi Goldstein, who spoke of amicable dealings with Mr. Hamza in a delicate inter-faith pastoral matter between a lapsed Jew and their Muslim spouse. Next came the Rev. Stephen Coles. As soon as he came into the court room I felt a rare and rejuvinating smile cross my face as I have met Rev. Coles twice before but promised not to blog about him until he came into the story. He spoke of meeting Mr. Hamza in the week of the 9-11 attacks. He has since been in regular contact with Mr. Hamza and visits him in prison. The judge cut into the Rev Coles delivery so I'm not sure it scored with the jury in theatrical terms.
Patrick Seale was worth waiting for. Perry hadn't cross examined either Rabbi or Reverend, but he cross examined Mr. Seale on definitions of Jihad. He supported Hamza's definition over the one Perry relied on, from a friend of his, Zaki Badarwi who had coincidently died days earlier.
He called Mr. Badawi a great friend and a commited pacifist who had worked hard on inter-faith peace. He believed Badawi's views on Jihad to be against mainstream opinion in the Islamic world. Cross-examined about terrorism he got in a “One mans terrorism is another mans freedom fighter” which caused a slight murmuring in the public gallery.
He said that the Encylopedia of Afghan Jihad was a valuable historical document. "I didn't know you had one here. I should like to see it.." When describing the conflicts relevant to the “Hamza tapes” the Judge had to send the jury out at one point as Seal described massacres of thousands and dynamited mosques. This was the first “dispassion faliure”.
The next, and possibly the most poignant one for me was when Mr. Fitz called Mrs. Arani. Perry had a go at her about the “mysterious reapearance” of Volume 6 of the Encyclopedia of Afghan Jihad entilted “Bombs”. Why had she made no record of when Hamza's 16 year old son Osman had casually “dropped it in” to her offices? Why had it not turned up in the 8 hour search of Mr. Hamza's house made with arabic interpreters to retrieve the evidence? If the children had been “playing with it” how come it had no marks of childplay? Of course it wasn't long before Mrs. Arani showed her passion in this, angrily recounting stories of Mrs. Hamza in tears in her arms, relentless media pressure and unhelpful arrangements in the original arrest interviews and since at Belmarsh prison.
Perry triumphantly brought into question Mrs Arani's ability to dispassionately carry out her legal duties, intending the jury to count it against her. I would hope the jury to count this in her favour.
Rabbi and vicar back Abu Hamza
January 29, 2006
uniteddiversity
Hola a todos!
Part 1 of my diary from the Caracas Trollparty 2006 is now on the
uniteddiversity blog
Things are going very well here. The TrollTent is always very busy and
we're appearing on local/national tv and radio 3-4 times a day!
I'm meeting lots of inspiring people and am constantly amazed by how
aware people are about important issues like media democracy,
co-operativism and free software.
More details coming in Parts 2 and 3, but the more you speak to people
here, the more obvious it becomes...
Another World Is Blossoming!
more info about the Trollparty
Lots of love,
Josef.
Part 1 of my diary from the Caracas Trollparty 2006 is now on the
uniteddiversity blog
Things are going very well here. The TrollTent is always very busy and
we're appearing on local/national tv and radio 3-4 times a day!
I'm meeting lots of inspiring people and am constantly amazed by how
aware people are about important issues like media democracy,
co-operativism and free software.
More details coming in Parts 2 and 3, but the more you speak to people
here, the more obvious it becomes...
Another World Is Blossoming!
more info about the Trollparty
Lots of love,
Josef.
January 27, 2006
Abdullahs new "job on the side"
OK, wonder of all wonders Abdullah actually called me. The upshot of the CNN approach the other day was that he was interviewed, he told me by Paula Newton. Possibly this Paula Newton. It turns out the new tack from over the pond is to accuse all these 'mentalists of working for MI-5 or the C.I.A. We shared a laugh over that one. Apparently Paula was "looking at me funny" and said to Abdullahs face that he was a "Seriously scary man. That he "frightens many people""
"It sounds like she fancies you..."
Abdullah seems to think that the journalists who call him are upset that he hasn't become "the new Abu Hamza" for them yet.
"You got to put some pepper on the snail to get this film made." he told me.
"Don't even joke about it. Its painful."
I wasn't kidding.
"It sounds like she fancies you..."
Abdullah seems to think that the journalists who call him are upset that he hasn't become "the new Abu Hamza" for them yet.
"You got to put some pepper on the snail to get this film made." he told me.
"Don't even joke about it. Its painful."
I wasn't kidding.
January 25, 2006
Im a fuckin' paki innit
according to Nick Griffin. I can't find the quote online yet (this is sort of close) but he says "Paki" isn't racist as "Paki's" use this name themselves (true). He defines a Paki as the type of young asian you find in Keighley who says "innit" at the end of every sentence innit? So I'm a Paki innit!!!
Strange. Mr. Hamza and Mr Griffin have met, spoken on the same radio program and are both up on race hatred charges at the same time. One is 46 the other is 47. Both have one glass eye.
Here is a channel 4 piece(the wrong one, but you get the idea)
Here is another interesting view on "Paki's"
Strange. Mr. Hamza and Mr Griffin have met, spoken on the same radio program and are both up on race hatred charges at the same time. One is 46 the other is 47. Both have one glass eye.
Here is a channel 4 piece(the wrong one, but you get the idea)
Here is another interesting view on "Paki's"
ENTERTAINMENT
Galloway is such a tosser. Yeah, I know everybody knew that but now EVERYBODY knows it, know what I mean? Even when he sees the tapes hes still going to say everyone else and the tapes are wrong and he is right. He's attacking a pathetic little popstar who was saying what a nice guy he was the whole time. He was caught CHEATING- and stabbing the poor little guy in the back, he calls him a “sneak and a liar”
Barrymore tries to point out that they all fell for Big Brothers game and Galloway resorts to attacking him about his drink problem.
“Poor me, poor me, pour me another..”
“That is low man!” shouts little popstar “Wanker!”
Talking about Barrymore and Maggot crying Galloway asks “What sort of men are they?”
Real men don't cry do they George? They just sit in chairs sulking and grinding their jaws.
A friend of mine who is involved with an “unnamed left wing magazine” told me years ago that it would be really easy to get Galloway to drop himself in it- just put a camera on him and say “Go George...” I'm so glad Channel 4 have done so. Tonight is going to be unmissable. Next time Galloway sets foot in the house of commons is going to be funny too.
------------------------------
OK. Monkeyboy thinks he is off on a side slant, “wheeler dealing” to ITN.
“She'll give us the equipment but she needs a premise.”
“Tell her the premise is this- the media say Finsbury park mosque is full of terrorists. I went down to check for myself and found THESE PEOPLE who said they believe THIS. The public get to hear from the tiny number of Muslims the jury aren't going to hear because they are too scared to stand up in court and say their friend is not a terrorist.”
“Can you make it a bit longer?”
“Don't help me. OK? Tell her anything you want, whatever. Just don't help me. I've been doing this for years now. Don't fuck it up. Do you remember the ITN guy you filmed bringing the FBI accusations to Hamza? That is who she sat next to downstairs. He is the Crime editor at ITN.”
“Yeah, she says he knows who we are. Called us “liberals””
“Really? Thats an American term isn't it? He's probably seen where I called him a wanker. Bollocks.”
“Look, maybe we can offer the boya's some money...they can say anything they like...”
“They are Islamists. They BELIEVE something. Do you understand? Its not a case of money. They work for ALLAH. This film will get made IF ALLAH WILLS IT- do you get it?”
“I think you are wrong. I know these people back in Brum...”
“Look mate, they like you. They feel comfortable with you and remember you from Finsbury park. Can you still suck on a mint and hold a camera straight?”
“Of course man.”
“Good. Don't do anything else.”
Days and days watching the humbling of an arrogant sounding preacher of a religion I don't share in front of a man in fur sleeves and a wig is stripping me down to the bare bones of what I think I am about, or what I am trying to do. Everyone thinks they've “got a terrorist”. I'm extremely worried that they may have “got” someone who might actually be an indispensable link in some sort of solution to the “War on Terr-r”. The more he talks the more I worry.
I question myself. What if people did watch those videos and then carry out bombings regardless of Hamzas intended meanings? I didn't like the tapes but I like this even less. I thought there would be more reporters downstairs watching him get his “comeupance”.
The only mirthful moment was when Hamza mistook Perry calling his house a “terraced house” and thought he said “terrorist house”. "I don't know why you call my house a terrorist house.." said Hamza, hurt and innocent sounding. Everyone on both benches laughed. The rest of it was textbook courtroom drama.
“Who gave you the “terrorist manual”? Where? Give me a name. Bumped into him? Where?” Perry attacks in waves. “Who prints your literature? Where? “ and about the missing “Volume 6”- “Who found it? Which child? Where? Who brought it to you?”
Hamza gave away no names. “All our community is refugees. We call each other Abu (father) this and Abu that. We all use aliases. There are spies everywhere. Anyone's parents could be tortured back home.”
“Am I in the pay of Zionists?” asked Perry. Hamza just stopped short of saying yes. I remembered how on the street he had shouted so confidently about Zionist judges and homosexual politicians. Whenever he thought Hamza was straying Perry said “Don't worry about” this or that...
“I have to worry.” he said answering a question about the state of Israel “The state of Israel it means my holocaust. My oppression. They use accusations of race hate to get away with this slow motion holocaust- are you supporting that?”
Hamza always tried to widen it to world issues the jury were not aware of- that the Americans originally propagated Jihadist theory, that MI-5 paid Lybian Islamists to try and assassinate Gadaffi, that the Zionist movement was banned as a terrorist movement by the UN, Lobbyists had secured Israel in America and in this country, The US was in debt to Zionist moneylenders to the tune of 36 trillion dollars and had sacrificed its own foreign policy with this debt.
I'm not as angry about “moneylenders” as Hamza is but the more I think about “usury” the more I agree that it is fundamentally wrong for our species.
After seeing Hamza preaching on the street I don't believe for a second he is anti-Semetic, but also he does not realize what concern his actual words cause. He seems wrapped up in the concept of martyrdom blaming it all on the Zionist media hounding him.
Perry: The foreign office is controlled by Jews?
Yes.
The media?
Yes. If a Muslim doctor had killed his patients the first thing you would have heard was that he was a Muslim, but when a Jewish man kills 250- Dr. Shipman, not a single word is mentioned about his faith.
Christians are the third enemy of Islam?
I'm not talking about the followers of Jesus. I talk about those who change the book.
Hamza keeps saying that he hates the sin not the sinner. The “wrong action”.
Churches are places of Black magic?
Yes I have seen on documentaries. In Egypt and Africa churches are full of black magic. Not all of them, I am generalising.
What if a Christian priest is a homosexual?
We are not against the sinners. We are against the sin itself. The commercialisation and legalisation of the sin...
You could have preached tolerance to all
Only a fool preaches tolerance. If someone says I worship satan and have sex with children...
Are certain people beyond redemption?
Yes, they must be stopped at every level, campaigning, boycotts, I will not raise the sword unless they raise it. You don't crack a nut with a bulldozer.
How do we know what happened as a result of your speeches? Give me a name, any name, any speech any where...
Perry grilled him more about the supporters of Shareeah and his encouragment of children to undergo “Jihad training”. Were there Jihad training camps in this country? Bomb making camps?
Anyone who Supports Shareeah law is a Supporter of Shareeah. If kids want to train why not? People would be very stupid to do bomb making camps here.
Throughout Fitz is slightly turned away from Hamza, obviously used to seeing his defendants in this position. His solicitor Mrs Arani is transfixed on his face with an unreadable expression. What Mr. Hamza is saying is what I had always hoped British Fundamental Islam actually was. It sounds much better with the anger he displayed on the street taken out of it. Of course people will think he's lying to save his ass. I don't think so. He's not really the type of person to hide his beliefs.
After the break Perry comes back with lots of accusations about Hamzas support for the GIA who were targetting schoolteachers and suchlike. Hamza said it was very confusing what was going on but he always seemed to hope for the best of the GIA until they finally admitted massacres when he denounced them and folded the Al- Ansar magazine he ran in their support. He claimed to know nothing of any connection they might have to bombings in France. Because France had collonised Algeria he could neither condemn nor condone any actions the Algerians might take.
Perry suggested that Hamza denounced the GIA for opportunistic reasons as the trustees of Finsbury park mosque were threatening his position. This led Hamza to bring up all the allegations of financial impropriety of some Pakistanis who had made themselves "trustees for life" and the trouble between Arabs and Bangladeshis he was orginally brought in to help sort out.
At one point in the afternoon Perry accused Hamza of giving misleading evidence about when MI-5 had told him he was “walking a tightrope”.
I tell the truth! You are bringing evidence under the table.
Did you ask Special branch to protect you?
Never.
You never asked for their assistance with concerns for your saftey?
Never, never ever. My wife answered the phone they told her I should ring them. She said- you have his mobile number. They told me they were concerned for my safety. I said I was not.
This is crazy, I don't know what to write down. I wonder how people will think about this trial in 50 years from now. Will Muslims think of Hamza as a martyr who stood up for the dream of an Islamic “Kalifa” or a firebrand who gave his religion a bad name? Is a “Kalifa” coming? Everyone in the courtroom seems like they are from another time except the jury.
“He'll get off you know.” said one of the journalists I knew from Finsbury park. The Muslims always hated him because his stuff goes in the Sun (with a little embelishment).
“Really? That was the last thing I would think, how do you know?”
“Oh, I've seen a few of these trials, I can see how this one is going...”
He's always been very encouraging to me.
Right at the end of the day Fitz and Perry argued before the judge without the jury about an expert witness Fitz intends to call.
“If the defendant is encouraging people to go to Bosnia and fight in no more than self defense then he is not guilty. If it extends beyond that then he is guilty. Murder is murder even if it is morally justified. An exhortation to kill in Afghanistan if not in self defense is incitement.” said the Judge.
I can't surmise Fitz's answer but he quoted suppositions from the intifada and in the courtroom it felt like he had right on his side. It was the first time he actually impressed me. The Judges answer left me with a frown as I stood at the end. I felt as if he was saying that anyone with a just cause who came to the UK to publicise atrocities and mobilise ex-pat communities would be inciting to murder. I can't see how this would stand in any other case than this one. What if a plan had been hatched here to assasinate Saddam?
Hamza paints “Londonistan” as a haven for pious islamists who fight against tyrants for freedom and can't even tell each other their real names for fear of retaliation in their homelands. Is Londonistan over? After hearing what Hamza said on the tapes, and after 7/7 will anybody care? Probably not.
Barrymore tries to point out that they all fell for Big Brothers game and Galloway resorts to attacking him about his drink problem.
“Poor me, poor me, pour me another..”
“That is low man!” shouts little popstar “Wanker!”
Talking about Barrymore and Maggot crying Galloway asks “What sort of men are they?”
Real men don't cry do they George? They just sit in chairs sulking and grinding their jaws.
A friend of mine who is involved with an “unnamed left wing magazine” told me years ago that it would be really easy to get Galloway to drop himself in it- just put a camera on him and say “Go George...” I'm so glad Channel 4 have done so. Tonight is going to be unmissable. Next time Galloway sets foot in the house of commons is going to be funny too.
------------------------------
OK. Monkeyboy thinks he is off on a side slant, “wheeler dealing” to ITN.
“She'll give us the equipment but she needs a premise.”
“Tell her the premise is this- the media say Finsbury park mosque is full of terrorists. I went down to check for myself and found THESE PEOPLE who said they believe THIS. The public get to hear from the tiny number of Muslims the jury aren't going to hear because they are too scared to stand up in court and say their friend is not a terrorist.”
“Can you make it a bit longer?”
“Don't help me. OK? Tell her anything you want, whatever. Just don't help me. I've been doing this for years now. Don't fuck it up. Do you remember the ITN guy you filmed bringing the FBI accusations to Hamza? That is who she sat next to downstairs. He is the Crime editor at ITN.”
“Yeah, she says he knows who we are. Called us “liberals””
“Really? Thats an American term isn't it? He's probably seen where I called him a wanker. Bollocks.”
“Look, maybe we can offer the boya's some money...they can say anything they like...”
“They are Islamists. They BELIEVE something. Do you understand? Its not a case of money. They work for ALLAH. This film will get made IF ALLAH WILLS IT- do you get it?”
“I think you are wrong. I know these people back in Brum...”
“Look mate, they like you. They feel comfortable with you and remember you from Finsbury park. Can you still suck on a mint and hold a camera straight?”
“Of course man.”
“Good. Don't do anything else.”
Days and days watching the humbling of an arrogant sounding preacher of a religion I don't share in front of a man in fur sleeves and a wig is stripping me down to the bare bones of what I think I am about, or what I am trying to do. Everyone thinks they've “got a terrorist”. I'm extremely worried that they may have “got” someone who might actually be an indispensable link in some sort of solution to the “War on Terr-r”. The more he talks the more I worry.
I question myself. What if people did watch those videos and then carry out bombings regardless of Hamzas intended meanings? I didn't like the tapes but I like this even less. I thought there would be more reporters downstairs watching him get his “comeupance”.
The only mirthful moment was when Hamza mistook Perry calling his house a “terraced house” and thought he said “terrorist house”. "I don't know why you call my house a terrorist house.." said Hamza, hurt and innocent sounding. Everyone on both benches laughed. The rest of it was textbook courtroom drama.
“Who gave you the “terrorist manual”? Where? Give me a name. Bumped into him? Where?” Perry attacks in waves. “Who prints your literature? Where? “ and about the missing “Volume 6”- “Who found it? Which child? Where? Who brought it to you?”
Hamza gave away no names. “All our community is refugees. We call each other Abu (father) this and Abu that. We all use aliases. There are spies everywhere. Anyone's parents could be tortured back home.”
“Am I in the pay of Zionists?” asked Perry. Hamza just stopped short of saying yes. I remembered how on the street he had shouted so confidently about Zionist judges and homosexual politicians. Whenever he thought Hamza was straying Perry said “Don't worry about” this or that...
“I have to worry.” he said answering a question about the state of Israel “The state of Israel it means my holocaust. My oppression. They use accusations of race hate to get away with this slow motion holocaust- are you supporting that?”
Hamza always tried to widen it to world issues the jury were not aware of- that the Americans originally propagated Jihadist theory, that MI-5 paid Lybian Islamists to try and assassinate Gadaffi, that the Zionist movement was banned as a terrorist movement by the UN, Lobbyists had secured Israel in America and in this country, The US was in debt to Zionist moneylenders to the tune of 36 trillion dollars and had sacrificed its own foreign policy with this debt.
I'm not as angry about “moneylenders” as Hamza is but the more I think about “usury” the more I agree that it is fundamentally wrong for our species.
After seeing Hamza preaching on the street I don't believe for a second he is anti-Semetic, but also he does not realize what concern his actual words cause. He seems wrapped up in the concept of martyrdom blaming it all on the Zionist media hounding him.
Perry: The foreign office is controlled by Jews?
Yes.
The media?
Yes. If a Muslim doctor had killed his patients the first thing you would have heard was that he was a Muslim, but when a Jewish man kills 250- Dr. Shipman, not a single word is mentioned about his faith.
Christians are the third enemy of Islam?
I'm not talking about the followers of Jesus. I talk about those who change the book.
Hamza keeps saying that he hates the sin not the sinner. The “wrong action”.
Churches are places of Black magic?
Yes I have seen on documentaries. In Egypt and Africa churches are full of black magic. Not all of them, I am generalising.
What if a Christian priest is a homosexual?
We are not against the sinners. We are against the sin itself. The commercialisation and legalisation of the sin...
You could have preached tolerance to all
Only a fool preaches tolerance. If someone says I worship satan and have sex with children...
Are certain people beyond redemption?
Yes, they must be stopped at every level, campaigning, boycotts, I will not raise the sword unless they raise it. You don't crack a nut with a bulldozer.
How do we know what happened as a result of your speeches? Give me a name, any name, any speech any where...
Perry grilled him more about the supporters of Shareeah and his encouragment of children to undergo “Jihad training”. Were there Jihad training camps in this country? Bomb making camps?
Anyone who Supports Shareeah law is a Supporter of Shareeah. If kids want to train why not? People would be very stupid to do bomb making camps here.
Throughout Fitz is slightly turned away from Hamza, obviously used to seeing his defendants in this position. His solicitor Mrs Arani is transfixed on his face with an unreadable expression. What Mr. Hamza is saying is what I had always hoped British Fundamental Islam actually was. It sounds much better with the anger he displayed on the street taken out of it. Of course people will think he's lying to save his ass. I don't think so. He's not really the type of person to hide his beliefs.
After the break Perry comes back with lots of accusations about Hamzas support for the GIA who were targetting schoolteachers and suchlike. Hamza said it was very confusing what was going on but he always seemed to hope for the best of the GIA until they finally admitted massacres when he denounced them and folded the Al- Ansar magazine he ran in their support. He claimed to know nothing of any connection they might have to bombings in France. Because France had collonised Algeria he could neither condemn nor condone any actions the Algerians might take.
Perry suggested that Hamza denounced the GIA for opportunistic reasons as the trustees of Finsbury park mosque were threatening his position. This led Hamza to bring up all the allegations of financial impropriety of some Pakistanis who had made themselves "trustees for life" and the trouble between Arabs and Bangladeshis he was orginally brought in to help sort out.
At one point in the afternoon Perry accused Hamza of giving misleading evidence about when MI-5 had told him he was “walking a tightrope”.
I tell the truth! You are bringing evidence under the table.
Did you ask Special branch to protect you?
Never.
You never asked for their assistance with concerns for your saftey?
Never, never ever. My wife answered the phone they told her I should ring them. She said- you have his mobile number. They told me they were concerned for my safety. I said I was not.
This is crazy, I don't know what to write down. I wonder how people will think about this trial in 50 years from now. Will Muslims think of Hamza as a martyr who stood up for the dream of an Islamic “Kalifa” or a firebrand who gave his religion a bad name? Is a “Kalifa” coming? Everyone in the courtroom seems like they are from another time except the jury.
“He'll get off you know.” said one of the journalists I knew from Finsbury park. The Muslims always hated him because his stuff goes in the Sun (with a little embelishment).
“Really? That was the last thing I would think, how do you know?”
“Oh, I've seen a few of these trials, I can see how this one is going...”
He's always been very encouraging to me.
Right at the end of the day Fitz and Perry argued before the judge without the jury about an expert witness Fitz intends to call.
“If the defendant is encouraging people to go to Bosnia and fight in no more than self defense then he is not guilty. If it extends beyond that then he is guilty. Murder is murder even if it is morally justified. An exhortation to kill in Afghanistan if not in self defense is incitement.” said the Judge.
I can't surmise Fitz's answer but he quoted suppositions from the intifada and in the courtroom it felt like he had right on his side. It was the first time he actually impressed me. The Judges answer left me with a frown as I stood at the end. I felt as if he was saying that anyone with a just cause who came to the UK to publicise atrocities and mobilise ex-pat communities would be inciting to murder. I can't see how this would stand in any other case than this one. What if a plan had been hatched here to assasinate Saddam?
Hamza paints “Londonistan” as a haven for pious islamists who fight against tyrants for freedom and can't even tell each other their real names for fear of retaliation in their homelands. Is Londonistan over? After hearing what Hamza said on the tapes, and after 7/7 will anybody care? Probably not.
January 24, 2006
Blair calls for end of Guantanamo?
Mr Blair takes me to the second theme of the day and that is rendition.
He is always very dismissive of this subject so we tried to press him
on the moral issues of rendition and Guantanamo as well. He did for the
first time formally call for the end of Guantanamo but on rendition he
remains evasive and very unwilling to criticise America.
snowmails
The autopsy photos of Mowhoush make the now-infamous images from Abu Ghraib prison look like a costume party. Bruises and welts cover Mowhoush's dead body. Doctors ruled that Mowhoush was smothered. Officials charge that Welshofer stuffed him inside a sleeping bag, bound him with an electric cord, sat on his chest and covered his mouth. Still, there is no question that Mowhoush also was savagely beaten.
The United States, which sanctimoniously lectures the rest of the world about human rights, did this. America's political and military hierarchy approved harsher handling of military detainees after the 9/11 attacks. This is what we got.
A Citizen of Mosul
He is always very dismissive of this subject so we tried to press him
on the moral issues of rendition and Guantanamo as well. He did for the
first time formally call for the end of Guantanamo but on rendition he
remains evasive and very unwilling to criticise America.
snowmails
The autopsy photos of Mowhoush make the now-infamous images from Abu Ghraib prison look like a costume party. Bruises and welts cover Mowhoush's dead body. Doctors ruled that Mowhoush was smothered. Officials charge that Welshofer stuffed him inside a sleeping bag, bound him with an electric cord, sat on his chest and covered his mouth. Still, there is no question that Mowhoush also was savagely beaten.
The United States, which sanctimoniously lectures the rest of the world about human rights, did this. America's political and military hierarchy approved harsher handling of military detainees after the 9/11 attacks. This is what we got.
A Citizen of Mosul
January 23, 2006
Your witness
Its hard to know what to write from growing scrawls. I've got half a big spiral bound just since Mr. Hamza took the stand. Whilst Mr. Fitz was questioning him, it seemed he was almost enjoying the chance to bear witness to Islam. For a lot of it though it also seemed that Fitz, the Judge and Hamza were all speaking diferent languages. Hamza answers like the Egyptian preacher of islam he is and I never know which bit to write down.
After one break the Judge asked him why he swore on the afirmation and not the Koran. He said it was because the statement says "put your hand on..." and "There is no hand...". He went on to say that Muslims swear by Allah, not the Koran, he would swear on the Koran if it helped.
Today Perry got to cross examine.
"I want to establish some ground rules..." he started and told Hamza sarcastically that he wouldn't be asking about concrete technology certificates. If he didn't get an answer he would keep asking the question. Lots of "Do you understand?" like he was talking to a foreigner who was pretending not to.
Hamza started saying no almost straight away. Every question he was asked it was like he was scared to say yes. The Judge joined in a bit with a few "answer the questions" Perry spent a bit of time ridiculing Hamza's claim that he hadn't read the Encyclopiedia of Afghan Jihad, Hamza retorted that MI-5 were MI-5 and not MFI (a furniture shop in the UK) and so they knew who was and who wasn't a terrorist.
Perry asked why Hamza took the plans of Sandhurst to Afghanistan. Hamza told him he took everything with him. Engineers always take all their notebooks to refer to for further projects and Sandhurst was still safe and well. Perry then proceeded to put Hamza in the picture about his position of responsibility and to lay into him about how he spoke about Jews as "dirty" and "the second enemy of Islam".
Hamza tried to explain that it was action and not people which he was preaching against. He said there were 3 types of Jews. Those who did wrong, those who were neutral and those who did right. He spoke of a few Jewish people who were against the Zionists invading Palestine. Under cross examination he also tried to dispute he was exhorting the killing of those who granted licences for wine-sellers, saying that it is a body which grants the licence not a person.
He spoke about Jewish "lobbyists" controlling what was reported about Palestine over here to make war and control what people thought. He thinks of "Zionism" as a world wide movement controlling other countries economies through the banking system and the media.
Perry carried on to attack Hamza's view of Jihad, view of women in Israel as Soldiers and implied Hamza took it upon himself to define who was an "apostate scholar".
Throughout Hamza consitently toned down the stuff which was on the tapes into barely understandable words and phrases. He wouldn't be specific about apostates in this country and defended the idea of Muslims attacking apostates abroad by recolecting US attacks on Gadaffi and Saddam. He said that the Israeli's were proud of the young age of their army and that only women actually firing bullets would be a target. Muslims would have to travel to an area and find out from the Mujahadeen what was happening before targetting.
"Do you accept that we have a problem with radicalised Muslims made extreme?"
"You make these terms. Extreme from what? Near to what? Am I extreme or near? By what measurement?"
Perry tried to get Hamza to say which groups were advocating a caliphate in the Whitehouse or in Downing street, which Hamza finally admitted was "Al-Mujaharoun"(Common knowledge).
"You ask me questions you could ask any postman who has read the paper. I am tired of standing, either give me questions I can answer or lock me up..."
If there was a consistent line throughout all this it was that Hamza feels he is dealing with theories, not specifics. Its all teaching from the Koran which are debated amongst scholars.
This is all really confusing. The tapes look threatening. Hamza hasn't looked threatening for years. What can I tell you? You couldn't cartoonise Perry and Fitz anymore if they stood still whilst you drew round them with a pencil. Perry (prosecuting) is very wolflike and Fitz is every bit the bumbling bespectacled defence barrister.
After one break the Judge asked him why he swore on the afirmation and not the Koran. He said it was because the statement says "put your hand on..." and "There is no hand...". He went on to say that Muslims swear by Allah, not the Koran, he would swear on the Koran if it helped.
Today Perry got to cross examine.
"I want to establish some ground rules..." he started and told Hamza sarcastically that he wouldn't be asking about concrete technology certificates. If he didn't get an answer he would keep asking the question. Lots of "Do you understand?" like he was talking to a foreigner who was pretending not to.
Hamza started saying no almost straight away. Every question he was asked it was like he was scared to say yes. The Judge joined in a bit with a few "answer the questions" Perry spent a bit of time ridiculing Hamza's claim that he hadn't read the Encyclopiedia of Afghan Jihad, Hamza retorted that MI-5 were MI-5 and not MFI (a furniture shop in the UK) and so they knew who was and who wasn't a terrorist.
Perry asked why Hamza took the plans of Sandhurst to Afghanistan. Hamza told him he took everything with him. Engineers always take all their notebooks to refer to for further projects and Sandhurst was still safe and well. Perry then proceeded to put Hamza in the picture about his position of responsibility and to lay into him about how he spoke about Jews as "dirty" and "the second enemy of Islam".
Hamza tried to explain that it was action and not people which he was preaching against. He said there were 3 types of Jews. Those who did wrong, those who were neutral and those who did right. He spoke of a few Jewish people who were against the Zionists invading Palestine. Under cross examination he also tried to dispute he was exhorting the killing of those who granted licences for wine-sellers, saying that it is a body which grants the licence not a person.
He spoke about Jewish "lobbyists" controlling what was reported about Palestine over here to make war and control what people thought. He thinks of "Zionism" as a world wide movement controlling other countries economies through the banking system and the media.
Perry carried on to attack Hamza's view of Jihad, view of women in Israel as Soldiers and implied Hamza took it upon himself to define who was an "apostate scholar".
Throughout Hamza consitently toned down the stuff which was on the tapes into barely understandable words and phrases. He wouldn't be specific about apostates in this country and defended the idea of Muslims attacking apostates abroad by recolecting US attacks on Gadaffi and Saddam. He said that the Israeli's were proud of the young age of their army and that only women actually firing bullets would be a target. Muslims would have to travel to an area and find out from the Mujahadeen what was happening before targetting.
"Do you accept that we have a problem with radicalised Muslims made extreme?"
"You make these terms. Extreme from what? Near to what? Am I extreme or near? By what measurement?"
Perry tried to get Hamza to say which groups were advocating a caliphate in the Whitehouse or in Downing street, which Hamza finally admitted was "Al-Mujaharoun"(Common knowledge).
"You ask me questions you could ask any postman who has read the paper. I am tired of standing, either give me questions I can answer or lock me up..."
If there was a consistent line throughout all this it was that Hamza feels he is dealing with theories, not specifics. Its all teaching from the Koran which are debated amongst scholars.
This is all really confusing. The tapes look threatening. Hamza hasn't looked threatening for years. What can I tell you? You couldn't cartoonise Perry and Fitz anymore if they stood still whilst you drew round them with a pencil. Perry (prosecuting) is very wolflike and Fitz is every bit the bumbling bespectacled defence barrister.
Public gallery
OK the news coverage is pretty good. I'm going to try and bring you up to date on the view from the public gallery. I am there of course not only to record the proceedings, but to catch up with a few faces from Finsbury park and see if any of them are up for colluding on some sort of visual record for public consumption.
I'm not doing too well at the moment. The bigger the group the further they stand away from me in the gallery anteroom. Sometimes I feel like shouting "Come on guys, If you disobey the rules about standing in there cos you don't believe in man made law, what does it say up there? DO NOT DISCUSS CASES can't you break that rule as well?
I totally understand the pressure they must feel they are under.
Two guys came in, one I have argued about film with a Hajj's place before. He was saying that they wouldn't agree to anything where they didn't have final control over the edit. He is a very intelligent conspiracy theorist who has the talent to make a film himself. If I lent him a camera to make it would that get me on AhhhJihhaaaadiiiwatch?
“Have you seen any of my films?” I asked him.
“Yes.” he said “and I thought it was counterproductive.” he went on to vaguely criticize my portrayal of Abdullah.
“Oh yes? Which bit? The part where he says that George Bush sacrifices children to an Owl God? The bit where hes talking about Russian troops slitting open pregnant Chechen women? I made those over a year ago and have since had absolutely no feedback whatsoever from any of you.”
I don't like to harangue too much, but what are they comparing my stuff with? Paxman telling Mr. Hamza to go back to his own country? If I met people around Hamza who were violent angry or hateful towards unbelievers I would be dead by now. Its really annoying that I can't swear at people because they don't trust me.
His friend asked to see my notebook expecting me to pull it away defensively.
"What does that bit say?" he asked.
"It says that if you borrow something off of a kaffir you want to rob, you give it back to him and then rob him. That is what he said on the tape isn't it?"
"I don't know..." he answered worriedly.
"Samir's brother" as I have ashamedly been referring to him, or Adam as I have since found his name to be has been the most frequent visitor. He sits and fidgets and gets annoyed with the whole spectacle in front of him making me laugh. When he is around the distraction is balanced by the ability to spell the latest name of lost cities or tribes from the Koran Mr. Hamza is referring to in his defence. The brothers do some webwork for the supporters of shareeah website, available on all the best AhhhJihadiiiwatch sites. I have never sensed any threat from either of them. Anyone watching how they are on a screen for five minutes would say “and these are supposed to be terrorists?”. Makes me want to nut the back of the bench in front of me but I was philosophical. “Look if a film doesn't happen out of all this its been good to meet you.”
At the moment he is convinced that there is no Islamic objective in answering any of this on film. He feels that they would be "riding on the back" of Mr. Hamza and that I wouldn't be talking to them if they didn't know him. I understood this to a point, but I think I was always filming their whole community. I didn't concentrate on Mr. Hamza in my films. Because they have a leader and focus around an “emir” is just part of the story of who they are. Why no one around a man the US government says is a terrorist seems to be wanted by the authorities over here. Why the man himself wasn't wanted by those same authorities.
Hmmm... I was filming everyone in Finsbury park who would let me. Last time I spoke to Hamza he wished me luck on a film I thought I was making about Abu Abdullah. This is totally confusing but served to remind me of my original lofty intentions in picking up a camera in some sort of experiment of faith that the "truth will out".
Its my job to come up with an "Islamic objective" which was why I had suggested a meetup with Sparkle and the girls. To see if we can put right any misconceptions the two communities have of each other. An exercise in "confidence building" between two sides who feel they are enemies in a nice neutral country like Britain.
“Does he ever look up at you?” asked Adam.
“The old bastard never used to look at me in Finsbury park either in all that time, let alone here.” I answered laughing.
“Don't take it personally.”
“No worries, he must be under a lot of stress.”
There is already a "them" and "us" going on between gallery and press benches with nervous glances shot from either "side" and neither "side" quite sure which "side" I am on. It was nice to bridge this divide a bit with a girl who was working for ITN. She was hanging around the public gallery entrance with a camerawoman convinced she had seen one of Mr Hamza's sons in the public gallery the day before. She has a sort of scrap book she was showing one of 3 news camera people who do a ritual dance with prison vans as they arrive every morning. (On the shoulder van rolls up, follow round. Close up on driving compartment, drop camera to floor and follow van in as entrance closes.)
"Let me see that picture" I said to initiate a conversation.
"Thats Abu Haffs."
"Mustapha Camel." she corrected me.
"I don't think he will come. Hes probably at college or something."
"But he was sitting next to you yesterday in the public gallery."
I was unsure what I would have done at that moment had Mr. Hamza's friends turned up and took exception to being filmed as they are prone to do.
"Did you see me? Were you downstairs?" she was Asian and quite pretty."What do the juries faces look like when Mr. Hamza is talking? Do they look angry? Like they hate him?"
"No they look bored." she told me.
"There wasn't anyone next to me yesterday." I think she thought I was lying to her.
"Yes there were there were 3 guys sitting next to you. Mustapha Camel was in the middle."
"No there weren't. Hang on. Maybe the day before...Big guy? He's from Lebanon."
"How do you know?"
"I asked him. He brought his dad the day before."
"Excuse me. My dad is from Lebanon. He is asking why you have this bones in your ears and jewelery." the guy had said to me.
"Say to him- decoration." I answered.
"No good" said dad, worried.
"I'm sorry dad."
The guy was with a group of four who were quite positive about what I was trying. They are all infuriatingly convinced that only one side of the Hamza story is going to be allowed on "the media". To me its all simple. Talk. Film. Find out. Again, another four plausible, peaceful Muslims who talk to me like any other Londoner and won't go on camera.
I was trying to convince the “usually already pissed in the morning” cameraman who helped me film preachers of hate to come up, to get him out of the house and maybe do some more filming. All of the Muslims like him as he is very “British Asian” and could pass as a Muslim. He filmed with me twice in Finsbury park and no one minded that he was pissed. I like Jinn, but he is bit of a wildcard in any situation (see HIT HIM WITH A PIECE OF WOOD)
“You know if you come you will probably get followed home.” I warned him.
“Let them follow me. I'll say here is my girlfriend. Here is my bottle of Whisky.”
Wonder of all wonders he actually arrived on Friday.
“Blackie!”
“Monkeyboy!”
I answered in suprise as he appreared through a gaggle of trainee journalists, trainee barristers and trial tourists, all nervously eying an Asian face. (I'm not racist, his name, Jinn means monkey.)
“Did they ask you if you were a terrorist downstairs?” I asked.
“Yeah, that Asian babe, works for ITN. I'm going to take her for a coffee. I told her we got the footage man. She asked my reasons for being here. I said “political correctness”. Told her: MALUNG NEWS”
“You fucking idiot! What are you telling these people about my blog for? Everyone can see you are a pisshead, no one will take me seriously.”
Throughout the trial he was tapping me and giggling as I was trying to work out what of the stuff Mr. Hamza was saying to write down. He was also ducking sinisterly below the front of his heavy army jacket collar, making the big MI-5 guy who sits at the front uncomfortable seeing an unrecognized Asian face in the gallery.
“He just smiled at me!” Jinn had stood up right at the beginning and smiled at Mr. Hamza.
“Did he? You bastard. He never even looks at me.”
Lunchtime we went for a pint. A member of the jury was sitting at the table behind us.
“Look. Let me do the talking. I'll sell it to this ITN girl.” Jinn insisted.
“Jinn, after three years I can't sell my footage to someone else to edit, especially not ITN. What do you think these people would say to me? What would they think? It would defeat the whole object of what I am doing.”
Jinn is great, but an Indian buisness head mixed with alchohol is a bad concoction. I wouldn't want to pickle my film in it. Note Hamza smiles at someone who is saying "Yeah. Lets sell the footage" and someone who wants to faithfully present the story he's seen- no reaction.
I'm not doing too well at the moment. The bigger the group the further they stand away from me in the gallery anteroom. Sometimes I feel like shouting "Come on guys, If you disobey the rules about standing in there cos you don't believe in man made law, what does it say up there? DO NOT DISCUSS CASES can't you break that rule as well?
I totally understand the pressure they must feel they are under.
Two guys came in, one I have argued about film with a Hajj's place before. He was saying that they wouldn't agree to anything where they didn't have final control over the edit. He is a very intelligent conspiracy theorist who has the talent to make a film himself. If I lent him a camera to make it would that get me on AhhhJihhaaaadiiiwatch?
“Have you seen any of my films?” I asked him.
“Yes.” he said “and I thought it was counterproductive.” he went on to vaguely criticize my portrayal of Abdullah.
“Oh yes? Which bit? The part where he says that George Bush sacrifices children to an Owl God? The bit where hes talking about Russian troops slitting open pregnant Chechen women? I made those over a year ago and have since had absolutely no feedback whatsoever from any of you.”
I don't like to harangue too much, but what are they comparing my stuff with? Paxman telling Mr. Hamza to go back to his own country? If I met people around Hamza who were violent angry or hateful towards unbelievers I would be dead by now. Its really annoying that I can't swear at people because they don't trust me.
His friend asked to see my notebook expecting me to pull it away defensively.
"What does that bit say?" he asked.
"It says that if you borrow something off of a kaffir you want to rob, you give it back to him and then rob him. That is what he said on the tape isn't it?"
"I don't know..." he answered worriedly.
"Samir's brother" as I have ashamedly been referring to him, or Adam as I have since found his name to be has been the most frequent visitor. He sits and fidgets and gets annoyed with the whole spectacle in front of him making me laugh. When he is around the distraction is balanced by the ability to spell the latest name of lost cities or tribes from the Koran Mr. Hamza is referring to in his defence. The brothers do some webwork for the supporters of shareeah website, available on all the best AhhhJihadiiiwatch sites. I have never sensed any threat from either of them. Anyone watching how they are on a screen for five minutes would say “and these are supposed to be terrorists?”. Makes me want to nut the back of the bench in front of me but I was philosophical. “Look if a film doesn't happen out of all this its been good to meet you.”
At the moment he is convinced that there is no Islamic objective in answering any of this on film. He feels that they would be "riding on the back" of Mr. Hamza and that I wouldn't be talking to them if they didn't know him. I understood this to a point, but I think I was always filming their whole community. I didn't concentrate on Mr. Hamza in my films. Because they have a leader and focus around an “emir” is just part of the story of who they are. Why no one around a man the US government says is a terrorist seems to be wanted by the authorities over here. Why the man himself wasn't wanted by those same authorities.
Hmmm... I was filming everyone in Finsbury park who would let me. Last time I spoke to Hamza he wished me luck on a film I thought I was making about Abu Abdullah. This is totally confusing but served to remind me of my original lofty intentions in picking up a camera in some sort of experiment of faith that the "truth will out".
Its my job to come up with an "Islamic objective" which was why I had suggested a meetup with Sparkle and the girls. To see if we can put right any misconceptions the two communities have of each other. An exercise in "confidence building" between two sides who feel they are enemies in a nice neutral country like Britain.
“Does he ever look up at you?” asked Adam.
“The old bastard never used to look at me in Finsbury park either in all that time, let alone here.” I answered laughing.
“Don't take it personally.”
“No worries, he must be under a lot of stress.”
There is already a "them" and "us" going on between gallery and press benches with nervous glances shot from either "side" and neither "side" quite sure which "side" I am on. It was nice to bridge this divide a bit with a girl who was working for ITN. She was hanging around the public gallery entrance with a camerawoman convinced she had seen one of Mr Hamza's sons in the public gallery the day before. She has a sort of scrap book she was showing one of 3 news camera people who do a ritual dance with prison vans as they arrive every morning. (On the shoulder van rolls up, follow round. Close up on driving compartment, drop camera to floor and follow van in as entrance closes.)
"Let me see that picture" I said to initiate a conversation.
"Thats Abu Haffs."
"Mustapha Camel." she corrected me.
"I don't think he will come. Hes probably at college or something."
"But he was sitting next to you yesterday in the public gallery."
I was unsure what I would have done at that moment had Mr. Hamza's friends turned up and took exception to being filmed as they are prone to do.
"Did you see me? Were you downstairs?" she was Asian and quite pretty."What do the juries faces look like when Mr. Hamza is talking? Do they look angry? Like they hate him?"
"No they look bored." she told me.
"There wasn't anyone next to me yesterday." I think she thought I was lying to her.
"Yes there were there were 3 guys sitting next to you. Mustapha Camel was in the middle."
"No there weren't. Hang on. Maybe the day before...Big guy? He's from Lebanon."
"How do you know?"
"I asked him. He brought his dad the day before."
"Excuse me. My dad is from Lebanon. He is asking why you have this bones in your ears and jewelery." the guy had said to me.
"Say to him- decoration." I answered.
"No good" said dad, worried.
"I'm sorry dad."
The guy was with a group of four who were quite positive about what I was trying. They are all infuriatingly convinced that only one side of the Hamza story is going to be allowed on "the media". To me its all simple. Talk. Film. Find out. Again, another four plausible, peaceful Muslims who talk to me like any other Londoner and won't go on camera.
I was trying to convince the “usually already pissed in the morning” cameraman who helped me film preachers of hate to come up, to get him out of the house and maybe do some more filming. All of the Muslims like him as he is very “British Asian” and could pass as a Muslim. He filmed with me twice in Finsbury park and no one minded that he was pissed. I like Jinn, but he is bit of a wildcard in any situation (see HIT HIM WITH A PIECE OF WOOD)
“You know if you come you will probably get followed home.” I warned him.
“Let them follow me. I'll say here is my girlfriend. Here is my bottle of Whisky.”
Wonder of all wonders he actually arrived on Friday.
“Blackie!”
“Monkeyboy!”
I answered in suprise as he appreared through a gaggle of trainee journalists, trainee barristers and trial tourists, all nervously eying an Asian face. (I'm not racist, his name, Jinn means monkey.)
“Did they ask you if you were a terrorist downstairs?” I asked.
“Yeah, that Asian babe, works for ITN. I'm going to take her for a coffee. I told her we got the footage man. She asked my reasons for being here. I said “political correctness”. Told her: MALUNG NEWS”
“You fucking idiot! What are you telling these people about my blog for? Everyone can see you are a pisshead, no one will take me seriously.”
Throughout the trial he was tapping me and giggling as I was trying to work out what of the stuff Mr. Hamza was saying to write down. He was also ducking sinisterly below the front of his heavy army jacket collar, making the big MI-5 guy who sits at the front uncomfortable seeing an unrecognized Asian face in the gallery.
“He just smiled at me!” Jinn had stood up right at the beginning and smiled at Mr. Hamza.
“Did he? You bastard. He never even looks at me.”
Lunchtime we went for a pint. A member of the jury was sitting at the table behind us.
“Look. Let me do the talking. I'll sell it to this ITN girl.” Jinn insisted.
“Jinn, after three years I can't sell my footage to someone else to edit, especially not ITN. What do you think these people would say to me? What would they think? It would defeat the whole object of what I am doing.”
Jinn is great, but an Indian buisness head mixed with alchohol is a bad concoction. I wouldn't want to pickle my film in it. Note Hamza smiles at someone who is saying "Yeah. Lets sell the footage" and someone who wants to faithfully present the story he's seen- no reaction.
Galloway is hooked. Reel in on Wednesday
Big Brother is amazing. Galloway repeatedly breaks the rules then when they read out the words he used in his infringement he accuses Big Brother of “double standards” and attacks the person he has stabbed in the back for being upset about it.
Last time they bollocked him they “saluted his courage his strength and his indefatigability”. To say he “walked into this one”...amazing. Hes taken to pacing round the garden, smoking on his own. If he regrets all this hes going to regret it even more when he is booed out on Wednesday.
“If he can't stick to the rules in here, whats he like on the outside?” asked the Essex girl.
“When Preston does something wrong he pours his heart out and apologises” notices baywatch babe. “With George, Rula goes to him, Maggot goes to him and its him who has done wrong. He can't go to them and apologise. He can't come to me.”
“A corrupt politician, who'd have thought it?” asks the neo-mod he stabbed in the back.
On Maggots resume it says he wants to get into politics. If he could replace Galloway as “the leader of the anti-war movement” after this we could maybe get somewhere. The guys is on top form and deserves to win but Barrymore has been playing a huge sympathy card with the public for years.
Everything that was bloody obvious about Galloways personality has been borne out in the housemates opinion of him now. Well done Channel 4. Maybe the “peace movement” will actually become a “movement” now or at least hesitate before uniting behind another “leader”.
Malung prediction: Public vote Galloway out wednesday. His political career? Maybe he could look for a small island with some monkeys he could talk to about his chats with Mandela and Saddam.
readabet.com
mediabulletin
Last time they bollocked him they “saluted his courage his strength and his indefatigability”. To say he “walked into this one”...amazing. Hes taken to pacing round the garden, smoking on his own. If he regrets all this hes going to regret it even more when he is booed out on Wednesday.
“If he can't stick to the rules in here, whats he like on the outside?” asked the Essex girl.
“When Preston does something wrong he pours his heart out and apologises” notices baywatch babe. “With George, Rula goes to him, Maggot goes to him and its him who has done wrong. He can't go to them and apologise. He can't come to me.”
“A corrupt politician, who'd have thought it?” asks the neo-mod he stabbed in the back.
On Maggots resume it says he wants to get into politics. If he could replace Galloway as “the leader of the anti-war movement” after this we could maybe get somewhere. The guys is on top form and deserves to win but Barrymore has been playing a huge sympathy card with the public for years.
Everything that was bloody obvious about Galloways personality has been borne out in the housemates opinion of him now. Well done Channel 4. Maybe the “peace movement” will actually become a “movement” now or at least hesitate before uniting behind another “leader”.
Malung prediction: Public vote Galloway out wednesday. His political career? Maybe he could look for a small island with some monkeys he could talk to about his chats with Mandela and Saddam.
readabet.com
mediabulletin
January 21, 2006
CNN? HERE?
"____ _____" <____.____*at*turner.com> wrote:
Dear Dave
Do you have a contact number for Abu Abdullah? Just read your encounter with him on your website. I would like to make contact with him to see if there's any chance he would speak to the American TV channel I work for (CNN).
Cheers,
______
From: dave bones
To: ____ _____ <_____>
Subject: Re: Abu Abdullah
CNN? Great! How much?
In all seriousness, and in answer to the other stranger request for Abdullah's number I recieved, I'm afraid I can't give out his phone number over the internet. I could forward numbers in case he wanted to call but he probably wont. I think he's called me once in 2-3 years. I have been told that Mr. Hamza has banned anyone from representing him in the media whilst the trial is on.
Dear Dave
Do you have a contact number for Abu Abdullah? Just read your encounter with him on your website. I would like to make contact with him to see if there's any chance he would speak to the American TV channel I work for (CNN).
Cheers,
______
From: dave bones
To: ____ _____ <_____>
Subject: Re: Abu Abdullah
CNN? Great! How much?
In all seriousness, and in answer to the other stranger request for Abdullah's number I recieved, I'm afraid I can't give out his phone number over the internet. I could forward numbers in case he wanted to call but he probably wont. I think he's called me once in 2-3 years. I have been told that Mr. Hamza has banned anyone from representing him in the media whilst the trial is on.
What about this then?More signs of the apocalypse?
these two look disturbingly like they are posing for this photo don't you think?
Venezuela Social Forum
Jo from united diversity is going to be blogging from the World Social Forum in Venezuela as a guest of the Venezuelan Govt. Catch up with him here. He has taken his camcorder so we can hopefully knock a couple of edits together when he gets back.
Hajj to the rescue
OK I'm going to loose the chronology and relax a bit on all this...this is from tuesday 17th or possibly friday 13th. I am refering to my favourite Muslim, Hajj who I first wrote about here
The tapes were horrible to sit through. In the time I spent filming in Finsbury park, hating Jews as a race and encouraging people to bomb innocents in this country were always my cut off points at which I determined I would walk away from this project. Hamza never did either.
Week in, week out he told everyone who would listen that it was wrong to bomb innocents in Europe. I thought the media negligent not to be widely publicising this for our saftey regardless what they thought of him. Watching these tapes I thought that Hamza had come across as if he hated Jews and wanted blood spread everywhere. He was advocating slavery saying "They'll get used to it." I was dejected.
I called Hajj and asked if I could pop round. I like going round to Hajj's. We sit and watch TV together. He is great company. He says his is a "dawa" house and it feels "dawa" inside.
"They won't let the Muslims unite on this earth. They drew the maps themselves to keep people fighting."
I told Hajj some of the things Hamza had said. Each time he said "That is totally wrong!"
"No one is disputing the words Hajj..." I said.
I spoke of Hamza telling people to kill wine sellers.
"That is wrong! Hang on... was he saying about in a Muslim land or here?"
"Don't know Hajj. The jury have to decide..."
"What about in a Muslim land?"
"You can't do that, brother." he said with his hands out. "This is wrong in Islam."
I talked about Hamza comparing Jews to pigs and apes.
"That is in the Koran. God tested some Jews by sending a lot of fish on the Sabbath. They gave in to temptation and trapped the fish so he turned them into pigs and apes. "
He went on to tell me there was no Judaism in the old testament and that the Israelites were the Muslims brothers throughout history.
I told him that given what he had said in the tapes I thought British people were owed an explanation in the circumstances. He seemed to think that if Hamza had not made himself clear enough he would apologise, that was the type of guy he was.
I couldn't have ever imagined him apologizing. "He pleaded not guilty Hajj."
"But you have to, don't you? He isn't guilty, he is misunderstood." he said.
My mind phased a bit. Could a misunderstood preacher in a trial at the Old Bailey for incitement to racial hatred and incitement to murder carrying a maximum sentence of life just apologise???
I said although I believed they weren't racist they blurred the edges a bit too much so making trouble for themselves. I asked why he liked preachers who shouted, for instance..
"I like a preacher to shout! I don't want some honey mouth. I want someone to wake me up and make me aware of my sins! Abu Katada! Sheik Faisal! Abu Hamza!"
I burst out laughing and doubled up on his sofa.
I asked Hajj about the comment about "The tree's will say "Theres a Jew behind me! Kill him!"
why did Hamza say that?"
"They are the sayings of the prophet. Jesus is coming back to destroy the anti-christ. They are talking about a final battle between Zionists and Muslims. the Koran says Jews and Muslims will be fighting till judgement day. This is what we see. This is prophesy coming true."
He went on a bit about British society. "They say they want us to integrate. Integrate into what? The pub? Striptease? What is English? They don't like people being attracted into a pious life. How do they want to stop binge drinking? By opening the pubs 24 hours!"
Hajj asked if Mr. Hamza had lost weight.
"A bit. His hair is white. He's giving evidence on Thursday. You should come. He would be pleased to see you no?"
He seemed a bit confused, even by what he had seen Hamza reported as saying on TV.
"In my house. On that chair, a young Muslim says he feels frustrated about this country. The Sheik says "So go!"
He thought Hamza had quoted a lot from the Koran without specifying that was what he was doing as his audience knew the Koran. This is why they say "The Koran is on trial."
We talked about the diference between us in society, why Islam didn't attract me.
"Look Hajj, I like nightclubs where women don't wear very much and no one makes each other feel guilty about it. I don't see Islam as a better way to be going about things of this nature."
"The prophet says- Don't wear clothes as if they are a second skin." he answered.
He had watched a TV program in the seventies called QED with lots of naked men of all shapes and sizes. All the women were asked what was important. They all said a little butt first, second “What was round the front”. If women and men were kept innocent they wouldn't know the diference between people. Still, Mohammed is apparently quite realistic and accepts divorce. There is even a "Saying of the prophet" where he grants a divorce to a woman who told him her husband had a tiny dick.
I'm learning new things about Islam every day.
The tapes were horrible to sit through. In the time I spent filming in Finsbury park, hating Jews as a race and encouraging people to bomb innocents in this country were always my cut off points at which I determined I would walk away from this project. Hamza never did either.
Week in, week out he told everyone who would listen that it was wrong to bomb innocents in Europe. I thought the media negligent not to be widely publicising this for our saftey regardless what they thought of him. Watching these tapes I thought that Hamza had come across as if he hated Jews and wanted blood spread everywhere. He was advocating slavery saying "They'll get used to it." I was dejected.
I called Hajj and asked if I could pop round. I like going round to Hajj's. We sit and watch TV together. He is great company. He says his is a "dawa" house and it feels "dawa" inside.
"They won't let the Muslims unite on this earth. They drew the maps themselves to keep people fighting."
I told Hajj some of the things Hamza had said. Each time he said "That is totally wrong!"
"No one is disputing the words Hajj..." I said.
I spoke of Hamza telling people to kill wine sellers.
"That is wrong! Hang on... was he saying about in a Muslim land or here?"
"Don't know Hajj. The jury have to decide..."
"What about in a Muslim land?"
"You can't do that, brother." he said with his hands out. "This is wrong in Islam."
I talked about Hamza comparing Jews to pigs and apes.
"That is in the Koran. God tested some Jews by sending a lot of fish on the Sabbath. They gave in to temptation and trapped the fish so he turned them into pigs and apes. "
He went on to tell me there was no Judaism in the old testament and that the Israelites were the Muslims brothers throughout history.
I told him that given what he had said in the tapes I thought British people were owed an explanation in the circumstances. He seemed to think that if Hamza had not made himself clear enough he would apologise, that was the type of guy he was.
I couldn't have ever imagined him apologizing. "He pleaded not guilty Hajj."
"But you have to, don't you? He isn't guilty, he is misunderstood." he said.
My mind phased a bit. Could a misunderstood preacher in a trial at the Old Bailey for incitement to racial hatred and incitement to murder carrying a maximum sentence of life just apologise???
I said although I believed they weren't racist they blurred the edges a bit too much so making trouble for themselves. I asked why he liked preachers who shouted, for instance..
"I like a preacher to shout! I don't want some honey mouth. I want someone to wake me up and make me aware of my sins! Abu Katada! Sheik Faisal! Abu Hamza!"
I burst out laughing and doubled up on his sofa.
I asked Hajj about the comment about "The tree's will say "Theres a Jew behind me! Kill him!"
why did Hamza say that?"
"They are the sayings of the prophet. Jesus is coming back to destroy the anti-christ. They are talking about a final battle between Zionists and Muslims. the Koran says Jews and Muslims will be fighting till judgement day. This is what we see. This is prophesy coming true."
He went on a bit about British society. "They say they want us to integrate. Integrate into what? The pub? Striptease? What is English? They don't like people being attracted into a pious life. How do they want to stop binge drinking? By opening the pubs 24 hours!"
Hajj asked if Mr. Hamza had lost weight.
"A bit. His hair is white. He's giving evidence on Thursday. You should come. He would be pleased to see you no?"
He seemed a bit confused, even by what he had seen Hamza reported as saying on TV.
"In my house. On that chair, a young Muslim says he feels frustrated about this country. The Sheik says "So go!"
He thought Hamza had quoted a lot from the Koran without specifying that was what he was doing as his audience knew the Koran. This is why they say "The Koran is on trial."
We talked about the diference between us in society, why Islam didn't attract me.
"Look Hajj, I like nightclubs where women don't wear very much and no one makes each other feel guilty about it. I don't see Islam as a better way to be going about things of this nature."
"The prophet says- Don't wear clothes as if they are a second skin." he answered.
He had watched a TV program in the seventies called QED with lots of naked men of all shapes and sizes. All the women were asked what was important. They all said a little butt first, second “What was round the front”. If women and men were kept innocent they wouldn't know the diference between people. Still, Mohammed is apparently quite realistic and accepts divorce. There is even a "Saying of the prophet" where he grants a divorce to a woman who told him her husband had a tiny dick.
I'm learning new things about Islam every day.
January 20, 2006
the BBC piece is quite good actually
Mr Abu Hamza's appearance in the witness box, for his own defence against 15 charges, was never going to be a simple case of pleading not guilty.
It was a nuanced theological debate, a denouncement of Zionist politics, a defence of Jihad (Islamic struggle) - and it even lifted the lid on MI5's meetings with the cleric...
"They may have treated him as guilty before this trial even began - but they haven't heard the evidence. It's not their decision - it's yours."...
Mr Abu Hamza's defence began with an appeal to the jury to closely read his words in the context of Islam's holy and historic texts and, crucially, the interpretation that can be put upon them
So when he was appealing to people to fight - it was his case that he was calling on Muslims to defend their own people, rather than to fight for any reason.
The cleric said he wanted to explain the true meaning of "jihad". He said that it could be spiritual, meaning a duty to "struggle" for God's way of life without seeking personal or material reward.
But it could also be physical, if required. And this "jihad of the sword" was governed by strict rules.
"There are limits on what can be done in fighting," he said. "We fight for the cause of God. We do not kill women or children. We must not fight for the sake of fighting. We do not fight for racism, or for nationalism. Only for the sake of God."
He was asked about what he thought about Jews, a key element of the case against him. Were they to be hated and harmed?
Early life
Mr Abu Hamza said that Jews had a kinship with Muslims, both religions being descended from Abraham. But Israel and "Zionism" was another matter.
"I do not believe in Israel," he said. "In the Torah [Jewish holy text] it is not Israel. In the Bible it is not Israel. In the Koran it is not Israel. It is Palestine. It's an abomination to change its name."
Much of the day was taken up with such extremely complicated debate - but the court also heard, for the first time, many details of his early life.
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, to a naval father and a headmistress mother, Mr Abu Hamza came to Britain in 1979 as a trainee civil engineer.
He quickly found an interest in Islam and the politics of the Middle East. In turn, as he spent more and more time in mosques, he met Muhajideen veterans from Afghanistan - Islamic fighters who had been funded by the US against the Soviet Union - who had come to London for artificial limb treatment.
He often translated for them at Harley Street -and this led to him taking his engineering skills to the war-ravaged country. "I put my belongings in a crate, I went there intending never to come back," he said.
It was here that he lost his hands, although he did not elaborate how. In 1995, after returning to the UK for treatment, he went to Bosnia where Muslims were involved in another conflict amid the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.
Before all of this happened, he had been just a plain old engineer. And one of his biggest contracts, he proudly told the court, had been a major construction project at Sandhurst, the Army's military academy in Berkshire.
He had retained the plans of the Sandhurst grounds as part of his engineering archives. When he was interviewed by police in 1989, he told the court, they had taken these papers away - but later returned them to him. They were still in his home, he said, when he was arrested prior to this trial.
"It's a very crucial document for any terrorist if he wants to do anything," he said.
And this got to the heart of his defence. Abu Hamza argued that if he were such a threat to others, why had the security services not acted against him before?
Critically, he said the security services knew of his sermons long before his arrest, as they were monitoring him as part of a strategy widely dubbed "Londonistan", the idea of allowing radicals into Britain in return for ensuring that violence does not come here.
Unlawful sermons?
Abu Hamza told the court that he had been interviewed on many occasions by members of MI5, police Special Branch and, on one occasion, investigators from France interested in his links with Algerian Islamist fighters.
Most of these meetings coincided with his rise to prominence in 1997 as the imam of Finsbury Park - but other Islamist figures were also talking to the security services, such was the climate.
"I received a phone call [from MI5] and I said: 'Should I bring a bag?'. They said they just wanted a discussion. We talked about suicide bombers. They said they were not recording, I did not need a solicitor, they just wanted to know about me.
"It was Londonistan. It was not Londonistan because of me. It was Londonistan because of government policy."
"Did they [any of the security services or police] ever say that your sermons were unlawful?" asked Mr Fitzgerald.
"No, they said 'you are walking on a tight rope'. They said that I was saying things they did not like, 'but you have freedom of speech'. 'We don't have to worry as long as we don't see blood on the streets.'"
The 47-year-old, from west London, denies 15 charges including soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred. The case continues.
I actually knew about Hamza's military father and retired teacher mother back in july.
Mr Abu Hamza's appearance in the witness box, for his own defence against 15 charges, was never going to be a simple case of pleading not guilty.
It was a nuanced theological debate, a denouncement of Zionist politics, a defence of Jihad (Islamic struggle) - and it even lifted the lid on MI5's meetings with the cleric...
"They may have treated him as guilty before this trial even began - but they haven't heard the evidence. It's not their decision - it's yours."...
Mr Abu Hamza's defence began with an appeal to the jury to closely read his words in the context of Islam's holy and historic texts and, crucially, the interpretation that can be put upon them
So when he was appealing to people to fight - it was his case that he was calling on Muslims to defend their own people, rather than to fight for any reason.
The cleric said he wanted to explain the true meaning of "jihad". He said that it could be spiritual, meaning a duty to "struggle" for God's way of life without seeking personal or material reward.
But it could also be physical, if required. And this "jihad of the sword" was governed by strict rules.
"There are limits on what can be done in fighting," he said. "We fight for the cause of God. We do not kill women or children. We must not fight for the sake of fighting. We do not fight for racism, or for nationalism. Only for the sake of God."
He was asked about what he thought about Jews, a key element of the case against him. Were they to be hated and harmed?
Early life
Mr Abu Hamza said that Jews had a kinship with Muslims, both religions being descended from Abraham. But Israel and "Zionism" was another matter.
"I do not believe in Israel," he said. "In the Torah [Jewish holy text] it is not Israel. In the Bible it is not Israel. In the Koran it is not Israel. It is Palestine. It's an abomination to change its name."
Much of the day was taken up with such extremely complicated debate - but the court also heard, for the first time, many details of his early life.
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, to a naval father and a headmistress mother, Mr Abu Hamza came to Britain in 1979 as a trainee civil engineer.
He quickly found an interest in Islam and the politics of the Middle East. In turn, as he spent more and more time in mosques, he met Muhajideen veterans from Afghanistan - Islamic fighters who had been funded by the US against the Soviet Union - who had come to London for artificial limb treatment.
He often translated for them at Harley Street -and this led to him taking his engineering skills to the war-ravaged country. "I put my belongings in a crate, I went there intending never to come back," he said.
It was here that he lost his hands, although he did not elaborate how. In 1995, after returning to the UK for treatment, he went to Bosnia where Muslims were involved in another conflict amid the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.
Before all of this happened, he had been just a plain old engineer. And one of his biggest contracts, he proudly told the court, had been a major construction project at Sandhurst, the Army's military academy in Berkshire.
He had retained the plans of the Sandhurst grounds as part of his engineering archives. When he was interviewed by police in 1989, he told the court, they had taken these papers away - but later returned them to him. They were still in his home, he said, when he was arrested prior to this trial.
"It's a very crucial document for any terrorist if he wants to do anything," he said.
And this got to the heart of his defence. Abu Hamza argued that if he were such a threat to others, why had the security services not acted against him before?
Critically, he said the security services knew of his sermons long before his arrest, as they were monitoring him as part of a strategy widely dubbed "Londonistan", the idea of allowing radicals into Britain in return for ensuring that violence does not come here.
Unlawful sermons?
Abu Hamza told the court that he had been interviewed on many occasions by members of MI5, police Special Branch and, on one occasion, investigators from France interested in his links with Algerian Islamist fighters.
Most of these meetings coincided with his rise to prominence in 1997 as the imam of Finsbury Park - but other Islamist figures were also talking to the security services, such was the climate.
"I received a phone call [from MI5] and I said: 'Should I bring a bag?'. They said they just wanted a discussion. We talked about suicide bombers. They said they were not recording, I did not need a solicitor, they just wanted to know about me.
"It was Londonistan. It was not Londonistan because of me. It was Londonistan because of government policy."
"Did they [any of the security services or police] ever say that your sermons were unlawful?" asked Mr Fitzgerald.
"No, they said 'you are walking on a tight rope'. They said that I was saying things they did not like, 'but you have freedom of speech'. 'We don't have to worry as long as we don't see blood on the streets.'"
The 47-year-old, from west London, denies 15 charges including soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred. The case continues.
I actually knew about Hamza's military father and retired teacher mother back in july.
January 19, 2006
Channel 4's dope podcast
Big brother news: Now everyone knows Galloway is a twat and most people have told him. Pete is going to win. Either women will hate Rula cos shes a bit rickety old actooor or they'll be suffering from breast envy for the dizzy black baywatch babe (with the voice like sweet music) one of those two will be out. I put a rash tenner on...... too close to call. Picture one of those dumpy Heat magazine reading secretaries from "the Office" with a choice between boring old actress and a girl with fake tits? hmmmm
For the Americans: Maggot said he wanted to hit George Galloway then confonted him- also in tonights Galloway watch a Tory MP on Question Time said that he hadn't voted in the second debate on Iraq which BLAIR WON BY JUST ONE VOTE.
Big brother news: Now everyone knows Galloway is a twat and most people have told him. Pete is going to win. Either women will hate Rula cos shes a bit rickety old actooor or they'll be suffering from breast envy for the dizzy black baywatch babe (with the voice like sweet music) one of those two will be out. I put a rash tenner on...... too close to call. Picture one of those dumpy Heat magazine reading secretaries from "the Office" with a choice between boring old actress and a girl with fake tits? hmmmm
For the Americans: Maggot said he wanted to hit George Galloway then confonted him- also in tonights Galloway watch a Tory MP on Question Time said that he hadn't voted in the second debate on Iraq which BLAIR WON BY JUST ONE VOTE.
Hamza trial 19th
I've got so behind in all this, I can't write my notes up before I get a whole load more. As you might have seen Mr. Hamza suprised everyone with a bit of a bombshell today revealing that he had the plans to Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in his house- because he was a civil engineer on the project. Its strange hearing his voice again. Not suprisingly the judge has to interupt him to stay on subject. He hasn't got too irritated yet. Its been great being in the public gallery to catch up with "the brothers" who pass by occasionaly and bring their point of view to you, but its a pain in the ass now because I can't see Hamza nor, maybe more importantly the juries reaction to him. I'll see if I can maybe blag a press card. I think he's going to be speaking all day tomorow.
Theres loads that I have missed out and will catch up on I promise.
UPDATE: I thought the BBC News at 10 misrepresented the story a bit tonight.
They said he "admitted having plans of Sandhurst which could be useful to terrorists..."
They didn't say he had them cos he was the bloody civil engineer on the project and the Police gave them back to him twice. I wonder if Fitz (defence) is going to pick up on it with the judge tomorrow?
Hamza: I kept plans of Sandhurst Ireland Online,
Abu Hamza 'convicted by media' The Observer
Eyewitness: Abu Hamza in court (BBC)
Theres loads that I have missed out and will catch up on I promise.
UPDATE: I thought the BBC News at 10 misrepresented the story a bit tonight.
They said he "admitted having plans of Sandhurst which could be useful to terrorists..."
They didn't say he had them cos he was the bloody civil engineer on the project and the Police gave them back to him twice. I wonder if Fitz (defence) is going to pick up on it with the judge tomorrow?
Hamza: I kept plans of Sandhurst Ireland Online,
Abu Hamza 'convicted by media' The Observer
Eyewitness: Abu Hamza in court (BBC)
January 18, 2006
Ritual humiliation or charades?
Cheers to Anna for sending me this picture. I am a bit more unhinged than normal but I thought this was beautiful. Seminal TV. Sure everyone can shout shit. For me this is the only time I have ever liked Galloway. This sequence of events was like a ritual humiliation of a huge ego, an almost spiritual theatre of the absurd. It was also simply just Rula Lenska and George Galloway playing charades.
I'm so glad I saw it, I'm so glad he did it and I haven't got a fucking clue why. Something about this being on TV makes me feel spiritually peaceful. Its like I know I am comfortable not understanding why.
I'm so glad I saw it, I'm so glad he did it and I haven't got a fucking clue why. Something about this being on TV makes me feel spiritually peaceful. Its like I know I am comfortable not understanding why.
The Zen of Robin
via Bigdog
many of the USO's regular performers are fierce critics of the war, among them the comic and star of Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams, who told USA Today he would like to return to the Middle East in the spring for what would be his fourth tour since 2002. "I'm there for the [troops], not for W," he said in a reference to the president. "Go, man. You won't forget it. You'll meet amazing people," is his message to stars that ask him about the tours. But the comedian said he mostly tries to keep politics out of the show after he did a few jokes about Bush's brainpower at a base in 2003 and got a chilly reception.
January 17, 2006
Notes from the Hamza trial 16th etc
Observer, Daily Mail, Jihad Unspun,
Reading the Daily Mail and then Jihad Unspun is amusing. I'm not sure which are bigger "Hamza fans". Samir, from the Supporters of Shareeah told me that the story of a prisoner assulting Hamza is untrue. The correct story was that a non-Muslim prosoner got solitary for assulting some doctor who was fucking with hamza's medicine or something. He's always promised me a letter they got from the prisoner but I've yet to see it. Its quite funny seeing a pro-Hamza Islamic piece quoting a Sun special. I have also heard very recently from someone who visits him that Hamza is treated OK in prison these days so Jihadunspun is wrong there too unless everyone is lying to me.
Sorry, playing catch up again. This is probably the most important part of this blog so far and I'm getting blog burnout. Anyway this is a badly written sketch straight from my badly written notes again:
I caught the end of a tape:
If it is killing, do it. If it is ambush do it. They are kaffir, they are acting as one body, we should act as one body.
Another video came on, this one filmed in the front room of a house, probably before 1999, Hamza seemed to be giving Muslims advice on the sort of thing to expect if going to the Balkans for Jihad. he says that Macedonia want to split Kosovo and Albania. The Albania/Kosovo people need a bit of a shake up. More blood. He spoke against the Red Cross, saying that they go into areas worldwide to make people dependent on them and then "Steal the diamonds from under peoples feet" like in Africa. He seemed to be wary of any help from non-Muslims in the area. Apparently (if I got this right) there are people giving out 4x4s etc. The Muslims in the area need "dawa" and change is slow.
Someone asked about the terrain. Chalk cliffs by the sea, lots of mountains. Good for small groups of Mujahadeen. Borders difficult to Police as cars are such an easy target. There seemed to be a problem between Shia and Sunni apparently. Hamza suggests people choose their "emir" (leader) and train, get some discipline and "take a village" or "take somewhere else" (?)
I think he said that he had problems there with people saying "Hamza wants to make a group inside a group" and he had to leave. They wouldn't let him teach there because they wanted to check what he was going to say about Arafat etc first. Individually they are great people but colectively they failed.
He seemed to think it was good to put policies before people and for people to be clear why they were going.
1. To establish Kalifa
2. To create "pockets" of Muslims who could make no-go areas for Kaffirs as Kaffirs made no-go areas for them.
3. Dawah (ministering Islam)
4. So that people who didn't want to fight were left alone (?I think)
He seemed a bit down about the achievements so far. Lots of martyrs, no banks closed. No real change. You have to establish every reason to fight.
"Tell the Serbs, NO. You are not going to rape my sister, she doesn't like you."
The whole earth wants to fight. The tree says there is a Jew behind me, kill him. There is no liquid more loved by God than blood, be it the blood by lamb, by Jew, whatever. Muslims will never be together with kaffirs, if you want to achieve this it is just a dream.
It is OK taking kaffirs as slaves. If you take a kaffir slave girl she will see you pray and see you practice your religion. You can convert slaves by showing them your lifestyle. Its all about controlling kaffirs. There is a bad leadership now (in the Balkans still I think) the leaders don't take advice, they kill people who give advice. Anyone can make a pocket somewhere on earth and make that pocket increase. You have to be free.
He uses the example of blood and the way red cells fight germs.Just like the fight is inside us, the germs are the Kaffirs. We can't escape nature.
Every civilization was spead by the sword. Christianity, America, if you can't support with the sword, put it on the shelf. If you don't fight the religion dies. If you fight religion comes back. recently from someone who visits him that he is treated OK these days in prison so the Jihadunspun article is wrong there as well.People have replaced the sword with a cheque book. If you create the first Islamic state the rest will topple. No one will let you do it.
Someone asked a question about joining groups.Hamza says they should have an "understanding of Sahaba" and all policies should be backed up with verses from the koran and Sunna. "Give me a verse". No scholar should ally themselves to this country. Any ruling shouldn't be contradicted by other verses in the Koran. Bring evidence, don't hide verses.
After lunch we had a talk in Arabic relating to the charges of soliciting to murder.
a video called "How to Survive in the land of Kuffar." a Supporters of Shariah production dated 4th sept 1999
It is stated that this tape is especially aimed at the youth who live in this land (Britain) people who "Hold fast" a dificult thing to do in Muslim lands, let alone here.
He starts with a long tirade against "Hywaymen Sheiks" who consent to the sale of alchohol and "the showing of the flesh of disbelievers" Corupt scholars who "make the lawful unlawful and the unlawful lawful with the worst trickery." Don't be tricked, and whoever changes from his faith and commits apostacy, kill them. he critizes sheiks who acknowledge the state of Israel, those who say "Israel has become a reality, no need for Jihad."
This nation is built on capitalism and usury. Forbidden acts. Arms sold to the enemies of Islam. Don't vote. Don't even get into this "lesser of two evils" bullshit (my words of course) Don't ally yourself against the Muslim. Convert to Islam even if you are lying- you will get used to it.
Even when the US aproved of Jihad how many Muslims went to fight? Amongst the Jews even 15 year old girls answer the call. They are well banded together. This country uses tricks to placate Muslims, being nice to immigrants etc.
Someone asks- for a person who claims benefit in this country, is it a land of war? The answer was something like, If you get asylum on religious grounds you have to respect all the laws, if you are here on political grounds it is a land of war. In Muslim lands you should have no contact with unbelievers. they shouldn't see your fire, nor you theirs.
he then said something about "John Travolta" which I am pissed off I cannot translate from my notes as it was quite funny. It could possibly be this, although I don't think I got the same understanding. Fuck knows.
Reading the Daily Mail and then Jihad Unspun is amusing. I'm not sure which are bigger "Hamza fans". Samir, from the Supporters of Shareeah told me that the story of a prisoner assulting Hamza is untrue. The correct story was that a non-Muslim prosoner got solitary for assulting some doctor who was fucking with hamza's medicine or something. He's always promised me a letter they got from the prisoner but I've yet to see it. Its quite funny seeing a pro-Hamza Islamic piece quoting a Sun special. I have also heard very recently from someone who visits him that Hamza is treated OK in prison these days so Jihadunspun is wrong there too unless everyone is lying to me.
Sorry, playing catch up again. This is probably the most important part of this blog so far and I'm getting blog burnout. Anyway this is a badly written sketch straight from my badly written notes again:
I caught the end of a tape:
If it is killing, do it. If it is ambush do it. They are kaffir, they are acting as one body, we should act as one body.
Another video came on, this one filmed in the front room of a house, probably before 1999, Hamza seemed to be giving Muslims advice on the sort of thing to expect if going to the Balkans for Jihad. he says that Macedonia want to split Kosovo and Albania. The Albania/Kosovo people need a bit of a shake up. More blood. He spoke against the Red Cross, saying that they go into areas worldwide to make people dependent on them and then "Steal the diamonds from under peoples feet" like in Africa. He seemed to be wary of any help from non-Muslims in the area. Apparently (if I got this right) there are people giving out 4x4s etc. The Muslims in the area need "dawa" and change is slow.
Someone asked about the terrain. Chalk cliffs by the sea, lots of mountains. Good for small groups of Mujahadeen. Borders difficult to Police as cars are such an easy target. There seemed to be a problem between Shia and Sunni apparently. Hamza suggests people choose their "emir" (leader) and train, get some discipline and "take a village" or "take somewhere else" (?)
I think he said that he had problems there with people saying "Hamza wants to make a group inside a group" and he had to leave. They wouldn't let him teach there because they wanted to check what he was going to say about Arafat etc first. Individually they are great people but colectively they failed.
He seemed to think it was good to put policies before people and for people to be clear why they were going.
1. To establish Kalifa
2. To create "pockets" of Muslims who could make no-go areas for Kaffirs as Kaffirs made no-go areas for them.
3. Dawah (ministering Islam)
4. So that people who didn't want to fight were left alone (?I think)
He seemed a bit down about the achievements so far. Lots of martyrs, no banks closed. No real change. You have to establish every reason to fight.
"Tell the Serbs, NO. You are not going to rape my sister, she doesn't like you."
The whole earth wants to fight. The tree says there is a Jew behind me, kill him. There is no liquid more loved by God than blood, be it the blood by lamb, by Jew, whatever. Muslims will never be together with kaffirs, if you want to achieve this it is just a dream.
It is OK taking kaffirs as slaves. If you take a kaffir slave girl she will see you pray and see you practice your religion. You can convert slaves by showing them your lifestyle. Its all about controlling kaffirs. There is a bad leadership now (in the Balkans still I think) the leaders don't take advice, they kill people who give advice. Anyone can make a pocket somewhere on earth and make that pocket increase. You have to be free.
He uses the example of blood and the way red cells fight germs.Just like the fight is inside us, the germs are the Kaffirs. We can't escape nature.
Every civilization was spead by the sword. Christianity, America, if you can't support with the sword, put it on the shelf. If you don't fight the religion dies. If you fight religion comes back. recently from someone who visits him that he is treated OK these days in prison so the Jihadunspun article is wrong there as well.People have replaced the sword with a cheque book. If you create the first Islamic state the rest will topple. No one will let you do it.
Someone asked a question about joining groups.Hamza says they should have an "understanding of Sahaba" and all policies should be backed up with verses from the koran and Sunna. "Give me a verse". No scholar should ally themselves to this country. Any ruling shouldn't be contradicted by other verses in the Koran. Bring evidence, don't hide verses.
After lunch we had a talk in Arabic relating to the charges of soliciting to murder.
a video called "How to Survive in the land of Kuffar." a Supporters of Shariah production dated 4th sept 1999
It is stated that this tape is especially aimed at the youth who live in this land (Britain) people who "Hold fast" a dificult thing to do in Muslim lands, let alone here.
He starts with a long tirade against "Hywaymen Sheiks" who consent to the sale of alchohol and "the showing of the flesh of disbelievers" Corupt scholars who "make the lawful unlawful and the unlawful lawful with the worst trickery." Don't be tricked, and whoever changes from his faith and commits apostacy, kill them. he critizes sheiks who acknowledge the state of Israel, those who say "Israel has become a reality, no need for Jihad."
This nation is built on capitalism and usury. Forbidden acts. Arms sold to the enemies of Islam. Don't vote. Don't even get into this "lesser of two evils" bullshit (my words of course) Don't ally yourself against the Muslim. Convert to Islam even if you are lying- you will get used to it.
Even when the US aproved of Jihad how many Muslims went to fight? Amongst the Jews even 15 year old girls answer the call. They are well banded together. This country uses tricks to placate Muslims, being nice to immigrants etc.
Someone asks- for a person who claims benefit in this country, is it a land of war? The answer was something like, If you get asylum on religious grounds you have to respect all the laws, if you are here on political grounds it is a land of war. In Muslim lands you should have no contact with unbelievers. they shouldn't see your fire, nor you theirs.
he then said something about "John Travolta" which I am pissed off I cannot translate from my notes as it was quite funny. It could possibly be this, although I don't think I got the same understanding. Fuck knows.
January 16, 2006
A Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters news agency that Damadola was the stronghold of a banned pro-Taleban group, the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi.
The US has about 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, but Pakistan does not allow them to operate across the border.
Pakistan has about 70,000 troops in the border region
The US has about 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, but Pakistan does not allow them to operate across the border.
Pakistan has about 70,000 troops in the border region
January 14, 2006
The Sunday Times January 14, 2006
Day trip to say 'happy birthday' to centenarian who made LSD
From Charles Bremner in Basle.
Galloway is actually winning me over a bit in Big Brother though I hate to admit it. His stated reasons for going into Big brother:- "All the other Politicians say how they would like to appeal to the Big Brother demograph, they talk the talk but don't walk the walk. I'm walking the walk."
That's fair enough in my book. It is very strange how Pete Burns looks at him as such a figure of stability. His character failings are very obvious, but they always were. Hes just George Galloway at the end of the day.
Friday 13th experiences
Channel 4 news and video report
I've eaten as many bacon double whopping Mickey Mc Mackers burgers in three days as I usally manage in three years, (3).
OK here we go.
Before the jury came in Perry asked the judge if Channel 4 news could remove the tapes for the purpose of broadcasting. Fitz objects because of potential impact on jury seeing selective edits on TV. Might prompt discussion.
The judge said a very interesting thing. He believed the press should be able to put the people in the public gallery but not necesarily that of the jury. In trials it was not normal for anyone but the jury to see the evidence. He called Channel 4 news a "Prominent, respectable and well known" media outlet but if he made it available to one he would be unable to deny the same opportunity to those less responsible.
Simon Israel from Channel 4 news address to judge explaining he wanted a visual parallel to the written media, precendents had been set during Soham trial. A copying machine could be brought into court.
Judge denies.
"Selective highlights" "domestic customers" (?) not on jury. Potential 4 misuse. If crowns case is proved this is inflamatory material and once broacast could be copied and redistributed.
Jury allowed in
They start watching tape filmed in a house with Hamza sitting at a small table answering questions from those off camera. His animated naked stumps are visually mesmerising and almost a subconcious "visual language" for all things frightening about the public perception of fundamental Islam in Britain.
If a licensee doesn't accept Dawah- Kill him. I could make that out even from the public gallery. A Kaffir under no protection from Islamic law, kill him. Take his money.
the next tape was in arabic and related to the soliciting murder and racial hatred charges.
Dated 13th Oct 2000 it was in black and white. Rather than sitting through it the jury would be given a flavour, which was Hamza shouting, animatedly in black and white.
"Do you mant more?" Judge asks Fitz. "No." he replies a bit downcast.
The ground shakes around us cursing the Jews. "Sons of Monkeys and Pigs". Intifada was predicted. If Muslims hadn't given their blood when Sharon visited Al -Axah the mosque would have been desecrated. Look at the Jews, ordering Clinton to come talk to Arrafat.
The US gave aid to the Afghans when they already could see they were winning. The Intifada happened in Yemen because the Prophet predicted "12 000 will ally themselves to prophet." A bit confusing but I think the idea is that although the rulers of Islamic countries do deals with Jewish state, there is a ring of personally armed Islamists as a barrier to Jewish influence though the authorities who do deals with "the Jews" control the actual borders.
Hamza seems to be advising Islamists who cross these borders to fight. "If they ask for your papers, say "I am a Muslim." If they give you any shit, kill them, don't even pray for them first. Never give up their weapons to anyone because God says "Keep your weapons."
Jews cant live with each other without fighting, they pretend to be allies because they are scared. They would sell their own friends or family to the athiest. They are blasphemers. It is no point making peace with them. Their relationship with the world is that they corrupt it, that is why God sends people to punish them. Mohammed kicked them out of the Arab peninsula because of coruption. Hitler thought to himself, "The Jews deal arms to both sides so lets kill them."
Abu Bakah (in the Koran?) tried to convert a Jew who says " Gods hands are tied. He is poor. We are rich. Why do I need God when I have usury?" he hit him in the face. This is a Jew who deals in usury, kill him. Jews will be destroyed and the Jewish state will be destroyed until there are none left. In Gods name they will be killed.
The Intifada will teach Muslims how to unite, sacrifice and crave martyrdom to cleanse their lands of jews and Christians. Bosnia started without weapons. They asked for help from the east and the west and no one helped them. They took weapons from the hands of their enemies and it was only when they were about to win that the American pirates forced them to negotiate. Hezbollah are shiites and make enemies of Israel without making enemies of its allies, the US and Britain.
The borders are closed on "the brothers" with everyone bowing to Jews and to Arafat. (Don't think he likes Arrafat) There is going to be a struggle between Jews, Christians and Muslims till the judgement day. The christians are slaves to the Jewish state. the Koran predicts the Jews will be buried there. Because they take Muslim lands is only a side reason for killing them. the prophet kept them away from the holy places so they couldn't have influence there where desicions are made.
There are no civilians in Israel. All train for war. Jews the world over train even their women to fight. They forced Arafat to hand over 6 for killing 2 Israeli soldiers. He should not have done this. The allies and the Jews close the borders. Allies are more Jews than the Jews themselves. The Jews wouldn't enter palestine till they had got the British to make it safe for them then they thanked the British by bombing them and becoming terrorists. They are cowards. We don't hate Jews because they hurt each other (?) but because they corrupt the earth.
Next 2 tapes were in English dated 13/10/2000
First one started with a camera wandering around all over the front of Finsbury park mosque with a hugely elaborate, echoing call to prayer. It reminded me of the first time I noticed the mosque many years ago passing on a motorcyle, hearing the call to prayer from the now infamous minarete. I don't think the new crowd there have gone back to using it yet. I couldn't make out what was being said from the public gallery at all.
-----------------------------------
This has got to be the hardest stuff I have ever written on this blog. Thankfully some of the younger brothers turned up in the afternoon so I could confront them with how I felt about it all. Samir, who runs the supporters of Shareeah website has a brother who I have never asked the name of. Anyway they are both in their twenties, are very quietly spoken and have visited me at one the scruffiest squats I lived in years ago. It is very obvious that they both see Hamza as a father figure. All of the younger guys in the public gallery do. Most of them are at college and none of them want to appear on camera.
I told Samirs brother straight that I had known him a long time now, and if I had heard Hamza talking how I had seen all that in the court I would have left and quoted the bits I struggled with back to him a bit. He explained that at that point Hamza was still learning English and didn't properly distinguish in his terminology between "Jews" and "Zionists".
All of this was in the context of the Intifada. While Hamza spoke, many Muslims were being killed in Palestine. Every Muslim in Britain from the age of 5 to 70 was inflamed by what was happening.
Yes, Hitler had been sent by God to punnish the Jews, but Saddam was also sent to punnish the Moslems and teaching that wasn't racist against Moslems.
"Is this what you understand or what Hamza had actually told you himself?"
He assured me that it was the later and none of those who accept Hamza as a teacher believe it is Islamic to hate anyone on the grounds of race. Looking at Samirs brother I believe this is what he thinks. Because neither of them will go on camera I can't show you what I mean which is the most frustrating thing in the world to me.
I went back into court to see Hamza say that the Kaffirs hate the Jews more than Muslims do because they control all their money.
One of the things which hasn't been picked up on in the media is the fact that Hamza doesn't stand when they say "All rise." The judge is making out that this is because he is old and he "hopes hamza is comfortable" The real reason became apparent to me when the guys in the gallery refused to stand up. There is an officious but likeable turkish (I think) guy who works there who was a bit afronted by this, or more suprised that they refused to stand. Later in the afternoon they avoided confrontation by walking out for the "all rise".
It occured to me this is because neither they nor Hamza respect the authority of this court. They are in a religious situation where according to their beliefs they cannot bow to "Man made law". The judge, very wisely wants to see the case through rather than make any issue of "contempt of court" at this stage, but it will be interesting to see what hamza does when he is sentenced.
as "respectable media organisations" say-
the case continues....
I've eaten as many bacon double whopping Mickey Mc Mackers burgers in three days as I usally manage in three years, (3).
OK here we go.
Before the jury came in Perry asked the judge if Channel 4 news could remove the tapes for the purpose of broadcasting. Fitz objects because of potential impact on jury seeing selective edits on TV. Might prompt discussion.
The judge said a very interesting thing. He believed the press should be able to put the people in the public gallery but not necesarily that of the jury. In trials it was not normal for anyone but the jury to see the evidence. He called Channel 4 news a "Prominent, respectable and well known" media outlet but if he made it available to one he would be unable to deny the same opportunity to those less responsible.
Simon Israel from Channel 4 news address to judge explaining he wanted a visual parallel to the written media, precendents had been set during Soham trial. A copying machine could be brought into court.
Judge denies.
"Selective highlights" "domestic customers" (?) not on jury. Potential 4 misuse. If crowns case is proved this is inflamatory material and once broacast could be copied and redistributed.
Jury allowed in
They start watching tape filmed in a house with Hamza sitting at a small table answering questions from those off camera. His animated naked stumps are visually mesmerising and almost a subconcious "visual language" for all things frightening about the public perception of fundamental Islam in Britain.
If a licensee doesn't accept Dawah- Kill him. I could make that out even from the public gallery. A Kaffir under no protection from Islamic law, kill him. Take his money.
the next tape was in arabic and related to the soliciting murder and racial hatred charges.
Dated 13th Oct 2000 it was in black and white. Rather than sitting through it the jury would be given a flavour, which was Hamza shouting, animatedly in black and white.
"Do you mant more?" Judge asks Fitz. "No." he replies a bit downcast.
The ground shakes around us cursing the Jews. "Sons of Monkeys and Pigs". Intifada was predicted. If Muslims hadn't given their blood when Sharon visited Al -Axah the mosque would have been desecrated. Look at the Jews, ordering Clinton to come talk to Arrafat.
The US gave aid to the Afghans when they already could see they were winning. The Intifada happened in Yemen because the Prophet predicted "12 000 will ally themselves to prophet." A bit confusing but I think the idea is that although the rulers of Islamic countries do deals with Jewish state, there is a ring of personally armed Islamists as a barrier to Jewish influence though the authorities who do deals with "the Jews" control the actual borders.
Hamza seems to be advising Islamists who cross these borders to fight. "If they ask for your papers, say "I am a Muslim." If they give you any shit, kill them, don't even pray for them first. Never give up their weapons to anyone because God says "Keep your weapons."
Jews cant live with each other without fighting, they pretend to be allies because they are scared. They would sell their own friends or family to the athiest. They are blasphemers. It is no point making peace with them. Their relationship with the world is that they corrupt it, that is why God sends people to punish them. Mohammed kicked them out of the Arab peninsula because of coruption. Hitler thought to himself, "The Jews deal arms to both sides so lets kill them."
Abu Bakah (in the Koran?) tried to convert a Jew who says " Gods hands are tied. He is poor. We are rich. Why do I need God when I have usury?" he hit him in the face. This is a Jew who deals in usury, kill him. Jews will be destroyed and the Jewish state will be destroyed until there are none left. In Gods name they will be killed.
The Intifada will teach Muslims how to unite, sacrifice and crave martyrdom to cleanse their lands of jews and Christians. Bosnia started without weapons. They asked for help from the east and the west and no one helped them. They took weapons from the hands of their enemies and it was only when they were about to win that the American pirates forced them to negotiate. Hezbollah are shiites and make enemies of Israel without making enemies of its allies, the US and Britain.
The borders are closed on "the brothers" with everyone bowing to Jews and to Arafat. (Don't think he likes Arrafat) There is going to be a struggle between Jews, Christians and Muslims till the judgement day. The christians are slaves to the Jewish state. the Koran predicts the Jews will be buried there. Because they take Muslim lands is only a side reason for killing them. the prophet kept them away from the holy places so they couldn't have influence there where desicions are made.
There are no civilians in Israel. All train for war. Jews the world over train even their women to fight. They forced Arafat to hand over 6 for killing 2 Israeli soldiers. He should not have done this. The allies and the Jews close the borders. Allies are more Jews than the Jews themselves. The Jews wouldn't enter palestine till they had got the British to make it safe for them then they thanked the British by bombing them and becoming terrorists. They are cowards. We don't hate Jews because they hurt each other (?) but because they corrupt the earth.
Next 2 tapes were in English dated 13/10/2000
First one started with a camera wandering around all over the front of Finsbury park mosque with a hugely elaborate, echoing call to prayer. It reminded me of the first time I noticed the mosque many years ago passing on a motorcyle, hearing the call to prayer from the now infamous minarete. I don't think the new crowd there have gone back to using it yet. I couldn't make out what was being said from the public gallery at all.
-----------------------------------
This has got to be the hardest stuff I have ever written on this blog. Thankfully some of the younger brothers turned up in the afternoon so I could confront them with how I felt about it all. Samir, who runs the supporters of Shareeah website has a brother who I have never asked the name of. Anyway they are both in their twenties, are very quietly spoken and have visited me at one the scruffiest squats I lived in years ago. It is very obvious that they both see Hamza as a father figure. All of the younger guys in the public gallery do. Most of them are at college and none of them want to appear on camera.
I told Samirs brother straight that I had known him a long time now, and if I had heard Hamza talking how I had seen all that in the court I would have left and quoted the bits I struggled with back to him a bit. He explained that at that point Hamza was still learning English and didn't properly distinguish in his terminology between "Jews" and "Zionists".
All of this was in the context of the Intifada. While Hamza spoke, many Muslims were being killed in Palestine. Every Muslim in Britain from the age of 5 to 70 was inflamed by what was happening.
Yes, Hitler had been sent by God to punnish the Jews, but Saddam was also sent to punnish the Moslems and teaching that wasn't racist against Moslems.
"Is this what you understand or what Hamza had actually told you himself?"
He assured me that it was the later and none of those who accept Hamza as a teacher believe it is Islamic to hate anyone on the grounds of race. Looking at Samirs brother I believe this is what he thinks. Because neither of them will go on camera I can't show you what I mean which is the most frustrating thing in the world to me.
I went back into court to see Hamza say that the Kaffirs hate the Jews more than Muslims do because they control all their money.
One of the things which hasn't been picked up on in the media is the fact that Hamza doesn't stand when they say "All rise." The judge is making out that this is because he is old and he "hopes hamza is comfortable" The real reason became apparent to me when the guys in the gallery refused to stand up. There is an officious but likeable turkish (I think) guy who works there who was a bit afronted by this, or more suprised that they refused to stand. Later in the afternoon they avoided confrontation by walking out for the "all rise".
It occured to me this is because neither they nor Hamza respect the authority of this court. They are in a religious situation where according to their beliefs they cannot bow to "Man made law". The judge, very wisely wants to see the case through rather than make any issue of "contempt of court" at this stage, but it will be interesting to see what hamza does when he is sentenced.
as "respectable media organisations" say-
the case continues....
January 13, 2006
Women control the vote Jodie
So more English girls hate the sort of girl Jodie Marsh is than there are citizens of Bethnal green who want Galloway to get back to work. I should have put money on it.
I must admit from what I saw I quite like the Jodie Marsh I saw on telly or indeed any nice smiling girl who "Quite likes a finger up the bottom."
Shes just an Essex girl. I quite like Essex girls. Over the age of consent I've got quite a broad outlook on what a "sexual sin" is suposed to be.
All Apologies...
To Glen Jenvey who I mistakenly suggested would be giving evidence in this trial and to Abu Abdullah who I accused of not informing me about their protest. I recieve emails from him so rarely I orgot to check. Anyway I'm sure lots of megaphone shouting and not that dangerous looking Muslims failed to explode...
>From: Abu Abdullah
>To: dave*at*socialistwanker
>Subject: RE: documentary
>Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 22:38:15 +0000
>
>yes mr bones be at the old baily 2morow 10am big demo from abu
>abdullah
>From: Abu Abdullah
>To: dave*at*socialistwanker
>Subject: RE: documentary
>Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 22:38:15 +0000
>
>yes mr bones be at the old baily 2morow 10am big demo from abu
>abdullah
January 12, 2006
Hey R+B is back. He's been afflicting trailer trash with carol singing. Isn't that banned under the geneva convention?
Sparkles noticed Kim Jong "You be illing" Ill is missing. I'm a bit worried since shes come back from Justice sunday. Put it this way, she sounds a lot diferent in real life than she does on her blog (adult content)
Called Abdullah, turns out he was just sad that I had spent all this time with them without becoming a Muslim rather than angry with any misrepresentation.
"The thing is Bones, the media are going to be interested now. You've got something they all want. I've seen you and its no good how you been going about it Dave. Stand your ground. Don't let them mess you about..."
ahh.. Cheers Abdullah
????????????
Big Brother is totally seminal TV. Galloway dressed in a lab coat watching Barrymore smash eggs on his head. This is great. Big Brother had to discipline him for discussing nominations.
Sparkles noticed Kim Jong "You be illing" Ill is missing. I'm a bit worried since shes come back from Justice sunday. Put it this way, she sounds a lot diferent in real life than she does on her blog (adult content)
Called Abdullah, turns out he was just sad that I had spent all this time with them without becoming a Muslim rather than angry with any misrepresentation.
"The thing is Bones, the media are going to be interested now. You've got something they all want. I've seen you and its no good how you been going about it Dave. Stand your ground. Don't let them mess you about..."
ahh.. Cheers Abdullah
????????????
Big Brother is totally seminal TV. Galloway dressed in a lab coat watching Barrymore smash eggs on his head. This is great. Big Brother had to discipline him for discussing nominations.
Hamza trial 12th
Reuters, CNN
Well its not as if the jury have got selective edits. They are going to watch the entire tapes. The initial excitement of sitting in judgment on such a high profile case must have turned to horror by their 11.30 am tea break. You've got to sympathize with them sitting through all this for the next few days. From the public gallery I didn't have a transcript to follow and so due to the sound quality of an old video copied onto DVD it was mostly unintelligible. I suppose I could try and get a copy of each from the brothers.
Considering the words outlined by the prosecution yesterday I was expecting a much more fiery Hamza. I couldn't see a difference to the man I saw on the street really. Thankfully I had business elsewhere this afternoon.
Its quite cute really seeing how a top judge treats random members of the general public selected to do this.
"Was 20 minutes OK for your tea break? Are you all OK to continue like this?"
Well its not as if the jury have got selective edits. They are going to watch the entire tapes. The initial excitement of sitting in judgment on such a high profile case must have turned to horror by their 11.30 am tea break. You've got to sympathize with them sitting through all this for the next few days. From the public gallery I didn't have a transcript to follow and so due to the sound quality of an old video copied onto DVD it was mostly unintelligible. I suppose I could try and get a copy of each from the brothers.
Considering the words outlined by the prosecution yesterday I was expecting a much more fiery Hamza. I couldn't see a difference to the man I saw on the street really. Thankfully I had business elsewhere this afternoon.
Its quite cute really seeing how a top judge treats random members of the general public selected to do this.
"Was 20 minutes OK for your tea break? Are you all OK to continue like this?"
January 11, 2006
Abu Hamza trial 11th July
Times, Bloomberg, Independent, BBC, Observer, Reuters, USA Today, ABC
picutre from BBC site,though he actually looks a bit older and whiter haired than this.
I saw that Abdullah and co had a little demo outside the court. He hadn't told me about it, so I saw the same 2 seconds with voice over everyone else did. In a phone conversation recently he told me that I hadn't believed a word they had said and that I should "Do more to oppose my government."
I think that by going this far off of my natural base, trying to understand and acurately present an ideology with which I have fundamental diferences, presenting those who say that Mr. Hamza is not who the US and UK government say he is, you know, if I oppose my governments foreign policies- fuck knows what I'm trying to say here, I have not been joined or in any way aided by anyone who oposses war or is in anyway part of the peace "movement" (said with a spitting sound) put it that way.
I've had more "help" from Republicans who agreed to meet all of them last July, should a media organisation (or any other fucker for that matter) be able to arrange it.
Mr. Abdullah however, also agreed with me that I have gone where even Islamic media seems to fear to tread, and joined me in wondering why, paticularly Yvonne Ridley always mentions Babar Ahmed at protests, but never says a word about Abu Hamza. I draw no conclusions. You are welcome to draw your own in the comments below.
I think I have on this site, at least an accurate picture of who these guys say they are and how they treat me for all who want to to consider it alongside everything else around this story.
I'm a fucking malung. The people Hamza calls "kaffirs" would probably call me "kaffir" if the equivalent phrase existed in western culture. I think its worth telling the truth and I'd like to see the killing and persecution of innocents to be stopped worldwide. Why not? Its worth a go INNIT.
Anyway, I got to the Old Bailey this afternoon and am lifting from my notes taken from 2pm onwards:
In the words of the prosecution-
Tape Sept 1999
Hamza says "Kill the kaffir wherever you find him." This is a country which is at war with Islam. Jihad is a blueprint for living for man, woman and child. Its us against them.
Kaffirs can be killed "For any reason or for no reason at all."
Wine shops are evil and those who grant licences for them- "Make sure they do not exist."
Kids should be trained to become Mujahadeen.
Prosecutor to jury (not exact words)- "You will have to decide, should the defence make the case that he was just refering to Chechenya, Bosnia etc, places where Muslims are at war, if wine sellers can be considered alongside this, or if he is talking about actions to be taken in this country."
Sheik Bin Baz, a well know moderate had "humiliated" Islam.
Evoked a time when Muslims fought Romans and had been addicted to drinking their blood.
Tape dated 18th Aug
Hamza had said "Allah had trapped 100 Russian soldiers under he sea, refering to the Kursk submarine's fate in 2000. Called on Allah to kill the soldiers in retaliation for Chechenya.
Tape dated 25th Aug
Praises Allah for killing Russian soldiers as British rescuers had found everyone dead. Again he ays that they like blood and are addicted to it. When you say you love Allah, ask yourself how much blood you have given him. Jews were secretly hated by the west, but controlled banks and had files on MPs to blackmail them.
Tape dated 13th Oct
Spoke about "The problem of the Jews" and their "sugar daddies" the US government. Jews were "cursed" and Hitler had been sent to torture and humiliate them. Every last Jew would be buried in Palestine.
"Fight them until every tree and stone says "Oh sevant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.""
prosecution- All this was said in is capacity as Imam of Finsbury park mosque.
Jews are "destestable"
Spoke about attack on USS Cole and British embassy in Yemen, he suported Jihad in Yemen.
Video late 97 or early 98
Prosecution- He refers to talking politics, in his defence statement he said he only preached his religion.
Need to fight and humiliate Kuffar, fight to kill. "When one enemy is finnished fight the second, third, fourth and fifth until the earth became friendly to Muslims."
Allah says the blood of the Jews or a lamb is "Pure blood" Kuffar are germs and "a virus" Spoke of Saudi Arabia as a "kaffir state inside a Muslim state."
He speaks with the authentic voice of Islam, others are hypocrites.
Video (undated)
Jihad is duty, limits are kids and old ladies but even they are permissible if their deaths are not "directly sought."
Supporters of Shareeah video (undated)
Homosexuality a sin, An audience question refering to the tourist industry (Which the prosecution argues was refering to tourists killed at Luxor 17th Nov 97 when 58 were killed)
Tourists are "Shaitan" even killing kids is permisible if in " Target area."
Asked if suicide bombing permissible?
It wasn't "suicide" it was "Shahid", martyrdom. Anyway to hurt them is allowed. Suicide bombing fulfils Jihad.
"If we don't use terrorism and torture, what are we going to use?"
Prosecution argues this is in reference to tourists not Chechenya, Bosnia etc.
Tape in Arabic
Allah will ask you "who was killed at your hand?" this tape is aimed at young Muslims. Criticises Nato, U.N, Taxes raised in this country go to Israel. Avoid mixing with the Kuffar. Unbelievers to be killed "Wherever you find them. Take them, seize them, kill them."
Is it permisible to kill rulers eg. in Egypt?
Of course. Any person who hinders Allah. He is a menace an should be removed. "The evil will not be removed until the evildoer is killed."
Friday kutbah in Arabic
Carry out Jihad. Target the Jews. The "blasphemers" "This Jew is dealing in usury so kill him." Jews will be "Buried in Palestine." The tunnels they dig under Al Axah mosque will be filled with their skulls. not a single one will be left. Palestine will be the biggest Jewish graveyard in the world. Jews should be removed wherever they "conspire" If a person stands between you and God, remove him if he is ignorant, an idiot or a donkey.
Lecture on audio cassette in English
This count refering to racial hatred, Jews are the "enemy of Islam" they are "dirty monkeys"
The prosecution told the jury there were duplicates of a few more tapes like this, seized in his house and available for distibution.
Encyclopedia ofAfghan Jihad
The judge interupted, explaining to the jury that what they were going to hear was an editted synopsis, prepared by the prosecution.
This book is dedicated to
1. Sheik Abdullah Azam (killed in Peshawar)
2. Abu Abdullah (Osama Bin Laden)
3. Afghan Muslim jihadi's who had helped out with the book
4. Pakistanis who had supported the Afghan mujahadeen
Prosecution suggests the book had been compiled before 1996.
Chapters on Explosives, Home made silencers,War with tanks, manufacture of firearms, assasination,
TV had been financed and used to "Distract Muslims." Jihad is not only guerilla warfare, it aims to topple apostate regimes an establish the rule of Allah for the sake of Allah, not worldly goals. Even if a ruler is fair, you should still topple him to aid "Sharriah" Doomsday will not come till you fight the Jews.
People should be sent 10 years before their missions to infiltrate western societies. Targets should be chosen either to minimise loss of life, eg. The Statue of Liberty, The Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or targets should be chosen to maximise loss of life, eg. Tall buildings, Nuclear facilities, Football matches, ports, airports, archeological sites or VIPs in arab countries.
The prosecution said that all the themes of the book were commonplace in Hamza's kutbahs.
Circumstances around Hamza's arrest
27th May, first arrest. Tapes and manual siezed. (Handed back?) no prosecution. Second arrest produced prepared statement (not exact words)-
I am a preacher, speaking about religious matters. My statements are taken out of context. You are putting Islam on trial. If I am charged, the same rule of law should be applied to those who preach from the Talmud. Futhermore, all Zionists going to Israel should also be charged. I was not given disclosure of tapes and so I can't comment on them. Its all been chosen selectively. I'm not in charge of distributing them.
In reference to older tapes Police seized and gave back refering to the GIA- I denounced the GIA publicly.
Co operated fully with British and French security services against advice not to. Never instructed people to kill British people. "I would be cursed if i didn't tell the truth." Victim of witchhunt, hate campaign. Denounced Madrid bombings. Don't hate Jews and Christians, am friends with Rabbis and Christian ministers.
Hamza claimed the Encyclopedia or Afghani Jihad was a gift and he had not read it.
Further explanation given by prosecution
He was arrested in 1999 but not investigated for any of the current charges. All of this becaome known to the CPS in 2004. The world pre 9/11 wa diferent and this prosecution is linked to changes in the world and has been brought under the Terrorism at 2000 which did not exist in 1999. The security services he spoke to between 1997 and 2000 were nothing to do with this case. The jury have to decide if the words used amount to encouragement to "unlawful killing" and if the defendant had intended them as such.
If he is refering to the battlefield where are women, children or off licenses on the battlefield? Is the statue of liberty on a battle field? Palestine is not a legitamate battlefield either and the suicide bombing which occurs there is unlawful.
Consider his statements-
That Jews are cursed, that Palestine will be the burial ground for Jews. Saying "Some of my friends are Rabbis" is not a defence.
About the terrorist manual-
Did he possess it? Did it contain information for terrorists? Did he have a reasonable excuse to possess it? It was on his bookshelf.
There followed a discussion between judge and both counsels after the jury had left
The defence seemed worried that the press would not report events of the trial accurately. The defendant wanted in no way to assist the press. He also was anxious that while the tapes were being shown to the jurry, a glossary of the Islamic terms as he saw them should be available to the jury alongside the one provided by the prosecution. He didn't want the jury to see the tapes with the prosecutions definitions "ringing in their ears" He disputed the arabic translations the prosecutions were using.
The prosecution objected, saying this was "argumentative" and won.
The defence implied that Hamza would give evidence along with two expert witnesses.
The meaning the jury should take from "Jihad" should be taken from Surah 2 216 and Surah 9 111.
picutre from BBC site,though he actually looks a bit older and whiter haired than this.
I saw that Abdullah and co had a little demo outside the court. He hadn't told me about it, so I saw the same 2 seconds with voice over everyone else did. In a phone conversation recently he told me that I hadn't believed a word they had said and that I should "Do more to oppose my government."
I think that by going this far off of my natural base, trying to understand and acurately present an ideology with which I have fundamental diferences, presenting those who say that Mr. Hamza is not who the US and UK government say he is, you know, if I oppose my governments foreign policies- fuck knows what I'm trying to say here, I have not been joined or in any way aided by anyone who oposses war or is in anyway part of the peace "movement" (said with a spitting sound) put it that way.
I've had more "help" from Republicans who agreed to meet all of them last July, should a media organisation (or any other fucker for that matter) be able to arrange it.
Mr. Abdullah however, also agreed with me that I have gone where even Islamic media seems to fear to tread, and joined me in wondering why, paticularly Yvonne Ridley always mentions Babar Ahmed at protests, but never says a word about Abu Hamza. I draw no conclusions. You are welcome to draw your own in the comments below.
I think I have on this site, at least an accurate picture of who these guys say they are and how they treat me for all who want to to consider it alongside everything else around this story.
I'm a fucking malung. The people Hamza calls "kaffirs" would probably call me "kaffir" if the equivalent phrase existed in western culture. I think its worth telling the truth and I'd like to see the killing and persecution of innocents to be stopped worldwide. Why not? Its worth a go INNIT.
Anyway, I got to the Old Bailey this afternoon and am lifting from my notes taken from 2pm onwards:
In the words of the prosecution-
Tape Sept 1999
Hamza says "Kill the kaffir wherever you find him." This is a country which is at war with Islam. Jihad is a blueprint for living for man, woman and child. Its us against them.
Kaffirs can be killed "For any reason or for no reason at all."
Wine shops are evil and those who grant licences for them- "Make sure they do not exist."
Kids should be trained to become Mujahadeen.
Prosecutor to jury (not exact words)- "You will have to decide, should the defence make the case that he was just refering to Chechenya, Bosnia etc, places where Muslims are at war, if wine sellers can be considered alongside this, or if he is talking about actions to be taken in this country."
Sheik Bin Baz, a well know moderate had "humiliated" Islam.
Evoked a time when Muslims fought Romans and had been addicted to drinking their blood.
Tape dated 18th Aug
Hamza had said "Allah had trapped 100 Russian soldiers under he sea, refering to the Kursk submarine's fate in 2000. Called on Allah to kill the soldiers in retaliation for Chechenya.
Tape dated 25th Aug
Praises Allah for killing Russian soldiers as British rescuers had found everyone dead. Again he ays that they like blood and are addicted to it. When you say you love Allah, ask yourself how much blood you have given him. Jews were secretly hated by the west, but controlled banks and had files on MPs to blackmail them.
Tape dated 13th Oct
Spoke about "The problem of the Jews" and their "sugar daddies" the US government. Jews were "cursed" and Hitler had been sent to torture and humiliate them. Every last Jew would be buried in Palestine.
"Fight them until every tree and stone says "Oh sevant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.""
prosecution- All this was said in is capacity as Imam of Finsbury park mosque.
Jews are "destestable"
Spoke about attack on USS Cole and British embassy in Yemen, he suported Jihad in Yemen.
Video late 97 or early 98
Prosecution- He refers to talking politics, in his defence statement he said he only preached his religion.
Need to fight and humiliate Kuffar, fight to kill. "When one enemy is finnished fight the second, third, fourth and fifth until the earth became friendly to Muslims."
Allah says the blood of the Jews or a lamb is "Pure blood" Kuffar are germs and "a virus" Spoke of Saudi Arabia as a "kaffir state inside a Muslim state."
He speaks with the authentic voice of Islam, others are hypocrites.
Video (undated)
Jihad is duty, limits are kids and old ladies but even they are permissible if their deaths are not "directly sought."
Supporters of Shareeah video (undated)
Homosexuality a sin, An audience question refering to the tourist industry (Which the prosecution argues was refering to tourists killed at Luxor 17th Nov 97 when 58 were killed)
Tourists are "Shaitan" even killing kids is permisible if in " Target area."
Asked if suicide bombing permissible?
It wasn't "suicide" it was "Shahid", martyrdom. Anyway to hurt them is allowed. Suicide bombing fulfils Jihad.
"If we don't use terrorism and torture, what are we going to use?"
Prosecution argues this is in reference to tourists not Chechenya, Bosnia etc.
Tape in Arabic
Allah will ask you "who was killed at your hand?" this tape is aimed at young Muslims. Criticises Nato, U.N, Taxes raised in this country go to Israel. Avoid mixing with the Kuffar. Unbelievers to be killed "Wherever you find them. Take them, seize them, kill them."
Is it permisible to kill rulers eg. in Egypt?
Of course. Any person who hinders Allah. He is a menace an should be removed. "The evil will not be removed until the evildoer is killed."
Friday kutbah in Arabic
Carry out Jihad. Target the Jews. The "blasphemers" "This Jew is dealing in usury so kill him." Jews will be "Buried in Palestine." The tunnels they dig under Al Axah mosque will be filled with their skulls. not a single one will be left. Palestine will be the biggest Jewish graveyard in the world. Jews should be removed wherever they "conspire" If a person stands between you and God, remove him if he is ignorant, an idiot or a donkey.
Lecture on audio cassette in English
This count refering to racial hatred, Jews are the "enemy of Islam" they are "dirty monkeys"
The prosecution told the jury there were duplicates of a few more tapes like this, seized in his house and available for distibution.
Encyclopedia ofAfghan Jihad
The judge interupted, explaining to the jury that what they were going to hear was an editted synopsis, prepared by the prosecution.
This book is dedicated to
1. Sheik Abdullah Azam (killed in Peshawar)
2. Abu Abdullah (Osama Bin Laden)
3. Afghan Muslim jihadi's who had helped out with the book
4. Pakistanis who had supported the Afghan mujahadeen
Prosecution suggests the book had been compiled before 1996.
Chapters on Explosives, Home made silencers,War with tanks, manufacture of firearms, assasination,
TV had been financed and used to "Distract Muslims." Jihad is not only guerilla warfare, it aims to topple apostate regimes an establish the rule of Allah for the sake of Allah, not worldly goals. Even if a ruler is fair, you should still topple him to aid "Sharriah" Doomsday will not come till you fight the Jews.
People should be sent 10 years before their missions to infiltrate western societies. Targets should be chosen either to minimise loss of life, eg. The Statue of Liberty, The Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or targets should be chosen to maximise loss of life, eg. Tall buildings, Nuclear facilities, Football matches, ports, airports, archeological sites or VIPs in arab countries.
The prosecution said that all the themes of the book were commonplace in Hamza's kutbahs.
Circumstances around Hamza's arrest
27th May, first arrest. Tapes and manual siezed. (Handed back?) no prosecution. Second arrest produced prepared statement (not exact words)-
I am a preacher, speaking about religious matters. My statements are taken out of context. You are putting Islam on trial. If I am charged, the same rule of law should be applied to those who preach from the Talmud. Futhermore, all Zionists going to Israel should also be charged. I was not given disclosure of tapes and so I can't comment on them. Its all been chosen selectively. I'm not in charge of distributing them.
In reference to older tapes Police seized and gave back refering to the GIA- I denounced the GIA publicly.
Co operated fully with British and French security services against advice not to. Never instructed people to kill British people. "I would be cursed if i didn't tell the truth." Victim of witchhunt, hate campaign. Denounced Madrid bombings. Don't hate Jews and Christians, am friends with Rabbis and Christian ministers.
Hamza claimed the Encyclopedia or Afghani Jihad was a gift and he had not read it.
Further explanation given by prosecution
He was arrested in 1999 but not investigated for any of the current charges. All of this becaome known to the CPS in 2004. The world pre 9/11 wa diferent and this prosecution is linked to changes in the world and has been brought under the Terrorism at 2000 which did not exist in 1999. The security services he spoke to between 1997 and 2000 were nothing to do with this case. The jury have to decide if the words used amount to encouragement to "unlawful killing" and if the defendant had intended them as such.
If he is refering to the battlefield where are women, children or off licenses on the battlefield? Is the statue of liberty on a battle field? Palestine is not a legitamate battlefield either and the suicide bombing which occurs there is unlawful.
Consider his statements-
That Jews are cursed, that Palestine will be the burial ground for Jews. Saying "Some of my friends are Rabbis" is not a defence.
About the terrorist manual-
Did he possess it? Did it contain information for terrorists? Did he have a reasonable excuse to possess it? It was on his bookshelf.
There followed a discussion between judge and both counsels after the jury had left
The defence seemed worried that the press would not report events of the trial accurately. The defendant wanted in no way to assist the press. He also was anxious that while the tapes were being shown to the jurry, a glossary of the Islamic terms as he saw them should be available to the jury alongside the one provided by the prosecution. He didn't want the jury to see the tapes with the prosecutions definitions "ringing in their ears" He disputed the arabic translations the prosecutions were using.
The prosecution objected, saying this was "argumentative" and won.
The defence implied that Hamza would give evidence along with two expert witnesses.
The meaning the jury should take from "Jihad" should be taken from Surah 2 216 and Surah 9 111.
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