THE GUARDIAN: Controversial group says non-Muslims now want to join
The leader of a controversial Islamist organisation has boasted that the government's decision to ban it last week has boosted its popularity.
Anjem Choudary says his profile, and that of his group, Islam4UK, has soared as a result of the government's decision to proscribe it. "There's nothing like a government ban to make you popular," Choudary said.
The radical cleric, whose attempts to hold a march through the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett prompted concerns that it would lead to civil unrest, claims his group has been inundated with requests from non-Muslims who want to join. "They think the government has run over our liberties and are disgusted by its actions," he said.
Choudary, who receives around £25,000 a year in benefits and has referred to the 9/11 hijackers as "magnificent", says he has been asked to give talks at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Leeds University. He warned that the government's actions would not stop his supporters from speaking out. "If they want to arrest me there are many others," he said. "You can't silence people."
The home secretary, Alan Johnson, banned the Islamist group – and its parent organisation al-Muhajiroun – last Thursday. The decision followed a threat from Choudary to lead a march through Wootton Bassett which marks the return of every fallen serviceman repatriated to nearby RAF Lyneham and has come to symbolise the UK's respect for its war dead.
In the ensuing outcry, Johnson introduced new laws that will make membership of the two organisations a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. >>> Jamie Doward | Sunday, January 17, 2010
