Anjem Choudary (born in 1967) is a British Islamist and follower of Omar Bakri Mohammed. He founded two Islamist groups which were last year designated and banned as terrorist organisations by the British government.  Choudary has urged Muslims to not cooperate with the police in fighting terrorism,  and has recently called for the assassination of the Pope.  In recent years he has frequently appeared on British television and has become a figure disliked by non-Muslims and by moderate Muslims as well.

It is a common complaint of British Muslims that they face what has come to be called Islamophobia.  This is complained of not so much as a true phobia [fear] so much as a form of hatred and dislike verging on the racial - although being a Muslim is no matter of race.  Whatever the label, Islamophobia is real enough - there is real fear quite reasonably justified by violent and deadly events [but jihadiphobia might be a better term].  However, to balance this it is important to remember that most Muslims are not to be feared at all and are keen to be law-observing citizens of whichever country they live in.

Some Islamophobia is understandable, although in Britain it is more than a simple extension of the traditional xenophobia of the Anglo-Saxons.  It is additionally fuelled by the rantings of some of the very people, such as Anjem Choudary, who claim to speak for Islam whilst dismissing all non-Muslims as infidel kuffars, who they clearly hate.  This kind of rhetoric is greatly disliked by the said kuffars - and also by many peaceful Muslims.  But that does not prevent the likes of Anjem Choudary from wanting to speak for what he calls his brothers and sisters throughout the worldwide Islamic umma.  British television-viewers will have had any tendencies towards Islamophobia seriously cranked up by the rantings of Anjem Choudary on BBC Newsnight and so on - unless they are moderate Muslims, in which case they may well wish him to calm down and go away, not least when he so readily fuels the Islamophobia they say they can well do without.  It is entertaining television to see two verbalists like Anjem Choudary and  Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman battling it out but it also stimulates Islamophobia because Choudary has a small but significant following, who [like the 9/11 bombers he calls the Magnificent Nineteen], are able to create death and destruction amongst us by operating in cells of very small numbers. 

Al Ghurabaa and the Saved Sect [which exists to remind the umma of what it sees as true Islamic values], are splinter groups of the disbanded Al-Muhajiroun, whose followers now support the Ahlus Sunnah wa al-Jamaah group which operates a password-protected online internet forum, [it encourages violent jihad and has videos and images produced by al-Qa'eda that call on Muslims to become jihadis].  Anjem Choudary is thought to be one of the main contributors to that forum. There he uses the pseudonym Abu Luqman. Luqman [also the name Choudary gave his first son] is an eminent but mysterious philosopher/prophet figure in Islam - upon Luqman Allah is believed to have bestowed wisdom.  Luqman is described in the Qu'ran [31.12-19] as being against pride and arrogance; he is also said to have advised moderation and the lowering of the voice.  Those Muslims who find Choudary alarming would, no doubt prefer him to follow Luqman in more than just name.  It is neither wisdom nor moderation that come to mind in connection with Anjem Choudary.  It is a bit of a give-away that in chosing Luqman as his pseudonym, he exhibits the grandiosity of the narcissist to whom the role of prominent and outspoken leader is so attractive.

Returning to Islamophobia, this was further incited when Anjem Choudary told a press conference that a Muslim flag would fly over Downing Street. He claimed that terrorist attacks in America had divided the world into supporters and opponents of Islam. He makes no secret of admiring Usama bin Laden, and refuses to condemn the July 7 London bombers.  "Why should I apologise for something the British Government, and the British public who have supported the Government, have brought upon themselves?"

His followers approve when he argues [with convincing logic] that "if others hold a minute's silence for the 3,000 who died in 9/11, then there should be a couple of hours for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. It's total hypocrisy otherwise".   He declares that there has been a positive outcome of 9/11 - he says that act clearly divided the world into two separate camps, Muslim and non-Muslim [the kuffar] - the former is for God the latter not.  Now this is a serious matter because, according to Islam, the whole world belongs to Allah and must eventually be dedicated to him.

 In a BBC interview Choudary was asked why he would not say with Omar Bakri Mohammed, "I condemn the killing of innocent people." Revealingly, Choudary replied: "At the end of the day, when we say "innocent people" we mean Muslims. Non-Muslims have not accepted Islam. As far as we are concerned, that is a crime against God."  Of bin Laden, he says: "He is my fellow Muslim brother. We believe in the same God, we believe in the same messenger.  I do not believe he is an oppressor, he is on the right path".

Whatever you think of all this, it is preferable to know what is being said than not to, and wise to remember that most Muslims are as appalled by Anjem Choudary as are most of those who live in the host community of Britain.

Peter Webb is an English psychologist and a long time student of belief systems, and matters arising from adherence to them.  He is a member of the VIGIL anti terror network and consults with VIGIL directors on counter terrorism strategies benefiting from his study of the extremist and terrorist character.

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