Moderate Muslims take on extremists

Trinity is once more defiantly giving voice to the man who called Ireland a legitimate terror target — but this time moderates of his creed join the debate, writes Caroline O’Doherty.

A LEADING Islamic extremist who said Ireland was a target for terrorist attack because of the US military’s use of Shannon is to make a return visit here for a speaking engagement tonight.

Anjem Choudary, a British-born cleric who has been investigated numerous times by British police, is to take part in a debate at Trinity College Dublin, taking on moderate Muslims who argue their religion has been hijacked by radicals.

A former lawyer, Mr Choudary, 40, has spoken here at the invitation of the college’s Philosophical Society on two previous occasions, each time attracting controversy and the attention of the Gardaí.

On his first visit in 2005, he claimed Ireland was making itself a legitimate target for attack by Islamic fundamentalists by allowing US military flights to refuel at Shannon while on route to the Middle East.

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea said at the time Mr Choudary should be investigated for the possible offence of incitement to hatred. Then-justice minister Michael McDowell ordered officials to examine the legal options available to the Government to prevent in future what he considered an abuse of the hospitality afforded the cleric.

Mr Choudary caused anger on a visit last year when he repeated his claims and said he wanted to see the flag of Islam flown over Leinster House.

He will be supported tonight by Mohammed Shamsuddin, a Glasgow-based imam, and the debate will open with a video-link address by another fundamentalist, Omar Bakri Mohammed.

Mr Mohammed has been based in Lebanon after his asylum papers in Britain were revoked because of his activities.

Trinity Philosophical Society secretary Barry Devlin said college authorities had been notified of the nature of tonight’s gathering and were making security arrangements in conjunction with Gardaí, but he denied the line-up was picked with controversy in mind.

“The issues these people will talk about are still as important now as they were when the first debate took place so it’s important that we tackle them and understand them,” he said.

“It’s particularly good to have actual Muslims challenging the fundamentalists because usually it’s western, Christian or secular voices on the other side of this discussion and the gulf between the two sides is also going to be very wide.

“When you have Muslims debating Muslims, you get to see how people of the same religion can interpret that religion in different ways. It gives a deeper insight into the issues.”

Those representing the moderate point of view in the debate will include Dublin-based clerics Dr Ali al-Saleh and Sheikh Shaheed Satardien, and London-born rapper Abdul-Karim Talib.

Dr Al-Saleh is Imam (spiritual leader) to the Shia Mosque in central Dublin and a moderate who has participated in numerous ecumenical events, reaching out to the Sunni community of his own faith as well as to Christians.

A native of Iraq who has lost relatives in the war, he has attracted criticism from liberal commentators here for refusing to denounce the US invasion of his country, which he believes was the correct action to take to liberate his people, and for backing the use of Shannon by US military flights.

He has warned of the risk of extremist views gaining hold in some sections of his community in Ireland.

Imam to the West Dublin Islamic Society, Sheikh Satardien hit the headlines last year when he warned of an “ocean of extremism” spreading among Muslims in Ireland which he said had become a “haven for fundamentalism”.

Considered a moderate cleric, he has still advocated hardline measures against his own community, urging restrictions; to prevent impressionable young Muslims entering extremist training schools and to prevent fundamentalists preaching or making public addresses.

He has also criticised his own community for relying on the law to contain extremists rather than acting to prevent their growth at grass roots.

A British-born muslim of Pakistani background, Anjem Choudary was a practising lawyer before deciding to devote his life to promoting Islam.

He headed two organisations outlawed under British anti-terror laws and has been investigated for alleged involvement in al-Qaida type training schools, incitement to hatred and threatening behaviour, though never charged.

He was investigated by gardaí after speaking in Ireland when he said the country risked terror attack because of the use of Shannon by US military, said the flag of Islam should be flown over Leinster House and suggested the Pope be placed under fatwa (death sentence).

Syrian-born Mohammed was a close ally of Choudary in Britain but was effectively deported from there in 2004 when the immigration papers that granted him asylum since the 1980s were revoked.

He has continued to taunt Britain from his new base in the Lebanon — causing outcry when he voiced support for the London bombings, Osama Bin Laden and the taking of child hostages by Chechen rebels in Beslan, and said the deaths of British women and children would be acceptable in Islamic attacks on Britain.

Born in Bangladesh, Shamsuddin now lives and works in Scotland where he is Imam to the Dawat ul Islam centre in Glasgow.

He was the subject of a violent assault last year when an intruder entered the mosque where he is based and kicked, punched and hit him with a rock as he prepared for Friday evening prayers.

While the attack was roundly condemned throughout Britain, Shamsuddin has been trenchant in his own views about violence, citing the Koran to justify the use of force in the campaign to spread Islam.