Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (organisation)

For other uses, see Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.

Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة‎; English: Adherents to the Sunnah and the community or Followers of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah; alternately transliterated: Ahl ul-Sunnah Wa al-Jamma; ASWJ) is a Sunni Islamic organisation operating in the United Kingdom, intended to be a successor to the banned Al-Muhajiroun organisation. Founded in November 2005 in north London, its head is "Simon" Sulayman Keeler. Also attending the organization's launch were Anjem Choudary, the former head of al-Muhajiroun, Abu Yahya, Abu Izzadeen and Abu Uzair. The group claims up to 1000 members, many of them members of the now-banned groups Al Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect.[1]

ASWJ operates mainly through an invitation-only Internet forum set up in 2006 by Mizanur Rahman called "Followers of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'aah Muntada",[2] of which Anjem Choudary is a prominent contributor, under the screen name "Abou Luqman". The forum currently has 700 members.[2] A reporter visiting the site found calls for holy war, and recordings of Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and, notably, Omar Bakri Mohammed, the founder of al-Muhajiroun.[3]

In February 2006 ASWJ helped organize the Islamist demonstration outside Danish Embassy in London in 2006.[4]

In November 2006 the BBC programmes File on 4 and Newsnight, in an investigation into the radicalisation of young British Muslims reported that Omar Bakri is regularly broadcasting hate messages against the UK government and non-Muslim people via the Internet, using a range of pseudonyms. His voice was reportedly confirmed by speech analysis experts to be that of Bakri. The BBC penetrated the broadcasts using undercover investigators from the group Vigil.[5]

In December 2006, ASWJ issued a call on one of its websites for Muslims to fight the Ethiopian attack against the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia "financially, physically and verbally".[6] This call was reiterated by Anjem Choudary in early January 2007.[2]

In March 2009 members of the group took part in a protest in Luton at the homecoming parade of British troops returning from Afghanistan.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New group replaces al-Muhajiroun" BBC News 29 October 2006
  2. 1 2 3 "UK preacher in secret web call for jihad", The Times, 14 January 2007
  3. ↑ "Banned extremists regroup" The Sunday Times 29 October 2006
  4. ↑ "Digital propaganda calling to Jihad", Zone-h, 5 January 2007
  5. ↑ "Covert preaching of banned cleric" BBC news 14 November 2006
  6. ↑ "UK website: Join Somalia jihad", Ynetnews, 28 December 2006
  7. ↑ Luton parade protesters 'were members of extremist group' Telegraph Online 12 Mar 2009

External links

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