BBC NEWS

Hamza 'urged followers to murder'
Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri told his followers it was their "religious duty to kill" non-Muslims, jurors heard as his trial began at the Old Bailey.

David Perry, prosecuting, said a "terrorism manual" was found at the cleric's home in London in May 2004.

It explained how to make explosives and organise a terrorist unit, he said.

Abu Hamza, 47, denies 15 charges including having a document "useful" to a terrorist and soliciting people to murder non-Muslims.

No religion condones the murder or killing of innocent men, women or children or the dissemination    of hatred and bigotry Prosecutor David Perry

He is also accused of threatening behaviour with intent to incite racial hatred.

Mr Perry said Mr Abu Hamza railed against alcohol, adultery, democracy and said Muslims had an "obligation" to fight and kill kuffar (non-believers).

The court heard Mr Abu Hamza was born in Egypt in 1958 but had lived in this country for a number of years and was now a British citizen who had preached at Finsbury Park Mosque until 2003.

Mr Perry said some of Mr Abu Hamza's talks and sermons had been recorded. Around 2,700 audio tapes and 570 video cassettes were found at his home and some of them formed the basis of the prosecution's case.

He told the jury: "You might have expected that, as a spiritual leader in a holy place, he would be speaking of hope, charity and compassion.

"In fact (his sermons) contained very little of those matters. The prosecution case is that Sheikh Abu Hamza was preaching murder and hatred."

"You will hear the tapes and we will hear that the defendant, Sheikh Abu Hamza, encouraged his listeners, whether they were an audience at a private meeting or a congregation at the mosque, to believe that it was part of a religious duty to fight in the cause of Allah, God, and as part of the religious duty to fight in the cause of Allah, it was part of the religious duty to kill."

Mr Perry said the cleric preached "intolerance, bigotry and hatred", especially against Jewish people.

The prosecutor stressed the case was "not a trial against Islam", or against its holy book, the Koran, but had been brought "because of what the defendant said".

"What the prosecution say is that it is quite clear that no religion condones the murder or killing of innocent men, women or children or the dissemination of hatred and bigotry," Mr Perry said.

Mr Perry told jurors that in his position Mr Abu Hamza should have been preaching tolerance and mutual co-existence" but in fact he preached "intolerance, bigotry and hatred".

"In the course of one lecture he accused the Jews of being blasphemous, traitors and dirty. This, because of the treachery, because of their blasphemy and filth, was why Hitler was sent into the world," Mr Perry said.

'Focus on evidence'

Mr Abu Hamza had also said Jews controlled the West and should be removed from the earth, Mr Perry said.

"This aspect of his teaching also represents the offences of inciting racial hatred," he added.

Later Mr Perry said that when arrested Mr Abu Hamza issued a statement saying his sermons were purely religious and had been taken out of context.

He said Mr Abu Hamza told police: "I have never encouraged anyone to hurt British people. I was expressing my right to freedom of expression."

The trial began with the judge warning the seven men and five women of the jury to ignore what they may have read or heard about Mr Abu Hamza in the media and to concentrate only on evidence they heard in court.

The trial was adjourned until Thursday.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4602054.stm

Published: 2006/01/11 18:17:28 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Bring it. It's laundry day anyway.

But, but they are the Religion of peace...........

I hate having them prosecuted in the legal system.

A military tribunal followed by summary execution is too good for this puke.

Quoted: I hate having them prosecuted in the legal system. A military tribunal followed by summary execution is too good for this puke.

I imagine you'll be singing a different tune once christian, conservative, gun owners are the target of the War on Terror when hillary gets in.

Quoted: Quoted: I hate having them prosecuted in the legal system. A military tribunal followed by summary execution is too good for this puke. I imagine you'll be singing a different tune once christian, conservative, gun owners are the target of the War on Terror when hillary gets in.

It'll be a sign of the End Times. I'll go out with my head held high until they separate it from my shoulders.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I hate having them prosecuted in the legal system. A military tribunal followed by summary execution is too good for this puke. I imagine you'll be singing a different tune once christian, conservative, gun owners are the target of the War on Terror when hillary gets in. It'll be a sign of the End Times. I'll go out with my head held high until they separate it from my shoulders.

Thats thinking positive........