August 19, 2008
A MAN convicted yesterday of amassing a library of extremist material was aged just 15 when he began studying jihad alongside his GCSE exams, making him Britain's youngest terrorist.
Hammaad Munshi, now 18, was part of a cell of cyber-groomers that set out to brainwash the vulnerable to kill "non-believers".
He was convicted of possessing articles for a purpose connected with terrorism and making records of information likely to be useful in terrorism.
Munshi, whose grandfather is one of Britain's most revered Muslim scholars, was arrested in June 2006 on his way home from Westborough High School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, north east England.
He was on bail during his trial, but was remanded in custody after being found guilty and told by Judge Timothy Pontius at Blackfriars Crown Court in London that he faces a custodial sentence.
The court was told that for almost a year Munshi led a double life, spending hours on the internet acquiring instructions on how to make napalm, discussing airport security weaknesses and making preparations to fight and die in holy war.
Under his bed at his parents' home in Dewsbury, police found a note in his writing that stated: "I don't want to be deprived of the huge amounts or lessons Allah has prepared for the believers in the hereafter."
Convicted with him was Aabid Khan, 23, from Bradford, northern England, who was said to be a prolific cyber-terrorist, spreading al-Qaeda propaganda and radicalising recruits on the internet.
Khan's arrest, as a result of a routine security check at Manchester airport when he returned from Pakistan, showed an extensive web of jihadi contacts. His luggage contained the largest electronically stored "encyclopaedia" of articles promoting terrorism yet seized.
It included personal information and the addresses of 15 members of the Royal Family, among them the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Also on the list were Princess Alexandra, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
Khan had in his possession a library of extremist material, including practical guides to weapons and explosives, and was thought to have been returning from a terror training camp.
Also convicted was Khan's cousin, Sultan Muhammed, 23. A step-by-step guide to making an explosives vest for a suicide bomber was found at his home.
Munshi was one of Khan's internet pupils and was wooed away from the influence of his strict religious family. His grandfather, Sheikh Yakub Munshi, founded the Shariah Council and was one of the founders of the large Markazi mosque in Dewsbury.
Harendra de Silva, QC, defending Munshi, appealed to the jury to consider him as a naive teenager who had fallen under Khan's spell.
Simon Denison, prosecuting, said that Munshi, Khan and Muhammed demonstrated "deep commitment to and involvement in violent jihad by promoting it, inciting others to take part in it and arranging for himself and others to attend military training in Pakistan in preparation for going to fight and, inevitably, to kill".
There was, he added, "detailed, practical information on making and using weapons, explosives and poisons, and carrying out ... murder on potential terrorist targets in the UK and abroad".
Khan and Muhammed will be sentenced today. Munshi will be dealt with next month.
Source: The Australian (from the Times)
A MAN convicted yesterday of amassing a library of extremist material was aged just 15 when he began studying jihad alongside his GCSE exams, making him Britain's youngest terrorist.
Hammaad Munshi, now 18, was part of a cell of cyber-groomers that set out to brainwash the vulnerable to kill "non-believers".
He was convicted of possessing articles for a purpose connected with terrorism and making records of information likely to be useful in terrorism.
Munshi, whose grandfather is one of Britain's most revered Muslim scholars, was arrested in June 2006 on his way home from Westborough High School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, north east England.
He was on bail during his trial, but was remanded in custody after being found guilty and told by Judge Timothy Pontius at Blackfriars Crown Court in London that he faces a custodial sentence.
The court was told that for almost a year Munshi led a double life, spending hours on the internet acquiring instructions on how to make napalm, discussing airport security weaknesses and making preparations to fight and die in holy war.
Under his bed at his parents' home in Dewsbury, police found a note in his writing that stated: "I don't want to be deprived of the huge amounts or lessons Allah has prepared for the believers in the hereafter."
Convicted with him was Aabid Khan, 23, from Bradford, northern England, who was said to be a prolific cyber-terrorist, spreading al-Qaeda propaganda and radicalising recruits on the internet.
Khan's arrest, as a result of a routine security check at Manchester airport when he returned from Pakistan, showed an extensive web of jihadi contacts. His luggage contained the largest electronically stored "encyclopaedia" of articles promoting terrorism yet seized.
It included personal information and the addresses of 15 members of the Royal Family, among them the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Also on the list were Princess Alexandra, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.
Khan had in his possession a library of extremist material, including practical guides to weapons and explosives, and was thought to have been returning from a terror training camp.
Also convicted was Khan's cousin, Sultan Muhammed, 23. A step-by-step guide to making an explosives vest for a suicide bomber was found at his home.
Munshi was one of Khan's internet pupils and was wooed away from the influence of his strict religious family. His grandfather, Sheikh Yakub Munshi, founded the Shariah Council and was one of the founders of the large Markazi mosque in Dewsbury.
Harendra de Silva, QC, defending Munshi, appealed to the jury to consider him as a naive teenager who had fallen under Khan's spell.
Simon Denison, prosecuting, said that Munshi, Khan and Muhammed demonstrated "deep commitment to and involvement in violent jihad by promoting it, inciting others to take part in it and arranging for himself and others to attend military training in Pakistan in preparation for going to fight and, inevitably, to kill".
There was, he added, "detailed, practical information on making and using weapons, explosives and poisons, and carrying out ... murder on potential terrorist targets in the UK and abroad".
Khan and Muhammed will be sentenced today. Munshi will be dealt with next month.
Source: The Australian (from the Times)
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