Public Ban on Islamist Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary to Be Lifted: Report

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 06: Anjem Choudary leads a protest against the killing of Osama bin
Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

Infamous Islamic hate preacher Anjem Choudary will be free to spread his malevolent rhetoric in Britain, as his ban on public speaking will be lifted later this year, a report claims.

Choudary was convicted in 2016 of supporting Islamic State. Upon his release from prison in 2018 — after serving less than half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence — he was barred from public speaking, in one of the more extreme release condition orders given in the history of the UK.

However, the Mail on Sunday reported that his license restrictions will be removed by the end of May, prompting concerns that the extremist preacher will set about radicalising young Muslims in Britain yet again.

Terrorism expert Michael Kenny warned that as a result of serving time in prison, Choudary would be more effective in recruiting for his Islamist cause as he will have “street cred”, explaining:  “He is no longer just a talker but has served time for his cause, so he has greater credibility.”

Before his imprisonment, the Pakistani heritage cleric regularly appeared on mainstream British media, spreading Islamist messages while carefully skirting the law.

He was finally convicted in 2016 for a Youtube video, in which he called upon his supporters to obey deceased ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and to go to Syria support Islamic State.

Choudary denied the charges, professing to merely be “lecturer in sharia law” and was only giving “the Islamic perspective”.

The leader of the banned Al-Muhajiroun group has been tied to a multitude of fatal Islamist attacks, including London Bridge terrorist Khuram Butt, suspected executioner “new Jihadi John” Siddhartha Dhar, and Usman Khan, a convicted jihadist automatically released from prison on licence halfway through his term, who stabbed two people to death and hospitalised three others.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the extremist regularly joked about the September 11th terror attacks and even organised a funeral for Osama bin Laden in 2011.

One of the key pillars of his ideology has been to overthrow the democratic freedoms of the United Kingdom and implement a Taliban-style system of government, saying: “We don’t believe in democracy. As soon as they have authority, Muslims should implement Shariah. This is what we’re trying to teach people.”

The radical preacher has reportedly penned an autobiography. However, it is doubtful that Choudary will stand to benefit financially from the book as the Treasury would likely seize any profits from any sales.

According to a Home Office source cited by the Mail on Sunday, MI5 security agents and police officers will continue to monitor Choudary after his license conditions are completed.

Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka

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