Author: Editorial
Publication: The Statesman
Date: September 22, 2007
URL: http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?date=2007-09-22&usrsess=1&clid=3&id=198188
A Muslim preacher who chanted "Allah-o-Akbar"
(God is great) while showing children a film that depicted planes flying into
the World Trade Centre has been removed from his post as chaplain at a Queen
Elizabeth Hospital.
Mr Usman Ali, 30, a former member of the now-banned
al-Muhajiroun radical movement, was suspended after police expressed serious
concerns. Before losing his job, Mr Ali had already upset people during Friday
prayers by inviting a guest preacher who praised pro-Taliban rebels in Pakistan
as martyrs.
The preacher, a British-born father of four,
had previously been banned for life from a local mosque, the Greenwich Islamic
Centre. The institution spent at least £30,000 taking legal action to
the county court so that Ali could be forbidden from attending the mosque.
Court papers claim he showed a video to children
in the mosque containing clips of the 9/11 incident and chanted "Allah-o-Akbar".
The mosque said it tried informally to warn the hospital about its concerns
months ago.
According to the report, the BBC attended
a session at the Queen Elizabeth's prayer room where worshipers became uncomfortable
hearing radical views expressed by a guest preacher who hailed the militants
of the Lal Masjid in Pakistan as defenders of Islam.
The hospital trust said: "We had no allegations
made about this man's behaviour but as soon as the police raised their concerns
we took action."
