Izzadeen Tells Reid: How Dare You Come To A Muslim Area?

Thursday September 21,2006
Daily Express

ISLAMIC fanatics yesterday hijacked John Reid's attempts to urge Muslim leaders and parents to do more to tackle extremism.

Hate-filled Abu Izzadeen told the Home Secretary: "How dare you come to a Muslim area?"

Mr Reid was speaking at a cricket club in Leyton, east London.

Izzadeen and other radicals burst in on his key speech, labelling him a "tyrant" and "enemy of Islam".

Mr Reid, who was interrupted three times and faced a tirade of abuse, was told he should "go to hell".

A second radical, Anjem Choudary, ranted that Muslims did not need "British values" because their religion was superior.

The diatribes made a mockery of the Government's attempts to silence the men after banning their extremist groups earlier this year.

And in a second, more devastating setback, moderate Muslims attacked Mr Reid's no-holds barred challenge to parents to monitor their children and spot "tell-tale" signs of radicalism.

Mr Reid was attempting to connect with the Muslim community and combat the brainwashing of its youth. He was interrupted after 10 minutes by Izzadeen, who has refused to condemn the 7/7 attacks and is under investigations for comments made last year.

He ranted: "How dare you come to a Muslim area when over 1,000 Muslims have been arrested? You are an enemy of Islam and Muslims, you are a tyrant."

After being removed, Izzadeen warned Britain it was on the brink of civil war as Muslims prepared to rise up against the Government.

He told the Daily Express: "The Government does not realise the Muslim community is boiling. Muslims have had enough.

"It is not me who is going to be the catalyst. There is going to be a raid by the police and there will be riots on the streets. That's all it will take."

Later, Choudary interrupted Mr Reid, saying: "Muslims do not need British values. We believe Islam is superior, we believe Islam will be implemented one day. It is very rich for you to come here and say we need to monitor our children when your Government is murdering people in Iraq and Afghanistan."

He, too, was ushered out.

The fact that two known extremists, said to be former key figures in the now-banned Al-Ghurabaa group, were able to confront the Home Secretary so easily sparked concerns over security.

Mr Reid told his audience: "There will always be people who will not be prepared to take part in a dialogue but who will try to intimidate and shout down." He added later: "Believe it or not, I have actually enjoyed it." Mr Reid went on to warn that communities, and especially Muslim parents, needed to be more aware of signs of terrorist activity.

He told Muslim parents: "There is no nice way of saying this. These fanatics are looking to groom and brainwash children, including your children, for one thing.

"Grooming them to kill themselves in order to murder others. Look for the tell-tale signs now and talk to them before their hatred grows and you risk losing them forever." It was Mr Reid's first speech to a Muslim audience but it backfired as he risked their anger. Shaukat Khan, 55, said: "What about the British parents?

What about the Afro-Caribbean parents? We are as worried as other parents are but we need to be part of a wider society."

Massoud Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said Mr Reid's demands were "unrealistic and not demanded from any other community".