Abu Uzair is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and Islamist activist in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He served as the leader of the Saved Sect, an organisation the British government has designated and banned as

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

. Uzair, formerly a member of

Al-Muhajiroun Al-Muhajiroun (, "The Emigrants") is a Proscription, proscribed terrorist network based in Saudi Arabia and active for many years in the United Kingdom. The group was founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad, a Syrian who previously belonged to ''Hizb ut- ...

, is a

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i-Briton."Preachers may face treason charges over 7/7"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''."Generation Jihad"
''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. He preached at Finsbury Park Mosque.

Controversial remarks

In 2005 he praised the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

as "magnificent", and said that if he knew about plans to carry out a suicide attack, he would not alert the police.

''Time'' magazine interview

Uzair grew up in a secular household. His religious views became more conservative when he attended a university in Britain. He told ''

'' magazine, "I wanted some inner discipline. Since I have come to Islam, I have a lot of tranquillity." Speaking on terrorism, "The majority of Muslims in the U.K. are frustrated, but they cannot speak. They will not condone the London bombings, but inside they believe that Britain had it coming. Muslims are being killed all over the world through the foreign policy of the U.K. and U.S. Many feel they cannot sit around and do nothing about it. What is the difference between a suicide bomber and a B-52? I really feel that war has been declared on Islam."

BBC News interview

In an interview with '' BBC Newsnight'', Uzair said, "We don't live in peace with you any more. The banner has been risen for

jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

inside the UK, which means it's allowed for the bombers to attack ... I would never go to the police because I believe that spying on Muslims is never allowed. I am a British citizen but I am a Muslim first, a Muslim second and a Muslim last. Even if I am British, I don't follow the values of the UK - I follow the values of Islam." Uzair said the British government had broken the "covenant of security" with British Muslims."Radical cleric leaves, but his legacy remains"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzair, Abu 1968 births Living people English Islamists English people of Pakistani descent Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom