Sulayman Keeler (born Simon Keeler) is a

Muslim convert Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

and leader of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, a British Islamist organisation. He is a former member of

Al-Muhajiroun Al-Muhajiroun ( ar, المهاجرون, "The Emigrants") is a proscribed militant network based in Saudi Arabia. The founder of the group was Omar Bakri Muhammad, a Syrian who previously belonged to ''Hizb ut-Tahrir''; he was not permitted to re ...

, a banned organisation designated as a terrorist organisation, and led the

Society of Converts to Islam A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...

. HSToday report that this is the "first time a white convert has been incarcerated for Islamist terror charges in the UK."'

Background

He has described the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

as "magnificent" and called

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

an "enemy of Islam and Muslims." A court sentenced Keeler to twenty-eight days imprisonment after he assaulted a police officer during a demonstration in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in December 1998. Years later, he was again arrested after he assaulted

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK go ...

(BNP) members at a rally. Keeler held a press conference in London on 18 November 2005, formally 'launching' Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. In an interview with

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, Keeler expressed his opposition to democracy, and compared

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

leader Osama bin Laden, saying, "I don't believe in democracy. It's man made. You're talking about a government that taxes the people to death. It oppresses many millions of people in the world. It wouldn't be such a shame to have them overturned... Tony Blair sends a bunch of aircraft into

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, bombs a bunch of people... Osama Bin Laden, who sends a bunch of aeroplanes into America and bombs a bunch of people - what is the difference? You tell me." On Thursday 17 April 2008, Keeler was one of 6 individuals found guilty of terror related offences, specifically terrorist fundraising. The others found guilty at Kingston Crown Court were

Abu Izzadeen Abu Izzadeen ( ar, أبو عز الدين, ''Abū ‘Izz ad-Dīn''; born Trevor Richard Brooks on 18 April 1975) is a British spokesman for Al Ghurabaa, a British Muslim organisation banned under the Terrorism Act 2006 for the glorification o ...

, Omar Zaheer, 28, of Southall, west London, Abdul Saleem, 32, of Poplar, east London, and Jalal Hussain. Two others, Ibrahim Abdullah Hussan, 25, from Leyton, east London, and Rajib Kahn, 29, from Luton in Bedfordshire, were released after the jury were unable to decide a verdict
Six guilty of terrorism support - BBC

References

External links

UPDATED: Crawley terrorist caged
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeler, Sulayman Living people Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom Converts to Islam English Islamists English Sunni Muslims Year of birth missing (living people) People imprisoned on charges of terrorism

Background

See also

References

External links