Preachers of Hate

To the Telegraph, Omar Bakri Mohammed is a preacher of hate. To the BBC, he was a just "a preacher" when he was quoted by the BBC after the London terrorist bombings (July 22nd) as saying he didn't believe the bombers were Muslims. Naturally, the BBC believed him, judging by the article that quotes him as saying "He condemned "any killing of innocent people here and abroad" but said he would never co-operate with police." They describe him as the UK-based Syrian-born preacher.

Of course, this is the same preacher who said (reported by the Telegraph August 7th) that he supported the targeting of children in British schools. Two days later, the still non-judgemental BBC conducted an interview (August 9) after his departure, referring to him now as a radical Islamic preacher when he assured them that he was coming back. He was just taking a vacation, visiting his mom. Watch the video at the BBC site where he suddenly becomes a victim of state persecution.

No mention at all of his affiliation with Hizb ut-Tahrir, the group he brought to the U.K. in 1986. You remember them. One of their members was an intern at the Guardian who was recently fired after a blogger identified his membership in HT. He's not the only British media connection. From Wikipedia, under an article about the Hizb ut-Tahrir: "Mr Mohammed M. Ramadan, a journalist and announcer at the BBC's Arabic section in London, was a member of HT in opposition against the military regime of Qadhafi." Qadhafi didn't take the interference lightly. He had Mohammed M. Ramadan assassinated outside of Regents Park. Two Libyans were tried for the crime and in 1980 were sentenced to life in prison. Small wonder the BBC still doesn't think the preacher is all that bad.

In 2000, the then-described "Syrian-born activist " called upon Muslims in Britain to join a holy war against Israel. "Mr Bakri Mohammed told the crowd: "All Israeli targets are legitimate for you. All Israelis must be destroyed." as he lead marchers to the Israeli embassy in London.

By 2002, the BBC was referring to him as "the leader of a radical British Muslim group" when he warned that "Islamic extremists could launch 11 September-style terrorist attacks on the UK if it backs military strikes against Iraq."

All those warnings conveniently ignored by the BBC.