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Muslim cleric granted bail in London
A Muslim cleric accused of inciting followers to kill "nonbelievers" was granted bail on Wednesday, after a judge ruled that prosecutors were too slow in passing along evidence to the defense. Prosecutors say Abdullah el-Faisal, 38, circulated cassettes of his sermons in which he called on Muslims to kill Hindus, Jews and non-Muslims. He was arrested in February and denied bail after a judge ruled there was a chance he would go into hiding. No way he's gonna do it now, eh? Judge Peter Beaumont granted el-Faisal bail on condition that he surrender his passport, report to police every day and live at his home in east London. He was expected to be released from custody Thursday. And no TV, dammit! We're serious this time! El-Faisal, a Jamaican-born convert to Islam who has preached across Britain, is charged with encouraging "others to murder persons unknown." El-Faisal denies the charge. His lawyers say he is a respected cleric whose quotations from scripture have been taken out of context. I liked the quotations from scripture: âYou have no choice but to hate [the Jews]. How do you fight the Jews? You kill the Jews.â Prosecutors said police had translated several Arabic-language tapes of el-Faisal's speeches, including one in which he allegedly tells followers that Osama bin Laden had declared jihad, or holy war, against India. "You can go to India and if you see a Hindu walking down the road you can kill him and take his money," el-Faisal is alleged to have said. Muslims can do that sort of thing any time they want. All they need is a fatwah from somebody or other. If they don't have one, no problem; they can issue it themselves. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-08-22 |
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