Interview: UK Islamist says like-minded U.S. groups expanding
ICC Note
Anjam Choudary, a British radical Islamist, says the influence of radical Muslims is expanding in America where "...they are calling for jihad on the strees of New York"
By William Maclean
09/02/2010 UK (Reuters)-Radical U.S. Muslim discussion groups are growing in influence much as similar forums did in 1990s Britain, a hardline British preacher said on Wednesday, referring to a period when London was Europe's Islamist hub.
Anjem Choudary, accused by his critics of poisoning young Muslim minds with virulent anti-Western propaganda, added that a ban on a group he had led had backfired on UK authorities by boosting his standing among European and U.S. Muslims who shared his aim of establishing sharia (Islamic law) in the West.
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In a separate development in the United States, he added, debating groups such as Revolution Muslim, the Islamic Thinkers' Society and Authentic Tawheed launched in the past two years were at the stage "we were at maybe about 10 years ago."
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"CALLING FOR JIHAD"
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Asked if such U.S. Muslim groups would grow as strongly as those in Britain, even if the forums these days tend to be online rather than in a mosques, Choudary replied: "Definitely."
"The Muslim community in Britain are a good five or 10 years ahead of America. What they were talking about now, we've been talking about for the last 15 years.
"Now they've suddenly started to call for the sharia and are coming out publicly...In general there's more freedom there."
"In the videos they are openly calling for jihad on the streets of New York whereas we can't do that anymore here because you have (a law against) glorification of terrorism."
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