THE Muslim leader at the centre of police raids in Cardiff has denied being part of a banned group which glorifies terrorism.
Abu Hajar was quoted as a spokesman for the group “Islamic Path” in 2009 when the group tried to arrange a meeting at Cardiff’s County Hall.
Islamic Path appears on a list of “proscribed terrorist groups”, which the Home Office describes as “terrorist organisations [which] are currently proscribed under UK legislation and therefore outlawed in the UK”.
The Home Office says Islamic Path “should be treated as [an] alternative name for the organisation which is already proscribed under the names Al Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect”.
It describes The Saved Sect as “a splinter group of Al-Muajiroon [which] disseminates materials that glorify acts of terrorism”.
Al-Muajiroon was founded by Anjem Choudary, a former lawyer best known for threatening to march through Wootton Bassett, where Britain’s war dead are repatriated.
In 2009, Cardiff council pulled the plug on the planned Islamic Path meeting because of proposals to seat men and women separately at an event called “Islam – from revelation to implementation”.
Yesterday, Hajar, now heading an organisation called Supporters of Tawheed, confirmed he was involved.
He said: “There were a few events up and down the UK, including the one I participated in that was cancelled on the grounds of segregation.”
The 29-year-old said it was “shocking” the group was banned by the Home Office.
“It was really shocking because they [Islamic Path] were just some people that were community based and they organised conferences for events here and there and the next thing… they were not even established before they were proscribed.”
However, he then appeared to distance himself from being part of the banned Islamic Path, saying groups in London of that name were “completely independent” from those in Cardiff. he added: “my personal feeling is that name had been taken up by other organisations.”
In 2009, protesters contacted the Echo because they thought Choudary was rumoured to be speaking at the meeting. This has always been denied.
But yesterday, Hajar confirmed he was connected with the former solicitor, a known supporter of Osama bin Laden.
“I’ve had some conversations with him regarding judicial things, cases he was dealing with in some Sharia courts,” he said.
Yesterday, Choudary took to Twitter to criticise the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit raid on Hajar’s meeting last Thursday in Cardiff, referring to “brutal British police”.
In Tuesday’s Echo, Hajar denied he was linked to Muslims Against Crusades.
Chairman of the Muslim Council of Wales, Saleem Kidwai, said: “they keep changing their organisations but they are all the same group. It’s the same people, different name. Islamic Path was proscribed so they cannot [use that name].”
Hajar, of Grangetown, also defended his right to pray for Osama bin Laden in Riverside’s Despenser Gardens after his death in May.
“we were asking God to forgive him for the mistakes that he had made,” he said.
