The outspoken radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza Al Masri has been cleared of extradition to the United States of America by the British government. This is an important ruling by the British home department and sends out a clear message to radical Muslims of Britain who preach hatred among the local population. The Egypt-born former imam of Finsbury Park mosque in North London now has 14 days to appeal the ruling. If the appeal fails, he will be handed over to US authorities within 28 days.
The radical leader came to media spotlight when he publicly supported Al Qaeda and criticised the invasion of Iraq. US prosecutors charged him of providing support to Al Qaeda by setting up a terrorist camp in Oregon between 1998 and 2000. He is also accused of conspiring the kidnapping of 12 foreigners in Yemen in 1998. But the extradition ruling has opened up a debate of whether London has given into American pressures when it could have dealt with the former imam by itself.
Abu Hamza’s solicitor has cast grave doubts on his client’s future at the hands of the Americans. Mudassar Arani, the solicitor, said:
There are grave concerns about what might happen if the extradition goes ahead. The Americans have said he will not face the death penalty or be sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp- but how can we be sure?
Many believe that although Abu Hamza is a hate figure in the UK, extraditing him is not the British way of dealing with terrorists or suspects. But Washington was adamant to get him extradited from London and charge him for 11 counts of offences.
Politically, the extradition would again prove the strong ties that exist between the United Kingdom and the United States of America and although some sections of the British community oppose the ruling by the British Home Secretary, there is a growing evidence that British Muslims would be delighted to see the departure of Hamza. Moderate Muslim communities across the country have accused the one-eyed and one-handed Abu Hamza Al Masri of providing a bad name to whole community through his inflammatory speeches during his tenure as the imam of Finsbury Park mosque.
The American charges carry a potential jail sentence of up to 100 years for Al Masri but most British Muslims do not complain.
Image and Source Link: SMH
