Pakistani-origin radical preacher’s network resurgent in UK, warn experts

LONDON: The extremist group associated with British-Pakistani radical preacher Anjem Choudary, convicted in the UK for inviting support for the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group, is regenerating itself, warn counter-extremism experts. The 51-year-old founder of alMuhajiroun network was released from the high-security Belmarsh prison in south London in October last year under very strict license conditions after serving less than half of his five-and-a-half-year sentence. He is associated with grooming the likes of Indian-origin ISIS supporter Siddhartha Dhar, aka Abu Rumaysah, who was killed in an airstrike in Syria last year. After latest analysis, the Hope Not Hate counter-extremism group warned in its annual ‘State of Hate’ report that al-Muhajiroun was “stirring back into life” after two years of relative silence while key members were in prison. “The release of some of their more prominent activists, albeit on strict controls, appears to be galvanising some younger supporters into reestablishing street stalls and other public activities,” Nick Lowles, chief executive of Hope Not Hate, told ‘The Independent’ newspaper. “While a mere shadow of its former self, al-Muhajiroun still has the potential to cause havoc,” he said, describing the group as “Britain’s most prolific and dangerous extremist group”.