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RICHARD WALTON’S article in the JC (‘Islamist extremism remains a bigger threat than the far-right’, May 3) was a timely and factual reminder of the threat that Islamist extremism poses to our country and our communities.
In particular, Islamist extremism poses a threat to Jewish communities and their institutions. Let us not forget cases like Ummarayiat Mirza, 21, and his wife Madihah Taheer, 22, who were sentenced to jail for 16 years and 10 years respectively in December 2017.
Days after the Westminster Bridge attack, Mirza planned a knife campaign to murder innocent people. He had scouted out the central synagogue in Birmingham as a possible target. He fantasised about life in the so-called Islamic State. His wife took part in the plot by buying him the knife that he aimed to used to cause carnage. Just imagine if he had targeted the local synagogue while men and women were praying.
Or take Muhammad Sajid Khan, 33, and his wife Shaista, who were inspired by online Al-Qaeda propaganda material in 2010. The Oldham couple had been planning to attack the Orthodox Jewish community in Prestwich and it was only when Khan attacked his wife’s father that his inlaws informed the police about his extremist views.
What the police found by chance was bomb-making equipment that was to be used against innocent British Jews going about their everyday business. It was clear that the couple were on a murderous mission to kill British Jews, egged on by the antisemitic hate of Islamist groups like AlQaeda.
Other countries have suffered