Opponent of 'mega-mosque' receives chilling death threat on YouTube

The film on video-sharing website YouTube is entitled In memory of Councillor Alan Craig and contains pictures of him with his wife and two young daughters.

Mr Craig has now contacted police in fear of his family's safety and demanded that the video be taken down.

Islamic group Tablighi Jamaat wants to open the 12,000-capacity "mega-mosque" in Newham near the main 2012 Olympic site.

The FBI has described the group as "a recruiting ground" for al Qaeda, which it denies.

Shoebomber Richard Reid and 7/7 bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer were members.

Mr Craig, 61, a member of the Christian Peoples Alliance on Newham council, has led a local campaign against the mosque which is planned for the site at Abbey Mills next to West Ham Tube station.

The businessman today said he would be seeking advice about whether his 40-year-old wife, Sally, and daughters were safe.

He said: "Targeting me is one thing. But to use my wife and children is outrageous. This video obituary is either a threat or a very sick joke.

"Some people will look at this as an open invitation to take me out because I am opposing the mosque. That is not the way to operate in a democracy."

The video opens with its title and the words "To God we will all return" before showing a series of photos of the councillor, his family and political allies set to Elvis Presley singing You Were Always On My Mind.

The two-minute video ends with the message "The mosque will be built in time for the 2012 Olympic Games."

The video was posted by abdullah1425 whose page on YouTube claims he is 23-year-old Muhammad from Stevenage. It has links to material relating to Tablighi Jamaat.

In one comment to another user posted on the site he said: "Jihad starts from the moment your mother gave birth to you."

There is a link directly to the page from the mosque's official website but a spokesman promised to take it down if anything "inappropriate" was found.

He added: "We are not responsible for the content of external websites. But we condemn totally anyone who incites violence."

Plans for the 18-acre-complex, which is expected to include a school for 500 boys, have yet to be submitted to Newham council for approval.

Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales said he did not agree with Mr Craig's views but that he was entitled to express them.

He added: "If this has been reported to the police then it is right that they should investigate it."

East London and West Essex Guardian Series

WALTHAM FOREST: Anti mega-mosque councillor slams internet "death threat"

By Carl Brown

A COUNCILLOR fighting plans to build a massive mosque has branded a mock obituary about him on the internet as "sick."

Newham councillor and Christian People's Alliance (CPA) leader Alan Craig has repeatedly called for a public inquiry into Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic group that wants to build a £100m mosque at Abbey Mills, Stratford, following alleged terror links.

He believes the mosque, which would be the biggest in Europe, would damage community relations because Islamic Jamaat would foster a divisive mentality.

Last Sunday Cllr Craig was alerted to a video on the YouTube website which is titled In Memory of Councillor Alan Craig.

The clip shows numerous pictures of Cllr Craig, some of which also feature his wife and daughters.

He said: "I was aghast when I saw it, It is particularly unpleasant, and if it is a joke, it is very sick.

"Putting stuff about me on the internet is one thing, but people should not be involving my family."

Cllr Craig has reported the clip to the police and he is waiting for the CID to get in touch.

He said the veiled death threat will not prevent him from carrying on with his campaign.

He said: "You cannot live in fear or intimidation and I am going to carry on doing what I am going to do, which is legitimate and democratic.

"I would ask whoever did this to take the clip down."

Cllr Craig said the pictures appear to have been taken from a number of sources, including the BBC and the CPA website, although he does not know where all of them have come from.

The video was posted by somebody calling himself Muhammad, 23, of Stevenage.

Tablighi Jamaat is working with architects to develop an outline design for the development, which may also include a school, conference centre and a library.

Any future planning application will be decided by the unelected quango the Thames Gateway London Partnership, although Newham Council can examine it.

Where it will end:

Saudi Arabia - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death. Bibles are illegal. Churches are illegal. Easter celebrations are illegal. It is punishable by death for a non-mulsim to enter the “holy” muslim cities of Medina and Mecca.

Yemen - Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims and forbids conversions. The Government does not allow the building of new non-Muslim places of worship.

Kuwait - Registration and licensing of religious groups. Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran may not build places of worship. Prohibits organized religious education for religions other than Islam.

Egypt - Islam is the official state religion and primary source of legislation. Accordingly, religious practices that conflict with Islamic law are prohibited. Muslims may face legal problems if they convert to another faith (up to and including death). Requires non-Muslims to obtain what is now a presidential decree to build a place of worship.

Algeria - The law prohibits public assembly for purposes of practicing a faith other than Islam. Non-Islamic proselytizing is illegal, and the Government restricts the importation of non-Islamic literature for distribution. The country has passed the “Regulation of Religious Practice” law, which stipulates a punishment of two to five years’ imprisonment and heavy fines for anyone convicted of urging a Muslim to change his religion.

Syria - The constitution requires the president to be a Muslim and specifies that Islamic jurisprudence is a principal source of legislation. Sharing your Christian faith is discouraged as “posing a threat to the relations among religious groups” and carries a penalty of up to life in prison. A Christian is not allowed to proselytize – ever. Churches who want to hold an extra service must get a government permit. Sermons are routinely monitored, as is church fundraising.

Jordan - Has the death penalty for any Muslim selling land to a Jew.

Sudan - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death.

Pakistan - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death. Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims. Christians regularly put in prison for charges of blasphemy. Islam is the state religion, and in a court of law the testimony of a Christian carries less weight than that of a Muslim. Section 295(c) of the Penal Code calls for a death sentence for anyone who defiles the name of the Prophet Muhammad and requires the testimony of four Muslims for a conviction. This fosters an environment in which Muslims can feel free to use intimidation and violence against religious minorities for personal gain. Also, if any criminal Muslim rape with any Christian female and then take plea that she has accepted Islam and marry with him. Such person is not culpable under Pakistani criminal law

Qatar - Islamic instruction is compulsory in public schools. The government regulates the publication, importation, and distribution of non-Islamic religious literature. The government continues to prohibit proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims.

Malaysia - Under Malaysian law, any convert to Christianity must apply to a shariah (Muslim law) court to legally renounce Islam. Many Christians prefer to remain silent converts rather than take their battle to the shariah courts, where apostasy or conversion out of Islam is punishable by whipping, fines, imprisonment and—in the most extreme application—death. In a country where Muslims account for more than half of the population, conversion from Islam is punished with a 5-year prison sentence and a $3,000 fine. A Malaysian Muslim who marries a non-Muslim and who converts the non-Muslim to Islam is rewarded with an apartment, a car, a one-time payment of $2,700, and a monthly stipend of $270.

The Maldives - In the island paradise visited by tens of thousands of tourists each year, Christianity is simply not tolerated. While local Christians – said to number around 300 out of a total population of 300,000 – do get together to worship, they do so at the risk of imprisonment or worse if discovered by the Muslim authorities. Bibles are banned, and tourists can be arrested for trying to bring them into the country.

England - Bradford, Yorkshire, UK. Pop. 300,000 - 20% Islamic. Local police required to tell community elders the location of girls who run away to escape arranged marriages. Bars and liquor stores in the Lumb Lane / Manningham Lane area of the city ‘requested’ to close on Fridays. Schools, colleges, and health clinics have to have separate areas for women, with a copy of the Koran available. Public critcism of Islam or it’s adherents, such as letters to the local paper, emails to friends, speeches etc, can and has led to criminal charges ‘Using words intentionally and wilfully to cause fear, hate, or distress. Christmas decorations not to be put up, as this may make the Moslems feel ‘culturally overshadowed’. Shops ‘requested’ not to display easter eggs for the same reason. The term ‘requested’ means not legally enforceable but local police warn that they cannot intervene if your premises get ‘damaged’ somehow. Local councillors and MPs have encouraged all this for the past 15 years. Bradford Northwest MP Ann Cryer regularly appears with long sleeves and her head covered. She once stated that women in Islam are properly liberated and that Islam is an example to us all.

Unfortunately, YouTube does not allow us to save it, so once it's taken down, it never existed.

On the YouTube page for this video, it says "Added June 30, 2007" with 107 comments dating back four months. Unless this recent publicity provides some extra impetus, I don't see YouTube as being terribly interested in stopping this obvious and direct death threat against this white Christian man and his family who is voicing his opinion (and that of billions of other, I'll wager) in a completely legal manner that is completely in keeping with the practices of a free society...

YouTube's history suggests that if this video had been even faintly pornographic or exhibiting the most minimal, passing glance in the direction of racism against nonwhites it would have been taken down in a heartbeat.

Also, many videos of a Republican or Conservative nature have been taken down in the past, solidifying YouTube's Leftist reputation and spurring the birth of a variety of other video hosting sites..

I'm delighted that Polynikes has so kindly provided a link to a YouTube downloading site. I had heard of various software options that allow direct downloading of YouTube videos onto your own computer which would bypass entirely any threat of censorship by a third party but it appears that the KeepVid site will do that as well and probably with a lot less trouble...I will have to give it a try soon.

The damage is already done. The maggots who resort to these threats may be motivated to act whether the video continues to be accessible or not.

One of the best tools to resist and defeat murderous fanatics is to shed light on them and their actions. This video is a concrete example of how they affect everyone, everywhere, and should have the widest exposure possible.

Agreed. If this new publicity does indeed shame YouTube enough to pull this blatant islamofascist filth, my hope is that people will feel free to post new links to a new hosting site for it here in this thread so that it can serve as a lasting testament to the grace and compassion of Allah's Children. "barf"

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