Finsbury Park mosque leader Abu Hamza al Masri has been arrested by UK police and indicted in the US on charges of trying to build a terrorist training camp in Oregon (More). Given the quick timing of the two events, extradition is likely.
If there's any doubt that this is one of the bad guys, note what he said about the Columbia tragedy (and kept saying), his holding a pro-terrorism conference on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, his running an organization dedicated to establishing Taliban-style Sharia in Britain, and read some of the links provided at the bottom of this post.
It's been a wonder something like this hasn't happened sooner. In any less tolerant country, he would be expelled, charged with treason, or disappeared by now. Finsbury Park has been the target of prior raids, but Britain has never gotten anything to stick. Hamza is far from the only pro-terrorist activist in Britain and he may not even be the most extreme, but his wounds make him a photogenic enemy and symbolic of Britain's pro-terrorist movement.
For more information, see also a recent Newsday article on Finsbury Park activities, a meaty report from the Muslim-American Society, a CNN biography of al Masri, a MEMRI biography of al Masri, a BBC report on the support for al-Qaeda and similar terrorist movements in Britain, and a similarly themed Guardian report.
Posted by Warrior Tang at May 27, 2004 06:33 PM