Friday, April 01, 2016

Religious head of Scotland's biggest mosque will NOT face charges over leaked messages 'praising Pakistani extremist assassin'

  • imam Habib ur Rehman apparently praised an extremist who was executed
  • He was said to have made favourable comments about Mumtaz Qadri
  • Qadri was hanged in February for killing Punjab governor Salman Taseer
  • Imam said his comments were 'misconstrued' and he will not face charges
The religious head of Scotland's biggest mosque will not face charges over a series of leaked messages that apparently praised an extremist who was executed after murdering a politician in Pakistan.

Glasgow Central Mosque Imam Habib ur Rehman was said to have made favourable comments about assassin Mumtaz Qadri.

Qadri was hanged in February for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, who opposed Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.

No charges: Glasgow Central Mosque Imam Habib ur Rehman will not face charges over a series of leaked messages. He was said to have made favourable comments about assassin Mumtaz Qadri
No charges: Glasgow Central Mosque Imam Habib ur Rehman will not face charges over a series of leaked messages. He was said to have made favourable comments about assassin Mumtaz Qadri
Mumtaz Qadri (pictured) was hanged last month for murdering Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2011
Governor Taseer (pictured) was shot nine times by Qadri
Mumtaz Qadri was hanged last month for murdering Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2011


The imam said a series of Whatsapp messages about Qadri in which he reportedly called the killer a 'true Muslim' had been 'taken out of context' and were about his opposition to Qadri's hanging and the Pakistani justice system.

Police Scotland said it had reviewed the comments but 'no criminality has been established'.
Speaking at a conference in Glasgow on Thursday, Imam Habib ur Rehman repeated that his comments were 'misconstrued' and said the situation had added to his 'sense of tragedy' following recent terror attacks.

Police Scotland Superintendent Jim Baird said: 'Officers have reviewed all comments as reported to Police Scotland and whilst it is appreciated that individuals raise issues that concern them, on this occasion no criminality has been established.

'Police Scotland thank the members of the public who raised this issue with us.

'Each person who reported their concerns to the police, and who were not anonymous, was responded to individually.

 This assisted us in directly answering the specific points they raised.' 


Qadri is a polarising figure in Pakistan - fundamentalists view him as a martyr but others see him as a crazed extremist.

He served as a bodyguard for Governor Taseer in the Punjab province but turned on him in 2011, shooting him nine times.

The governor had been vocal in his support of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of insulting mohameed. 

Qadri had said he was angry at the politician's calls to reform the blasphemy law. 

He was executed in a move that risked angering Islamist supporters who had feted him as a hero and threatened violence if he was executed.


Within hours of the news of Qadri's execution, hundreds of supporters began gathering at the man's family home in Rawalpindi. 

An estimated 100,000 people attended the funeral in March.

Qadri's lawyers drew on Islamic texts to argue that he was justified in killing Taseer, saying that by criticising the law the politician was himself guilty of blasphemy - an argument rejected by the lead judge.

A Supreme Court decision to uphold the death sentence last December sparked rallies. 

Islamist groups told those protests that if Qadri were executed those responsible should also be put to death.

Pakistan ended a six-year moratorium on the death penalty in December 2014. Last month authorities announced they had executed 332 people since then.

Glasgow Police have threatened social media users, ordering them to be “kind” (to Muslims) and not “hurtful” (to Muslims) unless they want to “receive a visit from police.”



No comments: