Cleric 'preached murder'

2006-01-11 17:54

London - Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri called for Jews, "infidels" and lapsed Muslims to be killed, a court in London heard on Wednesday as the soliciting-to-murder and race-hate case against him opened.

Opening the trial of the one-eyed, hook-handed former imam at Old Bailey criminal court, prosecutor David Perry said Hamza preached "murder and hatred" during his sermons and lectures.

"You will hear the tapes and you will hear that the defendant, Sheikh Abu Hamza, encouraged his listeners, whether they were an audience at a private meeting or congregation at a mosque, to believe that it was part of a religious duty to fight in the cause of Allah, God," he told the jury.

"And as part of the religious duty to fight for Allah, it was part of the religious duty to kill. The people they were encouraged to kill were non-believers."

Egyptian-born Hamza, 47, who preached at Finsbury Park mosque in north London, faces a total of 15 charges, including nine of "soliciting to murder" and four of using language aimed at stirring up racial hatred.

One of the charges accused him of possessing a document, The Encyclopaedia of the Afghani Jihad, which contained information "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".

Another accuses him of having video and audio recordings which he intended to distribute to stir up racial hatred.

His trial is expected to last three weeks.

- AFP