Moazzam Begg: Abu Qatada’s case exposes Britain’s prejudices

Abu Qatada was deported back to Jordan on Sunday

Moazzam Begg argues that the case of Abu Qatada, who has just been deported to Jordan, has exposed all the old prejudices within the British state – racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, hatred of asylum seekers and a hypocritical foreign policy.

Until the devastating 11 September attacks the name of Abu Qatada al-Falastini (the Palestinian) was relatively obscure in western circles.

Born in Bethlehem in the West Bank in 1960 Omar Mahmoud Othman, like numerous Palestinians, became part of the diaspora in neighbouring Jordan. After living in different Middle Eastern countries where he studied various Islamic doctrines Othman (Abu Qatada) came to the UK in 1993 and was soon granted leave to remain.

Abu Qatada may have hailed from the occupied West Bank but it was events elsewhere that brought his controversial fataawa (Islamic edicts) during the mid-90s to light. It is this link to Abu Qatada’s history that British politicians and the media have regarded with disturbingly myopic vision.

Algerian civil war

In 1991 the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win elections in Algeria after gaining immense popularity with the public. Fearing an imminent Islamic takeover the National Liberation Front (FLN) government cancelled elections and power was handed over to the military. FIS was outlawed and thousands of its members were imprisoned. Characteristically, France, Britain and the US remained silent and continued their support for the Algerian Government.

After severe crackdowns FIS took up arms against the government and a brutal civil war ensued during which an estimated 200, 000 people were killed – including many civilians. The situation spiralled out of control after atrocities were committed by government forces “dressing up as Islamists” and carrying out massacres and rapes in areas suspected of harbouring rebels in order to deplete support for FIS.

Sign up for regular updates straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!

Abu Qatada, like many Islamic scholars, was supporting the rebels and had become something of a spiritual icon for the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), a faction that had broken off from FIS after it entered negotiations with the Government. It was in the light of these atrocities that Abu Qatada quoted a 13th century fatwa which argued that if the enemy is targeting women and children then the threat to reciprocate is permissible.

The GIA, however, became increasingly intolerant and often cited Abu Qatada’s edicts as a justification for its barbarity. As a result, Abu Qatada formerly relinquished his support for the organisation and issued a statement against the GIA.

It is clear that Abu Qatada became something of a spiritual leader for Islamic groups around the world but his influence has been highly inflated by the media and various governments. Despite that, Algerian authorities have not indicted him for any offence and neither did they seek his extradition.

Jordan bomb plot

In 2000 Abu Qatada was convicted in absentia in Jordan as part of the millennium bomb plot in Amman. He argues that confessions obtained against him were extracted under torture. However, even then his extradition was not immediately sought by Jordanian authorities and, more importantly he was not arrested in the UK. Instead, up until and even after the September 11 attacks British intelligence maintained links with Abu Qatada through his friend Bisher al-Rawi.

Al-Rawi, in his words, was attempting to “try to help with steps necessary to get a meeting between Abu Qatada and MI5. I was trying to bring them together. MI5 would give me messages to take to Abu Qatada, and Abu Qatada would give me messages to take back to them.” For his efforts Bisher al-Rawi, along with Jamil El-Banna, was detained on a business trip to Gambia and extraordinarily rendered to the Dark Prison, Bagram and Guantanamo Bay.

In all these places both men were interrogated hundreds of times about their links to Abu Qatada. Both Al-Rawi and El-Banna were released without charge after several years and eventually won a large out-of-court settlement against the British Government.

Prison

In 2002, Abu Qatada was arrested and held without charge in Belmarsh prison under emergency anti-terrorism measures alongside several other Middle Eastern foreign nationals. In 2005 the House of Lords ruled that the men’s detention had been “unconstitutional” and several of them, including Abu Qatada, were released under the highly restrictive control order program.

After the London bombings, focus again was placed on Abu Qatada and this time Britain began seeking Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) that individuals would not be tortured or subjected to arbitrary detention if returned, incredibly, from countries known to practice torture and detention without trial. They included Algeria, Libya and Jordan.

Abu Qatada has since been widely reported as “the head of the mujahedeen in Europe”, “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man” and “Al-Qaeda’s European ambassador.” The man who originally made these claims was Spanish judge Balthazar Garzon. Garzon was later convicted in a Spanish court for attempting to pervert the cause of justice. It is very concerning that the media and senior British Government members repeat this man’s claims without offering any evidence.

What’s missing in all the discussion around Abu Qatada – is Abu Qatada. From the time of his initial arrest in 2002 until now the only statements the public has heard from him have been his calls for the release of British hostages abroad. In 2005 he made an appeal for Norman Kember, a peace activist taken hostage by militants in Iraq. To return the favour Mr. Kember provided bail security for Abu Qatada in 2008 – when he was released from prison for a short while.

Abu Qatada also made a plea for the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston who was kidnapped in 2009 by gunmen in Palestine. The BBC has been attacked for reportedly asking its staff to not refer to Abu Qatada as an extremist.

Troubling questions

If Abu Qatada is the “truly dangerous individual” that the Special Immigration and Appeals Commission (SIAC) judge claimed him to be, there are some serious questions the Government must answer about him:

1. Why in over ten years has Abu Qatada never been questioned by the police or intelligence services?

2. Why can no one produce any evidence against Abu Qatada at a time when Britain has more anti-terrorism legislation in place than it did at the height of the IRA campaign?

3. Why has the terrorism threat level in this country not decreased since Abu Qatada, who constitutes such a “threat to national security”, has been in custody?

David Cameron and King Abdullah of Jordan have agreed to work on finding a “solution” to the Abu Qatada case. Although King Abdullah is no Gaddafi he is not the people’s choice either. Similar discussions were had between Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi regarding Libyan dissidents in Britain – and elsewhere – before the latter fell out of favour. But look what happened? Rendition victims and former prisoners once deemed terrorist by tyrants, just like Nelson Mandela, have taken power all across the Arab world.

The full version of this article can be found on the Cageprisoners website on the link below:

Add your comments below

Previous article7/7 anniversary: The British government continues to manipulate Muslims
Next articleProtest against military coup outside Egyptian embassy