Hundreds of people came to show their support for Moazzam Begg outside the Home Office in central London on Sunday, writes Annika Waheed.
People from all walks of life including families with children stood for hours listening to speakers Taji Mustafa from Hizb-Ut-Tahrir, IERA’s Hamza Tzortis, Sheikh Haitham al Haddad and Anas Altikriti to name but a few.
Although many of the speeches stemmed from a religious perspective of standing up to oppression and tyrants, Muslims and non-Muslims alike stood for the same message – is it a crime to fight for injustice?
Speakers said the arrest of Moazzam Begg and three others for facilitating terrorism was a farce, utter hypocrisy and brazen Islamophobia. Begg was compared to Malcolm X – he worked tirelessly to support and provide a voice for those that required it the most, those who have been renditionned and tortured.
Speaker Anas Altikriti, president and founder of the Cordoba Foundation, described Moazzam Begg as ”a victim of gross injustice, yet when he emerged from that fate of trail and tribulation he refused to utter words that were unbecoming about his oppressors, he refused to act in a way to seek revenge or avenge the time that he had taken away from his wife, his parents and his children. He was the epitome of peace, he was the epitome of reconciliation, he was the epitome of everything that everyone seems to be talking about.”
A friend and colleague research director Asim Qureshi said: “We fully support our colleague and see his arrest as politically-motivated and as part of a campaign to criminalise legitimate activism. ‘Do not let the protest of this weekend be the beginning and end of your support, Moazzam needs your support, CAGE needs your support – get in touch and help us to help the oppressed”.
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