http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2995171/Internet-gaffe-government-UK-extremist-s-sharia-law-photo-used-free-speech-ad.html
- US government posted a British Muslim extremist's photograph online
- Picture showed veiled women calling for sharia law during London protest
- State Department used photo as an inspirational example of free speech
- But the banner was also used in an extremist campaign for strict sharia law
Published:
22:20 GMT, 14 March 2015
|
Updated:
10:47 GMT, 15 March 2015273
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The
US government has made a bizarre internet gaffe by posting a British
Muslim extremist’s photograph of veiled women calling for sharia law,
citing it as an inspirational example of free speech in the West.
The
American State Department’s ‘Think Again Turn Away’ campaign is
designed to dissuade Muslims from joining IS – also known as ISIS – and
other extreme groups.
The
campaign posted the picture on its Twitter account last week, adding:
‘In open societies, all faiths enjoy freedom of speech; under ISIS rule,
no such thing as freedom of expression.’
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The photograph shows Muslim women, all in black burkas, running a campaign stall in Dalston, East London
The
photograph shows Muslim women, all in black burkas, running a stall in
Dalston, East London. They are standing behind a trestle table covered
in leaflets and a banner reading: ‘Shariah law or man made law. Which is
better for mankind?’
An
investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found the banner was used in an
extremist campaign called Stay Muslim, Don’t Vote, which calls for
strict sharia law to be imposed on Britain, as well as urging Muslims
not to vote in elections.
The
photo was given the caption ‘Muslims coming out inviting society to
Islam’ – which was copied by the US State Department – by a man calling
himself Abdulrahman Muhajir, whose Twitter account is suspended.
Blunder: Moshiur Rahman, who
posted the image online, was one of 12 Islamists given Asbos banning
them from taking part in demonstrations
The
Mail on Sunday can reveal he is Moshiur Rahman, a 33-year-old from
Luton, who last year was one of 12 Islamists given Asbos banning them
from taking part in demonstrations over a violent protest rally on
Oxford Street. At least two of the gang are believed to be fighting for
IS in Syria.
Anjem
Choudary – the hate preacher who has repeatedly blamed British foreign
policy for terrorist attacks and whose al-Muhajiroun group was banned by
the Government – was present at the event in Dalston on March 7. He has
also given talks in Walthamstow and East Ham at demonstrations where
the sign was used.
The
photo appropriated by the US State Department was first placed on
Twitter last week by a woman calling herself Umm Usmaan, who is a
leading figure in the anti-democracy campaign.
She described it as an ‘Islamic roadshow’ and included the slogan ‘stay Muslim, don’t vote’ when she put the photo on Twitter.
Yesterday she posted a picture of another sign with the message: ‘The right of legislation belongs to none but Allah!’
Last
night, terror expert Douglas Murray, associate director of the Henry
Jackson Society think-tank, said: ‘It’s an incredibly weak “fail”,’ he
said. ‘They should be putting a bit more thought into their sourcing.
With all of our resources, it’s not even as accomplished as the crudest
IS propaganda.’
US
Twitter users were also quick to ridicule the State Department, with
one calling it an ‘epic fail’. Conservative US commentator Mark Steyn
added: ‘Why is the State Department promoting sharia for the United
Kingdom? Aren’t they supposed to uphold the Constitution of the United
States? Sharia’s incompatible with that constitution, as it is with the
legal inheritance of Western civilisation.’
The State Department did not respond to requests to comment yesterday.
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