Muslim cleric guilty of soliciting murder

A Muslim cleric, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal, was today convicted of soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred, in the first prosecution of its kind in Britain.

The Old Bailey jury found El-Faisal guilty of three charges relating to inciting racial hatred as well as three charges of soliciting murder. He was remanded in custody for sentencing on March 7.

El-Faisal had denied five charges of soliciting the murder of non-believers, Jews, Americans and Hindus, and four charges relating to inciting racial hatred.

The ground-breaking trial was the first prosecution of a Muslim cleric in Britain. It was also the first time potential jurors were banned from sitting on the jury because of their religion. The judge agreed to a defence plea not to allow Jewish and Hindu jurors - but in the end none came forward.

It was also the first time in more than 100 years that anyone had been charged under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act of soliciting murder without a specific victim.

Jamaican-born El-Faisal, who converted to Islam at the age of 16, was arrested by police investigating British links with al-Qaida. He had been acquainted with James Ujaama, who is accused of setting up a terrorist training camp in America. Mr Ujaama was heard asking questions at two lectures.

Tapes of El-Faisal's study circle lectures, given around the country, went on sale at specialist bookshops. In them, he was heard calling for the death of nonbelievers, and making references to training schoolboys to shoot Kalashnikovs.

He was heard quoting the words of Osama bin Laden and backed the use of nuclear and chemical weapons. On the cover of one recording was a picture of the burning World Trade Centre.

El-Faisal, a father of three from Stratford, east London, said he was interpreting and updating the words of the Koran. He said his references to killing were limited to the religious battlefield.

But David Perry, prosecuting, denied his claim that the Koran was on trial and accused the preacher of hiding behind a "cloak of religion" to mask his hatred.

"This is not some crank in Speaker's Corner," Mr Perry told the jury. El-Faisal was addressing young, impressionable Muslims "from a position of authority" and was a "fanatic and extremist".

Mr Perry said El-Faisal was encouraging Britons to go to terrorist training camps in Afghanistan before and after September 11.

El-Faisal told his audiences: "You have to learn to fly planes, drive tanks and you have to learn how to load your guns and to use missiles."

In another reference, he said boys of 15 were soldiers and asked them: "Is it sensible for you to be a soldier and you don't know how to shoot a Kalashnikov?"

El-Faisal promised that those who died during a holy war would not feel pain and would go to heaven, where they would be given 72 virgins.

"We believe in the bullet not the ballot," he told them. In another speech, El-Faisal told youngsters: "People with British passports, if you fly into Israel, it is easy ... Fly into Israel and do whatever you can. If you die, you are up in paradise.

"How do you fight a Jew? You kill a Jew. In the case of Hindus, by bombing their businesses."

The verdict was welcomed by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Anti-Terrorist Squad.

He said: "This case was nothing to do with freedom of speech, but everything to do with racial hatred and religious bigotry - and encouraging people to commit acts of terrorism.

"When you look at the words that he was saying, it goes beyond being misguided or over-enthusiastic. It is naked religious and racial hatred."

He added: "We simply do not know how many young, impressionable people may have gone abroad and never returned."

The taped material was "deeply offensive" and the claim that it was taken from the Koran was untrue, Mr Clarke said, adding: "The Muslim community are appalled by the things he was saying.

El-Faisal waved to his supporters in the public gallery as he was led away. They had sat in silence as the jury returned its verdicts after deliberating for the equivalent of one-and-a half days.

The Home Office is reviewing El-Faisal's immigration status.

· The jury was unaware that an attempt had been made during the trial to bribe the judge, Common Serjeant of London Peter Beaumont.

Mr Beaumont ordered an immediate police inquiry after receiving a letter from Scotland offering him £50,000. He said there was nothing to suggest El-Faisal knew anything about it. Detectives view the letter as a deliberate attempt to try to discredit the judge.

· Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza was to be called as a witness in Sheikh Faisal's trial, it can be disclosed. But the idea was dropped during the month-long case, following January's police raid on Mr Hamza's mosque in Finsbury Park, north London. Unknown to the jury, Mr Hamza appeared before the judge during a pre-trial hearing to outline his evidence. He said he had been visited by Special Branch officers seven times about his speeches, but had not been prosecuted. The defence was going to use him, among others, to demonstrate that it was unjust to prosecute El-Faisal, who had never been warned about his speeches.