Radical cleric Anjem Choudary wants to leave UK and live under ISIS

 
No passport: Anjem Choudary (Picture: PA)
Alexandra Rucki7 November 2014
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Radical cleric Anjem Choudary has said he wants to travel to Iraq or Syria and live under the Islamic State, it was reported.

Mr Choudary, who is on police bail, told The Times he would renounce his British citizen and would have already travelled to the countries controlled by jihadists if he had his passport.

It was taken off him in September when he was arrested on suspicion of supporting banned group al-Muhajiroun and was released on bail with strict conditions.

Mr Choudary, 47, of London, has denied any wrong doing and said his arrest was “politically motivated”.

He said he would consider renouncing his British citizenship in order to relocate safely with his family.

But his bail conditions ban him from travelling abroad, associating with other nine people also arrested, preaching in public as well as engaging in acts of terrorism, he said.

Mr Choudary told The Times: “I believe the world belongs to God and that one day, hopefully, the UK will be part of an Islamic State. Why shouldn’t I be free to travel to the khilafah [caliphate] and see what life is like under the Sharia?

“The passport . . . is a basic human right and I don’t see why I should have to give it up or have my movement restricted. I want to know from the Home Office and the crown prosecution service if it is illegal for me to travel to live in the Islamic State if I have no intention of carrying out acts of terrorism.”

Police questioned have questioned the preacher in relation to being a member of up to 10 proscribed groups including Islam4UK and Need4Khalifah.

Al-Muhajiroun, which has changed names a number of times, was banned in the UK in 2010 and a study suggested that in the preceding 12 years 18 per cent of Islamic extremists convicted of terror offences in the UK had current or former links with it.

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said last night: “If he wants to go, he should be allowed to go. I think that would be a much better scenario than having him stay.

“Why should the Home Office or anyone else give him safe passage? He must take the consequences if he is propagating the views of ISIS, then he is putting himself at risk of prosecution. I think people would like to see the back of him.”

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