UK Charges Islamist Preacher Anjem Choudary with Terror Offenses

Facts

• After British authorities arrested radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary in London last week, it was announced on Monday that he had been charged with three terrorism offenses over the weekend.¹
• The charges against Choudary included membership of a proscribed organization, directing a terrorist organization, and encouraging support for a proscribed organization through his address of meetings. Choudary appeared in a London court on Monday.²
• Prosecutors said that the charges relate to the radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, which the British government outlawed in 2010. It has since allegedly operated “under many names and guises,” including the Islamic Thinkers Society.³
• Khaled Hussein, a 28-year-old from Canada, was also detained at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight the same day that Choudary was arrested — he appeared at the same court charged with membership of the same proscribed organization. Neither defendant entered pleas to any of the charges.⁴
• The prosecution claims that Choudary spoke to small online groups on a weekly basis from June 2022 until his arrest, giving lectures on the establishment of an Islamic State in Britain and how to radicalize people.⁵
• Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring said that Choudary and Hussein would next appear in court at the Old Bailey on August 4.⁵

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²Reuters, ³ABC News, ⁴Sky News, and ⁵BBC News.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Daily Mail. Choudary represents a set of radical and violent views that have no place in British society. His hate-filled rhetoric, which has included support for the Islamic State (IS), is antithetical to a pluralistic Western democracy.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. The media has time after time platformed Choudary and his repugnant views, purposefully using him as a caricature of the average Muslim in Britain. Indeed, the British media has actually extended the reach of Choudary's radicalizing by giving him and his associates such a significant platform from which to spew hate-filled rhetoric. UK news outlets should be held to account for their irresponsible reporting on this case.

Predictions