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

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.