Bashar al-Assad بشار حافظ الأسد
President of Syria
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 July 2000
Prime Minister	Muhammad Mustafa Mero Muhammad Naji al-Otari Adel Safar
Vice President	Farouk al-Sharaa Najah al-Attar
Preceded by	Abdul Halim Khaddam (Acting)
Secretary of the Syrian Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 June 2000
Deputy	Mohammed Saeed Bekheitan
Preceded by	Hafez al-Assad
Personal details
Born	Bashar Hafez al-Assad (1965-09-11) 11 September 1965 (age 46) Damascus, Syria
Political party	Syrian-led Ba'ath Party (Syrian branch: NPF)
Spouse(s)	Asma al-Akhras
Alma mater	Damascus University
Profession	Ophthalmologist
Religion	Alawi Shia Islam[1]
Website	The President

Bashar Hafez al-Assad (Arabic: بشار حافظ الأسد‎, Baššār al-ʾAsad, ‎‎‎Arabic pronunciation: [bæʃˈʃɑːɾɪlˈʔæsæd])‎; born 11 September 1965) is the current President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000.

Al-Assad graduated from the medical school of the University of Damascus in 1988, and started to work as a doctor in the army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital, in London, specializing in ophthalmology. In 1994, Al-Assad entered the military academy and in 1998, Al-Assad took charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, née Akhras. Al-Assad was elected as President of Syria in 2000 and 2007, unopposed each time.^[2][3] During the Syrian uprising, activists and protesters have called for President al-Assad's resignation.^[4]

Early life[link]

Bashar Hafez al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, the son of Aniseh (née Makhluf) and Hafez al-Assad.^[5] His father, Hafez al-Assad, born to a poor family of Alawite background, had risen through the Party ranks, to take control of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in the 1970 Corrective Revolution, thus installing himself as president. Hafez al-Assad purged the Party, and introduced effective Alawite rule of Syria.^[5][6]

Unlike his brothers, Bassel and Maher, and sister, Bushra, Bashar was quiet and reserved and says that he lacked interest in politics or the military.^[7] He later said that he only entered his father's office once while he was in power and he never spoke about politics with him.^[8] He received his primary and secondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus^[7] and was an exemplary student.^[9] In 1982, he graduated from high school and went on to study medicine at Damascus University.^[9]

In 1988, Bashar Assad graduated from medical school and began working as an army doctor in the biggest military hospital, "Tishrin", on the outskirts of Damascus.^[10][11] Four years later, he went to the United Kingdom to begin postgraduate training in ophthalmology at the Western Eye Hospital, part of the St Mary's group of teaching hospitals in London.^[12] Bashar at the time had few political aspirations.^[13] His father had been grooming Bashar's older brother, Bassel al-Assad, as the future president, but never openly declaring this intent.^[14] Bashar, however, was recalled in 1994 to the Syrian army, after Bassel's unexpected death in an automobile accident.^[12]

Death of Bassel[link]

The Al-Assad family around 1994. At the front are Hafez al-Assad and his wife, Anisa. At the back row, from left to right: Maher (commander of the Republican Guard), Bashar, Bassel, Majid, and Bushra

Soon after the death of Bassel, Hafez Assad made the decision to make Bashar the new heir-apparent.^[15] Over the next six and half years, until his death in 2000, Hafez went about systematically preparing Bashar for taking over power. Preparations for a smooth transition were made on three levels. First, support was built up for Bashar in the military and security apparatus. Second, Bashar's image was established with the public. And lastly, Bashar was familiarized with the mechanisms of running the country.^[16]

To establish his credentials in the military, Bashar entered in 1994 the military academy at Homs, north of Damascus, and was propelled through the ranks to become a colonel in January 1999.^[10][17][18] To establish a power base for Bashar in the military, old divisional commanders were pushed into retirement, and new, young, Alawite officers with loyalties to him took their place.^[19] Parallel to his military career, Bashar was engaged in public affairs. He was granted wide powers and became a political adviser to President Hafez al-Assad, head of the bureau to receive complaints and appeals of citizens, and led a campaign against corruption. As a result of his campaign against corruption, Bashar was able to remove his potential rivals for president.^[10]

In 1998, Bashar took charge of Syria's Lebanon file, which had since the 1970s been handled by former Vice President Abdul Khaddam, one of the few Sunni officials in the Assad government, who had until then been a potential contender for president.^[19] By taking charge of Syrian affairs in Lebanon, Bashar was able to push Khaddam aside and establish his own power base in Lebanon.^[20] In that same year after minor consultation with Lebanese politicians, Bashar installed Emile Lahoud, a loyal ally of his, as the President of Lebanon and pushed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri aside, by not placing his political weight behind his nomination as prime minister.^[21] To further weaken the old Syrian order in Lebanon, Bashar replaced the long serving de facto Syrian High Commissioner of Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, with loyal ally Rustum Ghazali.^[22] Under Bashar, Syrian corruption in Lebanon, which was already estimated at $2 billion per year in the 1990s,^[23] became more rampant and was publicly exposed with the collapse in 2003 of the Lebanese Al-Madina bank.^[24] Al-Madina was used to launder kickback money in the illegal gaming of the UN's Iraqi oil-for-food programme. Sources put the amount transferred and laundered through al-Madina at more than $1 billion, with a 25 percent commission going to Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies, among the recipients of this money were Bashar Assad's brother Maher, Emile Lahoud's son-in-law Elias Murr, and Ghazali.^[25][26]

Presidency[link]

Syria

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Syria

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When the elder Assad died in 2000, Bashar was appointed leader of the Ba'ath Party and the Army, and was elected president unopposed in what the regime claimed to be a massive popular support (97.2% of the votes), after the Majlis Al Sha'ab (Parliament) swiftly voted to lower the minimum age for candidates from 40 to 34 (Assad's age when he was elected). On 27 May 2007, Bashar was approved as president for another seven-year term, with the official result of 97.6% of the votes in a referendum without another candidate.^[27]

In his domestic policy, he has been criticised for a disregard for human rights, economic lapses, and corruption.^[28][29][30] In his foreign policy, Al-Assad is an outspoken critic of the United States and Israel.^[31] The Ba'ath Party remains in control of the parliament, and is constitutionally the "leading party" of the state. Until he became president, Bashar al-Assad was not greatly involved in politics; his only public role was head of the Syrian Computer Society, which introduced the Internet to Syria in 2001. Al-Assad was confirmed as president by an unopposed referendum in 2000. He was expected to take a more liberal approach than his father. In an interview he stated that he saw democracy in Syria as 'a tool to a better life' but then argued that it would take time for democracy to come about and that it could not be rushed.^[32] Politically and economically, Syrian life has changed only slightly since 2000. Immediately after he took office a reform movement made cautious advances during the Damascus Spring, which led al-Assad to shut down Mezzeh prison and release hundreds of political prisoners. However, security crackdowns commenced again within the year.^[33][34]

Economy[link]

Economic liberalization in Syria has been limited, with industry still heavily state-controlled. However some changes have occurred including the introduction of private banking and the encouragement of foreign involvement, most notably in the oil sector. The need for a diversification of the economy has been pressed for by some^[35] as it has been predicted that Syria will change from exporting to having to import oil by 2015. The reliance upon oil is reflected by manufacturing exports representing only 3.1 percent of Syria’s GDP.^[36] These issues are especially relevant as Syria’s population is predicted to more than double to over 34 million by 2050.^[37] There have been mild economic sanctions (the Syria Accountability Act) applied by the United States which further complicate the situation. Of major importance are the negotiations for a free trade association agreement with the European Union.

Human rights[link]

Billboard with portrait of Assad and the text God protects Syria on the old city wall of Damascus 2006

A 2007 law required internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums.^[38] Websites such as Wikipedia Arabic, YouTube and Facebook were blocked intermittently between 2008 and February 2011.^[39][40][41]

Human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have detailed how Bashar's regime and secret police routinely tortured, imprisoned, and killed political opponents, and those who speak out against the regime.^[42][43]

Since 2006 it expanded the use of travel bans against dissidents, a practice that is illegal under international law.^{[citation needed]} In that regard, Syria is the worst offender among Arab states.^[44]

In an interview with ABC News in 2007^[32] he stated: "We don't have such [things as] political prisoners," yet the New York Times reported the arrest of 30 political prisoners in Syria in December 2007.^[45]

Foreign Policy magazine editorialized on his position in the wake of the 2011 protests:^[46]

During its decades of rule... the Assad family developed a strong political safety net by firmly integrating the military into the regime. In 1970, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar’s father, seized power after rising through the ranks of the Syrian armed forces, during which time he established a network of loyal Alawites by installing them in key posts. In fact, the military, ruling elite, and ruthless secret police are so intertwined that it is now impossible to separate the Assad regime from the security establishment.... So... the regime and its loyal forces have been able to deter all but the most resolute and fearless oppositional activists. In this respect, the situation in Syria is to a certain degree comparable to Saddam Hussein’s strong Sunni minority rule in Iraq.

Foreign relations[link]

Assad with Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Assad's first official foreign trip was to meet Jacques Chirac in France, who had warm relations with him. The Middle Eastern Quarterly noted that "As in the case of Iraq, there are lingering questions of Syrian payments to French politicians. Many French politicians join associations and charitable boards both for financial and political gain."^[47]

The United States, European Union, the March 14 Alliance, Israel, and France accuse Assad of providing practical support to militant groups active against Israel and against opposition political groups. The latter category would include most political parties other than Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.^[48] According to MEMRI, Assad claimed the United States could benefit from the Syrian experience in fighting organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood at the Hama Massacre.^[49]

Assad opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite a long-standing animosity between the Syrian and Iraqi governments. Assad used Syria's seat in one of rotating positions on the United Nations Security Council to try to prevent the invasion of Iraq.^[50] Following the Iraq invasion by US and allied forces, Assad was accused of supporting the Iraqi insurgency. A US general accused him of providing funding, logistics, and training to Iraqi and foreign Muslims to launch attacks against U.S. and allied forces occupying Iraq.^[51]

Former President of Brazil Lula da Silva and Bashar al Assad

The February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the accusation of Syrian involvement and support for anti-Israeli groups, helped precipitate a crisis in relations with the United States. Assad was criticised for Syria's presence in Lebanon which ended in 2005, and the U.S. placed sanctions upon Syria partly because of this. At Pope John Paul II's funeral in 2005, Assad shook hands with the Israeli president Moshe Katsav.

In the Arab world, Assad mended relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization but relations with many Arab states, in particular Saudi Arabia, have been deteriorating. This is in part due to Assad's continued intervention in Lebanon and his alliance with Iran. Around the time of the 2008 South Ossetia war, Assad made an official visit to Russia. In an interview with the Russian TV channel Vesti, he asserted that one cannot separate the events in the Caucasus from the US presence in Iraq, which he condemned as a direct threat to [Syria's] security."

After the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, many media outlets accused Syria of being involved.^{[citation needed]} as Hariri was anti-Syrian. However, Assad argued that Syria's gradual withdrawal of troops from Lebanon, beginning in 2000, was precipitated as a result of the event and ended in May 2005.^[52]

In 2011, Assad told the Wall Street Journal that he considered himself "anti-Israel" and "anti-West", and that because of these policies he was not in danger of being overthrown.^[31]

Involvement in Lebanon[link]

Despite gaining re-election in 2007, al-Assad’s position was considered by some to have been weakened by the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon following the Cedar Revolution in 2005. There has also been pressure from the U.S. concerning claims that Syria is linked to terrorist networks, exacerbated by Syrian condemnation of the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah military leader, in Damascus in 2008. Interior Minister Bassam Abdul-Majeed stated that, "Syria, which condemns this cowardly terrorist act, expresses condolences to the martyr family and to the Lebanese people.”^[53]

Arab-Israeli conflict[link]

In a speech about the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict in August 2006, Bashar al-Assad said that Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of victory," hailing its actions as a "successful resistance."^[54] He claimed that Arab resistance was growing stronger, and warned Israel that "your warplanes, rockets, and your atomic bomb will not protect you in the future." He called Israel an enemy with whom no peace could be achieved as long as they and their allies (especially the U.S.) support the practice of preemptive war. In the same speech, he also called Arab leaders that have criticized Hezbollah "half-men."

In April 2008, Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year, with Turkey as a go-between. This was confirmed in May 2008, by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As well as a peace treaty, the future of the Golan Heights is being discussed. Assad was quoted in The Guardian as telling the Qatari paper:

. . . there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new US president takes office. The US was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, [Assad] told the paper, but added that the Bush administration "does not have the vision or will for the peace process. It does not have anything."^[55]

According to leaked American cables, Bashar al Assad called Hamas an "uninvited guest" and said "If you want me to be effective and active, I have to have a relationship with all parties. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood, but we have to deal with the reality of their presence.", comparing Hamas to the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood which was crushed by his father Hafez al Assad. He then claimed Hamas would disappear if peace was brought to the Middle East.^[56][57]

Assad has indicated that the peace treaty that he envisions would not be the same kind of peace treaty Israel has with Egypt where there is a legal border crossing and open trade. In a 2006 interview with Charlie Rose, Assad said “There is a big difference between talking about a peace treaty and peace. A peace treaty is like a permanent ceasefire. There’s no war, maybe you have an embassy, but you actually won’t have trade, you won’t have normal relations because people will not be sympathetic to this relation as long as they are sympathetic with the Palestinians: half a million who live in Syria and half a million in Lebanon and another few millions in other Arab countries.”^[58]

During the visit of Pope John Paul II to Syria in 2001, Bashar al-Assad requested an apology to Muslims for the medieval Crusades and criticised Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Comparing their suffering to that believed to have been endured by Jesus Christ in Palestine, Assad claimed that the Jews "tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad."^{[59][60][61][62][63]} Responding to claims that his comment was antisemitic, Assad said that whereas Judaism is a racially heterogeneous religion, the Syrian people are the core of the Semitic race and therefore are opposed to the term antisemitism. When offered to retract his comment implying that the Jews were responsible for Jesus' suffering, Assad replied, "As always, these are historical facts that we cannot deny," and stressed that his remarks were not anti-Jewish.^[64] In February 2011 Bashar backed an initiative to restore 10 synagogues in Syria, which had a Jewish community numbering 30,000 in 1947 but has only 200 Jews today.^[65]

2011–2012 uprising[link]

Following anti-government demonstrations in some other Middle Eastern countries, protests in Syria started on 26 January 2011. Protesters called for political reforms and the re-instatement of civil rights, as well as an end to the state of emergency which had been in place since 1963.^[66] One attempt at a "day of rage" was set for 4–5 February 2011, though it ended uneventfully.^[67][68] Protests on 18–19 March were the largest to take place in Syria for decades and the Syrian authority responded with violence against its protesting citizens.

On 18 May 2011, Barack Obama, the U.S. President, signed an Executive order putting into effect sanctions against Bashar al-Assad in an effort to pressure his government "to end its use of violence against its people and begin transitioning to a democratic system that protects the rights of the Syrian people."^[69] The sanctions effectively freeze any of the Syrian President's assets either in the United States proper or within U.S. jurisdiction.^[70] On May 23, 2011 EU Foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Brussels to add President Assad and nine other officials to a list affected by travel bans and asset freezes.^[71] On May 24, 2011 Canada imposed sanctions on Syrian leaders, including President Assad.^[72]

On 20 June 2011, in a speech lasting nearly an hour, in response to the demands of protesters and foreign pressure, al-Assad promised a national dialogue involving movement toward reform, new parliamentary elections, and greater freedoms. He also urged refugees to return home from Turkey, while assuring them amnesty and blaming all unrest on a small number of saboteurs.^[73]

In August 2011, Syrian security forces attacked the country's best-known political cartoonist, Ali Farzat, a noted critic of Syria's government and its five-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators and dissent. Relatives of the severely beaten humorist told Western media that the attackers threatened to break Farzat's bones as a warning for him to stop drawing cartoons of government officials, particularly the president, Bashar al-Assad. Ferzat, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, was hospitalized with fractures in both hands and blunt force trauma to the head.^[74][75]

By the end of January 2012, it was reported that over 5,000 civilians and protesters had been killed by the Syrian army, militia (Shabeeha) and security agents, while 1,100 people had been killed by the anti-regime forces.^[76]

On 10 January 2012, Assad gave a speech in which he accused the uprising of being plotted by foreign countries and claimed that "victory [was] near". He also said that the Arab League, by suspending Syria, revealed that it was no longer Arab. However, al-Assad also said the country would not "close doors" to an Arab-brokered solution if "national sovereignty" was respected. He also said a referendum on a new constitution could be held in March.^[77]

Bashar and Asma al-Assad

On 27 February 2012, Syria claimed that a referendum on an update to the nations constitution, hailed as 'a showpiece of reform' received 90% support. The referendum imposes a fourteen year cumulative term limit for the president of Syria. The referendum has been claimed as meaningless by foreign nations including the US and Turkey, and the European Union announced fresh sanctions against key regime figures.^[78]

Personal life[link]

Assad speaks English and basic conversational French, having studied at the Franco-Arab al-Hurriyah school in Damascus. In December 2000, Assad married Asma Assad, née Akhras,^[79] a British citizen of Syrian origin, from Acton, London.^[80] On 3 December 2001, they became the parents of their first-born child, named Hafez after the child's grandfather Hafez al-Assad. Zein was born on 5 November 2003, and Karim on 16 December 2004.

See also[link]

	Syria portal
	Biography portal
	Politics portal

• Cabinet of Syria
• List of current heads of state and government

References[link]

Notes

Bibliography

• Blanford, Nicholas (2006). Killing Mr Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East. I. B. Taurus & Co.. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/978-184-511-8|978-184-511-8]]. 
• Lane, Jan-Erik; Redissi, Hamadi (2004). Religion And Politics: Islam And Muslim Civilisation. Ashagate Publiching Company. ISBN 0-7546-4167-8. 
• Leverett, Flynt L. (2005). Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial By Fire. Brookings Institution. ISBN 978-0-8157-5204-2. 
• Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-32109-2. 
• Ma'oz, Moshe; Gian, Joseph; Winckler, Onn (1999). Modern Syria: From Ottoman Rule to Pivotal Role in the Middle East. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 1-898723-83-4. 
• Tucker, Spencer C. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-841-5. 
• Zisser, Eyal (2007). Commanding Syria: Bashar Al-Asad And the First Years in Power. I. B. Tauris & Co.. ISBN 978-1-84511-153-3. 

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bashar al-Assad

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bashar al-Assad

• Official website
  • Biography, decrees, speeches, interviews, press releases
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Bashar al-Assad on Charlie Rose
  • Transcript of 2010 conversation
• Bashar al-Assad at the Internet Movie Database
• Works by or about Bashar al-Assad in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at Ha'aretz
• Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at The Jerusalem Post
• Bashar al-Assad collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Bashar al-Assad at the Notable Names Database
• Profile at the LookLex Encyclopedia
• Unofficial website
• Unofficial website with CV, Speeches, Pictures and Mideast Just Peace

Articles

• Syria’s Proxy Forces in Iraq^{[dead link]}, Al-Hayat (London), 12 April 2003 at Middle East Intelligence Bulletin
• Profile: Syria's Bashar al-Assad BBC News, 10 March 2005
• Bashar al-Assad's Lebanon Gamble, William Harris, Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2005
• Assad on the Brink, David Hirst, The Nation, 21 November 2005
• Syria's Leaders, Esther Pan, Council on Foreign Relations, 10 March 2006
• Connecting the dots in Lebanon, Omar Raad, Ya Libnan Volunteer, 2 December 2006
• The Assad Dynasty in Syria: From Father to Son, Kristin Helberg, Deutsche Welle, 2009 at qantara.de
• Interview With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, The Wall Street Journal, 31 January 2011
• Profile: Bashar al-Assad, Al Jazeera English, 25 March 2011

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Anjem Choudary
Former spokesman for Islam4UK
Personal details
Born	1967 (age 44–45) Welling, London
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Rubana Akhtar
Residence	Ilford, London, England
Religion	Islam

Anjem Choudary (Urdu: انجم چودری; born 1967 in England) is a British former solicitor, and, before it was proscribed, spokesman for the Islamist group Islam4UK. He is married, has four children, and lives in Ilford, London.

Choudary studied medicine at the University of Southampton before switching to law. He became a solicitor, and chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers. He later met Omar Bakri Muhammad, and the two helped form the Islamist organisation, al-Muhajiroun. The group organised several anti-Western demonstrations, including a banned protest march in London for which Choudary was summoned to appear in court. Al-Muhajiroun was a controversial organisation, which was later disbanded following the UK government's decision to ban it. Choudary was present at the launch of its intended successor, Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, and later helped form Al Ghurabaa, which was also banned, before he became the spokesman for Islam4UK.

Choudary is a vocal critic of the UK's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has praised the terrorists involved in the attacks of 11 September 2001, and 7 July 2005. He believes in the implementation of Sharia Law throughout the UK, and marched in protest at the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy, following which he was prosecuted for organising an unlawful demonstration. He was also investigated, but not charged, for his 2006 comments regarding Pope Benedict XVI. Choudary receives little support from the mainstream UK Muslim population and has been largely criticised in the media.

Early life and education[link]

Choudary was born in 1967, the son of a Welling market trader.^[1] He enrolled as a medical student at the University of Southampton, but switched to law after failing his first-year exams. His final year as a law student (1990–1991) was at Guildford. He then moved to London and taught English as a second language, until he found work at a legal firm and completed the qualifications to become a lawyer.^[2] He became chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers, but was removed from the roll of solicitors (the official register of legal practitioners) in 2002.^[1]

Choudary came to public attention in 1999, when the Sunday Telegraph identified him as playing an instrumental role in the recruitment of Muslim trainees leaving Britain to fight abroad. He told the newspaper "before they go abroad to fight for organisations like the IIF, the volunteers are trained in Britain. Some of the training does involve guns and live ammunition."^{[3][nb 1]}

Al-Muhajiroun[link]

Choudary embraced Islamism, and with the Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Muhammed, co-founded al-Muhajiroun.^[1] The two men had met at a local mosque, where Bakri was giving a tafsir.^[4] In 2002 the group were refused a permit for a rally in London, by then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. They ignored the ban, and held a rally on 25 August. Choudary was summonsed to Bow Street Magistrates Court on 14 January 2003, on charges which included "exhibiting a notice, advertisement or any other written or pictorial matter", "using apparatus for the amplification of sound", "making a public speech or address", and "organising an assembly".^[5] In the same year Choudary gave a talk on education at Slough, where he outlined his ideas for a parallel system of Islamic education in the UK. His speech followed a bazaar organised by al-Muhajiroun, advertised by leaflet and word of mouth. Choudary also included elements of the group's ideology in his lecture.^[6]

In 2003 or 2004 Choudary organised an Islamic-themed camping trip, at which Bakri lectured, on the 54-acre (220,000 m²) grounds of the Jameah Islamiyah School in East Sussex. The trip, which was advertised by word-of-mouth, was attended by 50 Muslim men, most of whom were members of al-Muhajiroun. Bakri later claimed the activities at the camp included lectures on Islam, football, and paintballing.^[7] In September 2006 police searched the school following allegations that it was used in the training and recruitment of terrorists. According to testimony from Al Qaeda suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, in 1997 and 1998 Abu Hamza and groups of around 30 of his followers held training camps at the school, which included training with AK47 rifles and handguns, and a mock rocket launcher.^[8] No arrests were made, and students and faculty were allowed to return on 23 September 2006, the first day of Ramadan.^[9]

The UK government had investigated expelling Bakri even before the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and in July 2003 the headquarters of al-Muhajiroun, and the homes of Bakri and Choudary, were raided by the police.^[10] The following year, under new anti-terrorist legislation, the government announced that it wished to ban al-Muhajiroun from operating in the UK. In 2005 Bakri learned that he was at risk of prosecution for his support of the 7 July 2005 London bombers, and in August left the UK for Lebanon, where he claimed that he was on holiday.^[11] After leaving a television station where he said "I will not return to Britain unless I want to go there as a visitor or as a tourist", he was detained by Lebanon's general security department and held in a Beirut prison.^[12] Several days later, Bakri was excluded from returning to Britain by Home Secretary Charles Clarke, on the grounds that his presence in Britain was "not conducive to the public good." Choudary condemned the decision as "outrageous", demanded to know what Bakri had done to justify the ban, and claimed that ministers were inventing rules to ensure that Bakri could not return.^[13] In November Choudary was deported from Lebanon, along with three other followers of Bakri, and returned to the UK. Along with the three other deportees, he claimed that they were there to help Bakri set up a madrasah, and blamed the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for orchestrating their deportations.^[14]

Following his deportation, Choudary attended the launch in London of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, the intended successor organisation to al-Muhajiroun. Choudary said that Bakri was not on the committee of the new group, but that "we would love for the sheikh to have a role."^[15] The organisation operates mainly through an invitation-only internet forum, to which Choudary contributes under the screen name Abou Luqman. A reporter visiting the site found calls for holy war, and recordings by Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Omar Bakri Mohammed.^[16]

Al-Muhajiroun attempted a relaunch in June 2009 at Conway Hall, in Holborn. Several speakers were invited to share a platform with Choudary, but some later claimed that they had been invited under false pretences. When the group refused to allow women into the meeting, the chairman of the society which runs the hall cancelled the event. He was heckled by many of those in the audience. Choudary took the microphone from the chairman and led chants of "sharia for UK", saying in reference to the exclusion of women: "Jews and Christians will never make peace with you until you either become like them or adopt their ways." Outside the hall, Choudary criticised British society, and predicted that Muslims would make up the majority within one or two decades. When asked why, if society was so bad, he lived here, he replied: "We come here to civilise people, get them to come out of the darkness and injustice into the beauty of Islam."^[17]

Al Ghurabaa[link]

Choudary was also a spokesman for the Muslim organisation, Al Ghurabaa. The group was proscribed in 2006 by then Home Secretary John Reid, who said: "I am determined to act against those who, while not directly involved in committing acts of terrorism, provide support for and make statements that glorify, celebrate and exalt the atrocities of terrorist groups." The group is believed to have been an off-shoot of al-Muhajiroun.^[18] Choudary reacted to the news with outrage, complaining: "The easy option when one is losing an argument is to ban the opposition voice. [...] We [al-Ghurabaa] are not a military organisation; we have only been vociferous in our views—views concerning everything from the government's foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan to the host of draconian laws, which they’ve introduced against us in this country."^[19]

Islam4UK[link]

In November 2008 Choudary organised a meeting of the newly-formed Islam4UK, which, according to its website, was "established by sincere Muslims as a platform to propagate the supreme Islamic ideology within the United Kingdom as a divine alternative to man-made law", and to "convince the British public about the superiority of Islam [...] thereby changing public opinion in favour of Islam in order to transfer the authority and power [...] to the Muslims in order to implement the Sharee’ah (here in Britain)".^[20] According to Ed Husain, co-founder of the counter-terrorism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, Islam4UK is a "splinter group of al-Muhajiroun and Hizb ut-Tahrir, the originators of extremism in Britain." The meeting, advertised as a conference to "rise to defend the honour of the Muslims", was held at the Brady Arts and Community Centre in Tower Hamlets. Choudary then announced that Bakri would be speaking, via a video-conference link, although technical problems meant that his address was instead given over a telephone line. When asked by a Muslim woman how the comments of one of the event's speakers could be justified, with regards to Islam being a religion of peace, Choudary stated, "Islam is not a religion of peace...It is a religion of submission. We need to submit to the will of Allah.".^[21]

With the announcement by Islam4UK that it planned to hold a protest march through Wootton Bassett (famous for honouring dead British soldiers returning from the war in Afghanistan), Choudary said "You may see one or two coffins being returned to the UK every other day, but when you think about the people of Afghanistan its a huge number [being killed] in comparison [...] I intend to write a letter to the parents of British soldiers telling them the reality of what they died for."^[23] Choudary's open letter was published on 3 January 2010. In it, he explained his reasons for proposing the march, endorsed his religious beliefs, and claimed that UK politicians had been lying about the war. Choudary stated that the proposed march was to "engage the British publics minds on the real reasons why their soldiers are returning home in body bags and the real cost of the war."^[22] In an interview with Sky News, he stated that the location of the proposed march was chosen to effect a level of media attention which "it would not have gained anywhere else".^[24] The proposed march has been condemned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said that to offend the families of dead or wounded troops would be "completely inappropriate",^[25] the Minhaj-ul-Quran International UK centre in Forest Gate,^[26] and the Muslim Council of Britain, which stated that it "condemns the call by the fringe extremist group Islam4UK for their proposed march in Wootton Bassett."^[27] The planned march was cancelled by the group, on 10 January 2010.^[28]

From 14 January 2010 the organisation was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, making membership illegal, and punishable by imprisonment.^[29] Choudary condemned the order. In an interview on BBC Radio^{[clarification needed]} he said "we are now being targeted as an extremist or terrorist organisation and even banned for merely expressing that. I feel this is a failure of the concept of democracy and freedom."^[30]

Views and marches[link]

Since the disbandment of al-Muhajiroun, Choudary has often praised Muslim terrorists. He referred to the 11 September terrorists as "magnificent martyrs", and in 2003 appeared to endorse terrorist attacks by British Muslims, saying that al-Muhajiroun would "encourage people to fulfil their Islamic duties and responsibilities". In 2004 he said that a terror attack on British soil was "a matter of time"; following the 7 July 2005 London bombings he refused to condemn the atrocities.^[32] In 2008 he attacked the Muslim Council of Britain (who had condemned the 11 September and 7 July terrorist attacks), accusing them of "selling their souls to the devil".^[33] in an Interview with CBN news Mr Choudary said that “You can't say that Islam is a religion of peace, Because Islam does not mean peace. Islam means submission."^[34] Following Osama Bin Laden's death, Choudary stated that "For Obama, killing an old man [Bin Laden] and his family in his home is justice...That is the justice of the Americans – occupation, murder, mayhem, imprisonment. That is the only justice that they know. We are here to say: That is injustice. Whenever you have man-made law, whenever you rule by other than what Allah has revealed, you will have injustice, you will have oppression. The biggest Satan, the biggest oppressor, the biggest criminal in the world today is Barack Obama, his henchmen, and his allies."^[35][36]

Choudary has regularly attended public marches, and following a protest march outside the Danish Embassy in London on 3 February 2006, held in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, he was a member of a panel of interviewees on the BBC news programme, Newsnight. He defended Muslims in Britain, saying that "we live in peace with the host community, we are not allowed to target people here", and claimed that the police had inspected and allowed the controversial placards used in the demonstration. Choudary was heavily criticised by his fellow panellists, who included the MP for Keighley Ann Cryer, Humera Khan, of the al-Nisa Muslim Women's Group (who accused him of demonising Islam), vice-chair of the Conservative Party Sayeeda Warsi, professor Tariq Ramadan (who claimed that Choudary's actions were designed to evoke a strong response from the media), and leader of the UK Independence Party Roger Knapman.^[37] On 15 March 2006 he was among five men arrested in connection with the demonstration, which had been organised by al Ghurabaa.^[38] He was arrested again on 4 May at Stansted Airport for an alleged breach of bail, and charged with organising the protest without notifying police. He was bailed to appear before Bow Street Magistrates Court on 11 May.^[39] On 4 July 2006 he was convicted and fined £500 with £300 court costs.^[40]

The following day, at an Al Ghurabaa press conference at the Al Badr centre in Leyton, Choudary claimed that the blame for the London bombings lay with the British government, and said that the then-Prime Minister Tony Blair had "blood on his hands". He also urged Muslims to defend themselves against perceived attacks by "whatever means they have at their disposal", and referred to the 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid in which Mohammed Abdul Kahar was shot in the shoulder. He encouraged Muslims not to co-operate with the police under any circumstances. Local council leader Clyde Loakes criticised Choudary's comments, stating "I am sure the vast majority of Waltham Forest residents do not support these views."^[41] Several days later, on 9 June 2006, Choudary organised a demonstration outside the Forest Gate police station in London, to protest against the arrest of the Forest Gate men. About 35 men and 15 women attended the demonstration. The family of the two men said that the police raid represented "barbaric and horrific actions", but that an extremist protest would "only give another opportunity for our community to be portrayed in a negative light".^[42]