A notorious Islamist hate preacher reportedly called for Muslims to target British troops in response to Prince Harry’s claims that he killed 25 people during the Afghanistan War.
Anjem Choudary, an infamous convicted hate cleric in the United Kingdom, previously imprisoned for supporting the Islamic State, has allegedly called upon the Muslims of the world to enact revenge upon the British military in response to claims from Prince Harry that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan.
The Duke of Sussex said he saw the slain as “chess pieces” he had taken off the board rather than real human beings as he served in Afghanistan as an Apache pilot.
According to a report from the Mail on Sunday, the hate preacher wrote: “The latest revelations from Harry that he murdered 25 Muslims in Afghanistan followed by his comment that he has no remorse and that he just saw these human beings as ‘chess pieces’ tells us everything we need to know about the Royal Family and their thinking about Islam and Muslims. In reality, the British Royal Family has a long and dark history of supporting the occupation of Muslim lands, the usurpation of its resources and the oppression of Muslims.”
The hate preacher, who had his court-ordered ban on public speaking lifted in 2021, continued: “The world now knows of the wickedness that the US, UK and others engaged in, including repeatedly murdering innocent unarmed Muslims… Nevertheless, Harry still saw fit to plunge his knife further into the hearts of Muslims with his callous boastful comments.”
Choudary allegedly concluded by calling for Muslims to attack members of the British military overseas in “Syria, Iraq and North Africa where many British soldiers are deployed.”
In response to the comments, former Conservative (Tory) Party leader and Cabinet minsiter Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP called for the cleric to be jailed once again, saying: “This is an absolute example of not just hate speech, but direct and indirect threat to our constitutional head of state, our monarchy, and for that matter our Government and all public servants. The police and security services now need to move on this man, and he should no longer be free to act accordingly in the UK.
“Whatever your views on Harry’s comments, the real danger is right there with this hate preacher, trying to whip people up to violent actions. These people have no place in a peaceful democracy.”
The executive director of the Henry Jackson Society foreign policy think tank, Dr Alan Mendoza said: “Blood and thunder statements like this from Choudary have historically been responsible for radicalising people to commit terrible crimes, especially against British troops here and abroad.”
Indeed, the incendiary figure has been linked to the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in 2013, as well as the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005.
The former leader of the now-banned Al-Muhajiroun group in Britain has been linked to Islamists including London Bridge terrorist Khuram Butt, suspected executioner “new Jihadi John” Siddhartha Dhar, and Usman Khan, a convicted jihadist released from prison on licence halfway through his term who stabbed five people on the London Bridge, killing two.
Choudary was jailed in 2016 under the Terrorism Act for supporting ISIS, however, he served less than half of his already short five-and-a-half-year sentence behind bars.
The arguably somewhat boastful comments from Harry about his kill list have been criticised by members of the armed forces community, who warned that they could not only endanger his and his family’s safety but also members of the military.
The former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West, warned that the revelations in the memoir could also jeopardise the safety of the upcoming Invictus Games, which the prince founded in 2014 with a focus on injured veterans.
“The Invictus Games is very much labelled to him and so I would have thought the threat level there will definitely be higher,” Lord West said.
“There will be serious security issues because of what he said. Measures will have to be put in place to protect the veterans. And there will be people who, given half the chance, will want to do something.”
The former head of the Royal Navy said that the prince’s remarks were “very stupid” and that “there will be a lot of people, I am sure, in Islamic State and other terrorist organisations, who will think this is something which should be avenged.”
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
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