And yet no one in the mosque seems to have stopped him and told him that his understanding of the Religion of Peaceâ„¢ was all wrong, wrong, wrong.
“7/7 inquests: gang ringleader tried to convert schoolboy to Islam,” by Duncan Gardham in the Telegraph, February 14:
The leader of the July 7 bombers tried to convert a boy under his care to Islam, the inquest into the bombings has heard.
Mohammed Sidique Khan was working as a learning mentor in a primary school in Beeston, Leeds when he took the pupil under his wing.
The inquest was told about the background of the bombers and how they became radicalised for the first time, starting with Sidique Khan.
He was said to be well liked at Hillside Primary School by parents, staff and pupils and was described as “almost like a father” to those from broken homes.
“One pupil became quite close to him and Khan would take him around to his associates and try to interest him in the Muslim faith,” Hugo Keith QC, counsel for the inquest said.
Acting Det Insp Peter Sparks explained how the young man was taken to the Iqra bookshop in Beeston, which Sidique Khan and others used as somewhere to sell Islamic literature, use computers and talk about Islam.
“Khan had tried to persuade [the pupil] on numerous occasions to convert to Islam,” DI Sparks said.
The inquest heard later that the child was as young as 11 or 12 when he was told “people will pay for what has been done to Pakistan” along with comments about September 11 during a conversation in Sidique Khan’s car[.]…
On another occasion Sidique Khan was asked if he could arrange a speaker for the school to talk about the Koran, but the man talked with such “fervour” that the other staff became concerned.
He was brought up as a Muslim by his father but “turned out to be more religious” than his siblings, according to statements by the family to police.
At Hardy Street mosque, attended by his family, he organised trips for local children and set up activities in the countryside, the inquest heard.
“He was providing mentoring really for the youngsters coming into the mosque,” DI Sparks told the hearing. “He was very much looked up to.”…