The replacements for Omar Bakri and Abu Hamza may not get to stay in Britain very long. From the TimesOnline, :
A FRESH wave of arrests of Islamic radicals is expected next week when Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, introduces tough new immigration rules to deal with recently-arrived preachers of hate.
Ministers want to see the young foreign imams swiftly thrown out of the country. How they manage the fast-track expulsions will be seen as a test of Tony Blair’s assertion that the rules have changed.
Immigration officials and the security services are understood to have compiled a list of extremist clerics who have moved to Britain in recent months. They are not such high-profile figures as Abu Qatada, who was among the first to be arrested as a threat to national security after the London bombings.
Most of the new wave are believed to come from Pakistan or North Africa and are accused of stirring up hate among young followers in their own communities.
Muslim leaders are said to have helped to identify some of the suspects, although there are concerns about a backlash in some Islamic communities if there is a mass round-up of imams.
The wanted list is said also to include owners of radical bookshops, website operators and a number of teachers of different nationalities. Many are being kept under surveillance for fear that they may go into hiding before the arrest orders are given.
Small groups of extremists are known to target mosques for takeover, driving out worshippers and replacing an imam with their own choice of preacher, who is usually imported from countries such as Pakistan and does not speak English.