What? No “hate” here! This Mohammed Rasheed (Nicky Reilly) character, he had trouble pronouncing his T’s, and so he must have been mentally ill, and so he must have been led into “extremism” that way.
UK Nail Bombing Update. “Islamic Friend Of Reilly ‘Stunned’ At Bomb Plot,” from thisisplymouth.co.uk, May 24 (thanks to Twostellas):
An Islamic friend of terror suspect Nick Reilly says he is stunned at his suspected bomb plot.
Reilly, aged 22, converted to Islam about six years ago and worshipped with him at Plymouth University and the Islamic Centre at Greenbank Avenue.
He became friends with Omar Siddiqui, aged 22, who is president of the Islamic Society at the university.
Omar knew him by his adopted name of Mohammed Rasheed and says he is amazed at what he is alleged to have attempted.
He says the 3,500 strong Muslim community in Plymouth are moderate and he knows of no groups which would have preached hate.
Of course not! Never mind that the Channel 4 documentary uncovering jihadist preaching in British mosques has been vindicated. Nope, no jihadists here!
Fellow worshippers at the mosque at a former Labour Party office in Plymouth said they were shocked at the arrest.
Shocked!
Reilly stood out among the congregation because he is 14 stone, 6 ft 3 inches and white.
He had grown a long beard in the past but in recent months has been clean shaven.
Neighbours say Reilly had become increasingly extreme in his religion and had images of the Twin Towers attack as the screensaver on his computer.Devon and Cornwall deputy chief constable Tony Melville named Reilly as the suspected bomber and said:”He has a history of mental illness and had adopted the Islamic faith.
“We believe that despite his vulnerable state he has been preyed upon, radicalized and taken advantage of.”
Omar, who plays cricket for Plymouth University where he is the racial equality officer at the student union, says he cannot believe Reilly was radicalized in the city.
Omar said: “The Islamic community in Plymouth is very peaceful and we have never had any problems her at the mosque or the university.
“We get a lot of racial abuse in Plymouth, especially females, but we have always encouraged everyone to integrate with the local community.
“I absolutely hate terrorism. Islam does not condone it. It says if you kill someone you are destroying a creation of God which is a major sin.
“Terrorism is not an entry to paradise, it is to be punished and is an entry to hell.
“We do not go out to convert anyone to Islam or force our views on anyone but if someone wants to learn we can teach them.“I cannot imagine anyone being radicalised in Plymouth and if anyone has taken advantage of this guy it is quite sick.
“I don’t know of anyone who would do such things and our community works well with the police’s diversity unit.
“If it is the same guy I knew him as Mohammed Rasheed and he prayed at the University sometimes or here at the Islamic Centre.
“He had converted himself a couple of years before I first met him which was when I came to Plymouth four years ago.
“He always struck me as being not quite well in the head but he seemed a nice guy. He was always polite and greeted me nicely.
“I just cannot understand why someone like him would carry weapons. He did seem to be extremely religious after his conversion.
“I don’t know where the sort of thing he has been accused of comes from. I don’t think there are any other groups in Plymouth he could have been involved in.
“He seemed to be a student but was not at the university so I thought he was at college.
“I asked him why he converted and he said the whole beauty of Islam attracted him to the religion and when he converted he felt a lot more at one with God.
“We never discussed how he practiced his religion because I felt that was a personal matter. He studied Islam very hard for many years.
“I have no idea if he was acting alone. I believe the Islamic community will be stunned by what he is alleged to have done because he always seemed so calm and nice.
“The people who knew him from prayers will be quite broken by the news.
“I guessed he had some mental problems because he spoke very slowly and had a problem pronouncing his Ts.
“I hope he gets help and learns from this and nothing bad happens to him and he never does anything like this again.”…