Still waiting for the moderate Muslim spokesmen who denounce the murder of Lee Rigby to explain why his understanding of Islam is all wrong. But that is something their non-Muslim supporters constantly assume has been done without ever actually seeing any evidence of it.
“‘If my son did what Michael Adebolajo did, I would be happy’: Hate preacher Omar Bakri Muhammad says he is proud of Lee Rigby killer,” by Emma Thomas for the Daily Mail, December 19 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
A hate preacher says he would be ‘proud’ if his son killed a man like Lee Rigby’s murderer Michael Adebolajo.
Omar Bakri Muhammad said if his son, who was sitting on his father’s knee during the interview, grew up and killed a soldier he would be ‘happy’.
Adebolajo attended and spoke at the radical group Al-Muhajiroun’s demonstrations after joining the group in 2003. He also changed his name to Mujahid, meaning “˜one who engages in jihad”.
Over the following years he cropped up again and again at Islamist events.
Channel 4 News reports Omar Bakri Muhammad, the former leader of Al-Muhajiroun, said he was proud of the killer.
He said: ‘I’ve got a son, if he did what Michael did I would be happy.’
Muhammad is living in Tripoli, Lebanon, after leaving the UK because he believed he would be arrested.
He said that Adebolajo, 29, was a ‘quiet, shy person’ looking for answers.
Muhammad said he did not feel sympathy for Lee Rigby and was ‘proud’ of what Adebolajo did.
The interview provoked criticism from people on Twitter who said Channel 4 should not be giving the preacher ‘oxygen’.
Former MP Tony McNulty said: ‘C4 interview with Omar Bakri Mohammed just disgraceful – why give this idiot any oxygen of publicity at all – total puff interview. Woeful.’
The journalist who recorded the interview, Paraic O’Brien, replied: ‘Disagree. His inability to engage with LeeRigby [sic] as a human/Dad told us lots about the radical mindset.’
He also added: ‘Thanks for all feedback.I know many disagree but I felt Bakri’s inability to engage with personal tragedy & his online reach = newsworthy.’
As Adebolajo was convicted of murder, he refused to show any remorse.
During the trial, he told Lee Rigby”s family how he will never regret killing the fusilier because he is a “˜soldier of Allah”.
Adebolajo kissed the Koran when he and Adebowale were convicted of murdering Fusilier Rigby at the end of an astonishing four-week Old Bailey trial….